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POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN THE SNOW OF MOSCOW AS AN INDICATOR OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT IMPACT (RUDN CAMPUS CASE STUDY)

Alexander Khaustov

Abstract

Snow cover is of greatest interest for geoecological studies due to the fact that it accumulates a complex of pollutants from natural and anthropogenic sources over a long period. Control and modeling of marker compounds in the snow cover are particularly interesting because marker compounds are toxic on the one hand, and on the other hand they allow to identify anthropogenic pollution pathways and ways of transformation. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) belong to such compounds. The article presents the results of the analysis of PAH pollution in the snow cover on RUDN campus territory. The impact zones of roads, the role of traffic condition in pollution intensity, the value of natural and anthropogenic barriers that influence the distributional pattern of pollution are analyzed. The main source of air pollution in Moscow is transport. Existing modeling approaches allow to trace the spread of pollutants from roads. Indicator ratios of PAHs enable to confirm the role of road transport in pollution. The presented work highlights the most representative relations applicable for this purpose. The distributional pattern of marker compounds from roads is revealed. PAH distribution models in the snow cover are developed. The most significant pollutants have been identified. The role of the park area in prevention of the pollutants spread is explored.

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