Home – Home – Jornals – Atmospheric and Oceanic Optics 2026 number 6

Atmospheric transport is an important wave of supplying dispersed sedimentary matter (insoluble micro- and nanoparticles), including pollution, to the seas and oceans and their catchment areas. The study of dispersed sedimentary matter in the snow cover is of great importance, since it characterizes the winter atmosphere, when the surrounding land is covered with a layer of snow, and rivers and seas are covered with ice, and atmospheric supply of matter prevails. This article summarizes the results of the study of dispersed sedimentary matter in the snow cover (a natural archive of atmospheric deposition) of the Dvina Bay of the White Sea catchment area from 2016 to 2025. Snow was collected at the end of winter in pits down to frozen soil or lake ice. In the laboratory, the snow was melted and filtered through pre-weighed nuclear filters 47 mm diameter with a pore diameter of 0.45 μm. The particle composition was studied using a VEGA 3 SEM (Tescan) scanning electron microscope with an INCA Energy microprobe analyzer (Oxford Instruments). At points located in background areas, concentrations of insoluble particles in snow varied from < 1 to 10 mg/L. Significantly higher particle concentrations were observed in Arkhangelsk and its environs and at distances less than 100 m from roads. The dust load, not only at background points but also in the northern part of Arkhangelsk, is significantly lower than in many Russian cities. In background areas, dispersed snow sediment consists primarily of biogenic (plant fibers, spores and pollen, diatom valves) and lithogenic particles; near Arkhangelsk, soot and fly ash particles predominate. The results can be used for assessment of the impact of air transport of dispersed sedimentary matter on the state of ecosystems in the Dvina Bay catchment area, as well as for geoecological monitoring.