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Study of trace elements in the surface snow for impact monitoring in Vecherny Oasis, East Antarctica

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Abstract

The results of surface snow monitoring in Vecherny Oasis, Thala Hills, East Antarctica, for evaluation of Belarusian Antarctic Station environmental impact are presented. Snow samples from the depth up to 15–20 cm were collected during 4–5th and 7–10th seasonal Belarusian Antarctic expeditions in the period from 2012 to 2018. Chemical-analytical study and determination of Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Na, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Th, Tl, V, U, and Zn content were performed using ISP-MS method. Altogether 85 snow samples were analyzed. High spatial variability of trace elements content in the surface snow and differences between human impacted and non-impacted areas are shown. The elevated average content of trace elements in surface snow within the human impacted areas in comparison with ice sheet has been revealed. Based on the concentration of elements and EFc, the anthropogenic origin of Sb, Se, As, Cd, Zn, Cr, Cu, Mo, V, and Pb in the surface snow were suggested. Contribution of local sources of trace elements is considered to be more important for Vecherny Oasis than their regional or transboundary transfers. The development of guidelines for unified procedure of snow sampling for the goal of local impact monitoring in Antarctica would be useful for data comparison across Antarctic.

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Acknowledgments

Authors express sincere gratitude to the Head of Belarusian Antarctic Expeditions Alexei Haidashou, to Dr. Vladislav Myamin, Dr. Yury Giginyak, and other participants of expeditions for snow sampling and transportation.

Funding

This study has been funded in the framework of the State Program “Monitoring of the Earth Polar Regions, Creation of the Belarusian Antarctic Station and Support of the Polar Expeditions for 2016–2020.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Transboundary Pollution, Institute for Nature Management, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Skoriny st., 10, 220076, Minsk, Belarus

    Sergey Kakareka & Tamara Kukharchyk

  2. Laboratory of Physical and Chemical Methods, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Kuprevicha st., 2, 220141, Minsk, Belarus

    Peter Kurman

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  1. Sergey Kakareka
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  2. Tamara Kukharchyk
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Contributions

Sergey Kakareka contributed to the study conception of network monitoring, programs of investigation, article design, statistic calculation, and mapping. Tamara Kukharchyk provided the analysis of data, references review, and enrichment factor calculation. The first draft article has been prepared by S. Kakareka and T. Kukharchyk. Chemical analytical work and method description were performed by Peter Kurman. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Tamara Kukharchyk.

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Highlights

- Significant spatial variability of trace elements content in the surface snow of Vecherny Oasis.

- Sb, Se, As, Cd, Zn, Cr, Cu, Mo, V, and Pb are in the list of pollutants.

- Influence of local anthropogenic sources due to past and current activities.

- Surface snow sampling is a cost-effective method to monitor human activity impact according to the Annex 1 to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

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Kakareka, S., Kukharchyk, T. & Kurman, P. Study of trace elements in the surface snow for impact monitoring in Vecherny Oasis, East Antarctica. Environ Monit Assess 192, 725 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08682-8

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