Are aerosols on the leaves of apricot trees (Prunus armeniaca) signalizing the activity of a hidden paleo-supervolcano in a steppe?

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 28; no. 40; pp. 57424 - 57439
• Main Authors: Glinyanova, Irina, Fomichev, Valery, Asanova, Natali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acidity; Aerosols; Air pollution; Air quality; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Diapirs; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth crust; Ecotoxicology; Electrical conductivity; Electrical resistivity; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental risk; Environmental science; Fruit trees; Geological faults; Hypotheses; Industrial pollution; Leaves; Mineralization; Neighborhoods; Outdoor air quality; pH effects; Pollution sources; Prunus armeniaca; Quality assessment; Residential areas; Sedimentation tanks; Short Research and Discussion Article; Spring; Steppes; Summer; Trees; Underground structures; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Anthropogenic pollution; Electrical conductivity; Active faults; Aerosols; Aerosol pollution; Geodynamic zones; Acidity; Geologically active structures of the Earth; Underground ancient volcanic areas; Natural aerosol particles
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-16135-z

Aerosols on plant leaves make it possible to assess the quality of air in settlements. The purpose of this work was to assess the acidity and specific electrical conductivity of aerosol suspensions (by washing off aerosol particles from the leaves of apricot trees ( Prunus armeniaca )), which characterize the air pollution in the residential area of the Svetly Yar settlement (Volgograd region, Russia) during the spring-summer of 2019. The research hypothesis was as follows: Acidic mineralized aerosols with a mixed source are present in Svetly Yar. The differences were checked by the Student’s t -test and evaluated at the level of significance of p = 0.05. The results indicated the presence of acidic (pH = 4.56 + 0.02) and highly mineralized aerosols (EC = 130.41 + 0.17 μS/cm) in the ambient air of the Svetly Yar residential area during the spring-summer of 2019 and revealed environmental risks for the population in comparison with aerosol suspensions from a (relatively) clean location (pH = 6.46 + 0.02; EC = 37.61 + 0.19 μS/cm). The authors confirmed their hypothesis in favor of mixed source acidic mineralized aerosols in the residential area of the Svetly Yar village. The anthropogenic sources were the industrial zones of Svetly Yar, the southern part of the city of Volgograd and artificial sedimentation tanks in the southwestern part of Svetly Yar. A natural source of pollution in the vicinity of Svetly Yar may be hidden geologically active structures: faults in the Earth’s crust, a salt diapir, an underground ancient semiactive volcanic zone on a steppe, etc.