Monitoring of the Chemical Composition of the Snow and the Factors of Its Formation in the Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve

Abstract— The chemical composition of the snow cover in the Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve in the winters during 2014–2021 is analyzed based on the data of the network of monitoring stations. It is similar to the one in European Russia, although there is an increase in the inflow of substances with precipitation associated with the west-to-east transport due to the condensation in the Ural foothills. It has been found that there is a difference in the chemical composition of snow in the lowland and foothill parts of the reserve. The peculiarities of atmospheric circulation and the regions from which the air mass are transported largely determine the saturation of precipitation with various chemical components. The computation of the air mass back trajectories has made it possible to identify the regions where the air masses coming to the research area, containing the substances, and potentially forming the chemical composition of precipitation can be formed.