ANALYSIS AND MODELING OF HEAVY METALS DISTRIBUTION ALONG THE RIVER COURSE BESIDE THE RECLAIMATION ZONE

Abstract

The paper considers the migration of heavy metals along the riverbed with one reclamation channel. The authors use a simple mathematical model to analyze a distribution of pollutants concentration, including heavy metals, along the river bed in the presence of water discharge from the reclamation zone into the river. A simple method is proposed for estimating the metals concentration reduction intensity along the river runoff. It is assumed that the main parameters affecting the distribution of metals are the speed of water flow and the intensity of metal deposition along the riverbed. The proposed model was used to calculate the concentration of metals along the Uldura River in the Jewish Autonomous region. It was made an assessment of  the metal concentration decrease intensity along the river course when moving away from the reclamation zone. In particular, it was shown that concentration of iron (Fe) reaches its background value at a distance of about 20 km, due to metal deposition along the channel. The authors also made a research based on data processing of the autumn samples from three different sites along the Uldura River which showed strong deviations in the concentration of detected metals in different years of the observed period either to sharp jumps in values or to their falls. This process can be described by a fairly simple model presented in this paper.