Concentration of Trace Elements in Cryoconites of Mountain and Polar Regions of the World

• Published in: Geosciences
• Main Authors: Evgeny Abakumov, Rustam Tembotov, Vyacheslav Polyakov, Mikhail Ivanov, Bulat Mavlyudov, Ivan Kushnov, Timur Nizamutdinov, Rositsa Yaneva, Miglena Zhiyanski
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2023
• Subjects: cryoconite; glaciers; heavy metals; Caucasus; Arctic; Antarctic; Geology; QE1-996.5; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Climate change
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13060188; https://doaj.org/article/aaa21cc615904158a421fcb84c6d4fb5

The surface of mountain glaciers is a place of accumulation of various biogenic organomineral and mineral compounds. As a result of intensive mass deglaciation of glaciers due to climate change and anthropogenic activity, this material can significantly affect the transformation of the landscape in the periglacial zone. Thus, this work considers the contamination of the surface of the Arctic, Antarctic, and Caucasian glaciers by priority pollutants. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to analyze trace elements (Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb) from cryoconite deposits. It was revealed that the cryoconite dust on the Ray-Iz glacier (Polar Urals) has a high level of nickel contamination, which comes to the glacier from local rock materials as a result of their weathering. The lowest concentrations of trace elements are found in one of the Arctic plots located at Mushketov and Aldegonda glaciers, the Caucasus, and the Antarctic, which is due to their relatively low content in the composition of rocks and the relatively low contribution of long-range transport of matter to the polar regions. Contamination of moraine sediments in the periglacial zone can make a significant contribution to the formation of the soil cover of these territories, the pollution of water bodies near the glacier, as well as affect the quality of life of the people living in the immediate vicinity of the mountain areas.