Heavy metal migration in the sediments of the lake Seliger

Abstract

The Lake Seliger is one of the landscape and climatic gems of the central part of European Russia. Traditionally, this territory has been the object of expansion of both organized and unorganized tourists. Several dozen localities and the city of Ostashkov have contributed and continue to contribute to the creation of a natural and man-made system in the territory under consideration. Although the population and the intensity of industrial production have declined somewhat in recent years, the number of civilian facilities, often located within water protection zones, has increased. The consequence of this is the contamination of the sediments of the lake with heavy metals, which has been studied by the authors since 2000. The most pronounced is the chromium contamination, the ≪culprit≫ of which is a tannery that was actively operating in Soviet times, although the activity of the negative impact of which has significantly decreased in recent years. Monitoring of chromium contamination, the results of which show a very high degree of contamination in some points close to the source of its receipt, indicates the presence of a certain number of ≪hot spots≫. The study of the distribution of other heavy metals in the sediments shows that so far the level of contamination of silt with them is not cause for concern, but most of them enter the lake from unorganized sources. The current state of the lake does not yet cause serious concerns about contamination with heavy metals, except chromium, but the periodic monitoring of this area is necessary for a competent assessment of changes in its geoecological state.