Sediment geochemistry of Lake Portlubol (Murmansk region): natural anomalies and reconstruction of anthropogenic events in the catchment

Abstract

The article presents the first data on the content of a wide range of rare elements in modern sediments of Lake Portlubol, located in the north of the Murmansk region (Arctic zone of the Russian Federation). The authors identified extremely elevated concentrations of U and Mo compared to the clarke and background levels, which is associated with the geological features of the study area. Also, in the upper layers of the sediment core of Lake Portlubol, an increase in the content of Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu and some other elements was noted, which probably entered the reservoir as a result of emissions from industrial enterprises in the region and neighboring territories. Despite the identified geochemical anomalies in the sediments, the lake can be considered background, since the established anthropogenic load is small compared to lakes in urban and industrial areas of the Murmansk region.