COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTIC OF MICROELEMENT COMPOSITION OF RIVER WATERS DRAINING DONETSK AND KUZBASS COAL BASINS

In order to assess the status of river waters in 2013, studies were carried out on the characteristics of the microelements composition in the rivers of the lower Don basin (the Don, Seversky Donets, Kundryuchya rivers) and the Mius river of the Western Pryazovia basin. In the water samples, the total content of 70 chemical elements was determined. The results analysis revealed a group of microelements specific to river waters of the Donetsk coal basin, as well as seasonal variability of their amount in the water of the studied rivers.Sources of these metals in the surface waters of the rivers in the region are connected with the coal-bearing and coal mining territory of the Eastern Donbas. The article conducts a comparative analysis of characteristic groups of microelements of river waters draining Donetsk and Kuzbass coal basins. Of particular interest are the rare earth elements specific to the mine waters of the Donetsk coal basin, which are a kind of tracers of hydrogeochemical processes. The direct influence of flooded mines of the Eastern Donbass on the main hydrochemical characteristics of the Don river water in its lower reach during the time of summer-autumn low water levels was determined.Despite the prevailing natural-economic conditions of reservoir basins, the most significant changes in the composition of river waters occur due to increasing anthropogenic influence. This is evident in the Kundriuchya river basin, where there has been a tense ecological situation for a long period of time.The experimental data obtained, the results of which form the basis of this article, were included in the developed "Database of elemental composition of the waters of the Lower reach of the Don river and rivers of the Western Pryazovia basin", which passed state registration in 2020 [21].