Technogenic hydrocarbons in arctic tundra soils of the Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island (the Novosibirskiye Islands)
Natural factors influencing the behavior of bituminous substances in soils of the Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island (the Novosibirskiye Islands), such as terrain morphology, freezing/thawing of grounds, geochemical barriers, etc, are discussed, as well as technogenic ones, i.e. type of oil products and pollution levels. The soils of marine coasts are characterized by predominately ground-accumulative type of the radial distribution of hexane bitumoids and those of watersheds and adjacent surfaces — by surface-accumulative one. Rubbly soils polluted with insulating oil accumulate “heavier” hexane bitumoids. If polluted with diesel fuel loamy soils have more organic pollutants as compared with rubbly analogues. Soil catenas on the slopes under study are characterized by weak lateral migration of hydrocarbons because of their intensive sorption on fine disperse fraction of clay substrate and combination of soil creep and radial fractioning.