Distribution of Hydrocarbons in the Snow Cover of Natural and Urbanized Landscapes in the South of the Far East, Russia.

This study analyzed total organic carbon (TOC), petroleum products (PP), suspended materials (SM), volatile aromatic hydrocarbons (toluene, o-xylene, etc.) and n-alkanes in the snow cover of Bol'shekhekhtsirsky, Zeysky state natural reserves and Khabarovsk, on 4, 5 and 9 stations in the south of the Russian Far East in March 2020. In Bol'shekhekhtsirsky reserve, the concentrations of TOC, PP, and SM in snow samples were in the range of 1.5–2.4, 0.06–0.11, and 11.4–1.9 mg/L, 1.4–1.9, 0.02–0.05, and 11–23 mg/L in Zeysky reserve, while in Khabarovsk were 1.7–23.7, 0.12–1.26, and 25–294 mg/L, respectively. In addition, the benzene, toluene, and o-xylene concentrations of snow samples ranges from not detected (ND) to 2.4, ND–3.1, and 1.1–2.7 µg/L in Khabarovsk, ND–1.3, ND–2.1, and ND–2.7 µg/L, respectively in Bol'shekhekhtsirsky reserve. Carbon preference index values of n-alkanes were consistent with anthropogenic sources for stations 7, 8 and 2 in Khabarovsk (Heat Power Plants 1, 2 and city roads). The snow of the Zeysky Reserve is not contaminated with organic pollutants, and can be used as a conditional background for the south of the Russian Far East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]