Ecological and geochemical studies: problems and improvement of the methodology

Abstract

Introduction: Ecological and geochemical studies are the main elements of engineering and environmental research. The methodology for their implementation is historically associated with geochemical research for prospecting and the exploration of mineral deposits. Modern regulatory documents contain several fundamental errors that do not allow a reliable ecological and geochemical assessment of territories. The purpose of this research was the analysis of existing methodological approaches in environmental and geochemical studies, aimed at the improvement and elimination of existing errors. Methodology: The studies included a retrospective assessment of existing approaches, full-scale modeling of density and sampling networks for environmental and geochemical studies, and statistical processing of the data obtained. The statistical analysis of the accuracy of environmental and geochemical measurements for various envelope sizes was performed and its optimal dimensions were determined. Results: As a result of the research, it was revealed that the existing soil sampling methodology is statistically reliable with an envelope size of up to 100×100 m2 . The optimal size of the envelope according to the criteria of measurement accuracy and economic costs is 10 × 10 m2 , which corresponds to methodological recommendations. The ultimate measurement accuracy depends on the accuracy of the device. The second extremum was determined with an envelope size of 47 × 47 m2 , which in terms of measurement accuracy loses to the optimal case by only 25%, but in terms of economic costs it provides a gain of 25 times, that is 4 "envelopes" per hectare. A fundamental error was revealed in the ecological and geochemical assessments of soils associated with the use of the formula of Yu. E. Saet in a reduced volume. Finding: The practical significance of the conducted research allows to substantiate the main methodological approaches when conducting environmental and geochemical studies: the optimal dimensions of envelopes are 10×10 m2 , 47x47 m2 ; sampling density is 1 site per 1 ha; for the calculation of the total pollution indicator, only concentrations that exceed the maximum permissible values should be taken into account.