Initial Geochemical Study of Planned Impact Zones of the Separated Parts of Launch Vehicles by OneWeb Project (Inclination 87°, Russia)

The results in the article have both practical and scientific significance. The practical significance is due to the need to determine the parameters of the initial condition of natural landscapes in the impact zones (IZ) of the separated parts of launch vehicles, which will be used to identify changes in the process of their operation. Scientific significance is associated with the low knowledge of the studied landscapes, because of their inaccessibility. The main components of the landscape, which may be adversely affected by space rocket activity (surface water, snow cover, plants, and soils), were used as the objects of the study. Samples were taken in three stages: autumn, winter, and summer-autumn. During the autumn stage, water samples were taken; during the winter, snow samples; and during the summer-autumn, water, soil, and plant samples. Acidity (pH), chemical oxygen demand (COD), hydrocarbons, and ionic composition were determined in water and snow samples; pH, hydrocarbons and total organic carbon, elemental composition, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were determined in soil samples; elemental composition was determined in plant samples. During the autumn low-water season, the chemical properties of water in all rivers did not differ significantly, except for Junguele river, which had a lower acidity and more intense chemical oxygen demand, as well as a higher concentration of Mg²⁺ and K⁺ ions. In the winter stage, it was revealed that the snow cover of all planned IZ will turn into slightly acidic or neutral waters with a slight concentration of hydrocarbons, NO₃⁻, Mg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Al³⁺, the distribution of which is uniform within the boundaries of each IZ. During the summer-autumn stage, despite the flood, no significant changes in the chemical composition of water in the studied rivers were detected.