ARCHAEOLOGICAL, SOIL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF THE MOSKVA RIVER FLOODPLAIN DEPOSITS AT THE ZVENIGOROD BIOLOGICAL PLANT

В статье приводятся результаты применения методов почвенно-микробиологического исследования культурных слоев в пойменных отложениях Москвы-реки. Выявлена корреляция пиков численности сапротрофных и термофильных бактерий с горизонтами погребенных почв в толще аллювия, к которым приурочены археологические находки. Показано, что с помощью микробиологических анализов можно выявить следы хозяйственной активности, которая датируется ранним бронзовым веком. The paper describes results of soil and microbiological studies of the occupation layers in the Moskva River floodplain deposits. The study identified a correlation between peaks in the count of the saprotrophic and thermophilic bacteria with the horizons of buried soils in the stream sediments where archaeological finds were made. The paper shows that micro bioassays can help identify traces of economic activity dating to the early Bronze Age.

Anthropogenic impact on behavior of nutrients and potentially toxic elements in the Moskva River water

<p>The Moskva River catchment is a complex system consisting of a network of rivers affected by a wide variety of land- and water-use factors that create unique spatial and temporal patterns of their water quality. Major sources of anthropogenic impact on the Moskva River and its tributaries include multiple flow regulation structures on streams, direct pollution from municipal sewage and industrial wastewaters of Moscow megacity and smaller towns, runoff generated in agricultural areas and within multiple landfills located on the watershed, and many more. Only a short upstream section of the Moskva River remains relatively unchanged in terms of water runoff and geochemistry.</p><p>In 2019, we began a pioneering study focusing on collecting detailed field data on geochemistry of water, suspended matter and bottom sediments of the Moskva River and its major tributaries, including concentrations of nutrients, potentially toxic elements (PTEs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). The main purpose of this project is to obtain a holistic picture of material fluxes within the river system combined with an inventory of natural and anthropogenic factors controlling them.</p><p>Our results indicate gradual increase of total dissolved solids, and content of nutrients and some PTEs (i.e., Cu) in water along the course of Moskva River. It can be linked to non-point pollution, as well as drastic changes occurring downstream Moscow and other urban areas caused by direct pollution. Massive increase of chloride, sulfate, sodium, mineral phosphorus, nitrogen, Mo and Sr concentrations in water is observed downstream outlets of Moscow wastewater treatment plants, which is characteristic of insufficiently treated urban sewage. Concentrations of nutrients and PTEs only slightly decrease downstream the city, remaining at levels often exceeding environmental guidelines up to the river’s mouth, whereas increased concentrations of other pollutants, such as TPH, are more closely limited to urban areas and fade more quickly with distance from the source.</p><p>Nutrient pollution of the Moskva River, as well as concentrations of some PTEs (i.e., Sb, Pb), steadily increased during summer low-flow period, when low dilution capacity limits biochemical self-purification. On the other hand, Mn, Co and Zn reached maximum concentrations during the spring flood due to their accumulation in city road dust and subsequent concentrated inflow with snowmelt runoff.</p><p>The Moskva River tributaries that flow within close proximity to the metropolitan area were revealed to have significantly higher pollution levels than the Moskva River itself, indicating stronger anthropogenic stress.</p><p>Balance calculations performed on our database showed that during the flood the Mozhaysk Reservoir – the single large reservoir on the Moskva River – retains huge volumes of major elements and PTE, at times even greater than their subsequent input from urban areas downstream from the dam. It proves crucial role of the reservoir’s retention capacity in the Moskva River’s geochemical balance formation.</p><p>Authors acknowledge Russian Geographical Society (project 28/2019-I), Russian Science Foundation (project 19-77-30004) and Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project 19-05-50109) for financial support.</p>

Impact Of Mozhaysk Dam On The Moscow River Sediment Transport

Sediments are an essential part of the aquatic environment that define its transformation and development. The construction of dams results in severe changes in sediment fluxes. This study aims to assess how the sediment load of the upper Moskva River is affected by the Mozhaysk Dam flow regulation and to estimate its dynamics over the years of the reservoir’s existence. Our analysis of the 1968, 2012 and 2016 detailed field data shows a 20-40% decrease in the proportion of the spring flood in the annual sediment load into the reservoir, which is caused by changes in the streamflow regime of the inflowing rivers. The peak suspended sediment concentrations have decreased 5- to 10-fold, likely due to a significant decline in the watershed’s cultivated land area, which caused a decrease in the erosion rate. In the Moskva River below the dam, the seasonal dynamics of the suspended sediment concentration no longer corresponds to the natural regime. The annual suspended load of the Moskva River below the Mozhaysk Reservoir decreased up to 9-fold. The sediment retention in the reservoir has dropped from 90% to 70-85% and is to some extent restored by an outflow of the particulate organic matter produced in the reservoir. We also described the relationships between water turbidity and suspended sediment concentration of the reservoir’s tributaries, which allow for the first time to estimate the sediment load with higher accuracy than was previously possible.

Saami component in medieval history and toponymy of the Volga-Oka interfluve

The article considers the reasons for the difficulties of etymologization ancient ethnic and geographical names of the Volga-Oka interfluve. Shows the historical background and general foundations of a number of ethnonyms, ethnotonyms and toponyms (Saami, Merya, Murom, Chud, Lob river, Ruza river, Moskva River, Moscow, Mozhaisk, Kolomna, etc.). The author presents a set of identical names of the Volga-Oka interfluve and places of established settlement of the Saami. The facts and substantiations presented in the article lead to the conclusion about the existence on the territory of the Volga-Oka interfluve before the appearance of the Slavs of regional toponymy based on the Sami and, possibly, the near Finno-Ugric languages.

Nutrient dynamics along the Moskva River under heavy pollution and limited self-purification capacity

An extensive study conducted during the dry summer of 2019 provided a detailed picture of the nutrient content dynamics along the Moskva River. Water sampling at 38 locations on the main river and at 17 of its tributaries revealed a manifold increase in phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations as the river crosses the Moscow metropolitan area, which can be attributed to both direct discharge of poorly treated sewage and nonpoint urban pollution. Even at the Moskva River lower reaches, where the anthropogenic pressure on the river and its tributaries is less pronounced, the inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus content remains consistently high and exceeds the environmental guidelines by up to almost 10 times. This indicates increased vulnerability of the Moskva River ecosystem during periods of low flow, which can be a major factor of eutrophication in the entire Moskva-Oka-Volga system. Comparison of our data with some archive records shows no significant improve in the nutrient pollution of the river since the 1990s, which raises further concern about the effectiveness of water quality management in Moscow urban region.