The Influence of Flood Runoff on the Content of Trace Elements in the Water of the Kacha, Belbek and Chernaya Rivers

O. D. Chuzhikova*, V. Yu. Proskurnin, A. A. Paraskiv, N. Yu. Mirzoeva

A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Sevastopol, Russia

* e-mail: chuzhikova@ibss-ras.ru

Abstract

The article studies the impact of flood runoff on the content of trace elements (metals and metalloids) in the water of the Kacha, Belbek and Chernaya rivers near Sevastopol in 2024. During the flood (March 2024) and dry (July 2024) periods, the concentrations of a number of elements (Be, V, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Cd, Sb, Tl, Pb, Ag), including heavy metals, as well as their total concentrations including dissolved forms and those associated with suspended matter were determined in river water. The content of all studied elements was determined in their acidic concentrates and leachates from samples in accordance with State Standard of Russia 56219-2014 by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma on a PlasmaQuant MS Elite mass spectrometer (Analytik Jena, Germany). It was found that during the flood period, the suspended matter concentration in the Kacha and Belbek Rivers increased by over 100 times, while in the Chernaya River it increased by 2.5 times. The obtained data allowed identification of critical elements whose dissolved or total concentrations exceeded the established standards. Thus, the dissolved copper and zinc were detected to exceed the maximum permissible concentrations for fishery waters. An analysis of total trace elements concentrations using Dutch standards resulted in a wider list of pollutants during the flood: the nickel, zinc, copper and vanadium concentrations in the Kacha and Belbek Rivers exceeded the MPC. The cobalt and beryllium contents were also higher than the MPC (only in the Kacha River). An integral assessment by pollution index confirmed the water quality deterioration by 1–2 classes during the flood: down to class III (moderately polluted) in the Kacha and Belbek Rivers and down to class II (clean) in the Chernaya River. Moreover, the paper analyses trace elements distribution in the water–suspended matter system and shows a predominant contribution of suspended matter to the total content of trace elements in the river water during the flood and low water. The accumulation capacity of suspended matter in relation to the studied trace elements was assessed. The concentration factor for various elements varied from n·103 to n·107, which confirmed the leading role of suspended matter in processes of water self-purification from pollutants and redistribution of trace elements among the components of aquatic ecosystems. The results ground the necessity to consider suspended forms of trace elements within monitoring the drinking water quality, especially during floods.

Keywords

heavy metals, element dissolved form, element suspended form, total element concentration, suspended matter, concentration factor, maximum permissible concentration, water pollution index, flood runoff, low water, Chernaya River, Sevastopol, Crimea

Acknowledgments

The work was carried out under the state assignment of the FRC IBSS RAS “Study of biogeochemical patterns of radioecological and chemoecological processes in the ecosystems of water bodies of the Azov-Black Sea basin in comparison with other water areas of the World Ocean and individual aquatic ecosystems of their catchment basins to ensure sustainable development in the southern seas of Russia” (state registration number 124030100127-7).

About the authors

Olga D. Chuzhikova, Junior Researcher, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2, Nakhimov Ave., Sevastopol, 299011, Russia), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4518-2624, Scopus AuthorID: 57205198922, ResearcherID: X-4583-2019, chuzhikova@ibss-ras.ru

Vladislav Yu. Proskurnin, Researcher, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2, Nakhimov Ave., Sevastopol, 299011, Russia), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2176-9228, Scopus Author ID: 55653290000, ResearcherID: H-4611-2018, v_proskurnin@ibss-ras.ru

Artem A. Paraskiv, Researcher, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2, Nakhimov Ave., Sevastopol, 299011, Russia), PhD (Biology), ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9874-5382, Scopus Author ID: 57205196196, ResearcherID: K-1314-2018, paraskiv@ibss-ras.ru

Natalya Yu. Mirzoeva, Leading Researcher, Head of the Department of Radiation and Chemical Biology, A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2, Nakhimov Ave., Sevastopol, 299011, Russia), PhD (Biology), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8538-2436, Scopus Author ID: 55623414000, ResearcherID: Q-9393-2016, mirzoyevanyu@ibss-ras.ru

For citation

Chuzhikova, O.D., Proskurnin, V.Yu., Paraskiv, A.A. and Mirzoeva, N.Yu., 2026. The Influence of Flood Runoff on the Content of Trace Elements in the Water of the Kacha, Belbek and Chernaya Rivers. Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea, (1), pp. 85–104.

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