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Avtometriya

2005 year, number 2

FIELD EXPERIMENT: ESTIMATION OF OIL POLLUTION OF PERMAFROST UPPER LAYERS

E. M. Chuvilin, E. S. Miklyaeva*
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Department of Geology,
119992, Moscow, Leninskie Gory, Russia
* Lomonosov Moscow State University, Department of Geography,
119992, Moscow, Leninskie Gory, Russia
Keywords: Permafrost, active layer, oil contamination, concentration of oil pollution, migration of hydrocarbon contamination, permeability of frozen soils
Pages: 60-66

Abstract

In the present study we represent the new results of investigation of oil penetration in the upper horizons of permafrost on the testing bank (laid in 2000) in the entry of the river Pechora (Cape Bolvanskiy). The results of the permafrost sampling have shown that three years after the starting of the field experiment oil penetration was fixed throughout the depth of exposed permafrost (0,5-0,7 m). Its concentration reaches 600-800 mg/kg, which is comparable to the pollution of the layer of the seasonal defrostation. The received data have demonstrated that schlieren cryogenic textures of the frozen sediments did not inhibit the penetration and accumulation of hydrocarbon contaminants to the permafrost. Based on the theoretical and experimental data, the principal mechanisms of possible penetration of oil pollution into the permafrost have been considered.