Home – Home – Jornals – Geography and Natural Resources 2022 number 2

Results of quantitative determination of dissolved forms of 55 elements by mass-spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) in the water of small rivers, lakes and in the melt waters of glaciers and snowfields of the Kuragan basin are presented. The influence of climatic and hydrological conditions, the lithological composition of the rocks composing the Kuragan basin predetermine the formation of ultra-fresh, neutral to slightly alkaline calcium waters. In rivers and lakes, a mineralization is 28-7 mg/L, pH is 8.5-6.8; in melt waters of snow and firn, they are 14-2 mg/L and pH is 8.4-6.5, respectively. The total content of dissolved forms of elements does not exceed 11 mg/L in rivers and lakes and 35 mg/L in melt water of snow and firn. P, K, Ti and Ag accumulate in snowfields, while the river water is characterized by a high content of Si, Mo and Te. In some water bodies, the excess of the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of pollutants has been established. In rivers and lakes, the concentrations of Al, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo and Pb are higher than the MPC in the water of fishery reservoirs, and the content of Al, Fe, Ni and Pb is higher than the MPC in drinking water. In the melt waters of snowfields, the MPCs in fishery reservoirs are exceeded for Al, P, K, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn, and the MPC in drinking water - for Al, K, Mn, Sb and Pb. A statistically significant correlation between all elements in the composition of the water of rivers, lakes (except for W), and melt water from snowfields indicates their input from a single natural source, mainly as a result of leaching from rocks and soils with a slight effect of atmospheric precipitation. High concentrations of toxic elements in water bodies are due to the runoff of substances from the catchment area and to the accumulation of weathering products in snowfields and are not associated with anthropogenic pollution.