Vol 25, No 4 (2017)

Sealed with road coverings soils in the Eastern Administrative District (EAD) of Moscow were studied, their morphological and physico-chemical properties have been established in various landuse zones, their ecological and geochemical state and level of readily soluble salts and priority organic pollutants - petroleum products (PP) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) as compared with background and open urban soils. The article is based on the results of soil-geochemical survey of ekranozems in September 2016 and previously obtained analytical data from an unsealed territory in the southern part of the EAD. A mapping technique was developed and a map of degree of soil sealing in the EAD was compiled. The morphological features and the basic properties of ekranozem’s horizons in different land-use zones of the EAD were determined. They have a low content of organic matter (2,24%), an alkaline pH (8,0), light loamy texture. Despite the use of de-icing salts and mineral fertilizers, the upper part of the profile of the sealed soils is not saline, salts accumulate mainly in the middle and lower parts of the profile, forming maxima in the RAT horizon. Screening of soils with asphalt concrete is not an obstacle to the penetration of technogenic flows of polluting substances - salts, PP, BaP, capable of accumulating in increased concentrations and forming pronounced technogenic anomalies. The average BaP content in the sealed soils exceeds the background level by 56 times, and the MPC - by 9,6 times. The permissible content of PP in ekranozems is exceeded by 9,5 times. However, in comparison with unsealed soils, the content of BaP and PP in ekranozems is 3,5 times less. The vertical distribution of the BaP is, as a rule, uniform, with the exception in the industrial zone, and for the PP it is accumulative with several well-defined maxima in different parts of the profile. As a result of lateral migration, BaP and PP accumulate in the sealed soils of the lower parts of the slopes, where they form accumulations on organomineral and sorption-sedimentative geochemical barriers. High-level man-made accumulations of hydrocarbons are formed mainly in the sealed soils of industrial and transport zones. When opening the asphalt, risks associated with the migration of hydrocarbons to other components of the landscape, including them in the biological cycle and food chains may appear.

A methodology for monitoring the determination of the content of solid particles with a particle size of 1-10 nm in the air of the mining region has been developed. Appropriate studies have been carried out. The air pollution by nanoparticles in the KMA and the Moscow regions is estimated.

The article provides information about the fauna of leeches living in the various reservoirs on especially protected natural territories of the Federal state budget establishment “The National Park ‘Prielbrusye’”. Only 4 оf the 12 known in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic species of leeches inhabit the waters of the National Park ponds: Protoclepsis tessulata (O.F. Muller, 1774), Helobdella stagnalis (L., 1758), Haemopis sanguisuga (L., 1758) and Herpobdella octoculata (L, 1758). The author shows the location of leeches in the aquatic ecosystems. It is fond that their appearance in waters of the National Park “Prielbrusye” is mainly due to anthropogenic activities, particularly creation of artificial stagnant and partly stagnant reservoirs.

The main tasks and the content of the environmental monitoring of the RUDN-University campus is justified. Theuniversitypresents the results of its activity in the annual international ranking - Green Metric World University Ranking. RUDN-University started successful in 2015 and since 2017 is a national coordinator of this program in Russia. The campus is situated in the intensive transport pressure zone, therefore the environmental monitoring program takes this specific into account. Information on the team performing the project and the availability and instrumentation necessary for its implementation is given. The monitoring network covers various functional zones of the campus, as well as the adjoining forest park zone selected as the background. As a result of the processing of data sets on the characteristics of the campus environment, anthropogenic load levels for functional campus zones were calculated.In the future, as information accumulates, the boundaries of functional zones and technogenic loads will be adjusted (as well as monitoring content). Calculations of emissions of various types of vehicles on one of the main roads, as well as measurements of the radiation situation, noise levels, typical pollutants of automobile emissions into the atmosphere in different periods of the year were carried out.A geochemical survey of the snow cover has been performed to assess the accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Maps of atmospheric pollution and snow cover have been constructed, the values of exceeding the normative characteristics have been estimated, a survey of the state of vegetation at the beginning and end of the growing season has been carried out. The obtained data indicate a relatively favorable environmental situation on the campus and the need for further monitoring using more accurate analytical methods for analyzing natural environments, and developing models to predict changes in the components of the campus ecosystem.Such models will allow to reveal the trend of the behavior of pollution on the basis of their bioindication (landscapedestructive changes) under the conditions of specific impacts of oil products burned and other types of urban pollution. It is planned to carry out an inventory and certification of the green plantations of the campus, followed by an object-oriented assessment of vegetation, soil conditions under conditions of varying atmospheric pollution flows and emissions of road transport. As an instrument suggested to create the information and analytical system of monitoring.