SUSPENSION AND PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS IN THE SNOW COVER OF THE ARCTIC OIL FIELD
Territories in the harsh arctic climate are covered with snow most of the year. This determines the choice of snow cover as an object of environmental impact study. Despite the fragility of the Arctic ecosystems, there are large anthropogenic sources of pollution. They are the objects of the oil and gas industry. This article provides an assessment of the impact of an exploited oil field on the snow cover. This was done by measuring the concentrations of pollutant substances that were accumulated during the winter period. Further, the analysis of the data obtained during laboratory tests was carried out. The main pollutant of the territories adjacent to the field is a flare plant used to burn associated petroleum gas obtained during oil production. Petroleum hydrocarbons and suspended solids were selected as pollutant substances to be assessed. It has been established that the average annual content of petroleum hydrocarbons in the snow mass varies insignificantly and does not exceed 0,037 mg/l. Unlike petroleum hydrocarbons, the content of suspended solids in the snow cover is distributed rather unevenly both in time and space in the range of 0,9-8,3 mg/l on average per year. Petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations are higher at the beginning of winter. It is assumed that a significant scatter in the average interannual concentrations of suspended solids is due to the fact that the composition of emissions into the environment is quite heterogeneous and depends on the composition of the produced oil and the impurities obtained along with it.