Geoenvironmetal assessment of different types of cryolithic soils in Western Yakutia under the conditions of diamond-mining operations

• Main Authors: A. S. Titov, A. S. Toropov, А. С. Титов, А. С. Торопов
• Other Authors: The authors thank the team of the testing laboratory of ECOSTANDARD Technical Solutions LLC for providing containers, reagents and performing analytical studies, as well as the management of ECOSTANDARD Technical Solutions LLC for arranging the field work. The work on the study of migration forms of heavy metals was supported by the RSF grant No. 23-27-00140., Авторы благодарят коллектив испытательной лаборатории ООО «ЭКОСТАНДАРТ «Технические решения» за предоставление тары, реагентов и выполнение аналитических исследований, а также руководство ООО «ЭКОСТАНДАРТ «Технические решения» за организацию полевых работ. Работа по изучению миграционных форм тяжелых металлов выполнена при поддержке гранта РНФ 23-27-00140.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian; English
• Published: The National University of Science and Technology MISiS (NUST MISiS) 2024
• Subjects: NICA-Donnan; soil pollution; taiga-frozen soils; cryogenic soils; diamond mining; Nyurba kimberlite field; arsenic (As); cadmium (Cd); mercury (Hg); lead (Pb); copper (Cu); nickel (Ni); zinc (Zn); Western Yakutia; speciation; geochemistry; thermodynamic modeling; загрязнение почв; таежно-мерзлотные почвы; криозёмы; алмазодобыча; нюрбинское кимберлитовое поле; мышьяк (As); кадмий (Cd); ртуть (Hg); свинец (Pb); медь (Cu); никель (Ni); цинк (Zn); Западная Якутия; формы миграции; геохимия; термодинамическое моделирование; Arctic; permafrost; Subarctic; taiga; Yakutia; Якути*; Якутия
• Online Access: https://mst.misis.ru/jour/article/view/583; https://doi.org/10.17073/2500-0632-2023-12-188

The problems of geoenvironmental consequences of mining operations are especially acute in the arctic and subarctic regions, where the spread of permafrost significantly reduces the buffering capacity of landscapes. The article presents data on the content of heavy metals in the soil cover of the transient zone between the middle taiga and north taiga landscapes of Western Yakutia under the conditions of mining operations and assesses the resistance of different types of soils to heavy metals pollution. Field and laboratory works were carried out in August 2022. The heavy metals content was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Specialized software was used for analysis, such as MS Excel 2013, Statistica 12.0, and QGis 3.26.1. Calculation of organic forms of heavy metals in soil solutions was performed using the NICA-Donnan model. In the course of studies, the structure of the soil cover in the Nakyn kimberlite field in the conditions of the mining industrial complex operation was determined and a sketch map of the soil cover of the territory was compiled. The geochemical series of the studied heavy metals is as follows according to the degree of concentration of heavy metals in cryolithic soils: Pb > Zn > Ni > Cu > Cd > As > Hg. Positive correlations between humus and Cd, Pb, Zn, as well as the occurrence of synergism in the Pb–Cd, Zn–Pb, Zn–Cu pairs were revealed. The soils organic matter enhances migration of heavy metals. The man-made input of Ni and Zn in cryolithic soils will lead to increase of mobile fraction. Cd is more mobile in pale-yellow carbonate and cryogenic soils. The regional background level of heavy metals for these types of soils was calculated, which can be used in future works when the intensity of mining operations increases. Проблемы геоэкологических последствий горнодобывающих предприятий стоят особенно остро в арктических и приарктических районах, где распространение вечной мерзлоты значительно сокращает буферные способности ландшафтов. В статье представлены ...