Effect of Mining Activities on the Chemistry of Aquatic Ecosystem Components

摘要

Changes in water chemistry in the Rudnaya R. (Primorskii krai, RF) are considered. The river drains an area on the eastern macroslope of the Sikhote Alin Ridge with active mining operations, whose intensity considerably dropped in the recent 25-30 years. However, river pollution by metals is still high and even increases in its upper and middle reaches. The anthropogenic impact on the nearby coastal-marine eco-systems was assessed based on the accumulation of metals in brown macroalgae C. costata, F. evanescens and C. crassipes, which reflects the geochemical conditions in the marine environment governed by metals delivered by river runoff and aerial fallout. A decrease in metal releases into the atmosphere, caused by the closure of a lead smelter was accompanied by a decrease in Pb and Cu concentrations in macrophytes north of the Rudnaya Bay, where the effect of river is minimal. In the coastal water south of the mouth, where the main runoff from the land expands, only Pb concentration was found to decrease in the recent 25-30 years. The concentration of Cu and Zn is still high and that in F. evanescens even increases.