Temporal Variations in Chemical Composition of Snow Cover in Moscow

Abstract

This article summarizes the data of the chemical composition and the acidity of the seasonal snow precipitation for the cold periods 1999-2006 (n=180), 2010-2013 (n=82) and 2018-2019 (n=18) in different parts of Moscow. Major ions content was measured, such as SO42-, НСO3-, Cl-, NO3-, Са2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+ and NH4+, also pH and sum of ions (mg/L) were measured. During the 2018-2019 season, snowpack samples were taken twice at 4 sites in Moscow: two in the North-East Administrative Okrug (NEAO) near the road and in the park at the distance of 3 km from each other, and two in the South- Western Administrative Okrug (SWAO) and in the Western Administrative Okrug (WAO) near the road and in the park at the distance of 6 km from each other. Samples were taken with a break of 5 days to determine the dynamics of the chemical composition within the beginning of the snow-melting. In each pair of sampling sites there was one that is located in the park and one located near the road. This experiment showed a slight variability of the chemical composition of snow during 5 days under the influence of the new snowfall. In general, there is a trend of changing the composition of snow from calcium carbonate to calcium chloride, which is mainly connected to the use of anti-icing reagents; for the same reason, the areas that are closer to the roads are the most polluted.

Snow Cover as an Indicator of Dust Pollution in the Area of Exploitation of Rock Materials in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains

“…The obtained results for elemental composition are also several tens of times higher than those recorded in the monitored reference areas for the Spitsbergen [15] and Waldai Highlands [16] snow cover studies. Similar values of Ca 2+ ion concentration, NO 3 − , SO 4 2− as well as two-fold higher Cl − concentrations and pH values higher by 1.5 units were found in the Moscow agglomeration [17] with respect to the Kielce-Łagowski Vale. Spatial variation of individual analytes indicates the influence of landforms in pollutant deposition.…”

“…Exploitation and fragmentation of rock blocks causes uncontrolled emissions of dust into the atmosphere, which is particularly burdensome for the residents of the town and commune of Łagów. No automatic air quality station is located within the mining area, so a snow cover study can provide valuable information on the extent and variability of the mining industry's environmental impact on the area [13][14][15][16][17].…”

Dissolved and Suspended Forms of Metals and Metalloids in Snow Cover of Megacity: Partitioning and Deposition Rates in Western Moscow

“…Background snow waters in the western part of Moscow are slightly acidic (pH 5.6), with low mineralization (6.4 mg/L); the ionic composition of water is calcium bicarbonate ( Table 1). The obtained data correlates with the findings of physicochemical properties of snow in Moscow suburbs [40,58,63]. The concentration of solid particles in snow water in background conditions is low (about 9 mg/L), while the intensity of daily dust load (9 mg/m 2 per day) corresponds to the average level for background non-urbanized areas in the East European Plain (about 10 mg/m 2 per day) [61].…”

“…The ionic composition of snow meltwater near the Moscow Ring Road, the highways, and large and medium roads differs slightly. It is almost everywhere of calcium-sodium chloride type, which compares favorably with the results of long-term (1999-2019) studies of acidity and chemical composition of snow and rainfall in Moscow and Moscow Region [58,63,78]. Only at sampling points on the streets of Molodogvardeiskaya (point S16 in Figure 1) and Ryabinovaya (point S08) near the construction sites and industrial zones Severnoye Ochakovo and Yuzhnoye Ochakovo is the water of calcium-sodium bicarbonate-chloride type.…”

“…However, previous studies on the chemical composition of snow in Moscow showed that the ammonium in urban snow is about 5%-eq. from the amount of cations [58]. That is, the ammonium does not play a significant role in the balance of cations in Moscow snow meltwater.…”