Polymetallic Ore Mining Impact Assessment on the Benthic Hydrobiocenosis of the Small Estuaries on the Arctic Islands

Abstract

The results of studies on the content of aluminum and heavy metals in benthic sediments and algae in the estuaries of the Arctic island Vaygach are presented. This island is located on the Barents and Kara Sea border, and it is part of the Pay-Khoi ridge which can be called a “continuation” of the Ural Mountains to the north. The observations were conducted in Krasnaya and Varkulyakha Rivers located in the island’s southern part and flow into the Yugorsky Shar Strait. Krasnaya River is located near a polymetallic ore deposit, which was developed in 1931–1934. Reconnaissance fieldwork was carried out in the river estuaries through measurements of salinity and water level. Measurements of the mass concentration of elements in the studied samples of sediments and algae were carried out by atomic emission spectrometry. The preparation of plant samples was by microwave decomposition, and that for samples of bottom sediments was carried out by acid decomposition in an open manner. The obtained concentration samples were compared using “Tukey exploratory data analysis (EDA)”. The presence of anomalies in the high content of copper, manganese, and zinc in filamentous algae at the control site in the Krasnaya River estuary was revealed. For some elements, the enrichment index was calculated relative to the upper part of the earth’s crust content. It is assumed that the occurrence of this situation is due to the long-term consequences of mining polymetallic ores. The accumulation of metals in river estuaries may be related to the observed warming of the climate in the western sector of the Arctic region.