Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea Ecological Safety of Coastal and Shelf Zones of Sea 2413-5577 20230207 Research Article Lead Contamination of Water and Sediments of Taganrog Bay and the Open Part of the Sea of Azov in 1991–2020 Bufetova M. V. mbufetova@mail.ru Egorov V. N. egorov.ibss@yandex.ru Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State University for Geological Prospecting Moscow Russia A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS Sevastopol Russia 26 06 2023 2023 2 105 119 07 02 2023 03 05 2023 23 03 2023 Copyright © 2023, M. V. Bufetova, V. N. Egorov 2023 M. V. Bufetova, V. N. Egorov https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

The paper analyzes the data on lead content in water and bottom sediments of the central part of the Sea of Azov and Taganrog Bay for 1991-2020. Studies have shown that in 1991-2009 the lead concentration in the water of the central part of the sea was below the maximum permissible concentration. Since 2010, the lead contamination in waters has been higher, but that in bottom sediments has been lower. It is shown that with an increase in the lead concentration in water its content in bottom sediments decreased, which is associated not only with saturation of the bottom sediment surface, but also with a decrease in the accumulation coefficient. Until 2006, in Taganrog Bay, except for small peaks in 1992-1998, the lead concentration in water was quite low. After 2006, its upward changes were noted, which generally did not exceed the maximum permissible concentration. The paper lists possible sources of increased lead concentration in the gulf and sea in 2010-2015. For 1991-2020, the lead concentration in the bottom sediments of Taganrog Bay varied in antiphase with changes in its content in the water and in all cases was below the permissible concentration normalized according to the Dutch Lists. The relationship between the accumulation coefficient and lead concentration in the bay water was characterized by a high coefficient of determination. The materials illustrate the sorption capacity of bottom sediments, which is an important component of their assimilation capacity for lead. The paper defines the maximum permissible flows of lead (59.6 t/year into the open part of the sea and 21.4 t/year into Taganrog Bay), which can be assimilated by water areas without affecting their biological and water resources. After analyzing the long-term data on the lead content in the water and bottom sediments of the central part of the sea and Taganrog Bay, the paper concludes that the bay can serve both as a lead pollution source and a barrier that either transports lead into the Sea of Azov or entraps it.

 Sea of Azov lead pollution water bottom sediments marginal flows rationing assimilation capacity The work was carried out under topic of A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS "Seismological and biogeochemical bases of homeostasis of marine ecosystems" (121031500515-8).

About the authors:

Marina V. Bufetova, Associate Professor of the Department of Ecology and Nature Management, Faculty of Ecology, Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State Geological Exploration University (MGRI) (23 Miklukho-Maklaya St., Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation), Associate Professor, Ph.D. (Georg.), SPIN-code: 9133-4070, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-6247-1698, mbufetova@mail.ru

Victor N. Egorov, Research Supervisor, A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS (2 Nakhimov Av., Sevastopol, 299011, Russian Federation), Academician of RAS, Dr.Sci. (Biol.), Professor, SPIN-code: 6595-6759, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4233-3212, egorov.ibss@yandex.ru

Contribution of the authors:

Marina V. Bufetova – problem statement, processing, analysis and description of the study results, discussion of the results, conclusion drawing, article text and graphic material preparation

Victor N. Egorov – qualitative analysis of the results and their interpretation, discussion of the results, article text preparation, conclusion drawing

All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Article text not included.

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