Regional clarkes of chemical elements in soils of southern European Russia

Abstract

Distribution patterns of 19 elements in soils of the southern part of European Russian were estimated on the basis of the analysis of more than 9000 soil samples; regional clarkes of the elements were compared with their global clarkes, The obtained data attest to the fact that southern Russia is characterized by increased concentrations of most of the microelements with a tendency for their rise in the recent decades. The great role of the aerial migration and deposition of elements results in the enrichment of the soils with technophilic elements, so that the geochemical convergence of the soils is observed. It can be concluded that natural element abundances in soils are subjected to the technogenic transformation reflecting the high rate of contamination of the biosphere.