Transformation of Arctic ecosystems under impact of open-pit extraction of mineral resources

• Published in: IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
• Main Authors: Selyanina, S B, Ponomareva, T I, Mikhailova, G V, Churakova, E Yu, Zubov, I N, Yarygina, O N
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: IOP Publishing 2019
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1757-899x/696/1/012003; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/696/1/012003/pdf; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/696/1/012003

Abstract The article considers the influence of open-pit mining of diamonds on the state of Arctic ecosystems outside of the zone of the direct impact of the enterprise. To assess changes in natural complexes, a retrospective analysis was carried out on the basis of the data from social surveys of the local population using adapted methodological approaches and comparing descriptions of the biodiversity of aquatic macrophytes made in 1969-1970 and 2018. The comprehensive studies of peat soils and the laboratory modeling of the flow of the saponite into the watercourse were carried out, in order to understand the possible ways of the impact of diamond mining on natural complexes. The shallowing of the river, the change in the nature of soils in the lower reaches of the river, the crowding out a number of native species of aquatic plants by invasive macrophytes were educed. It is shown that saponite interacts with components of bog ecosystems, changes its physicochemical properties and forms intermolecular associates with dissolved organic matter. This contributes to the transport of mineral particles over long distances, to its accumulation in bottom sediments, and to the prolonged desorption, which creates favorable conditions for the introduction of invasive species.