Assessment of dust fallout in the snow cover using remote sensing data: the case of Nizhnevartovsk
R.Yu. Pozhitkov1, A.A. Tigeev1, D.V. Moskovchenko1,2
1Institute of the problems of Northern development, Tyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS, Tyumen, Russia
2University of Tyumen, Tyumen, Russia
Keywords: твердый осадок снега, пылевая нагрузка, снеговые индексы, Западная Сибирь, нефтедобыча, урбанизированные территории, snow solid phase, dust load, snow indicpes, Western Siberia, oil production, urbanized territories
Abstract
The dust deposition to the snow cover in the city of Nizhnevartovsk is assessed. It is shown that background concentration of particles in the snow averages 12.0 mg/l, which 4 times exceeds the values of the reference non-polluted territories. This difference may be caused by oil production facilities. The snow in the urban area is highly enriched with dust particles. The deposition fluxes in the city of Nizhnevartovsk is 7.5 times higher than in background sites. It is found that dust deposition causes intense alkalinization. The results are compared with the spectral properties of snow. Snow indices (normalized difference index, normalized index, and pollution index) are calculated using Landsat-8 OLI data. Snow indices are consistent with the results of ground-based studies and can be used to assess the level of anthropogenic pollution. It is concluded that the optimal way to estimate the amount of dust deposition is to use the normalized snow index; and to assess alcalinization, to use the snow pollution index.
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