| INSTITUTE OF NORTH INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
was formed in June 27, 1989, integrated in the system of the Kola
Science Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences.
The aim for establishing the Institute was elaboration of scientific basement
for ecological optimization of nature resources use in the North on the example of the
Kola Peninsula as the most developed mining-metallurgical region of North Russia.
The Institute basic directions:
- study the structural-functional organization and anthropogenic dynamics of the North
ecosystems;
- elaboration of scientific foundation for the North ecosystems' sustainability under
extreme nature conditions and anthropogenic effect from the mining-metallurgical
industrials and determination of allowable loads on terrestrial and water ecosystems.
- creating hydrobiological and water-toxic methodics for assessment the consequences of
North fresh water ecosystems under effect from mining-metallurgical complex plus finding
out the criteria of their sustainability;
- define space-time change of various elements of nature structures (landscape, climate),
subjected to one invariant - aerotechnogenic load from mining-metallurgical complex;
- assessment and long-term forecast of probable changes in ecological and nature-economy
systems under different scenario of nature resources use;
- elaboration of scientific-methodological foundation and principles of ecological
expertise for natural mineral raw material protection and technologies when making a
project and then developing nature resources and their complex treatment.
- to originate high technologies for the waste purification, including air emissions and
wastes from treating factories, pits quarries and smelters.
- provide with information on the environment state and forecast of its elements by
mathematical modelling;
- creating ecological informational systems , including computerized nets for controlling,
data base, geographical information systems and mathematical models for the forecast a and
management of the Environment state.
The Institute staff is 88, including 36 research workers with 5 professors and 16
doctors of sciences.
THE RESULTS OF SOME ACCOMPLISHED INVESTIGATIONS BY
1995
 Ecological
problems of biological systems
On the foundation of original approaches to use a net of certain sites one managed to
give a detail multidisciplined analysis of biogeochemical cycles for mineral elements Ca,
Mg, K, Mn, Al, Fe, Zn, Ni, Cu, S, P, N,) in North forests under conditions of air emission
pollution. After having determined the dependence of organic matter dynamics and
biogeochemical cycles of mineral elements from the state type of the forest biosenosis,
classified as a stage of its technogenic transformation we managed to define basic types
of technogenic transformation in the North forest biogeosenosis; background, defoliated,
technogenic thin forest and technogenic barren.
There has been suggested a conception of chemical composition in dominating species of
forest plants in the North under conditions of industrial pollution emissions from the
mining-metallurgical complex. The plants intensively uptake the pollutants (sulphur,
nickel, copper, ferrum) and more mobile elements ( nitrogen, phosphate, potassium), at
that, the uptake of Ca, Mg, Mn and Zn is decreasing.
The Dose-effect dependencies, well calculated, between summary index of multifactor
pollution and physiological fish response (geomathological and pathologoanatomical
indexes) made a basement for introduced strategy for limiting loads from smelters over the
Arctic basin catchment.
Hydrobiology
and ichthyology problems appeared while use of water bodies' use.
Some approaches for assessment ecological risk, created by heavy metals' accumulation
in bottom sediments of the lakes. One succeeded in defining some basic, non-specific and
specific response of water communities to toxicofication, eutrophication, acidification in
the Subarctic regions with well developed industrial complex. Some biological criteria for
assessment aerotechnogenic water pollution with heavy metals and their acidification for
testing when conducting monitoring. There has been made a map of critical loads of
acid-forming matters and their exceedance for surface water within the Kola Peninsula
regarding information obtained after having studied the water acidification according to a
singular methodical scheme together with Fennoscandia countries (Norway and Finland).
The whys and wherefores of the water quality assessment criteria under conditions of
their industrial pollution have been justified. There was shown water ability for
selfpurification and recovery under conditions of emission pollution abatement (on the
example 15-20% decrease due to production volume reduction).
Regularities of heavy metals' accumulation in fish and morphopathological changes
caused by this fact have been registered and proved. We recommended a set of indexes for
liver, kidney, gills, skeleton used for assessment individium and fish population state.
We obtained original data on response of organisms and white fish populations Coregonus
lavaretus (L) to subtoxical influence from industrial emissions. For the first time
there has been found out the fish ability to maturation under extremely small for this
species size and life cycle reduction. A set of specific indexes for ichthyological
monitoring for water quality in the North was recommended.
Relying on these determined regularities of water quality and bottom sediments for
industrially developed region within the Arctic basin - the Kola North there has been
produced the analysis of migration, forms of living and transformation, sedimentation and
bioaccumulation of anthropogenically formed elements. All this enabled us to reveal the
specific development of eutrophication, acidification and conjugated to them a behaviour
of toxic metals. Special methodics has been elaborated for defining integral index for
water quality and assessment of multi-forming water ability as a factor of
selfpurification ability.
The
forest problems
There were suggested approaches for making a diagnosis of state and monitoring North
forests, including
- detecting a state spruce forests with the coefficient of defoliation and age of spruce
accumulating organs.;
- determination of standing timber productivity for basic and
anthropogenically-transformed spruce on the basis of regression equation like that log y
=a+b log xc using coefficients obtained, where dependent variable x-d2h, and y
- phytomass fraction or production;
- program of monitoring observations.
Problems
of soil science
There was elaborated an idea of forming. Al-Fe-humus soil acidity under conditions of
industrial air pollution by sulphur and heavy metals' compounds. There was studied a role
of biogenic acidification and acid formation matters, invaded from industrial emission,
while forming soil acidification. There was recorded a non-line character of changing the
parameters of soil acidification and circulation of mineral elements regarding the
distance from pollution sources.
There was characterized microbial component biomass, structure and diversity for
Al-Fe-humus podzol soils within the tundra area of the Kola Peninsula while defining
biogeochemical functions of micro-organisms in maintenance of Arctic ecosystems'
homeostasis. There was found out, that biomass of Fungi mycelium predominates the bacteria
biomass only in cumulative organogenic horizon. There were recorded some discrepancies in
structure of microbe component and content of dominating species between Al-Fe-humus
podzol tundra and taiga soils.
Problems
of ecology of biological systems
There was studied a mechanism of soil microbe component resistance under extreme nature
and technogenic conditions. In ecosystems there is a biological mechanism, which decreases
soil metallotoxicosis in a zone affected by large operating smelter. It is so-called
multyfunction ability of species, involved in the ecosystem, and the organisms' ability to
uptake oligotrophic matter.
It was recorded, that micro-organisms tolerant to metals are usually tolerant to acids.
In microbial soil communities, bearing high concentrations of heavy metals ( 1000-2000
mgkg-1 of copper and 2000-4000 mgkg-1 of nickel), there predominate
acidophile species of micro-organisms.
There were studied physiological and biochemical characteristics of p.p.Penicillium and
Phodotorula fungi and their high immobilization ability for heavy metals ( to 60% of
copper and nickel from solutions ). Fungi were recommended for biopurification of
industrial wastes and given to the All-Russia Collection of Micro-organisms ( Pushchino
City )
Trace
elements in biology
On the basis of chemical analysis of hair composition there were detected regional
peculiarities of micro-element status for the children' organism living in the cities not
far from smelters in the Kola Peninsula. Those peculiarities are characterised by low
levels of content of many essential trace elements and a slight content of regional prior
environment pollutants: Ni, Cu., Co.
Chemical
thermodynamics and thermochemistry
Reasoning from the physico-chemical modelling for leaching technogenic deposits,
containing nepheline under anthropogenic precipitation influence, one managed to determine
the conditions for composing second minerals (gibbsite, kaolinite, analcinite, natrolite)
and water complexes (Na, Al, Si), allowing to make forecast of ecological consequences
caused by long keeping the industrial wastes from treating factories and then to upgrade
technological processes while making second processing.
Chemical
technology of nature water and wastes.
The Institute introduced an efficient way for doing less harmful radionuclide solutions
by immobilization them in hardly soluble compounds - the products of polymerisation of
hardening dispersions (geopolymeric adsorbents) and adsorbents from nature minerals (Joint
with Institute of chemistry, KSC, RAS)
Adsorption
and adsorbents
There was created technological regiment for radionuclides' immobilization, using
metallurgical slimes of magnesium-iron content and vermiculite as hardening mineral
dispersions. |
