Anthropogenic impacts on the hydrosphere and its protection. Anthropogenic impacts on the hydrosphere and lithosphere

The concept of anthropogenic factors and the general mechanism of their influence

An environmental factor is any element of the environment that can directly or indirectly influence a living organism, at least at one of the stages of its individual development.

The word "anthropogenic" means caused by human activity.

Anthropogenic factors are a set of environmental factors caused by the accidental or intentional activities of mankind during the period of its existence. These factors currently have a direct impact on ecosystem structures and changes chemical composition and regime, including the hydrosphere.

Hydrosphere (translated from Greek Hydro - water and sphaire - ball) - the water shell of the Earth - the habitat of hydrobionts, the totality of oceans, their seas, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, rivers, streams, swamps (some scientists also include groundwater in the hydrosphere all types, superficial and deep).

The hydrobiosphere is divided into the world of continental, mainly fresh, waters - the aquabiosphere (with aquabionts) and the region of seas and oceans - the marinobiosphere (with marinobionts).

Speaking about anthropogenic impact, it is necessary to talk about the environment and living conditions of organisms, since they are directly influenced. The environment is a part of nature that surrounds living organisms and has a direct or indirect impact on them. From the environment, organisms receive everything they need for life and secrete metabolic products into it. The environment of each organism is composed of many elements of inorganic and organic nature and elements introduced by man and his production activities. Thus, if the balance of elements is disturbed, then organisms either adapt to these changes or disappear. All adaptations of organisms to existence in various conditions have been developed historically. As a result, groupings of plants and animals specific to each geographical zone were formed. Therefore, if changes happen quickly, it is likely that the organisms will not be able to adapt to the new conditions of existence and will die.

Individual properties or elements of the environment that affect organisms are called environmental factors.

The variety of environmental factors is divided into two large groups: abiotic and biotic.

Abiotic factors are factors of inorganic (nonliving) nature. These are light, temperature, humidity, pressure and other climatic and geophysical factors; the nature of the environment itself - air, water, soil; chemical composition of the environment, concentrations of substances in it. Abiotic factors also include physical fields (gravitational, magnetic, electromagnetic), ionizing and penetrating radiation, environmental movement (acoustic vibrations, waves, wind, currents, tides), daily and seasonal changes in nature. Many abiotic factors can be characterized quantitatively and can be objectively measured.

Biotic factors are the direct or indirect effects of other organisms inhabiting the habitat of a given organism. All biotic factors are determined by intraspecific (intrapopulation) and interspecific (interpopulation) interactions.

A special group consists of anthropogenic factors generated by human activity and human society. Some of them are associated with the economic extraction of natural resources and the violation of natural landscapes. This is deforestation, plowing steppes, draining swamps, harvesting plants, fish, birds and animals, replacing natural complexes with structures, communications, reservoirs, landfills and wastelands. Other anthropogenic impacts are caused by pollution of the natural environment (including the human environment) - air, water bodies, land - by-products, production and consumption waste. The predominant part of anthropogenic factors associated with production, with the use of technology, machines, with the influence of industry, transport, construction on natural ecological systems and the human environment is called technogenic factors.

Agreeing with the above, we still consider it more correct to classify anthropogenic factors as part of the factors of biotic influence, since the concept of “biotic factors” covers the actions of the entire organic world, to which humans belong. We will consider anthropogenic factors.

General characteristics of the hydrosphere

The hydrosphere as an aquatic living environment occupies about 71% of the area and 1/800 of the volume of the globe. The main amount of water, more than 94%, is concentrated in the seas and oceans.

In fresh waters of rivers and lakes, the amount of water does not exceed 0.016% of the total volume of fresh water.

In the ocean with its constituent seas, two ecological regions are primarily distinguished: the water column - pelagial and the bottom - benthic. Depending on the depth, the benthal zone is divided into the sublittoral zone - an area of ​​smooth decline of land to a depth of 200 m, the bathyal zone - an area of ​​a steep slope and the abyssal zone - the oceanic bed with an average depth of 3-6 km. The deeper benthic regions, corresponding to the depressions of the ocean floor (6-10 km), are called ultra-abyssal. The edge of the coast that is flooded during high tides is called the littoral zone. The part of the coast above the tide level, moistened by the spray of the surf, is called the supralittoral.

The open waters of the World Ocean are also divided into vertical zones corresponding to the benthic zones: tipeligial, bathy-peligial, abyssopeligal.

The aquatic environment is home to approximately 150,000 species of animals, or about 7% of their total number (Fig. 5.4) and 10,000 species of plants (8%).

It should also be noted that representatives of most groups of plants and animals remained in the aquatic environment (their “cradle”), but the number of their species is much smaller than that of terrestrial ones. Hence the conclusion - evolution on land took place much faster.

The seas and oceans of the equatorial and tropical regions, primarily the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. To the north and south of these belts, the quality composition gradually becomes depleted. For example, in the area of ​​the East Indian archipelago there are at least 40,000 species of animals, while in the Laptev Sea there are only 400. The bulk of the organisms of the World Ocean are concentrated in a relatively small area of ​​the sea coasts of the temperate zone and among the mangroves of tropical countries.

The share of rivers, lakes and swamps, as noted earlier, is insignificant compared to seas and oceans. However, they create the supply of fresh water necessary for plants, animals and humans.

It is known that not only the aquatic environment has a strong influence on its inhabitants, but also the living matter of the hydrosphere, influencing the habitat, processes it and involves it in the cycle of substances. It has been established that the water of oceans, seas, rivers and lakes decomposes and is restored in the biotic cycle within 2 million years, i.e. all of it has passed through living matter on Earth more than one thousand times.

Consequently, the modern hydrosphere is a product of the vital activity of living matter not only of modern, but also of past geological eras.

A characteristic feature of the aquatic environment is its mobility, especially in flowing, fast-flowing streams and rivers. The seas and oceans experience ebbs and flows, powerful currents, and storms. In lakes, water moves under the influence of temperature and wind.

Anthropogenic impact on the hydrosphere

The classification of technogenic impacts caused by environmental pollution includes the following main categories:

Material and energy characteristics of impacts: mechanical, physical (thermal, electromagnetic, radiation, acoustic), chemical, biological factors and agents and their various combinations). In most cases, such agents are emissions (i.e. emissions - emissions, sinks, radiation, etc.) from various technical sources.

Quantitative characteristics of the impact: strength and degree of danger (intensity of factors and effects, mass, concentration, characteristics of the “dose-effect” type, toxicity, permissibility according to environmental and sanitary standards); spatial scales, prevalence (local, regional, global).

Temporal parameters and differences in impacts according to the nature of the effects: short-term and long-term, persistent and unstable, direct and indirect, having pronounced or hidden trace effects, reversible and irreversible, actual and potential; threshold effects.

Categories of objects of influence: various living recipients (i.e. capable of perceiving and reacting) - people, animals, plants; environmental components (environment of settlements and premises, natural landscapes, earth's surface, soil, water bodies, atmosphere, near-Earth space); products and structures.

The action of man as an ecological factor in nature is enormous and extremely diverse. Currently none of environmental factors does not have such a significant and universal effect, i.e. planetary, influence, like a person, although this is the youngest factor of all acting on nature. The influence of the anthropogenic factor has gradually increased, starting from the era of gathering (where it was not much different from the influence of animals) to the present day, the era of scientific and technological progress and the population explosion.

The influence of the anthropogenic factor in nature can be either conscious, accidental, or unconscious.

Pollution of water bodies depends on various factors of migration of substances in aquatic systems, among which the most important are the degree of flow of the reservoir (river, lake, reservoir), the mass and composition of hydropollutants, the temperature and composition of water, its saturation with organic matter, the type of pool, the number and composition of plants and animals reservoir These factors determine the relationship between sedimentation, dilution, removal and hydro- and biochemical transformation of pollutants, i.e. ways of self-purification of the reservoir.

Composition, quantity and danger of hydropollutants. The main reason for the modern degradation of the Earth's natural waters is anthropogenic pollution. Its main sources are:

industrial wastewater;

municipal wastewater of cities and other populated areas;

runoff from irrigation systems, surface runoff from fields and other agricultural facilities;

atmospheric deposition of pollutants onto the surface of water bodies and drainage basins. In addition, unorganized runoff of precipitation (storm runoff, melt water) pollutes water bodies with technogenic terrapollutants.

Anthropogenic pollution of the hydrosphere has now become global in nature and has significantly reduced the available exploitable fresh water resources on the planet. The total volume of industrial, agricultural and municipal wastewater reaches 1300 km 3 (according to some estimates, up to 1800 km 3), diluting which requires approximately 8.5 thousand km 3 of water, i.e. 20% of the total and 60% of the sustainable flow of the world's rivers. Moreover, in individual water basins the anthropogenic load is much higher than the average values.

The total mass of hydrosphere pollutants is enormous - about 15 billion tons per year. The most dangerous pollutants include salts heavy metals, phenols, pesticides and other organic poisons, petroleum products, bacteria-rich biogenic organic matter, synthetic surfactants (surfactants) and mineral fertilizers.

In addition to chemical pollution of water bodies, mechanical, thermal and biological pollution are also of some importance. To determine the danger of disturbances to surface natural reservoirs, the volume of irreversible water consumption is also important. The basis for assessing the danger of all types of violations is a general principle based on determining the volume of contaminated wastewater and the extent of excess of their standard levels.

Pollution of Russian waters. For the pollution of natural waters, regional and basin features are of greatest interest. According to the existing sanitary classification, wastewater, depending on the degree of contamination, is divided into standard clean (they do not undergo treatment), standard purified and contaminated.

In the Russian Federation, approximately 1.5 times more household wastewater is generated per person than the world average. In 1996, 58.9 km3 was discharged into surface water bodies Wastewater. About 38% (22.4 km 3) of wastewater is classified as polluted. With them, over 700 thousand tons of pollutants were discharged into water bodies: oil products - 9.3, suspended substances - 619, phosphorus - 32, surfactants - 4, copper compounds - 0.2, iron and zinc - 19.7, phenol - 0, 1 thousand tons. The actual mass of pollutants entering water bodies is much greater, since the given data does not take into account atmospheric fallout of pollutants, wash-off of organic matter and toxic chemicals from agricultural land, etc. The bulk of the volume is discharged by industrial enterprises (33%) and public utilities ( 61%). The volume of normatively treated wastewater is 10% of all water requiring treatment, which is a consequence of the low efficiency of existing treatment facilities.

The quality of water in most water bodies in Russia does not meet regulatory requirements. Every year the number of sites with high levels of pollution (more than 10 MPC) increases; there are cases of extremely high pollution (more than 100 MPC). Accounting for wastewater discharges and their assessment system have not yet been streamlined. Thus, collector-drainage waters from irrigated lands are conditionally classified as normatively clean, although they are usually contaminated with pesticides, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. To achieve normal quality, such conditionally “clean” waters require dilution by 10-50 times.

A significant share of economic drinking water supply based on groundwater. Although they are better protected from the penetration of pollutants, they are also exposed to technogenic impacts due to contamination of soil and ground watercourses. It occurs primarily around large industrial centers, as well as in areas of intensive agriculture with the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and in areas where large livestock complexes are located. About 1,400 sources of groundwater pollution have been identified in Russia, 80% of which are located in the European part.

Condition of water sources and centralized water supply systems in Russian Federation cannot guarantee the required quality of drinking water. In 19% of the city, 75% of the tested samples were non-standard in taste, 23% of the samples did not meet hygienic requirements by chemical and 11.4% - by microbiological indicators. In general, almost half of the country's residents consume poor quality water.

The data presented indicate that the scale and rate of pollution of the hydrosphere is much higher than that of other natural environments. The worsening water situation in Russia due to the discharge of polluted wastewater into water bodies and irrational use of water is causing enormous economic damage. The growing degradation of natural waters requires decisive action and special targeted programs to save them.

A significant geographical feature of the pollution of Russian rivers is that the main industrial areas and the highest concentration of population are confined mainly to the upper reaches of the drainage basins (Center, Kama basin, Middle Volga region, Ural, Kuzbass, upper reaches of the Ob, Yenisei, Angara). Therefore, the main rivers of Russia - the Volga, Don, Kuban, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Pechora - are polluted to one degree or another throughout their entire length and are assessed as polluted, and their large tributaries - Oka, Kama, Tom, Irtysh, Tobol, Iset, Tura - belong to the category of heavily polluted. Despite the decrease in wastewater discharges associated with the decline in production, there is an increase in river pollution.

Very serious environmental problems have arisen in the Volga basin. Its flow is only 5% of the total river flow of the Russian Federation. At the same time, more than 30 km 3 of fresh water is taken annually from the Volga for economic needs, i.e. a third of Russia's total water intake. And in return, the river receives 19 km 3 of wastewater - 39% of the total volume of polluted wastewater generated in the country. From cities and industrial enterprises located on the banks of the Volga and its tributaries, hundreds of thousands of tons of petroleum products, suspended solids, sulfates, organics, ammonia nitrogen, nitrates and nitrites, heavy metal compounds and other pollutants enter the river and then the Caspian Sea every year.

Studies conducted in the Volga basin have shown that two-thirds of the substances coming from industrial wastewater “slip through” municipal treatment plants and remain in the water. A mixture of industrial and domestic wastewater “purified” in this way requires dilution by 50-200 times to eliminate toxicity. Consequently, to dilute the 19 km 3 of wastewater entering the Volga annually, from 950 to 3800 km 3 of clean water is required, and the average annual flow of the Volga is only 254 km 3.

The pollution of the seas and the entire World Ocean, which in the conditions of modern civilization is assigned the role of a giant garbage dump, is assuming threatening proportions. Rivers carry most of the waste they receive into the sea. As part of river runoff and atmospheric fallout, 100 million tons of heavy metals fall into different parts of the ocean. Almost 70% of marine pollution is associated with land-based sources, supplying industrial wastewater, garbage, chemicals, plastics, petroleum products, and radioactive waste. The most dangerous sea pollutants include oil and petroleum products. The total pollution of the World Ocean by them exceeded 6 million tons per year, and of all sources, the contribution of shipping (including tanker accidents) has already become higher than the input from continental runoff: 35% and 31%, respectively. Each ton of oil covers about 12 km 2 of water surface with a thin film. According to experts, 1/5 of the world's oceans are already polluted with oil. Oil film leads to the death of living organisms, mammals and birds, disrupts the processes of photosynthesis and, consequently, gas exchange between the hydrosphere and the atmosphere.

All inland seas of the Russian Federation are experiencing intense anthropogenic pressure, both in the water area itself and as a result of man-made impacts in the drainage basin. In addition to the flow of polluted Volga water into the Caspian Sea described above, its direct pollution from the offshore oil industry is added. The concentration of petroleum products and phenols in the waters of the northern and eastern Caspian Sea is 4-6 MAC, and off the coast of Azerbaijan - 10-16 MAC! All European seas - Mediterranean, Northern, Baltic - are heavily polluted with oil products.

The degree of pollution of sea water is usually characterized by quality classes from 1 to 7 with a corresponding rating from “very clean” to “extremely dirty”. The sea waters of the Black Sea coast from Anapa to Sochi are characterized as polluted (Class IV) and moderately polluted (Class III). The waters of the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea are classified as dirty (class V) and very dirty (class VI). In many seas, maximum permissible concentrations for petroleum hydrocarbons, phenols, ammonia nitrogen, pesticides, surfactants, and mercury are exceeded. Of particular concern is the disposal of radioactive waste in the northern seas.



Anthropogenic impacts on the hydrosphere Pollution of the hydrosphere The existence of the biosphere and humans has always been based on the use of water. Humanity has constantly strived to increase water consumption, putting enormous and diverse pressure on the hydrosphere. At the current stage of development of the technosphere, when the world's human impact on the hydrosphere is increasing even more, this is expressed in the manifestation of such a terrible evil as chemical and bacterial water pollution.

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Anthropogenic impacts on the hydrosphere and lithosphere

1. 1. Hydrosphere pollution
   2. Hydrosphere protection
2. Anthropogenic impact on the lithosphere
   1. Land degradation
   2. Impact on rocks and their massifs
   3. Impact on the subsoil
   4. Lithosphere protection

1. Anthropogenic impacts on the hydrosphere

Hydrosphere pollution

The existence of the biosphere and humans has always been based on the use of water. Humanity has constantly strived to increase water consumption, putting enormous and varied pressure on the hydrosphere. At the current stage of development of the technosphere, when the world’s human impact on the hydrosphere is increasing to an even greater extent, this is expressed in the manifestation of such a terrible evil as chemical and bacterial water pollution.

Water pollution manifests itself in changes in physical and organoleptic properties (impaired transparency, color, odors, taste), an increase in the content of sulfates, nitrate chlorides, toxic heavy metals, a reduction in air oxygen dissolved in water, the appearance of radioactive elements, pathogenic bacteria and other pollutants. Russia has one of the highest water potentials in the world; each resident of Russia accounts for over 1-30,000 m3/year of water. However, currently, due to pollution or clogging, about 70% of Russian rivers and lakes have lost their quality as a source of drinking water supply. As a result, about half of the population consumes contaminated, low-quality water. In 1998 alone, industrial, municipal and agricultural enterprises discharged more than 60 km into surface water bodies of Russia. 3 wastewater, 40% of which was classified as polluted. Only a tenth of them underwent regulatory clearance. The most common are chemical and bacterial contamination, less often radioactive, mechanical and thermal.

Chemical pollution is the most common, persistent and far-reaching. It can be organic (phenols, naphthenic acids, pesticides, etc.) and inorganic (salts, acids, alkalis), toxic (arsenic, mercury compounds, lead, cadmium, etc.) and non-toxic. When deposited to the bottom of reservoirs or during filtration in the formation, harmful chemicals are sorbed by rock particles, oxidized and reduced, precipitated, etc. However, as a rule, complete self-purification of contaminated waters does not occur. The source of chemical contamination of groundwater in highly permeable soils can extend up to 10 km or more.

Bacterial pollution is expressed in the appearance of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi, etc. in water. This type of pollution is temporary. Radioactive contamination of water is very dangerous even at very low concentrations of radioactive substances. The most harmful are the “long-lived” radioactive elements that are mobile in water (strontium-90, uranium, radium-226, cesium, etc.). They end up in surface water bodies when dumping radioactive waste, burying it at the bottom, etc., and in groundwater as a result of seepage deep into the earth along with atmospheric waters or as a result of the interaction of groundwater with radioactive rocks.

Mechanical pollution is characterized by the ingress of various mechanical impurities into water (sand, sludge, silt, etc.). Mechanical impurities can significantly worsen the organoleptic characteristics of water.

Thermal pollution is associated with an increase in water temperature as a result of its mixing with warmer surface or process waters. As the temperature rises, the gas and chemical composition in the waters changes, which leads to the proliferation of anaerobic bacteria and the release of toxic gases - hydrogen sulfide and methane. At the same time, water “blooming” occurs due to the accelerated development of microflora and microfauna, which contributes to the development of other types of pollution.

The main sources of surface water pollution include:

1) discharge of untreated wastewater into water bodies;

2) washing away of toxic chemicals by rainfall;

3) gas and smoke emissions;

4) leaks of oil and petroleum products.

The greatest harm to reservoirs and watercourses is caused by the release of untreated wastewater into them - industrial, municipal, drainage, etc.

Industrial wastewater pollutes ecosystems with a wide variety of components (phenols, petroleum products, sulfates, surfactants, fluorides, cyanides, heavy metals, etc.), depending on the specific industries.

The scale of oil pollution of natural waters is enormous. Millions of tons of oil annually pollute marine and freshwater ecosystems during accidents of oil tankers, in oil fields in coastal areas, when ballast water is discharged from ships, etc.

Sources of groundwater pollution are very diverse. Pollutants can penetrate to groundwater in various ways: through the seepage of industrial and domestic wastewater from storage facilities, storage ponds, settling tanks, etc., through the annulus of faulty wells, through absorption wells, karst sinkholes, etc.

Natural sources of pollution include highly mineralized (salty and brine) groundwater or seawater, which can be introduced into fresh, unpolluted water during the operation of water intake structures and pumping water from wells.

It should also be borne in mind that groundwater pollution negatively affects the ecological state of surface waters, soils, and other components of the natural environment.

Ecological consequences of hydrosphere pollution

Pollution of aquatic ecosystems poses a huge danger to all living organisms and, in particular, to humans.

Freshwater ecosystems. Under the influence of pollutants in freshwater ecosystems, there is a decrease in their stability, due to disruption of the food pyramid and breakdown of signal connections in the biocenosis, microbiological pollution, eutrophication and other negative processes that reduce the growth rate, fertility of aquatic organisms, and in some cases can lead to their death.

The process of eutrophication of water bodies is the most studied. Anthropogenic eutrophication is associated with the entry into water bodies of significant amounts of nutrients - nitrogen, phosphorus and other elements in the form of fertilizers, detergents, livestock waste, atmospheric aerosols, etc. Anthropogenic eutrophication of water bodies occurs in a short period of time - up to several decades, while the period of natural eutrophication is centuries and millennia.

The processes of anthropogenic eutrophication cover many large lakes of the world Great American Lakes, Lake Balaton, Ladoga, Geneva, etc., as well as reservoirs and river ecosystems, primarily small rivers. On these rivers, in addition to the catastrophically growing biomass of blue-green algae, the banks are overgrown with higher vegetation.

In addition to excess nutrients, freshwater ecosystems are also affected by other substances: heavy metals (lead, cadmium, nickel, etc.), phenols, surfactants, etc. For example, pollution of Lake Baikal with these components has led to the depletion of aquatic organisms and a decrease in biomass zooplankton, death of a significant part of the Baikal seal population, etc.

Marine ecosystems. The rate at which pollutants enter the world's oceans has increased sharply in recent years. Every year up to 300 billion m are dumped into the ocean 3 wastewater, 90% of which is not pre-treated. Marine ecosystems are increasingly subject to anthropogenic impact through chemical toxicants, which, when accumulated by aquatic organisms, along the trophic chain lead to the death of even high-order consumers, including terrestrial animals - seabirds, for example. Among chemical toxicants, the greatest danger to marine biota and humans are petroleum hydrocarbons (especially benzo(a)pyrene), pesticides and heavy metals: mercury, lead,

cadmium, etc.

To a certain extent, marine ecosystems can resist the harmful effects of chemical toxicants, using the accumulative, oxidative and mineralizing functions of aquatic organisms. For example, bivalve mollusks are able to accumulate one of the most toxic pesticides, DDT, and, under favorable conditions, remove them from the body.

At the same time, more and more toxic pollutants are entering the ocean, and the problems of eutrophication and microbiological pollution of coastal ocean zones are becoming increasingly acute.

Environmental consequences of water depletion

Water depletion should be understood as an unacceptable reduction in their reserves within a certain territory (groundwater) or a decrease in the minimum permissible flow (for surface water). Both lead to adverse environmental consequences and disrupt the established ecological connections in the human-biosphere system.

Intensive exploitation of groundwater in areas of water intake and powerful drainage from mines and quarries leads to a change in the relationship between surface and groundwater, a significant deterioration of river flow, and the cessation of the activity of thousands of springs, many dozens of streams and small rivers. In addition, due to a significant decrease in groundwater levels, other negative changes in the ecological situation are observed: wetlands with a large species diversity of vegetation are drained, forests are dried out, moisture-loving vegetation - hydro- and hygrophytes, etc. - are dying.

Depletion of surface water is manifested in a progressive decrease in its minimum permissible flow. On the territory of Russia, surface water flow is distributed extremely unevenly. About 90% of the total annual runoff from the territory of Russia is carried to the Arctic and Pacific oceans, to the internal drainage basins (the Caspian and Azov Seas, where over 65% of the Russian population live, account for less than 8% of the total annual runoff. This is the main reason for the problem of the transfer of northern waters rivers to the south.

It is in these areas that the depletion of surface water is observed. water resources, and fresh water shortages continue to grow. When the irretrievable withdrawal of surface runoff volumes exceeds more than 2 times, a situation of environmental disaster is created.

The most serious environmental problem is the restoration of water content and purity of small rivers (rivers no more than 100 km long), the most vulnerable link in river ecosystems. They turned out to be the most susceptible to anthropogenic impact. Ill-conceived economic use of water resources and adjacent land has caused their depletion (and often disappearance), shallowing and pollution.

Currently, the condition of small rivers and lakes, especially in the European part of Russia, as a result of the sharply increased anthropogenic load on them, is catastrophic. The flow of small rivers has decreased by more than half, and the water quality is unsatisfactory. Many of them completely ceased to exist.

The withdrawal of large amounts of water from rivers flowing into reservoirs for economic purposes can lead to very serious environmental consequences. An example is the tragedy of the Aral Sea, when “a man killed a whole

sea". The level of the once abundant Aral Sea since the 60s. XX V. is catastrophically decreasing due to the unacceptable volume of water intake from the rivers feeding the Aral - Amudarya and Syrdarya.

The dried bottom of the Aral Sea is today becoming the largest source of dust and salts. In the delta of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, barren salt marshes appear in place of dying tugai forests and reed thickets. The re-absorption of water from the Amudarya and Syrdarya and the shrinkage of the sea caused environmental changes in the Aral Sea landscape that can be characterized as desertification. The data presented indicate an anthropogenic violation of the law of the integrity of the biosphere, which is much more insidious than the natural one, since, unlike it, it is acyclic and essentially irreversible in nature.

Hydrosphere protection

Surface hydrosphere

Surface waters are protected from clogging (contamination with large debris), pollution and depletion. To prevent clogging, measures are taken to prevent the entry into surface water bodies and rivers of construction waste, solid waste, timber rafting residues and other items that negatively affect water quality, fish habitat, etc. Depletion of surface water is prevented by strict control over the minimum permissible water flow.

The most important and most difficult problem is the protection of surface waters from pollution. For this purpose, the following environmental protection measures are provided:

• development of waste-free and water-free technologies; introduction of recycling water supply systems;
• wastewater treatment (industrial, municipal, etc.);
• injection of wastewater into deep aquifers;
• purification and disinfection of surface water used for water supply and other purposes.

The main pollutant of surface water is wastewater, therefore the development and implementation of effective methods for wastewater treatment seems to be a very urgent and environmentally important task. The most effective way to protect surface waters from pollution by wastewater is the development and implementation of waterless and waste-free production technology, initial stage which is the creation of recycled water supply.

When organizing a recycling water supply system, it includes a number of treatment facilities and installations, which makes it possible to create a closed cycle for the use of industrial and domestic wastewater. With this method of water treatment, wastewater is constantly in circulation and its entry into surface water bodies is completely excluded.

Due to the huge diversity of wastewater composition, there are various ways their purification: mechanical, physical-chemical, chemical, biological, etc. Depending on the degree of harmfulness and nature of the contaminants, wastewater treatment can be carried out using one method or a set of methods (combined method). The treatment process involves treating sludge (or excess biomass) and disinfecting wastewater before discharging it into a reservoir.

During mechanical treatment, up to 90% of insoluble mechanical impurities of varying degrees of dispersion (sand, clay particles, scale, etc.) are removed from industrial wastewater by straining, settling and filtering, and up to 60% from household wastewater. For these purposes, gratings, sand traps, sand filters, and settling tanks of various types are used (Fig. 1). Substances floating on the surface of wastewater (oil, resins, oils, fats, polymers, etc.) are retained by oil and oil traps and other types of traps or burned out.

Rice. 1. Diagram of a radial settling tank: inlet pipe; 2 outlet pipe; 3 sludge collector; 4 sludge outlet channel; 5 mechanical scraper

In Fig. Figure 1 shows a settling tank for heavily contaminated industrial wastewater, which before its construction was discharged to open ground. A polymer mass similar to ice is visible from above. This mass is burned directly on the surface of the pond in the open air, polluting the atmosphere. A certain portion of the pollutants from the settling basin seeps into the underlying aquifers. For these reasons, such disposal of hazardous production waste cannot be considered environmentally friendly and should be considered only as a temporary measure.

Chemical and physico-chemical methods purifications are most effective for treating industrial wastewater.

To the main chemical methods include neutralization and oxidation. In the first case, special reagents (lime, soda ash, ammonia) are introduced into wastewater to neutralize acids and alkalis; in the second, various oxidizing agents are added. With their help, wastewater is freed from toxic and other components.

Physico-chemical cleaning uses:

• coagulation - the introduction of coagulants (ammonium salts, iron, copper, sludge waste, etc.) into wastewater to form flocculent sediments, which are then easily removed;
• sorption - the ability of some substances (bentonite clays, activated carbon, zeolites, silica gel, peat, etc.) to absorb pollution. The sorption method makes it possible to extract valuable soluble substances from wastewater and their subsequent disposal;
• flotation passing air through wastewater. Gas bubbles capture surfactants, oil, oils and other contaminants as they move upward and form an easily removable foam-like layer on the surface of the water.

For the purification of municipal industrial wastewater from pulp and paper, oil refining, and food enterprises, the biological (biochemical) method is widely used. The method is based on the ability of microorganisms to use organic and some inorganic compounds contained in wastewater (hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, nitrites, sulfides, etc.) for their development. Cleaning is carried out under natural conditions (irrigation fields, filtration fields, biological ponds, etc.) and in artificial structures (aeration tanks, biofilters, circulation oxidation channels).

Traditional facilities for the treatment of domestic and some types of industrial wastewater are aeration tanks - special closed tanks through which wastewater enriched with oxygen and mixed with activated sludge is slowly passed. Activated sludge is a collection of heterotrophic microorganisms and small invertebrate animals (mold, yeast, aquatic fungi, rotifers, etc.), as well as a solid substrate.

IN last years New effective methods are being actively developed to contribute to the greening of wastewater treatment processes:

• electrochemical methods based on the processes of anodic oxidation and cathodic reduction, electrocoagulation and electroflotation;
• membrane purification processes (ultrafilters, electrodialysis, etc.);
• magnetic treatment to improve flotation of suspended particles;
• radiation water purification, which allows pollutants to be subjected to oxidation, coagulation and decomposition in the shortest possible time;
• ozonation, in which no substances are formed in wastewater that negatively affect natural biochemical processes;
• introduction of new selective types of sorbents for selective isolation of useful components from wastewater for recycling, etc.

It is known that pesticides and fertilizers washed away by surface runoff from agricultural land play a significant role in the contamination of water bodies. To prevent the entry of polluting effluents into water bodies, a set of measures is necessary, including: 1) compliance with the standards and deadlines for applying fertilizers and pesticides; 2) focal and band treatment with pesticides instead of continuous; 3) applying fertilizers in the form of granules and, if possible, together with irrigation water; 4) replacement of pesticides with biological methods for plant protection, etc.

It is very difficult to dispose of livestock waste, which has a detrimental effect on aquatic ecosystems. Currently, the technology in which harmful wastewater is separated by centrifugation into solid and liquid fractions is recognized as the most economical. At the same time, it is solid: part of it turns into compost and is taken to the fields. The liquid part (slurry) with a concentration of up to 18% passes through the reactor and turns into humus. When organic matter decomposes, methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are released. The energy from this biogas is used to produce heat and power.

One of the promising ways to reduce surface water pollution is the injection of wastewater into deep aquifers through a system of absorption wells (underground disposal) (Fig. 2). With this method, there is no need for expensive treatment and disposal of wastewater and the construction of treatment facilities.

Rice. 2. Scheme of “disposal” of industrial wastewater into deep aquifers: 1 storage tank; 2 injection well; 3 - observation wells; 4 zone of active water exchange (fresh water); 5 zone of slow water exchange; 6 stagnation zone (salty waters); 7 - injected industrial wastewater.

However, according to many leading experts, this method is suitable for isolating only small quantities of highly toxic wastewater that cannot be treated with existing technologies. These concerns are due to the fact that it is very difficult to assess the possible environmental consequences of increased flooding of even well-isolated deep groundwater horizons. In addition, it is technically very difficult to completely eliminate the possibility of the penetration of removed highly toxic industrial wastewater onto the surface of the earth or into other aquifers through the annulus of wells.

Agroforestry and agrotechnical measures are becoming increasingly important in protecting surface waters from pollution and clogging. With their help, it is possible to prevent siltation and overgrowth of lakes, reservoirs and small rivers, as well as the formation of erosion, landslides, bank collapse, etc. Performing a set of these works will reduce the volume of polluted surface runoff and will contribute to the cleanliness of water bodies. In this regard, great importance is attached to reducing the processes of eutrophication of water bodies, in particular reservoirs and hydraulic cascades. The width of the river water protection zone can be from 0.1 to 1.5 x 2.0 km, including the river floodplain, terraces and the slope of the bedrock bank. The designation of a water protection zone helps prevent pollution, clogging and depletion of a water body. Within water protection zones, plowing of land, grazing of livestock, the use of pesticides and fertilizers, construction work, etc. are prohibited.

The surface hydrosphere is organically connected with the atmosphere, underground hydrosphere, lithosphere and other components of the natural environment. Considering the inextricable interconnection of all its ecosystems, it is impossible to ensure the cleanliness of surface reservoirs and watercourses without protection from pollution of the atmosphere, soil, groundwater, etc.

To protect surface waters from pollution, in some cases it is necessary to take radical measures: closing or repurposing polluting industries, completely converting wastewater to a closed water consumption cycle, etc. For example, the fundamental solution to the problem of preventing pollution of Lake Baikal is not to to dump into it even well-purified, but still harmful to aquatic organisms, industrial wastewater and dust and gas emissions, but to completely prevent their entry into the lake and into the atmosphere.

Underground hydrosphere

The main measures to protect groundwater currently being taken are to prevent the depletion of groundwater reserves and protect them from pollution. As for surface waters, this large and complex problem can be successfully solved only in inextricable connection with the protection of the entire natural environment.

To combat the depletion of fresh groundwater reserves suitable for drinking water supply, various measures are envisaged, including: regulation of the groundwater withdrawal regime; more rational placement of water intakes by area; determining the amount of operational reserves as the limit of their rational use; introduction of a crane operation mode for self-flowing artesian wells.

In recent years, to prevent the depletion of groundwater, artificial replenishment of its reserves is increasingly being used by converting surface runoff into underground flow. Replenishment is carried out by infiltration (seepage) of water from surface sources (rivers, lakes, reservoirs) into aquifers. At the same time, groundwater receives additional nutrition, which makes it possible to increase the productivity of water intakes without depleting natural reserves.

Measures to combat groundwater pollution: are divided into: 1) preventive and 2) special, the task of which is to localize or eliminate the source of pollution.

Eliminating the source of pollution, that is, extracting pollutants from groundwater and rocks, is very difficult, and it can take many years. Therefore, preventive measures are the main ones in environmental protection measures. Groundwater pollution can be prevented in various ways. To achieve this, wastewater treatment methods are being improved to prevent contaminated wastewater from entering groundwater. They are introducing production facilities with drainless technology, carefully shielding the bowls of pools with industrial wastewater, reducing dangerous gas and smoke emissions at enterprises, regulating the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural work, etc.

The most important measure to prevent groundwater pollution in water intake areas is the establishment of sanitary protection zones around them.

Sanitary protection zones (SZZ) are areas around water intakes created to eliminate the possibility of groundwater contamination. On their territory it is prohibited to place any objects that could cause chemical or bacterial pollution (sludge storage facilities, livestock complexes, poultry farms, etc.). The use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides and industrial logging are also prohibited. Other human production and economic activities are also limited or prohibited.

Special measures to protect groundwater from pollution are aimed at isolating sources of pollution from the rest of the aquifer (curtains, impervious walls), as well as intercepting contaminated groundwater through drainage. To eliminate local foci of pollution, long-term pumping of contaminated groundwater from special wells is carried out.

Measures to protect groundwater from depletion and pollution are carried out as part of a general set of environmental measures.

2. Anthropogenic impacts on the lithosphere

Soil (land) degradation

Soil degradation is a gradual deterioration of its properties, which is accompanied by a decrease in humus content and a decrease in fertility. As is known, soil is one of the most important components of the natural environment, directly related to the near-surface part of the lithosphere. It is figuratively called “the bridge between living and inanimate nature.” The soil ensures the existence of the biosphere, is its basis, it is a biological adsorbent and neutralizer of pollution.

It should be borne in mind that soil is a practically non-renewable natural resource. All its main ecological functions are limited to one general indicator - soil fertility. By alienating the main (grain, root crops, vegetables, etc.) and side crops (straw, leaves, tops, etc.) from the fields, a person partially or completely breaks the biological cycle of substances, disrupts the soil’s ability to self-regulate and reduces its fertility. These processes lead to dehumification, a loss of humus that is very dangerous in its far-reaching consequences. Dehumification also increases due to the excessive application of mineral fertilizers to the soil. Over the last century, the soils of the Black Earth Region have lost from a third to a half of their humus content. But even partial loss humus and, as a consequence, a decrease in fertility does not allow the soil to fully fulfill its ecological functions, and it begins to degrade, i.e. deteriorate its properties.

Other reasons, mainly anthropogenic in nature, also lead to soil degradation: erosion, pollution, secondary salinization, waterlogging, desertification. The soils of agroecosystems are degraded to the greatest extent, the reason for the unstable state of which is their simplified phytocenosis, which does not provide optimal self-regulation. Erosion causes enormous environmental damage to soils.

Soil erosion (from lat. erosio erosion) destruction and demolition of the upper, most fertile horizons and underlying rocks by wind (wind erosion) or water flows (water erosion). Lands that have been destroyed by erosion are called eroded.

By analogy, industrial erosion (soil destruction during construction and quarrying), military erosion (craters, trenches), pasture erosion (during intensive livestock grazing), irrigation erosion (soil destruction during the laying of canals and violation of irrigation norms), etc.

However, the real scourge of agriculture in our country and in the world remains wind erosion (34% of the land is susceptible to it) and water erosion, which is active on 31% of the land surface. In the drylands of the world, 60% of the total area is eroded, of which 20% is severely eroded.

The intensity of wind erosion (deflation) depends on wind speed, soil stability, the presence of vegetation, relief features and other factors. Anthropogenic factors have a huge impact on its development. For example, the destruction of vegetation, unregulated grazing of livestock, and improper use of agrotechnical measures sharply intensify erosion processes.

Dust storms occur with very strong and prolonged winds. They are capable of dispersing up to 500 tons of soil from 1 hectare of arable land in a few hours and irrevocably carry away the most fertile top layer of soil. Dust storms pollute the air and water bodies and negatively affect human health. In our country, dust storms have repeatedly occurred in the Lower Volga region, the North Caucasus, Bashkiria, etc.

Currently the largest source of dust is the Aral Sea. Satellite images show plumes of dust that stretch hundreds of kilometers away from the Aral Sea. The total mass of wind-borne ash in the Aral Sea region reaches 90 million tons/year. Another large dust source Black Lands of Kalmykia.

Underwater erosion refers to the destruction of soils under the influence of temporary water flows. Water erosion can be divided into planar, stream, gully, and coastal. As in the case of wind erosion, the conditions for the manifestation of water erosion are created by natural factors, and the main reason for its development is industrial and other human activities: the emergence of new heavy tillage equipment, the destruction of vegetation and forests, excessive grazing, moldboard tillage, etc.

Among the various forms of water erosion, gully erosion causes significant harm to the natural environment and, first of all, to soils. There are 5 million hectares of ravines on the territory of the Russian Plain alone, and their area is increasing: daily soil losses due to the development of ravines reach 100-20o G a.

Surface soil horizons are easily polluted. Main soil pollutants: 1) pesticides (toxic chemicals); 2) mineral fertilizers; 3) waste and industrial waste; 4) gas and smoke emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere: 5) oil and oil products.

More than a million tons of pesticides are produced annually in the world. Currently, the impact of pesticides on public health is equated to the impact of radioactive substances on humans. According to WHO, up to 2 million people in the world are poisoned by pesticides every year, of which 40 thousand are fatal.

Among pesticides, the most dangerous are persistent organochlorine compounds, which can persist in soils for many years, and even their small concentrations as a result of biological accumulation can become dangerous to the life of organisms, since they have mutagenic and carcinogenic properties. That is why the use of the most dangerous of them, DDT, is prohibited in our country and in most developed countries. The impact of pesticides is very negative not only for humans, but also for fauna and flora. It can be stated with confidence that the overall environmental harm from the use of soil-polluting pesticides many times exceeds the benefits of their use.

Soils are also polluted by mineral fertilizers if they are used in excessive quantities and lost during transportation and storage. From various fertilizers, nitrates, sulfates, chlorides and other compounds migrate into the soil in large quantities.

Waste and industrial waste lead to intensive soil pollution. The country annually generates over a billion tons of industrial waste, of which more than 50 million tons are particularly toxic. Huge areas of land are occupied by landfills, ash dumps, tailings dumps, etc., which intensively pollute soils, the ability of which to self-purify, as is known, is limited.

Gas and smoke emissions from industrial enterprises pose enormous harm to the functioning of soils. The soil is capable of accumulating pollutants that are very dangerous to human health, for example, heavy metals, radionuclides and radioisotopes deposited from these emissions.

One of the serious environmental problems in Russia is the contamination of land with oil and oil products in oil-producing areas such as Western Siberia, the Volga region, etc. Causes of pollution: accidents on oil pipelines, imperfect oil production technology, accidental and technological emissions, etc. In Western Siberia, over 20 thousand hectares are contaminated with oil with a layer thickness of at least 5 cm. In the Tyumen North, the area of ​​reindeer pastures decreased by 12.5% ​​(6 million hectares), 30 thousand hectares were oiled.

In the process of economic activity, people can increase natural salinization of soils. This phenomenon is called secondary salinization and it develops with excessive watering of irrigated lands in dry areas. Around the world, about 30%, in Russia : 18% of the total area of ​​irrigated land, is subject to processes of secondary salinization and alkalinization. Soil salinization weakens their contribution to maintaining the biological cycle of substances. Many species are disappearing plant organisms, new halophyte plants (solyanka, etc.) appear. The gene pool of terrestrial populations is decreasing due to the deterioration of living conditions of organisms, and migration processes are intensifying.

Soil swamping is observed in waterlogged areas, for example, in the Non-Black Earth zone of Russia, in the West Siberian Lowland, and in permafrost zones. It is accompanied by degradation processes in biocenoses and the accumulation of undecomposed residues on the surface. Waterlogging worsens the agronomic properties of soils and reduces forest productivity.

One of the global manifestations of soil degradation, and the entire natural environment in general, is desertification. Desertification is a process of irreversible changes in soil and vegetation and a decrease in biological productivity, which in extreme cases can lead to the complete destruction of the biosphere potential and the transformation of the territory into a desert. In the CIS, the Aral Sea region, Balkhash region, lands in Kalmykia and Astrakhan region and, some other areas. All of them belong to environmental disaster zones.

Ill-conceived economic activity in these territories has led to irreversible degradation changes in the natural environment and, what is especially dangerous, its edaphic part. For example, where, due to the relief conditions and the quality of the soil and the thickness of the grass stand, only one sheep could be grazed, tens of times more were grazed. As a result, pastures turned into eroded lands. This has led to a sharp decline in biodiversity and the destruction of natural ecosystems. Many environmentalists believe that in the list of atrocities against the environment, desertification can be placed second after the destruction of forests.

Impacts on rocks and their massifs

The main anthropogenic impacts on rocks include: static and dynamic loads, thermal, electrical and other impacts.

This is the most common type of anthropogenic impact on rocks - static loads. Under the influence of static loads from buildings and structures reaching 2 MPa or more, a zone of active change in rocks is formed at a depth of approximately 70 x 100 m. In this case, the greatest changes are observed: 1) in permafrost icy areas -

childbirth, in areas where thawing, heaving and other unfavorable processes are often observed; 2) in highly compressible rocks, for example, peat, silt, etc.

Vibrations, shocks, shocks and other dynamic loads are typical during the operation of transport, shock and vibration construction machines, factory mechanisms, etc. The most sensitive to shaking are loose, underconsolidated rocks (sands, water-saturated loess, peat, etc.). The strength of these rocks noticeably decreases, they become compacted (uniformly or unevenly), structural connections are disrupted, sudden liquefaction and the formation of landslides, dumps, quicksand and other damage-causing processes are possible. Another type of dynamic loads are explosions, the effect of which is similar to seismic ones.

An increase in the temperature of rocks is observed during underground gasification of coal, at the base of blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces, etc. In some cases, the temperature of rocks rises to 4050°C, and sometimes to 100°C or more (at the base of blast furnaces). In the zone of underground gasification of coal at a temperature of 10001600°C, rocks are sintered, “petrified”, and lose their original properties. Like other types of impact, anthropogenic heat flow affects not only the state of rocks, but also other components of the natural environment: soils, groundwater, vegetation. An artificial electric field created in rocks (electrified transport, power lines, etc.) generates stray currents and fields. They are most noticeable in urban areas, where there is the highest density of electricity sources. At the same time, the electrical conductivity, electrical resistivity and other electrical properties of the rocks change.

Dynamic, thermal and electrical effects on rocks create physical “pollution” of the surrounding natural environment.

During engineering and economic development, rock masses are subject to powerful anthropogenic impact. At the same time, dangerous geological processes such as landslides, karst, flooding, subsidence, etc. develop. Permafrost rock masses are especially susceptible to all kinds of disturbances, since they are very sensitive to any anthropogenic impact. All these processes, if they are caused by human activity and disrupt the natural balance, are called damage-generating, i.e. causing environmental (and, as a rule, also economic) damage to the natural environment.

Landslides are the sliding of rocks down a slope under the influence of the soil’s own weight and load: filtration, seismic or vibration. Great damage to the natural environment is caused annually by landslide processes on the shores of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, Crimea, in the valleys of the Volga, Dnieper, Don and many other rivers and mountainous regions.

Landslides disrupt the stability of rock masses and negatively affect many other components of the surrounding natural environment (disruption of surface runoff, depletion of groundwater resources when they are opened, formation of swamps, disturbance of soil cover, death of trees, etc.). There are many examples of landslide phenomena of a catastrophic nature, leading to significant human casualties.

Rock masses in which karst develops are called karst. Karst is widespread in the world, including in Russia: in Bashkiria, in the central part of the Russian Plain, in the Angara region, in the North Caucasus and in many other places.

Economic development of karst rock masses leads to significant changes in the natural environment. Karst processes are noticeably intensified: new sinkholes, funnels, etc. are formed. Their formation is associated with the intensification of groundwater extraction. One of the important areas in preserving the environment is the protection of karst caves - unique natural monuments.

Flooding is an example of the response of the geological environment to anthropogenic impact. Flooding is understood as any increase in the groundwater level to critical values ​​(less than 1 x 2 m to the groundwater level).

Flooding of territories negatively affects the ecological state of the natural environment. Rock masses become waterlogged and swampy. Landslides are intensifying

karst and other processes. In loess soils, subsidence occurs, and in clays, swelling occurs. In the flooded area, as a result of secondary soil salinization, vegetation is suppressed, chemical and bacterial contamination of groundwater is possible, and the sanitary and epidemiological situation worsens.

The causes of flooding are varied, but are almost always related to human activity. These are water leaks from underground water-carrying communications, backfilling of natural drains ravines, asphalting and development of the territory, irrational watering of gardens, squares, groundwater backing up with deep foundations, filtration from reservoirs, ponds nuclear power plant coolers, etc.

In Russia, over 700 cities and urban-type settlements were flooded, including cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Saratov, Tyumen, etc.

In the north of Eurasia and America, the rocks of the upper part of the earth's crust are constantly frozen and only thaw to a depth of several tens of centimeters in the summer. Such rocks are called permafrost (or permafrost), and the territory is called the permafrost region (or permafrost). On the territory of our country it occupies more than 50% of the land and a significant part of the shelf of the northern seas. The origin of permafrost is associated with the last glaciation of the Quaternary period.

In recent decades, more and more new territories have been involved in the field of construction development in permafrost areas: the north of Western Siberia, the shelf of the Arctic seas, the lands of the Neryungri coal deposit, etc.

Human invasion does not leave its mark on the “fragile” natural ecosystems of the North: the soil layer is destroyed, the topography and snow cover changes, swamps appear, the relationships and interactions of ecosystems are disrupted. The movement of tractors and other types of transport, especially caterpillar ones, as well as the slightest air pollution with sulfur dioxide destroy the covers of moss, lichens, etc., leading to a sharp decrease in the stability of ecosystems.

Impacts on the subsoil

The subsoil is called top part the earth's crust within which mining is possible. The ecological and some other functions of the subsoil as a natural object are quite diverse. Being the natural foundation of the earth's surface, the subsoil actively influences the surrounding natural environment. This is their main ecological function.

Basics natural wealth subsoil mineral resources, i.e. the totality of minerals contained in them. Extraction (extraction) of minerals for the purpose of their processing is the main purpose of subsoil use.

It is also important to emphasize that today the subsoil should be considered not only as a source of minerals or a reservoir for waste disposal, but also as part of the human environment in connection with the construction of subways, underground cities, civil defense facilities, etc.

The ecological state of the subsoil is determined primarily by the strength and nature of the impact of mining, construction and other activities on them. In the modern period, the scale of anthropogenic impact on the earth's interior is enormous. In Russia alone, there are several thousand quarries for open mining of mineral resources, of which the deepest are the Korkinsky coal quarries in the Chelyabinsk region (more than 500 m). The depth of coal mines often exceeds 1500 m.

The subsoil needs constant environmental protection, primarily from depletion of raw materials, as well as from pollution by harmful waste, sewage, etc. On the other hand, subsoil development has a harmful impact on almost all components of the natural environment and its quality as a whole. There is no other economic sector in the world that can be compared with the mining industry in terms of the strength of its negative impact on natural ecosystems, with the possible exception of natural and man-made disasters, like the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Lithosphere protection

Soil (land) protection

Protection of soils from progressive degradation and unreasonable losses is the most pressing environmental problem in agriculture, which is still far from being resolved.

The main links in environmental soil protection include:

• protection of soils from water and wind erosion;
• organization of crop rotations and soil cultivation systems in order to increase their fertility;
• reclamation measures (combat against waterlogging, soil salinization, etc.);
• reclamation of disturbed soil cover;
• protection of soils from pollution, and beneficial flora and fauna from destruction;
• preventing the unjustified withdrawal of land from agricultural use.

Soil protection should be carried out on the basis of an integrated approach to agricultural lands as complex natural formations (ecosystems), with mandatory consideration of regional characteristics.

To combat soil erosion, a set of measures is required: land management (distribution of lands according to the degree of their resistance to erosion processes), agrotechnical (soil-protective crop rotations, a contour system for growing crops, which delays runoff, chemicals struggle, etc.), forest reclamation (field protection and water-regulating forest belts, forest plantations on ravines, beams, etc.) and hydraulic (cascade ponds, etc.).

At the same time, it is taken into account that hydraulic engineering measures stop the development of erosion in a certain area immediately after their implementation, agrotechnical measures - after a few years, and forest reclamation measures - 10-20 years after their implementation.

For soils subject to severe erosion, a whole range of anti-erosion measures is necessary: ​​strip farming, i.e. such an organization of the territory in which the rectilinear contours of fields alternate with shelterbelts of forests, soil-protective crop rotations (to protect soils from deflation), afforestation of ravines, ploughless soil cultivation systems (the use of cultivators, flat cutters, etc.), various hydraulic engineering measures (the construction of canals , shafts, ditches, terraces, construction of watercourses, trays, etc.) and other measures.

To combat soil swamping in areas of sufficient or excessive moisture as a result of disruption of the natural water regime, various drainage reclamation methods are used. Depending on the causes of waterlogging, this may be lowering the groundwater level using closed drainage, open canals or water intake structures, construction of dams, straightening the river bed to protect against flooding, interception and discharge of atmospheric slope water, etc. However, excessive drainage of large areas can cause undesirable changes in ecosystems - over-drying of soils, their dehumification and decalcification, as well as causing shallowing of small rivers, drying out of forests, etc.

To prevent secondary salinization of soils, it is necessary to arrange drainage, regulate water supply, use sprinkling irrigation, use drip and root irrigation, carry out work on waterproofing irrigation canals, etc.

To prevent soil contamination by pesticides and other harmful substances, they use environmental methods of plant protection (biological, agrotechnical, etc.), increase the natural ability of soils to self-purify, do not use particularly dangerous and persistent insecticidal preparations, etc.

For example, the breeding and release of insect predators into agroecosystems: ladybugs, ground beetles, ants, etc. (biological protection), introduction into natural populations of species or individuals that are not capable of producing offspring (genetic method of protection), optimization of the size of individual fields for suppression of unwanted species (agrotechnical method), etc.

In the USA and in a number of countries in Western Europe, a system of biological farming has been organized, in which the use of pesticides and mineral fertilizers is completely eliminated and where “ecologically friendly” products are obtained. Intensive work is underway to create pesticide preparations based on natural ingredients (a mixture of green pepper with garlic and tobacco, chamomile powder, infusions of wild rosemary, larkspur, sophora, onion, etc.).

The seizure of arable land for capital construction and other purposes may be allowed only in exceptional cases in accordance with current legislation. To maintain land productivity, it is necessary to introduce scientifically based standards for land area, expand the use of land that is conditionally unsuitable for agriculture for construction, lay communications underground, increase the number of floors in cities and towns, etc.

Subsoil protection

One of the basic principles of environmental protection is the rational use of natural resources. To prevent their possible depletion and preserve subsoil reserves, it is very important to observe the principle of the most complete extraction of main and associated minerals from the subsoil. It is estimated that if you increase the yield of subsoil by just 1%, you can additionally obtain 9 million tons of coal, about 9 billion m 3 gas, over 10 million tons of oil, about 3 million tons of iron ore and other minerals. All this will reduce the depth and scale of unjustified penetration into the bowels of the earth, and therefore significantly reduce waste from mining enterprises and improve the environmental situation.

One of the important problems associated with the protection and rational use of subsoil is the integrated use of mineral raw materials, including the problem of waste disposal.

Waste from subsoil development can be solid (“waste” rocks, mineral dust), liquid (mine, quarry and wastewater) and gaseous (gases released from dumps). The main directions for recycling waste and improving the environmental situation are their use as raw materials in industrial and construction production, in road construction, for filling mined-out space and for the production of fertilizers. Liquid waste, after appropriate treatment, is used for domestic and drinking water supply, irrigation, etc., gaseous waste for heating and gas supply.

When using subsoil, they also protect the earth's surface, surface and underground waters, reclaim mined-out areas, and prevent harmful effects on other components of the natural environment and the quality of the environment in general.

The reclamation process is divided into two main stages: technical and biological reclamation. At the stage of technical reclamation, quarry, construction and other excavations are filled up, waste heaps, dumps, tailings are partially dismantled, and mined-out underground spaces are filled with “waste” rocks. After the settlement process is completed, the ground surface is leveled. Biological reclamation is carried out after technical reclamation to create vegetation cover in the prepared areas. With its help, the productivity of disturbed lands is restored, a green landscape is formed, conditions are created for the habitat of animals, plants, microorganisms, bulk soils are strengthened, protecting them from water and wind erosion, hay and pasture lands are created, etc.

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Water pollution manifests itself in changes in their physical and organoleptic properties (impaired transparency, color, smell, taste), an increase in the content of salts (sulfates, chlorides, nitrates, etc.), toxic heavy metals, a reduction in the content of oxygen dissolved in water, an increase in the content of radionuclides, pathogenic bacteria and other pollutants.

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Even the historically established balance in the water environment of Lake Baikal, a unique lake on our planet that could provide clean water to all of humanity for almost 50 years, has been partially disrupted. According to modern estimates, more than 100 km 3 of Baikal water is polluted. Oil products, nitrates, chlorides and other pollutants enter the lake's waters. Only the size of the lake, the huge volume of water mass, as well as the ability biotic community Lake Baikal to maintain self-purification processes while saving the lake’s ecosystem from degradation.

There are chemical, biological and physical water pollutants. To the most common chemical Pollutants include oil and petroleum products, synthetic surfactants, pesticides, heavy metals, dioxins, etc. Biological Pollutants include viruses, pathogenic bacteria and, in general, any pathogenic microorganisms. Under physical pollutants include radioactive substances, mechanical and thermal pollution, etc.

Chemical pollution is the most widespread, persistent and covers large areas. It may be organic(phenols, pesticides, oil, etc.) and inorganic(salts, acids, alkalis), toxic (arsenic, compounds of mercury, lead, cadmium, etc.) and non-toxic. When deposited to the bottom of reservoirs or during filtration in layers, harmful chemicals are sorbed by rock particles, oxidized or reduced, and precipitate, however, as a rule, complete self-purification of contaminated waters does not occur.

Biological contamination is usually temporary. At radioactive contamination The most dangerous are long-lived radionuclides (strontium-90, cesium-137, isotopes of uranium, radium, plutonium, etc.). Radioactive substances can enter water bodies as a result of the dumping of radioactive waste (RAW), the burial of radioactive waste if the conditions of their tightness are not met, global fallout from the atmosphere after testing nuclear weapons or radiation accidents at nuclear reactors. As a result of seepage into the depths of the lithosphere along with water, radionuclides can also pollute groundwater.

Mechanical contamination due to the presence of various mechanical impurities in the water (sand, stones, silt, etc.). Mechanical impurities can significantly worsen the organoleptic properties of water. For surface waters, they are also clogging with solid waste (timber residues, garbage, reinforced concrete structures, industrial and household waste), which negatively affect the living conditions of aquatic organisms and the state of the aquatic ecosystem as a whole.

Thermal pollution associated with an increase in water temperature as a result of their mixing with warmer surface or process waters. Thus, at the site of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant, located beyond the Arctic Circle, 7 years after the start of operation, the temperature of groundwater near the main building increased from 6 to 19°C. As the temperature rises, the gas and chemical composition of water changes, which leads to the proliferation of anaerobic bacteria, the growth of hydrobionts and the release of toxic gases (hydrogen sulfide, methane). This is accompanied by “blooming” of water and the accelerated development of microflora and microfauna, which contributes to the development of other types of pollution. According to existing sanitary standards, the temperature of the reservoir should not increase by more than 3°C in summer and 5°C in winter, and the heat load on the reservoir should not exceed 12 - 17 kJ/m3.

The main sources of pollution of surface and groundwater are:

1. discharge of untreated wastewater into water bodies;

2. washing away pesticides with rainfall;

3. gas and smoke emissions;

4. leaks of oil and petroleum products.

The greatest harm to reservoirs and drains is caused by the discharge of untreated wastewater into them - industrial, municipal, etc. Currently, the volume of discharge of industrial wastewater into many aquatic ecosystems not only does not decrease, but continues to grow.

Municipal wastewater coming from residential and public buildings is dominated by various organic substances and microorganisms, which can lead to bacterial contamination of water.

The main pollutants of aquatic ecosystems in various

industries

Anthropogenic impact on the hydrosphere.

Water and life are inseparable concepts. Therefore, the abstract of this topic is vast, and therefore I consider only a few, especially pressing problems.

Atmospheric pollution, which has become large-scale, has caused damage to rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and soils. Pollutants and products of their transformations sooner or later reach the Earth's surface from the atmosphere. This already big problem is significantly aggravated by the fact that waste flows directly into water bodies and onto the ground. Huge areas of agricultural land are exposed to various pesticides and fertilizers, and landfill areas are growing. Industrial enterprises discharge wastewater directly into rivers. Runoff from fields also flows into rivers and lakes. Groundwater, the most important reservoir of fresh water, is also polluted. Pollution of fresh water and land boomerangs back to humans in food and drinking water.

What kind of water do we have? In its natural state, water is never free of impurities. Various gases and salts are dissolved in it, and solid particles are suspended. We even call water fresh if it contains dissolved salts up to 1 g per liter. Where does this global spring of fresh water come from and why does it never dry up? After all, almost all of the world’s water reserves are the salty waters of the World Ocean and underground storehouses.

Fresh water resources exist thanks to the eternal water cycle. As a result of evaporation, a gigantic volume of water is formed, reaching 525 thousand km3 per year. 86% of this amount comes from the salty waters of the World Ocean and inland seas - the Caspian. Aralsky and others; the rest evaporates on land, half due to transpiration of moisture by plants. Every year, a layer of water approximately 1250 mm thick evaporates. Some of it falls again with precipitation into the ocean, and some is carried by winds to land and here feeds rivers and lakes, glaciers and groundwater. A natural distiller is powered by the energy of the Sun and takes approximately 20% of this energy.

Only 2% of the hydrosphere is fresh water, but it is constantly renewed. The rate of renewal determines the resources available to humanity. Most of the fresh water - 85% - is concentrated in the ice of the polar zones and glaciers. The rate of water exchange here is less than in the ocean and amounts to 8000 years. Surface waters on land renew themselves approximately 500 times faster than in the ocean. River waters are renewed even faster, in about 10-12 days. Fresh waters from rivers are of greatest practical importance to humanity.

Rivers have always been a source of fresh water. But in the modern era, they began to transport waste. Waste in the catchment area flows along river beds into the seas and oceans. Most of the used river water is returned to rivers and reservoirs in the form of wastewater. Until now, the growth of wastewater treatment plants has lagged behind the growth of water consumption. And at first glance, this is the root of evil. In reality, everything is much more serious. Even with the most advanced treatment, including biological treatment, all dissolved inorganic substances and up to 10% of organic pollutants remain in the treated wastewater. Such water can again become suitable for consumption only after repeated dilution with pure natural water. And here the ratio of the absolute amount of wastewater, even purified, and the water flow of rivers is important for people.

The global water balance showed that 2,200 km of water per year is spent on all types of water use. Effluent dilution consumes almost 20% of the world's freshwater resources. Calculations for 2000, assuming that water consumption standards will decrease and treatment will cover all wastewater, showed that 30-35 thousand km of fresh water will still be required annually to dilute wastewater. This means that the world's total river flow resources will be close to exhaustion, and in many areas of the world they are already exhausted. After all, 1 km of treated wastewater “spoils” 10 km of river water, and untreated waste water spoils 3-5 times more. The amount of fresh water does not decrease, but its quality drops sharply and it becomes unsuitable for consumption.

Humanity will have to change its water use strategy. Necessity forces us to isolate the anthropogenic water cycle from the natural one. In practice, this means a transition to a closed water supply, to low-water or low-waste, and then to “dry” or non-waste technology, accompanied by a sharp reduction in the volume of water consumption and treated wastewater.

Fresh water reserves are potentially large. However, in any area of ​​the world they can be depleted due to unsustainable water use or pollution. The number of such places is growing, covering entire geographic areas. Water needs are unmet for 20% of the world's urban and 75% of the rural population. The volume of water consumed depends on the region and standard of living and ranges from 3 to 700 liters per day per person. Industrial water consumption also depends on economic development of this area. For example, in Canada, industry consumes 84% ​​of all water withdrawals, and in India - 1%. The most water-intensive industries are steel, chemicals, petrochemicals, pulp and paper and food processing. They consume almost 70% of all water spent in industry. On average, industry uses approximately 20% of all water consumed worldwide. The main consumer of fresh water is agriculture: 70-80% of all fresh water is used for its needs. Irrigated agriculture occupies only 15-17% of agricultural land, but produces half of all production. Almost 70% of the world's cotton crops depend on irrigation.

The total flow of rivers in the CIS (USSR) per year is 4,720 km. But water resources are distributed extremely unevenly. In the most populated regions, where up to 80% of industrial production resides and 90% of land suitable for agriculture is located, the share of water resources is only 20%. Many areas of the country are insufficiently supplied with water. These are the south and southeast of the European part of the CIS, the Caspian lowland, the south of Western Siberia and Kazakhstan, and some other regions of Central Asia, the south of Transbaikalia, and Central Yakutia. The northern regions of the CIS, the Baltic states, and the mountainous regions of the Caucasus, Central Asia, Sayan Mountains and the Far East are most supplied with water.

River flows vary depending on climate fluctuations. Human intervention in natural processes has already affected river flow. IN agriculture Most of the water does not return to the rivers, but is spent on evaporation and the formation of plant mass, since during photosynthesis, hydrogen from water molecules is converted into organic compounds. To regulate river flow, which is not uniform throughout the year, 1,500 reservoirs were built (they regulate up to 9% of the total flow). Human economic activity has so far had almost no impact on the flow of rivers in the Far East, Siberia and the North of the European part of the country. However, in the most populated areas it decreased by 8%, and near rivers such as Terek, Don, Dniester and Ural - by 11-20%. Water flow in the Volga, Syr Darya and Amu Darya has noticeably decreased. As a result, the water inflow to the Sea of ​​Azov decreased by 23%, and to the Aral Sea by 33%. The level of the Aral Sea dropped by 12.5 m.

Limited and even scarce freshwater supplies in many countries are being significantly reduced due to pollution. Typically, pollutants are divided into several classes depending on their nature, chemical structure and origin.

Organic materials come from domestic, agricultural or industrial wastewater. Their decomposition occurs under the influence of microorganisms and is accompanied by the consumption of oxygen dissolved in water. If there is enough oxygen in the water and the amount of waste is small, then aerobic bacteria quickly transform them into relatively harmless residues. Otherwise, the activity of aerobic bacteria is suppressed, the oxygen content drops sharply, and decay processes develop. When the oxygen content in water is below 5 mg per 1 liter, and in spawning areas - below 7 mg, many species of fish die.

Pathogenic microorganisms and viruses are found in poorly treated or untreated sewage from residential areas and livestock farms. When pathogenic microbes and viruses get into drinking water, they cause various epidemics, such as outbreaks of salmonelliosis, gastroenteritis, hepatitis, etc. In developed countries, the spread of epidemics through public water supplies is rare. Food products, such as vegetables grown in fields that are fertilized with sludge from domestic wastewater treatment (from German Schlamme - literally mud), can be contaminated. Aquatic invertebrates, such as oysters or other shellfish, from contaminated water bodies were often the cause of outbreaks of typhoid fever.

Nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, enter water bodies with domestic and agricultural wastewater. An increase in the content of nitrites and nitrates in surface and groundwater leads to contamination of drinking water and the development of certain diseases, and the growth of these substances in water bodies causes their increased eutrophication (an increase in the reserves of nutrients and organic substances, due to which plankton and algae rapidly develop, absorbing all the oxygen is in the water).

Inorganic and organic substances also include heavy metal compounds, petroleum products, pesticides (pesticides), synthetic detergents ( detergents), phenols. They enter water bodies with industrial waste, domestic and agricultural wastewater. Many of them either do not decompose at all in the aquatic environment, or decompose very slowly and are capable of accumulating in food chains.

An increase in bottom sediments is one of the hydrological consequences of urbanization. Their number in rivers and reservoirs is constantly increasing due to soil erosion as a result of improper farming, deforestation, and regulation of river flow. This phenomenon leads to a disruption of the ecological balance in aquatic systems and has a detrimental effect on bottom organisms.

The source of thermal pollution is heated waste water from thermal power plants and industry. An increase in the temperature of natural waters changes the natural conditions for aquatic organisms, reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen, and changes the metabolic rate. Many inhabitants of rivers, lakes or reservoirs die, the development of others is suppressed.

Just a few decades ago, polluted waters looked like islands in a relatively clean natural environment. Now the picture has changed, continuous areas of contaminated areas have formed.

Oil pollution of the World Ocean is undoubtedly the most widespread phenomenon. From 2 to 4% of the water surface of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans is constantly covered with an oil film. Up to 6 million tons of petroleum hydrocarbons enter sea waters annually. Almost half of this amount is associated with transportation and offshore development. Continental oil pollution enters the ocean through river runoff.

The world's rivers annually carry more than 1.8 million tons of petroleum products into sea and ocean waters.

At sea, oil pollution takes various forms. It can cover the surface of the water in a thin film, and during spills the thickness of the oil coating can initially be several centimeters. Over time, an emulsion of oil in water or water in oil is formed. Later, lumps of the heavy fraction of oil, oil aggregates, appear that can float on the surface of the sea for a long time. Various small animals are attached to the floating lumps of fuel oil, which fish and baleen whales readily feed on. Together with them they swallow oil. Some fish die from this, others are thoroughly saturated with oil and become unsuitable for consumption in the fish due to the unpleasant smell and taste.

All components of oil are toxic to marine organisms. Oil affects the community structure of marine animals. Oil pollution changes the ratio of species and reduces their diversity. Thus, microorganisms that feed on petroleum hydrocarbons develop abundantly, and the biomass of microorganisms is toxic to many marine inhabitants. It has been proven that long-term chronic exposure to even small concentrations of oil is very dangerous. At the same time, the primary biological productivity of the sea is gradually falling. Oil has another unpleasant problem side property. Its hydrocarbons are capable of dissolving a number of other pollutants, such as pesticides and heavy metals, which, together with oil, are concentrated in the surface layer and further poison it. The aromatic fraction of oil contains substances of a mutagenic and carcinogenic nature, for example benzopyrene. There is now extensive evidence of the mutagenic effects of a polluted marine environment. Benzpyrene actively circulates through marine food chains and ends up in human food.

The largest quantities of oil are concentrated in a thin near-surface layer of sea water, which plays a particularly important role for various aspects of ocean life. Many organisms are concentrated in it, this layer plays the role of “ kindergarten" for many populations. Surface oil films disrupt gas exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. The processes of dissolution and release of oxygen, carbon dioxide, heat exchange undergo changes, and the reflectivity (albedo) of sea water changes.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons, widely used as means of controlling agricultural and forestry pests and carriers of infectious diseases, have been entering the World Ocean along with river runoff and through the atmosphere for many decades. DDT and its derivatives, polychlorinated biphenyls and other persistent compounds of this class are now found throughout the world's oceans, including the Arctic and Antarctic.

They are easily soluble in fats and therefore accumulate in the organs of fish, mammals, and seabirds. Being xenobiotics, i.e. substances of completely artificial origin, they do not have their “consumers” among microorganisms and therefore almost do not decompose under natural conditions, but only accumulate in the World Ocean. At the same time, they are acutely toxic, affect the hematopoietic system, suppress enzymatic activity, and greatly affect heredity.

Along with river runoff, heavy metals also enter the ocean, many of which have toxic properties. The total river flow is 46 thousand km of water per year. Together with it, up to 2 million tons of lead, up to 20 thousand tons of cadmium and up to 10 thousand tons of mercury enter the World Ocean. Coastal waters and inland seas have the highest levels of pollution. The atmosphere also plays a significant role in the pollution of the World Ocean. For example, up to 30% of all mercury and 50% of lead entering the ocean each year is transported through the atmosphere.

Due to its toxic effect in marine environment Mercury is particularly dangerous. Microbiological processes convert toxic inorganic mercury into much more toxic organic forms of mercury. Methylated mercury compounds accumulated due to bioaccumulation in fish or shellfish pose a direct threat to human life and health. Let us recall, for example, the notorious “minamato” disease, which received its name from the Gulf of Japan, where mercury poisoning of local residents manifested itself so dramatically. It claimed many lives and undermined the health of many people who consumed seafood products from this bay in Liptsa, at the bottom of which a lot of mercury accumulated from the waste of a nearby plant.

Mercury, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, chromium, arsenic and other heavy metals not only accumulate in marine organisms, thereby poisoning marine food, but also have a detrimental effect on sea inhabitants. The accumulation coefficients of toxic metals, i.e. their concentration per unit weight in marine organisms relative to seawater, vary widely - from hundreds to hundreds of thousands, depending on the nature of the metals and the types of organisms. These coefficients show how harmful substances accumulate in fish, shellfish, crustaceans, planktonic and other organisms.

The scale of pollution of sea and ocean products is so great that many countries have established sanitary standards for the content of certain harmful substances in them. It is interesting to note that with mercury concentrations in water only 10 times higher than natural levels, oyster contamination already exceeds the limits set in some countries. This shows how close the limit of sea pollution is that cannot be crossed without harmful consequences for human life and health.

However, the consequences of pollution are dangerous primarily for all living inhabitants of the seas and oceans. These consequences are varied. Primary critical disturbances in the functioning of living organisms under the influence of pollutants occur at the level of biological effects: after a change in the chemical composition of cells, the processes of respiration, growth and reproduction of organisms are disrupted, mutations and carcinogenesis are possible; movement and orientation in the marine environment are disrupted. Morphological changes often manifest themselves in the form of various pathologies of internal organs: changes in size, development of ugly forms. These phenomena are especially often recorded during chronic pollution.

All this affects the state of individual populations and their relationships. Thus, the environmental consequences of pollution arise. An important indicator of disturbances in the state of ecosystems is a change in the number of higher taxa - fish. The overall photosynthetic activity changes significantly. The biomass of microorganisms, phytoplankton, and zooplankton is growing. This characteristic features eutrophication of marine water bodies, they are especially significant in inland seas, seas closed type. In the Caspian, Black, and Baltic seas over the past 10-20 years, the biomass of microorganisms has increased almost 10 times. In the Sea of ​​Japan, “red tides” have become a real disaster, a consequence of eutrophication, in which microscopic algae rapidly develop, and then oxygen in the water disappears, aquatic animals die and a huge mass of rotting debris is formed, poisoning not only the sea, but also the atmosphere.

Pollution of the World Ocean leads to a gradual decrease in primary biological production. Scientists estimate that it has decreased by 10% to date. Accordingly, the annual growth of other sea inhabitants decreases.

What can we expect in the near future for the World Ocean, for the most important seas?

In general, pollution of the World Ocean is expected to increase by 1.5-3 times over the next 20-25 years. Accordingly, the environmental situation will worsen. Concentrations of many toxic substances can reach a threshold level, followed by degradation of the natural ecosystem. It is expected that the primary biological production of the ocean may decrease in some large areas by 20-30% compared to the current level.

The path that will allow people to avoid an environmental dead end is now clear. These are waste-free and low-waste technologies, turning waste into useful resources. But it will take decades to bring the idea to life.

Bibliography

Yu.A. Israel, F.Ya. Rovinsky “Take care of the biosphere”, Moscow “Pedagogy” 1987.

John Cullini “Forests of the Sea”, Leningrad, Gidrometeoizdat 1981.

IN AND. Artamonov “Plants and the purity of the natural environment”, Moscow “Science”, 1986.

V.V. Plotnikov, “At the crossroads of ECOLOGY”, Moscow “Thought” 1985.

The concept of the hydrosphere

The existence of the biosphere and humans has always been based on the use of water. Water: is the medium in which life originated and continues; ensures the existence of the biosphere and humans; a reservoir of colossal biological resources (fish, mammals, shellfish, etc.); influenced human settlement, the formation and development of civilization.

Humanity is constantly striving to increase water consumption, putting significant and varied pressure on the hydrosphere.

The hydrosphere is the discontinuous water shell of the Earth, located between the atmosphere and the solid crust (lithosphere) and includes the entire set of seas, oceans, lakes, rivers, swamps and groundwater.

Distribution of water masses in the biosphere

Oceans and seas cover almost ¾ of the entire earth's surface and contain about 97% of the total water on Earth. The share of fresh water (necessary to ensure the life of organisms), which exists due to the cycle of substances, accounts for only 3%. Fresh water is contained in glaciers (79%), groundwater consists of it (20%), and the remaining 1% is the share of water participating in the cycle. Of the amount of water participating in the cycle, 52% comes from lakes (52%), 38 and 8% are soil and atmospheric moisture, respectively, and 1% of fresh water each comes from rivers and biological waters in living organisms.

Anthropogenic impact on the hydrosphere is manifested in pollution and depletion of surface and groundwater.

Hydrosphere pollution

Pollution of surface and groundwater is a decrease in their biosphere functions and environmental significance as a result of the entry of harmful substances into them.

Pollution manifests itself in changes in physical and organoleptic properties (violation of transparency, color, color, taste, etc.), in an increase in the content of sulfites, chlorides, nitrates, heavy metals, in a reduction in dissolved oxygen, in the appearance of radioactive elements and pathogenic bacteria, etc. .

Water pollution can be natural (natural) and anthropogenic (technogenic, artificial). Natural water pollution occurs during volcanic eruptions, destruction of banks, erosion processes in the soil, salinization of fresh waters with salt water, etc. Anthropogenic pollution is associated with economic activity person.

Main sources of surface and groundwater pollution

· Discharge of untreated wastewater (industrial, municipal, collector-drainage) (Table 4).

Table 4.

Volume of wastewater discharge into surface water bodies of Russia

(late 90s)

Branches of the economy	Wastewater discharge, million km 3	Of them contaminated
Total, million km 3	% of wastewater discharge
Industry			24,1
Including: energy			4,4
Ferrous metallurgy			71,5
Non-ferrous metallurgy			56,5
Chemical and petrochemical			82,1
Mechanical engineering and metalworking			42,9
Woodworking and pulp and paper			87,3
Building materials			65,5
Agriculture			31,0
Transport			65,1
Department of Housing and Utilities			91,1
Other sectors of the economy			66,9

Wastewater has the greatest negative impact on the hydrosphere.

· Rinsing of pesticides (pesticides) and fertilizers (mineral and organic) by rainfall. These substances enter water bodies due to improper storage and application to the soil.

· Gas and smoke emissions (aerosols, dust) containing solid particles, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, etc. The listed substances enter water bodies in the process of mechanical sedimentation or with precipitation.

· Leakage of oil and oil products that occur during accidents on oil pipelines and oil tankers, during the discharge of ballast water from ships, etc.

Pollutants penetrate into underground (ground) waters when industrial and municipal wastewater seeps into the soil from storage facilities, settling tanks, through faulty wells, through karst sinkholes, etc. At the same time, groundwater has the lowest self-purification coefficient.

Main water pollutants

1. Chemical - acids, alkalis, salts, oil and petroleum products, dioxins, pesticides, heavy metals, phenols, ammonium and nitrate nitrogen, synthetic surfactants (surfactants).

As a rule, complete self-purification of contaminated waters does not occur from chemical pollutants. When deposited to the bottom of reservoirs or filtered into groundwater, harmful chemicals are sorbed by rock particles, oxidized and reduced, precipitated, etc. The source of chemical contamination of groundwater in highly permeable soils can extend up to 10 km or more.

2. Biological - viruses, bacteria (including pathogenic ones), algae, yeast and mold fungi. This type of contamination is usually temporary.

3. Physical - radioactive elements, heat, organoleptic (changing color, smell), sludge, sand, silt, clay.

4. Mechanical - solid industrial and household waste (garbage).

In Russia, which has the highest water potential (30,000 km3 per year per person), 70% of rivers and lakes have lost their quality due to pollution. 85,000 tons of oil products, 750 tons of nitrates, 13,000 tons of chlorides and other pollutants are discharged into the waters of Lake Baikal annually.

Ecological consequences of hydrosphere pollution

In both freshwater and marine ecosystems, the following occurs: disruption of the stability of aquatic ecosystems and food pyramids, microbiological pollution, “water blooms” (caused by eutofication), accumulation of chemical toxins in biota, decreased biological productivity, the occurrence of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.

Eutrophication is the process of enriching water bodies with nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.), during which favorable conditions are created for the development of phytoplankton (blue-green algae and other aquatic plants) and the water begins to “bloom” (becomes green, yellow-brown, red color). At the same time, the massive growth, reproduction and further death of phytoplankton are accompanied by the consumption of oxygen dissolved in water and the accumulation of toxic substances - hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, etc. At the same time, the quality of water sharply deteriorates, and fish die from death.

Processes of anthropogenic eutrophication occur on the Great American Lakes, Lake Ladoga, off the coast of India, Australia, Japan, the Black Sea, etc.

Contaminated groundwater can spread downstream to distances of up to 20-30 km or more from the source of pollution. Which can create a real threat to drinking water supply. In addition, groundwater pollution can negatively affect the ecological state of surface waters, the atmosphere, soils and other components of the natural environment. For example, pollutants found in groundwater can be carried by filtration flow into surface water bodies and pollute them.

Today, every fifth person in the world does not have clean drinking water at their disposal. Every second person consumes water that has not undergone adequate purification.

About 2 billion people live in poor sanitation conditions, 3 million children die every year from drinking water contaminated with pathogens, and 80% of diseases in developing countries are caused by dirty water.

Depletion of the hydrosphere and

its environmental consequences

Depletion of surface and groundwater is an unacceptable reduction in their reserves within a certain territory (for groundwater) or a decrease in the minimum permissible flow (for surface water).

Depletion of surface water is the result of irrevocable withdrawal of water for irrigation, industrial production, municipal needs, etc.

Groundwater depletion is usually the result of intensive extraction of groundwater in water intake areas, as well as significant drainage during the construction of mines and quarries. This leads to disruption of the relationship between surface and groundwater. Depletion of groundwater leads to deterioration of river flow, drying up of springs and small rivers, desiccation of territories and death of vegetation.

In 1999, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) reported that water scarcity would be one of the most pressing problems of the new millennium. More than 1 billion people currently do not have regular access to fresh water. It is estimated that by 2050 at least 2 billion people will live in regions with severe water shortages.

Agriculture and industry require large amounts of water. Agriculture accounts for about 70% of human water consumption. The share of industrial water consumption increased tenfold over the 20th century.

In Russia, surface water flow is distributed extremely unevenly. About 90% is carried into the Arctic and Pacific oceans, and inland drainage basins (the Caspian and Azov Seas), where over 65% of the Russian population live, account for less than 8% of the total annual flow. The flow of many small rivers, especially in the European part of Russia, has decreased by more than half.

A striking example depletion of surface water is the regression of the Aral Sea, which occurred as a result of the re-absorption of large amounts of water from the rivers flowing into it - the Amur Darya and Syr Darya for economic purposes. The dried bottom becomes a source of dust and salts.

The issue of building reservoirs is controversial. The creation of large reservoirs leads to multidirectional consequences in the environment (Table 5).

Table 5.

Environmental consequences of creating reservoirs

In addition, blocking the beds of watercourses with dams when creating reservoirs is fraught with negative consequences for most aquatic organisms (spawning grounds become inaccessible, the natural reproduction of many fish deteriorates).

State of hydro resources

on the territory of the Omsk region

The main waterway of the region is the Irtysh River. The Irtysh is a tributary of the Ob River. The entire length of the Irtysh from its source to its confluence with the Ob is 4370 km. The source of the Irtysh is located in the Mongolian Altai ranges. Translated from Turkic, the word ²Irtysh² means ²digger² (the river in the upper reaches rapidly descends from the mountains and forcefully erodes the banks). Flowing through the territory of the Omsk region for 1174 km, the Irtysh has all the features characteristic of lowland rivers: the right bank is high, steep, often indented by ravines, the left bank is flat and turns into a plain. The depth of the river can reach - 15 m. Current speed is up to 1.5 m/sec. In the summer months, the water temperature in the Irtysh is +19 - +20ºС. Sometimes it reaches +26 - +29ºС. The ice thickness in winter reaches 1 or more meters. The width of the channel in the south of the Omsk region is 600–700 m, in the north – 900–1000 m.

The Irtysh River, like all rivers of the Omsk region, has a mixed supply with a predominance of rain and snow water. Summer and autumn great importance have water from large watershed swamps, which are brought to the Irtysh by its tributaries.

The only tributary of the Irtysh in the southern half of the region is the Om River (translated from Turkic its name means “quiet, calm”). It flows from the western part of the Bakcharovsky swamp (Vasyugan swamps) in the Novosibirsk region, 150 km from the Ob River. The Om has a total length of 1091 km, but flows through the territory of the Omsk region only at a distance of 294.7 km.

The largest tributaries of the Irtysh in the northern half of the region (with a length of more than 160 km) are Tara, Osha, Ishim, Shish, Tui, Uy, Bicha.

The total length of the river network in the region exceeds 19,000 km.

There are more than 16 thousand lakes in the region, including 245 salt lakes. There are 12 large lakes.

The largest lakes are located in the Krutinsky district. The largest is Saltaim. The area of ​​the water surface is 146 km2. West of Saltaim is Lake Tenis. The area of ​​the water surface is 124 km2. The smallest in this system of lakes is Lake Ik. The area of ​​the water surface is 71.4 km2. The lakes are fish-bearing; valuable fish species such as peled, ripus, and carp are bred in them.

The lakes of the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the region are mainly salty with mineralization from 5 g/l to 19 g/l and are therefore unsuitable for irrigation and fish farming purposes. Thirty lakes have healing mud.

Swamps occupy approximately 25.7% of the territory of the Omsk region. Most of the swamps are concentrated in the north in the Bolsheukovsky, Tevrizsky, Tarsky, Znamensky, Muromtsevo districts. In addition, the central part of the region in the Tyukalinsky, Bolsherechensky, Nazyvamsky districts is significantly swampy.

In addition, the Omsk region has significant groundwater resources. Fresh groundwater, as a rule, lies to a depth of 61-250 m, below which it turns into brackish water and brines. The main groundwater resources are concentrated in the northern regions.

Also in the region, deposits of mineral and iodine-bromine waters used for medicinal purposes have been explored.

The main problem of water resources in the Omsk region is their pollution by wastewater from industrial enterprises and housing and communal services (86%). In terms of the volume of discharge of contaminated wastewater, the city of Omsk ranks 9th in Russia. Depending on the volume of production, up to 269 million m3 of contaminated wastewater enters the water bodies of the region, including 230 million m3 in the city, of which 86% is untreated or insufficiently treated.

The river fleet and land reclamation also contribute to the pollution of surface waters in the Omsk Irtysh region. Pollution during reclamation occurs as a result of the fact that the main stock of dacha plots is located in the Irtysh valley (often within a 2-3 kilometer zone), and irrigation of these areas causes intensive removal of large volumes of various fertilizers and pesticides into water bodies. And in some cases, these pollutants enter the aquatic environment with drainage water.

A disaster for small rivers and lakes is the placement on their banks of livestock farms, oil depots, gas stations, summer cottages, spontaneous landfills, and a number of others.

If the Irtysh, due to the large mass of water, current, filtering ability of sand, solar radiation and the volume of oxygen entering the water, is somehow able to resist and fight pollution, then small rivers and lakes do not have such an opportunity.

The qualitative composition of river waters in rural areas is formed under the influence of pollution coming from surface runoff. Rain and melt waters provide significant amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, mineral and organic fertilizers into reservoirs, which leads to eutrophication. Fish death from lack of oxygen in the water has become a common occurrence in our reservoirs. So, in 1991, more than 120 tons of fish died on Lake Ik.

The degree of pollution of the region's rivers in a number of areas is characterized as extremely high. Compounds of heavy metals, petroleum products, phenols, and pesticides were found in the Irtysh and small rivers, which enter water bodies with industrial waste, domestic and agricultural wastewater.

The situation with groundwater is no better. Groundwater in the Omsk region lies at shallow depths. Along the Irtysh, Om, Tara groundwater lies at a depth of 5-10 m, in the southern part 5-15 m, in the central part 1-3 m. The main sources of groundwater pollution are landfills, underground sewerage, gasoline leaks at gas stations, pesticides and fertilizers used on fields and individual garden plots, as well as salt, which is sprinkled on roads in winter.

According to regional monitoring and sanitary-epidemiological surveillance, water in the Irtysh in recent years has been assessed as “dirty” and “very dirty.” High concentrations of harmful substances are observed throughout the Irtysh, from the border with Kazakhstan to the village of Ust-Ishim.

The tributaries of the Irtysh, where water monitoring was carried out, are also susceptible to chemical and biological pollution. So r. The Om contains in its waters petroleum products, phenols, zinc, compounds of iron, copper, manganese in concentrations exceeding the maximum permissible concentration. Pollution of northern rivers continues.

The threat of pollutants being carried into the Irtysh also comes from the city of Pavlodar (Kazakhstan), where a chemical plant, an aluminum and an oil refinery are located.

Hydrosphere protection

In order to prevent pollution and depletion of surface and groundwater, the following measures are taken.

· Economical use of water.

In agriculture, to save water, various methods of snow retention are used (through shelterbelts, construction of snow banks, etc.) and economical soil irrigation (sprinkling, drip method). Thanks to methods of economical soil watering, water savings can reach 60%

In industry, water savings are achieved by improving technological process and introduction of recycling water supply. With recycled water supply, wastewater is not discharged into the river, but is immediately treated at the enterprise and returned to production. This saves fresh water and at the same time prevents pollution of rivers or other water bodies.

· Development of conditions for the discharge of wastewater into reservoirs, which are based on sanitary and hygienic requirements for water quality.

Water quality is based on compliance standards with maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants discharged into water bodies.

· Improving wastewater treatment methods.

The main methods of wastewater treatment include: mechanical (to remove coarse and fine impurities), physico-chemical (to remove dissolved impurities of organic and inorganic substances from wastewater using chemical reagents) and biological (destruction of dissolved impurities of organic substances by microbial cultures) purification . These methods are often used in combination. To eliminate bacterial contamination of wastewater, disinfection is used.

· Creation of water protection zones (width from 100 to 300 m or more) and compliance with a special regime in them that provides for the restriction of economic activity.

Water protection zones are created on all water bodies, but this measure is especially relevant for the conservation of small rivers. Within these zones, plowing of land, grazing, construction work, etc. is prohibited.

· Injection of wastewater into deep aquifers (underground disposal).

With this method there is no need for wastewater treatment and disposal.

· Regulation of groundwater intake regime.

· Rational placement of water intakes by area.

· Determination of the amount of operational reserves as the limit of their rational use.

· Introduction of a crane operation mode for self-flowing artesian wells, etc.

· Organization of sanitary protection zones in areas around sources of centralized drinking water supply, in order to eliminate the possibility of groundwater contamination.

· Use of drainage and long-term pumping of contaminated groundwater in order to eliminate the source of pollution.

· Publication of environmental acts aimed at protecting water from pollution and depletion.

For example, in the Russian Federation, according to the Law “On the Protection of the Natural Environment” and water legislation, the uncontrolled discharge of industrial, household and other types of waste and waste into water bodies, as well as the operation of enterprises not provided with water treatment facilities, is prohibited.