Environmental monitoring is characterized. Environmental monitoring: types and subsystems

11.03.2022

Environmental monitoring(environment monitoring) - complex observations of the state of the environment, including the components of the natural environment, natural ecological systems, the processes and phenomena occurring in them, assessment and forecast of changes in the state of the environment.

Usually, there are already a number of observation networks on the territory belonging to various services, which are departmentally separated, not coordinated in chronological, parametric and other aspects. Therefore, the task of preparing estimates, forecasts, criteria for alternatives for choosing management decisions on the basis of departmental data available in the region becomes, in general, uncertain. In this regard, the central problems of organizing environmental monitoring are ecological and economic zoning and the choice of "informative indicators" of the ecological state of territories with a check of their systemic sufficiency.

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Types and subsystems of environmental monitoring

When organizing monitoring, it becomes necessary to solve several problems of different levels, therefore I.P. Gerasimov (1975) proposed to distinguish three stages (types, directions) of monitoring: bioecological (sanitary and hygienic), geosystemic (natural economic) and biospheric (global). However, this approach in the aspect of environmental monitoring does not provide a clear separation of the functions of its subsystems, neither zoning nor parametric organization, and is mainly of historical interest.

There are such subsystems of environmental monitoring as: geophysical monitoring (analysis of data on pollution, atmospheric turbidity, explores meteorological and hydrological data of the environment, and also studies elements of the inanimate component of the biosphere, including objects created by man); climate monitoring (a service for monitoring and forecasting fluctuations in the climate system. It covers that part of the biosphere that affects climate formation: the atmosphere, ocean, ice cover, etc. Climate monitoring is closely connected with hydrometeorological observations.); biological monitoring (based on observation of the reaction of living organisms to environmental pollution); population health monitoring (a system of measures for monitoring, analyzing, evaluating and predicting the state of physical health of the population), etc.

In general, the process of environmental monitoring can be represented as a diagram: the environment (or a specific environmental object) -> measurement of parameters by various monitoring subsystems -> collection and transmission of information -> data processing and presentation (formation of generalized estimates), forecasting. The environmental monitoring system is designed to serve environmental quality management systems (hereinafter referred to as the "management system"). Information about the state of the environment obtained in the environmental monitoring system is used by the management system to prevent or eliminate a negative environmental situation, to assess the adverse effects of changes in the state of the environment, as well as to develop forecasts for socio-economic development, develop programs in the field of environmental development and protection environment.

In the management system, three subsystems can also be distinguished: decision-making (a specially authorized state body), decision-making management (for example, the administration of enterprises), decision-making using various technical or other means.

Subsystems of environmental monitoring differ in the objects of observation. Since the components of the environment are air, water, mineral and energy resources, bioresources, soils, etc., the monitoring subsystems corresponding to them are distinguished. However, the monitoring subsystems do not have a unified system of indicators, a unified zoning of territories, unity in the frequency of tracking, etc., which makes it impossible to take adequate measures in managing the development and ecological state of territories. Therefore, when making decisions, it is important to focus not only on the data of “private systems” of monitoring (hydrometeorological services, resource monitoring, socio-hygienic, biota, etc.), but to create complex environmental monitoring systems based on them.

Monitoring levels

Monitoring is a multilevel system. In the chorological aspect, systems (or subsystems) of the detailed, local, regional, national and global levels are usually distinguished.

The lowest hierarchical level is the level detailed monitoring sold within small territories (plots), etc.

When detailed monitoring systems are combined into a larger network (for example, within a district, etc.), a local level monitoring system is formed. Local monitoring is intended to provide an assessment of changes in the system over a larger area: the territory of the city, district.

Local systems can be combined into larger ones - systems regional monitoring, covering the territories of regions within a territory or region, or within several of them. Such systems of regional monitoring, integrating the data of observation networks that differ in approaches, parameters, tracking areas and periodicity, make it possible to adequately form comprehensive assessments of the state of territories and make forecasts for their development.

Regional monitoring systems can be combined within one state into a single national (or state) monitoring network, thus forming national level) monitoring systems. An example of such a system was the "Unified State System of Environmental Monitoring of the Russian Federation" (EGSEM) and its territorial subsystems, successfully created in the 90s of the twentieth century to adequately solve the problems of territorial management. However, following the Ministry of Ecology, in 2002, the EGSEM was also abolished, and currently in Russia there are only departmental-scattered observation networks, which does not allow adequately solving the strategic tasks of managing territories, taking into account the environmental imperative.

Within the framework of the UN environmental program, the task was set to unite national monitoring systems into a single interstate network - the "Global Environmental Monitoring System" (GEMS). It's supreme global level organization of the environmental monitoring system. Its purpose is to monitor changes in the environment on Earth and its resources in general, on a global scale. Global monitoring is a system for tracking the state and forecasting possible changes in global processes and phenomena, including anthropogenic impacts on the Earth's biosphere as a whole. So far, the creation of such a system in full, operating under the auspices of the UN, is a task for the future, since many states do not yet have their own national systems.

The global system for monitoring the environment and resources is designed to solve universal environmental problems throughout the Earth, such as global warming, the problem of preserving the ozone layer, earthquake forecasting, forest conservation, global desertification and soil erosion, floods, food and energy resources, etc. An example of such an environmental monitoring subsystem is the global observing network of Earth seismic monitoring operating within the framework of the International Earthquake Control Program (http://www.usgu.gov/) and others.

Environmental Monitoring Program

Science-based monitoring of the environment is carried out in accordance with the Program. The program should include the overall goals of the organization, specific strategies for its implementation and mechanisms for implementation.

The key elements of Environmental Monitoring Programs are:

a list of objects under control with their strict territorial reference (horological organization of monitoring);
a list of control indicators and acceptable areas for their change (parametric organization of monitoring);
time scales – frequency of sampling, frequency and time of data presentation (chronological organization of monitoring).

In addition, the application in the Monitoring Program should contain diagrams, maps, tables indicating the place, date and method of sampling and reporting data.

Terrestrial Remote Surveillance Systems

At present, in addition to the traditional "manual" sampling, monitoring programs emphasize the collection of data using electronic measuring devices for remote monitoring in real time.

The use of remote monitoring electronic measuring devices is carried out using connections to the base station either through the telemetry network, or through land lines, cellular telephone networks or other telemetry systems.

The advantage of remote monitoring is that many channels of data can be used for storage and analysis in one base station. This dramatically increases the efficiency of monitoring when the threshold levels of controlled indicators are reached, for example, in certain control areas. This approach allows, based on monitoring data, to take immediate action if the threshold level is exceeded.

The use of remote monitoring systems requires the installation of special equipment (monitoring sensors), which are usually masked to reduce vandalism and theft when monitoring is carried out in easily accessible areas.

Remote sensing systems

Remote sensing of the environment is widely used in monitoring programs using aircraft or satellites equipped with multi-channel sensors.

There are two types of remote sensing.

Passive detection of terrestrial radiation emitted or reflected from an object or in the vicinity of the observation. The most common source of radiation is reflected sunlight, the intensity of which is measured by passive sensors. Remote sensing environmental sensors are tuned to specific wavelengths ranging from the far infrared to the far ultraviolet, including visible light frequencies. The huge amounts of data that are collected by remote sensing of the environment require powerful computational support. This allows one to analyze slightly different differences in the radiation characteristics of the medium in remote sensing data, and successfully eliminate noise and “false color images”. With several spectral channels, it is possible to enhance contrasts that are invisible to the human eye. In particular, when monitoring bioresources, one can distinguish subtle differences in the change in the concentration of chlorophyll in plants by detecting areas with different nutritional regimes.
In active remote sensing, a stream of energy is emitted from a satellite or aircraft and a passive sensor is used to detect and measure the radiation reflected or scattered by the object of study. LIDAR is often used to obtain information about the topographic characteristics of the study area, which is especially effective when the area is large and manual surveys would be expensive.

Remote sensing allows you to collect data about dangerous or hard-to-reach areas. Applications of remote sensing include forest monitoring, the effects of climate change on Arctic and Antarctic glaciers, coastal and ocean depth studies.

Data from orbital platforms, derived from various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, combined with ground-based data, provides information for monitoring trends in long-term and short-term phenomena, natural and anthropogenic. Other applications include natural resource management, land use planning, and various areas of geosciences.

Interpretation and presentation of data

The interpretation of environmental monitoring data, even from a well-designed program, is often ambiguous. There are often analyzes or "biased results" from monitoring, or use of statistics that is controversial enough to demonstrate the correctness of one view or the other. This is clearly seen, for example, in the treatment of global warming, where proponents claim that CO 2 levels have increased by 25% in the last hundred years while opponents claim that CO 2 levels have only risen by one percent.

In the new science-based environmental monitoring programs, a number of quality indicators have been developed to integrate significant amounts of processed data, classify them and interpret the meaning of integral assessments. For example, in the UK the GQA system is used. These general quality ratings classify rivers into six groups based on chemical criteria and biological criteria.

To make decisions, it is more convenient to use the assessment in the GQA system than a lot of private indicators.

Literature

Israel Y. A. Ecology and control of the state of the natural environment. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1979, - 376 p.
Israel Y. A. Global Observing System. Forecast and assessment of the environment. Fundamentals of monitoring. - Meteorology and hydrology. 1974, No. 7. - S.3-8.
Syutkin V. M. Ecological monitoring administrative region (concept, methods, practice on example Kirov oblast) - Kirov: VGPU, 1999. - 232 p.

(Free access)

Kuzenkova G.V. Introduction to environmental monitoring: textbook. - N.Novgorod: NF URAO, 2002. - 72 p.
Murtazov A.K. Environmental monitoring. Methods and means: Textbook. Part 1 / A.K. Murtazov; Ryazan State University S.A. Yesenin. - Ryazan, 2008. - 146 p.
Snytko V. A. , Sobisevich A. V. The concept of geoecological monitoring in the works of Academician I.P. Gerasimova // Geography: development of science and education. - T. 1. - Publishing House of the Russian State University named after Herzen St. Petersburg, 2017. - S. 88–91

Environmental monitoring is a set of observations that are conducted over the state in which it is, as well as its assessment and forecast of changes occurring in it under the influence of both anthropogenic and natural factors.

As a rule, such studies are always carried out in any territory, but the services involved in them belong to different departments, and their actions are not coordinated in any of the aspects. For this reason, environmental monitoring is faced with a priority task: to determine the ecological and economic region. The next step is to select information that is specific to the state of the environment. You also need to make sure that the data received is sufficient to draw the right conclusions.

Types of environmental monitoring

Since many tasks of various levels are solved during observation, at one time it was proposed to distinguish three areas of observation:

Sanitary and hygienic;

Natural and economic;

Global.

However, in practice, it turned out that the approach does not clearly define zoning and organizational parameters. It is also impossible to precisely separate the functions of the environmental observation subtypes.

Environmental monitoring: subsystems

The main subspecies of environmental monitoring are:

This service deals with the control and forecast of climate fluctuations. It covers the ice cover, atmosphere, ocean and other parts of the biosphere that influence its formation.

Geophysical monitoring. This service analyzes data on and data from hydrologists, meteorologists.

Biological monitoring. This service monitors how environmental pollution affects all living organisms.

Monitoring the health of residents of a given territory. This service observes, analyzes and predicts the population.

So, in general terms, environmental monitoring is as follows. The environment (or one of its objects) is selected, its parameters are measured, information is collected, and then transmitted. After that, the data is processed, their general characteristics are given at the current stage, and forecasts are made for the future.

Levels of monitoring the state of the environment

Environmental monitoring is a multilevel system. In ascending order it looks like this:

Detail level. Monitoring is carried out in small areas.

local level. This system is formed when parts of detailed monitoring are combined into one network. That is, it is already being conducted on the territory of a district or a large city.

Regional level. It covers the territory of several regions within the same region or region.

National level. It is formed by regional monitoring systems united within one country.

Global level. It combines the monitoring systems of several nations. Its task is to monitor the state of the environment around the world, to predict its changes, which occur, among other things, as a result of the impact on the biosphere.

Observation program

Environmental monitoring is scientifically justified and has its own program. It specifies the goals of its implementation, specific steps and methods of implementation. The main points that make up monitoring are as follows:

List of objects that are controlled. The exact indication of their territory.

List of indicators of ongoing control and acceptable limits of their changes.

And finally, the time frame, that is, how often samples should be taken, and when data should be provided.

Monitoring- a system of repeated targeted observations of the objects under study in space and time.

Environmental monitoring- an information system for observing, assessing and forecasting changes in the state of the environment, created to highlight the anthropogenic component of these changes against the background of natural processes.

Environmental monitoring in the Russian Federation is defined as a set of observations, assessments, forecasts carried out according to scientifically based programs and recommendations and options for management decisions developed on their basis, necessary and sufficient to ensure the management of the state of the environment and environmental safety (State report on the state of the environment in the Russian Federation , 1994).

The environmental monitoring system accumulates, systematizes and analyzes information:

- on the state of the environment;
- about the causes of observed and probable changes in the state (that is, about the sources of impact);
- on the admissibility of changes and loads on the environment as a whole;
- about the existing reserves of the biosphere.

Environmental monitoring of the environment can be developed at the level of an industrial facility, city, district, region, territory, republic as part of a federation.

Tasks of ecological monitoring of the environment. In order to radically increase the efficiency of work to preserve and improve the state of the environment, ensure human environmental safety in the Russian Federation "On the Creation of the Unified State System of Environmental Monitoring" (EGSEM). EGSEM solves the following tasks:

- development of programs for monitoring the state of the environment (OPS) on the territory of Russia, in its individual regions and districts;
- organization of observations and measurements of indicators of environmental monitoring objects;
- ensuring the reliability and comparability of observational data both in individual regions and districts, and throughout Russia;
- collection and processing of observational data;
- organizing the storage of observational data, maintaining special data banks characterizing the ecological situation on the territory of Russia and in its individual regions;
- harmonization of banks and databases of environmental information with international environmental information systems;
- assessment and forecast of the state of environmental protection facilities and anthropogenic impacts on them, natural resources, responses of ecosystems and public health to changes in the state of environmental protection systems;
- organization and implementation of operational control and precision changes in radioactive and chemical contamination as a result of accidents and catastrophes, as well as forecasting the environmental situation and assessing the damage caused to the environmental protection system;
- ensuring the availability of integrated environmental information to a wide range of consumers, including the public, social movements and organizations;
- information support of the management bodies of the state of the environmental protection system, natural resources and environmental safety;
- development and implementation of a unified scientific and technical policy in the field of environmental monitoring;
- creation and improvement of organized, legal, regulatory, methodological, methodological, informational, software-mathematical, hardware and technical support for the functioning of the USSEM.

EGSEM, in turn, includes the following main components:

- monitoring of sources of anthropogenic impact on the environment;
- monitoring of pollution of the abiotic component of the natural environment;
- monitoring of the biotic component of the natural environment;
- social and hygienic monitoring;
- ensuring the creation and functioning of environmental information systems.

Stages of ecological monitoring of the environment.

1) defining the tasks of water quality monitoring systems and the requirements for the information necessary for their implementation;
2) creation of the organizational structure of the observation network and development of principles for their implementation;
3) building a monitoring network;
4) development of a system for obtaining data/information and presenting information to consumers;
5) creation of a system for checking the received information for compliance with the initial requirements and revising, if necessary, the monitoring system.

When developing an environmental monitoring project, the following information is required:

1. sources of pollutants entering the environment - emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere by industrial, energy, transport and other facilities; wastewater discharges into water bodies; surface washouts of pollutants and biogenic substances into the surface waters of land and sea; the introduction of pollutants and biogenic substances onto the earth's surface and (or) into the soil layer together with fertilizers and pesticides during agricultural activities; places of burial and storage of industrial and municipal waste; technogenic accidents leading to the release of hazardous substances into the atmosphere and (or) the spill of liquid pollutants and hazardous substances, etc.;
2. transfers of pollutants - processes of atmospheric transfer; transfer and migration processes in the aquatic environment;

Rice. 3.1

3. processes of landscape-geochemical redistribution of pollutants - migration of pollutants along the soil profile to the level of groundwater; migration of pollutants along the landscape-geochemical conjugation, taking into account geochemical barriers and biochemical cycles; biochemical circulation, etc.;
4. data on the state of anthropogenic emission sources - the power of the emission source and its location, hydrodynamic conditions for the release of emissions into the environment.

The monitoring system is implemented at several levels, which correspond to specially developed programs: impact (study of strong impacts on a local scale):

- regional (manifestation of the problems of migration and transformation of pollutants, the combined impact of various factors characteristic of the region's economy);
- background (on the basis of biosphere reserves, where any economic activity is excluded).

When environmental information moves from the local level (city, district, zone of influence of an industrial facility, etc.) to the federal level, the scale of the map base on which this information is applied increases, therefore, the resolution of information portraits of the environmental situation changes at different hierarchical levels of the environmental monitoring. So, at the local level of environmental monitoring, the information portrait should contain all sources of emissions (ventilation pipes of industrial enterprises, wastewater outlets, etc.).

At the regional level, closely located sources of influence "merge" into one group source. As a result, in the regional information portrait, a small city with several tens of emissions looks like one local source, the parameters of which are determined according to the source monitoring data.

At the federal level of environmental monitoring, there is an even greater generalization of spatially distributed information. As local sources of emissions at this level, industrial areas and rather large territorial formations can play the role. When moving from one hierarchical level to another, not only information about emission sources is generalized, but also other data characterizing the ecological situation.

Objects of observation of ecological monitoring of the environment.

In the zone of influence of emission sources, systematic monitoring of the following objects and parameters of the environment is organized.

1. Atmosphere: chemical and radionuclide composition of the gaseous and aerosol phase of the air sphere; solid and liquid precipitation (snow, rain) and their chemical radionuclide composition; thermal and humidity pollution of the atmosphere.
2. Hydrosphere: chemical and radionuclide composition of the environment of surface waters (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.), groundwater, suspensions and these deposits in natural drains and reservoirs; thermal pollution of surface and ground waters.
3. Soil: chemical and radionuclide composition of the active soil layer.
4. Biota: chemical and radioactive contamination of agricultural land, vegetation, soil zoocenoses, terrestrial communities, domestic and wild animals, birds, insects, aquatic plants, plankton, fish.
5. Urbanized environment: chemical and radiation background of the air environment of settlements; chemical and radionuclide composition of food, drinking water, etc.
6. Population: characteristic demographic parameters (population size and density, birth and death rates, age composition, morbidity, level of congenital deformities and anomalies); socio-economic factors.

Systems for monitoring natural environments and ecosystems include means of monitoring: the ecological quality of the air environment, the ecological state of surface waters and aquatic ecosystems, the ecological state of the geological environment and terrestrial ecosystems.

Environmental monitoring

Introduction

The environmental monitoring system should accumulate, systematize and analyze information:
on the state of the environment;
about the causes of observed and probable changes in state (i.e. about
sources and factors of influence);
on the admissibility of changes and loads on the environment as a whole;
about the existing reserves of the biosphere.
Thus, the environmental monitoring system includes observations of the state of the elements of the biosphere and observations of the sources and factors of anthropogenic impact.
In accordance with the above definitions and the functions assigned to the system, monitoring includes three main areas of activity:
monitoring the impact factors and the state of the environment;
assessment of the actual state of the environment;
forecast of the state of the environment and assessment
predicted state.

It should be taken into account that the monitoring system itself does not include environmental quality management activities, but is a source of information necessary for making environmentally significant decisions.
The main tasks of environmental monitoring:
monitoring of sources of anthropogenic impact;
observation of anthropogenic impact factors;
observation of the state of the natural environment and what is happening in it
processes under the influence of anthropogenic factors;
assessment of the actual state of the natural environment;
forecast of changes in the state of the natural environment under the influence of factors
anthropogenic impact and assessment of the predicted state
natural environment.
Environmental monitoring of the environment can be developed at the level of an industrial facility, city, region, territory, republic as part of a federation.

The nature and mechanism of generalization of information about the environmental situation as it moves through the hierarchical levels of the environmental monitoring system is determined using the concept of an information portrait of the environmental situation. The latter is a set of graphically presented spatially distributed data characterizing the ecological situation in a certain area, together with the map base of the area.
When developing an environmental monitoring project, the following information is required:

Sources of pollutants entering the environment - emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere by industrial, energy, transport and others, leading to the release of hazardous substances into the atmosphere and the spill of liquid pollutants and hazardous substances, etc.;

Transfers of pollutants - processes of atmospheric transfer; processes of transfer and migration in the aquatic environment;

Processes of landscape-geochemical redistribution of pollutants - migration of pollutants along the soil profile to the level of groundwater; migration of pollutants along the landscape-geochemical conjugation, taking into account geochemical barriers and
biochemical cycles; biochemical circulation, etc.;

Data on the state of anthropogenic sources of pollution - the power of the source of pollution and its location, hydrodynamic conditions for the entry of pollution into the environment.

It should be taken into account that the monitoring system itself does not include environmental quality management activities, but is a source of information necessary for making environmentally significant decisions. The term control, which is often used in the Russian-language literature to describe the analytical determination of certain parameters (for example, control of the composition of atmospheric air, control of water quality in reservoirs), should be used only in relation to activities involving the adoption of active regulatory measures.

"Environmental control" is the activity of state bodies, enterprises and citizens to comply with environmental norms and rules. There are state, industrial and public environmental control.
The legislative framework for environmental control is regulated by the Law of the Russian Federation "On Environmental Protection";
1. Environmental control sets its tasks: monitoring
the state of the environment and its change under the influence of economic and
other activities; verification of the implementation of plans and measures for the protection
nature, rational use of natural resources, health improvement
environment, compliance
environmental legislation and environmental quality standards.
2. The environmental control system consists of a public service
monitoring of the state of the environment, state,
production, public control. Thus, in
environmental legislation state monitoring service
defined in fact as part of the overall system of environmental control.

Classification of environmental monitoring

There are various approaches to the classification of monitoring (according to the nature of the tasks to be solved, the levels of organization, and the natural environments being monitored). The classification shown in Figure 2 covers the entire block of environmental monitoring, monitoring the changing abiotic component of the biosphere and the response of ecosystems to these changes. Thus, environmental monitoring includes both geophysical and biological aspects, which determines a wide range of research methods and techniques used in its implementation.

As already noted, the implementation of environmental monitoring in the Russian Federation is the responsibility of various government services. This leads to some uncertainty (at least for the public) regarding the distribution of responsibilities of civil services and the availability of information about the sources of impact, the state of the environment and natural resources. The situation is aggravated by periodic restructuring of ministries and departments, their mergers and divisions.

At the regional level, environmental monitoring and/or control is usually charged with:
Committee for Ecology (monitoring and control of emissions and discharges
operating enterprises).
Committee for Hydrometeorology and Monitoring (impact, regional and partly
background monitoring).
Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of the Ministry of Health (condition of workers, residential and
recreational areas, the quality of drinking water and food).
Ministry of Natural Resources (primarily geological and
hydrogeological observations).
Enterprises that carry out emissions and discharges into the environment
(monitoring and control of own emissions and discharges).
Various departmental structures (subdivisions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Emergency Situations,
Ministry of Fuel and Energy, water and sewer enterprises, etc.)
In order to effectively use the information already received by public services, it is important to know exactly the functions of each of them in the field of environmental monitoring (Taol_ 2).
Powerful professional forces are involved in the system of official environmental monitoring. Is there still a need for public environmental monitoring? Is there a place for it in the general monitoring system that exists in the Russian Federation?
In order to answer these questions, let's consider the levels of environmental monitoring adopted in Russia (Fig. 4).

Ideally, an impact monitoring system should accumulate and analyze detailed information about specific sources of pollution and their impact on the environment. But in the system that has developed in the Russian Federation, information about the activities of enterprises and the state of the environment in the zone of their influence is mostly averaged or based on statements by the enterprises themselves. Most of the available materials reflect the nature of the dispersion of pollutants in air and water, established using model calculations, and the results of measurements (quarterly - for water, annual or less frequent - for air). The state of the environment is sufficiently fully described only in large cities and industrial zones.

In the field of regional monitoring, observations are carried out mainly by Roshydromet, which has an extensive network, as well as by some departments (agrochemical service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Sewerage Service, etc.) And, finally, there is a network of background monitoring carried out within the framework of the MAB (Man and Biosphere) program. Practically not covered by the observation network are small towns and numerous settlements, the vast majority of diffuse sources of pollution. Monitoring of the state of the aquatic environment, organized primarily by Roshydromet and, to some extent, by sanitary and epidemiological (SES) and communal (Vodokanal) services, does not cover the vast majority of small rivers. At the same time, it is known that< загрязнение больших рек в значительной части обусловлено вкладом разветвленной сети их притоков и хозяйственной деятельностью в водосборе. В условиях сокращения общего числ; постов наблюдений очевидно, что государство в настоящее время не располагает ресурсами для организации сколько-нибудь эффективной системы мониторинга состояния малых рек.

Thus, white spots are clearly marked on the ecological map, where systematically! observations are not made. Moreover, within the framework of the state environmental monitoring network, there are no prerequisites for their organization in these places. It is these blind spots that can (and often should) become objects of public environmental monitoring. The practical orientation of monitoring, concentration of efforts on local problems, combined with a well-thought-out scheme and correct interpretation of the data obtained, make it possible to effectively use the resources available to the public. In addition, these features of public monitoring create serious prerequisites for organizing a constructive dialogue aimed at consolidating the efforts of all participants. Global environmental monitoring system. In 1975 The Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) was organized under the auspices of the UN, but it began to operate effectively only recently. This system consists of 5 interrelated subsystems: the study of climate change, long-range transport of pollutants, hygienic aspects of the environment, the study of the oceans and land resources. There are 22 networks of active stations of the global monitoring system, as well as international and national monitoring systems. One of the main ideas of monitoring is reaching a fundamentally new level of competence when making decisions on a local, regional and global scale.

The concept of public environmental expertise arose in the late 80s and quickly became widespread. The original interpretation of this term was very broad. An independent environmental review meant a variety of ways to obtain and analyze information (environmental monitoring, environmental impact assessment, independent research, etc.). Currently, the concept of public environmental expertise is defined by law. "Ecological expertise" - establishing the compliance of the planned economic and other activities with environmental requirements and the admissibility of the implementation of the object of expertise in order to prevent possible adverse effects of this activity on the environment and related social, economic and other consequences of the implementation of the object of environmental expertise.

Ecological expertise can be state and public. Public environmental expertise is carried out at the initiative of citizens and public organizations (associations), as well as at the initiative of local governments by public organizations (associations).
The objects of the state ecological expertise are:
draft master plans for the development of territories,
all types of urban planning documentation (for example, master plan, building project),
draft schemes for the development of sectors of the national economy,
projects of interstate investment programs, projects of integrated schemes for nature protection, schemes for the protection and use of natural resources (including projects for land use and forest management, materials justifying the transfer of forest lands to non-forest lands),
draft international treaties,
substantiation materials for licenses to carry out activities that can have an impact on the environment,
feasibility studies and projects for construction, reconstruction, expansion, technical re-equipment, conservation and liquidation of organizations and other objects of economic activity, regardless of their estimated cost, departmental affiliation and ownership,
draft technical documentation for new equipment, technology, materials, substances, certified goods and services.
Public ecological expertise may be carried out in relation to the same objects as the state ecological expertise, with the exception of objects, information about which constitutes a state, commercial and (or) other secret protected by law.
The purpose of the environmental review is to prevent possible adverse impacts of the proposed activity on the environment and related socio-economic and other consequences.

According to the Law, ecological expertise is based on the principle of presumption of potential environmental hazard of any planned economic or other activity. This means that the responsibility of the customer (the owner of the proposed activity) is to predict the impact of the proposed activity on the environment and justify the admissibility of this impact. The customer is also obliged to provide for the necessary measures to protect the environment, and it is on him that the burden of proving the environmental safety of the proposed activity lies. Foreign experience testifies to the high economic efficiency of environmental expertise. The US Environmental Protection Agency performed a selective analysis of environmental impact reports. In half of the cases studied, there was a decrease in the total cost of projects due to the implementation of constructive environmental measures. According to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a possible increase in the cost of projects associated with an environmental impact assessment and subsequent consideration of environmental restrictions in working projects pays off in an average of 5-7 years. According to Western experts, the inclusion of environmental factors in the decision-making process even at the design stage turns out to be 3-4 times cheaper than the subsequent one before the installation of treatment equipment. Today, the network of observations of sources of influence and the state of the biosphere already covers the entire globe. The Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) was created by the joint efforts of the world community (the main provisions and goals of the program were formulated in 1974 at the First Intergovernmental Monitoring Meeting).
The priority task was to organize monitoring of environmental pollution and the impact factors causing it.

The monitoring system is implemented at several levels, which correspond to specially developed programs:
impact (study of strong impacts on a local scale in - and);
regional (manifestation of the problems of migration and transformation of pollutants, the combined impact of various factors characteristic of the economy of the region - P);
background (on the basis of biosphere reserves, where any economic activity is excluded - F).
The program of impact monitoring can be directed, for example, to the study of discharges or emissions from a particular enterprise. The subject of regional monitoring, as follows from its very name, is the state of the environment within a given region. Finally, background monitoring, carried out within the framework of the international program Man and the Biosphere, aims to record the background state of the environment, which is necessary for further assessments of the levels of anthropogenic impact.
Observation programs are formed according to the principle of choosing pollutants and their corresponding characteristics. The definition of these pollutions in the organization of monitoring systems depends on the purpose and objectives of specific programs: for example, on a territorial scale, the priority of state monitoring systems is given to cities, drinking water sources and fish spawning grounds; with regard to the observation environments, the atmospheric air and water of fresh water bodies deserve priority attention. The priority of ingredients is determined taking into account criteria that reflect the toxic properties of pollutants, the volumes of their entry into the environment, the characteristics of their transformation, the frequency and magnitude of exposure to humans and biota, the possibility of organizing measurements, and other factors.

State environmental monitoring

The GEMS is based on national monitoring systems that operate in various states in accordance with both international requirements and specific approaches that have developed historically or are determined by the nature of the most acute environmental problems. International requirements to be met by national GEMS member systems include uniform principles for developing programs (taking into account priority impact factors), obligatory observations of objects of global significance, and transmission of information to the GEMS Center. On the territory of the USSR in the 70s, on the basis of hydrometeorological service stations, the National Service for Observation and Control of the State of the Environment (OGSNK) was organized, built on a hierarchical principle.

Rice. 3. Tray of information in the hierarchical system of OGCOS

In a processed and systematized form, the information obtained is presented in cadastral publications, such as Annual data on the composition and quality of land surface waters (according to hydrochemical and hydrobiological indicators), the Yearbook of the state of the atmosphere in cities and industrial centers, etc. Until the end of the 80s, all cadastral publications were marked for official use, then for 3-5 years they were open and available in central libraries. To date, massive collections such as the Annual Data ... are practically not received by libraries. Some materials can be obtained (purchased) from the regional divisions of Roshydromet.
In addition to OGSNK, which is part of the system of Roshydromet (Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring), environmental monitoring is carried out by a number of services, ministries and departments.
Unified state system of environmental monitoring
In order to radically increase the efficiency of work to preserve and improve the state of the environment, ensure human environmental safety in the Russian Federation "On the Creation of the Unified State System of Environmental Monitoring" (EGSEM).
EGSEM solves the following tasks:
development of programs for monitoring the state of the environment (OS) on the territory of Russia, in its individual regions and districts;
organization of observations and measurements of indicators of environmental monitoring objects;
ensuring the reliability and comparability of observational data both in individual regions and districts, and throughout Russia;
collection and processing of observational data;
organizing the storage of observational data, maintaining special data banks characterizing the ecological situation on the territory of Russia and in its individual regions;
harmonization of banks and databases of environmental information with international environmental information systems;
assessment and forecast of the state of environmental protection objects and anthropogenic impacts on them, natural resources, responses of ecosystems and public health to changes in the state of environmental protection systems;
organization and implementation of operational control and precision changes in radioactive and chemical contamination as a result of accidents and catastrophes, as well as forecasting the environmental situation and assessing the damage caused to the OPS;
ensuring the availability of integrated environmental information to a wide range of consumers, including the public, social movements and organizations;
information support of the management bodies of the state of the environmental protection system, natural resources and environmental safety;
development and implementation of a unified scientific and technical policy in the field of environmental monitoring;
creation and improvement of organized, legal, regulatory, methodological, methodological, informational, software-mathematical, hardware and technical support for the functioning of the USSEM.
EGSEM, in turn, includes the following main components:
monitoring of sources of anthropogenic impact on the environment;
monitoring of pollution of the abiotic component of the natural environment;
monitoring of the biotic component of the natural environment;
socio-hygienic monitoring;
ensuring the creation and functioning of environmental information systems.

At the same time, the distribution of functions between the central executive federal authorities is carried out as follows.
State Committee for Ecology: coordination of the activities of ministries and departments, enterprises and organizations in the field of environmental protection monitoring; organization of monitoring of sources of anthropogenic impact on the environment and zones of their direct impact; organization of monitoring of flora and fauna, monitoring of terrestrial fauna and flora (except for forests); ensuring the creation and functioning of environmental information systems; maintenance with interested ministries and departments of data banks on the natural environment, natural resources and their use. Roshydromet: organization of monitoring of the state of the atmosphere, surface waters of land, the marine environment, soils, near-Earth space, including integrated background and space monitoring of the state of the environment; coordination of development and functioning of departmental background monitoring subsystems
environmental pollution; maintenance of the state fund of data on environmental pollution.

Roskomzem: land monitoring.
Ministry of Natural Resources: subsoil monitoring, including monitoring of groundwater and hazardous geological processes; monitoring of the aquatic environment of water management systems and structures in places of catchment and wastewater discharge. Roskomrybolovstvo: monitoring of fish, other animals and plants.

Rosleskhoz: forest monitoring.
Roskartografiya: implementation of topographic, geodetic and cartographic support of the USSEM, including the creation of digital, electronic maps and geographic information systems. Gosgortekhnadzor of Russia: coordination of the development and operation of subsystems for monitoring the geological environment related to the use of subsoil resources at enterprises in the extractive industries; monitoring of industrial safety (with the exception of objects of the Ministry of Defense of Russia and the Ministry of Atomic Energy of Russia). Goskomepidnadzor of Russia: monitoring the impact of environmental factors on the health of the population. Ministry of Defense of Russia; monitoring of OPS and sources of influence on it at military facilities; providing UGSEM with means and systems of dual-use military equipment. Goskomsever of Russia: participation in the development and operation of the USSEM in the regions of the Arctic and the Far North. The technology of unified environmental monitoring (SEM) covers the development and use of means, systems and methods of observation, evaluation and development of recommendations and control actions in the natural and technogenic sphere, forecasts of its evolution, energy, environmental and technological characteristics of the production sector, biomedical and sanitary hygienic conditions of human and biota existence. The complexity of environmental problems, their multidimensionality, the closest connection with key sectors of the economy, defense, and ensuring the protection of the health and well-being of the population require a unified systematic approach to solving the problem. Monitoring as a whole is created to prevent various environmental problems, as well as the destruction of ecosystems.

Extermination of species and destruction of ecosystems

Human impact on the biosphere has led to the fact that many species of animals and plants have either disappeared completely or become rare. For mammals and birds, which are easier to count than invertebrates, completely accurate data can be given. For the period from 1600 to the present, 162 species and subspecies of birds have been exterminated by man, and 381 species are threatened with the same fate; among mammals, at least a hundred species have disappeared and 255 are on the way to extinction. The chronology of these sad events is not difficult to trace. In 1627, the last tour, the ancestor of our cattle, died in Poland. In the Middle Ages, this animal could still be found in France. In 1671, the dodo disappeared from the island of Mauritius. In 1870-1880. Boers destroyed two species of South African zebras - Burchell's zebra and quagga. In 1914, the last representative of the passenger pigeon died in the Cincinnati Zoo (USA). A long list of endangered animals could be given. The American bison and the European bison miraculously survived; the Asiatic lion has survived only in one of the forests of India, where only 150 individuals remain; in France every day there are fewer bears and birds of prey.
Extinction of species today
Extinction is a natural process. However, since the advent of agriculture about 10,000 years ago, the rate of species extinction has increased dramatically as humans spread across the globe. According to rough estimates, between 8000 BC. the average rate of extinction of mammals and birds has increased 1,000 times. If we include here the rate of extinction of plant and insect species, then the rate of extinction in 1975 was several hundred species per year. If we take a lower limit of 500,000 extinct species, then by 2010, as a result of anthropogenic activities, on average, 20,000 species per year will disappear, i.e. a total of 1 species every 30 minutes - a 200-fold increase in the extinction rate in just 25 years. Even if the average extinction rate at the end of the 20th century is assumed to be 1,000 per year, the total loss will not be comparable to the great mass extinctions of the past. The most publicized is the disappearance of animals. But the extinction of plants from an ecological point of view is more important, since most animal species directly or indirectly depend on plant food. More than 10% of the world's plant species are estimated to be endangered today. By 2010, 16 to 25% of all plant species will disappear.

Principles of a comprehensive characterization of the state of pollution of the natural environment
A comprehensive characterization of the state of pollution comes from the concept of a comprehensive analysis of the environment. The main and obligatory condition of this concept is the consideration of all the main aspects of interactions and relationships in the natural environment and taking into account all aspects of the pollution of natural objects, as well as the behavior of pollutants (pollutants) and the manifestation of their impact.
The program of complex research of pollution of terrestrial ecosystems
Under the conditions of the increasing load of industrial civilization, environmental pollution is turning into a global factor that determines the development of the natural environment and human health. The prospects for such a development of society are disastrous for the existence of a developed civilization. The proposed program makes it possible to realistically assess the complex of problems associated with the organization of environmental monitoring and plan work to study the pollution of a particular area. The program also set the task of showing that environmental pollution is a real and ubiquitous environmental factor.
Pollution of the environment is an objective reality and one cannot be afraid of it. (An example is radiophobia, i.e. a mental illness associated with a constant fear of radioactive contamination). We must learn to live in the changed environment in a way that reduces the impact of pollution on our health and the health of our neighbors. The formation of an environmental outlook is the main way to fight for the preservation and improvement of the quality of the environment. Usually, in school, extracurricular and university programs of applied ecology, the problems of pollution of water bodies and the oceans are widely discussed. Particular attention is paid to the assessment of the state of reservoirs and local watercourses in terms of environmental and hydrochemical indicators. Numerous programs exist and operate to assess the ecological state of water bodies. This question is well worked out in methodological and scientific terms.

Terrestrial ecosystems, of which man is also an integral component, are less studied and less often used as model objects in training courses. This is due to the much more complex organization of terrestrial biota. When we consider terrestrial ecosystems, natural or heavily modified by humans, the number of internal and external relationships increases dramatically, the source of pollution or other impact becomes more diffuse, and its impact is more difficult to identify, compared to aquatic ecosystems. The boundaries of ecosystems and territories subject to anthropogenic impact are also blurred. However, it is the state of terrestrial ecosystems, i.e. land area, most noticeably and significantly affects the quality of our lives. The purity of the air we breathe, the food and drinking water we consume, is ultimately linked to the state of pollution of terrestrial ecosystems. Since the mid-1950s, environmental pollution has taken on a global scale - anywhere on the planet you can now find toxic products of our civilization: heavy metals, pesticides and other toxic organic and inorganic compounds. It took 20 years for scientists and governments around the world to realize the need to create a service to control global environmental pollution.

Under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), a decision was made to create a Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) with a focal point in Nairobi (Kenya). At the first intergovernmental meeting, held in 1974 in Nairobi, the main approaches to the creation of integrated background monitoring were adopted. Russia is one of the first countries in the world, on the territory of which, by the mid-80s, a national system of integrated background monitoring of the State Committee for Hydrometeorology was created. The system includes a network of integrated background monitoring stations (ICFM) located in biosphere reserves, on the territory of which systematic monitoring of environmental pollution and the state of flora and fauna is carried out. Now in Russia there are 7 background monitoring stations of the Federal Service of Russia "for hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring, located in biosphere reserves: Prioksko-Terrasny, Central Forest, Voronezh, Astrakhan, Kavkazsky, Barguzinsky and Sikhote-Alinsky.

The SCFM conducts observations of air pollution, precipitation, surface water, soil, vegetation and animals. These observations make it possible to estimate the change in the background pollution of the environment, i.e. pollution caused not by any one or a group of sources, but by the general pollution of a vast territory, caused by the total impact of close (local) and remote sources of pollutants, as well as the general pollution of the planet. On the basis of these data, it is possible to compile a comprehensive characterization of the pollution of the territory.
There is no need for long-term monitoring in order to make a preliminary comprehensive characterization of the pollution of the territory. It is important that when conducting a study, the basic requirements and principles on which the concept of research complexity is built are taken into account.

Principles of complex characteristics of the state of pollution of the natural environment. A comprehensive characterization of the state of pollution comes from the concept of a comprehensive analysis of the environment. The main and obligatory condition of this concept is consideration of all
the main aspects of interactions and relationships in the natural environment and taking into account all aspects of pollution of natural objects, as well as the behavior of pollutants (pollutants) and the manifestation of their impact. With a comprehensive characterization of pollution, pollutants are monitored in all
environments, while great importance is attached to the study of the accumulation (accumulation) of one or another pollutant in natural objects or certain landscapes, its transition (translocation) from one natural environment to another and the changes (effects) caused by it. The ongoing comprehensive studies of pollution are designed to determine the source of pollution, assess its power and impact time, and find ways to improve the environment. An approach that takes into account the listed requirements is considered to be complex.

In this regard, there are 4 main principles of complexity:
1. Integrity (observations of total indicators).
2. Multi-environment (observations in the main natural environments).
3. Consistency (recreation of biochemical cycles of pollutants).
4. Multicomponent nature (analysis of various types of pollutants).

When organizing long-term monitoring, special attention is paid to the fifth principle - the unification of analysis methods and the control and assurance of data quality. In the following, we describe each of these principles in detail.
It should be noted that when conducting a comprehensive study, not only purely ecological knowledge and methods are used, but also knowledge and methods of geography, geophysics, analytical chemistry, programming, etc.
Integrity
A feature of the integral approach is the use of signs of reactions of various natural objects and bioindicators to determine the presence of pollution.

Getting into an unfamiliar area, an observant person, and especially a naturalist, can determine the state of pollution in a given area by indirect features. An unnatural smell, a smoky horizon, gray February snow, an iridescent film on the surface of a reservoir, and many other features will prompt the observer to increased industrial pollution of the area. In the above example, indicators of the state of pollution of the area are non-living (abiotic) objects - surface air, the surface of the snow cover and the reservoir. The most widely used as an abiotic indicator of industrial pollution of the territory is the snow cover and the method of its study - snow survey (one of the manuals of this series will be devoted to this method).
When using an integral approach, special attention is paid to the state of living organisms.

So, it is known that pine is the most vulnerable to air pollution in our zone. With a high level of air pollution with sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and other toxic compounds, a general lightening of the color of the needles, dry tops, and yellowing of the edges of the needles are observed. Juniper dries up in the undergrowth. A few hours after acid rain, the edges of the birch leaves turn yellow, the leaves are covered with a gray-yellow coating or specks. With an abundance of nitrogen oxides in the air, algae rapidly develop on tree trunks, while epiphytic fruticose lichens disappear, etc. The presence of broad-toed crayfish in the reservoir indicates the high purity of the water.
The method of using living organisms as indicators signaling the state of the natural environment is called bioindication, and the living organism itself, the state of which is monitored, is called a bioindicator. In the above examples, living objects served as bioindicators - birch, pine, juniper, epiphytic lichens, broad-toed crayfish.
The use of bioindicators is based on the reaction of any biological organism to a negative impact. At the same time, the set of reactions to the multiple, integral, negative impact of the environment, as a rule, is very limited. The organism either dies, or leaves (if it can) the given area, or ekes out a miserable existence, which can be determined visually or using various tests and a series of special observations (several manuals of this series are devoted to bioindication techniques).

The selection and use of bioindicators is entirely in line with environmental science, and bioindication is an intensively developing method for studying the results of impacts. For example, various plants are widely used in air quality observations. In the forest, in each tier, certain types of plants can be distinguished, reacting in their own way to the state of environmental pollution.
Thus, the integral approach is to use natural objects as indicators of environmental pollution.
At the same time, it is often completely unclear what specific substance was the cause of a particular effect, and it is impossible to draw conclusions about a direct relationship between the indicator species and the pollutant. The peculiarity of the integral approach lies precisely in the fact that this or that indicator object only signals to us that something is wrong in a given area. The use of bioindicators to characterize the state of pollution makes it possible to effectively (i.e. quickly and cheaply) determine the presence of a general, integral impact of pollution on the environment and make only preliminary ideas about the chemical nature of pollution. Unfortunately, it is impossible to accurately determine the chemical composition of pollutants using bioindication methods. In order to specifically determine which substance or group of substances has the most detrimental effect, it is necessary to use other research methods. Precise determination of the type of pollutant, its source, and the extent of pollution and spread is impossible without analytical long-term studies in all natural environments.

Multimedia
When conducting monitoring studies, it is important to cover all the main natural environments: the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere (mainly the soil cover - pedosphere), as well as biota. To analyze the migrations of pollutants, determine the places of their localization and accumulation, and determine the limiting environment, it is necessary to carry out measurements in objects of the main natural environments.
It is especially important to determine the limiting environment, that is, the environment, the pollution of which determines the pollution of all other environments and natural objects. It is also very important to determine the ways of migration of pollutants and the possibilities and coefficients of transition (translocation) of pollutants from one environment (or object) to another. This is the science of geophysics.

The main media (objects) that should be covered when conducting a comprehensive study: air, soil (as part of the lithosphere), surface water and biota. The contamination of each of these media is characterized by the results of analyzes of pollutants in various objects within these media, the choice of which is important for the results and conclusions obtained. To obtain information about the contamination of a particular object, it is required to take a sample for analysis. The main principles to be followed in site selection and sampling are outlined below.

Atmosphere.
The main object by which atmospheric pollution is characterized is the surface layer of air. Air samples for analysis are taken at a level of 1.5 - 2 m from the ground. Air sampling usually consists of pumping it through filters, a sorbent (binder) or measuring device. Special requirements apply to the selection site. Firstly, the site must be open and more than 100 m away from the forest. Measurements under the forest canopy give, as a rule, an underestimated result and characterize the density of crowns more than the level of air pollution. Indirectly, air quality can be judged by the pollution of atmospheric precipitation (mainly snow and rain). Precipitation is taken using large funnels, special sediment collectors or simply basins, only at the moment of precipitation and at the point of air sampling. Sometimes dry deposition samples are used to characterize air pollution, i.e. solid dust particles constantly deposited on the underlying surface. Methodically, this is a rather complicated task, which, however, is quite simply solved by the method of snow survey.

surface waters.
The main objects of study are small (local) rivers and lakes.
When sampling, special attention should be paid to the fact that water sampling should be carried out 15 - 30 cm below the water table. This is due to the fact that the surface film is a boundary medium between air and water, and the concentrations of most pollutants in it are 10–100 or more times higher than in the water column itself. The pollution of stagnant water bodies can be judged by bottom sediments. When sampling, it is important to consider the season in which the sampling takes place. There are 4 main seasonal periods: winter and summer low water (minimum level) and spring and autumn floods (maximum level). In low water, water levels in reservoirs are minimal, because. there is no water inflow with precipitation, or the amount of precipitation is less than evaporation. During these periods, the role of groundwater and groundwater in nutrition is the greatest. During periods of floods, the water level in reservoirs and streams rises, especially in spring, during the flood period. During these periods, rain food and food due to snowmelt make up the maximum share. In this case, the surface washout of soil particles and pollutants with them into rivers and lakes occurs. For small rivers and streams, rain floods are also distinguished, characterized by an increase in the water level for several hours or days after the rain, which plays a significant role in the washout of pollutants from the surrounding areas. The state of the water level in reservoirs is important to take into account due to the fact that by the period in which the concentration of pollutants in the water is higher, one can judge its source. If the concentration in the low water is higher than in the flood or practically does not change, then pollutants enter the watercourse with ground and groundwater, if vice versa - with precipitation from the atmosphere and washout from the underlying surface.

Lithosphere (pedosphere).
The main object characterizing the contamination of the underlying surface is the soil, especially its upper 5 centimeters. In this regard, in most studies, only this upper layer is selected to characterize soil contamination.
When taking soil samples, it is important to identify autochthonous, that is, indigenous, ecosystems formed on elevated areas of the indigenous coast (plakor). Soil contamination in these areas is indicative of a typical state of contamination. As a rule, these are watershed primary forests and raised bogs. It is also necessary to carry out studies of soils in accumulative landscapes located in depressions and absorbing pollution from vast areas.

Biota.
The concept of biota includes objects of flora and fauna living in the study area.
On the example of these objects, the content of pollutants that tend to accumulate in plants and animals, that is, substances whose content in biological objects is higher than in abiotic media, is controlled. This phenomenon is called bioaccumulation.
The root cause of bioaccumulation is that the entry of a pollutant into a living object is much easier than its removal or decomposition. For example, the radioactive metal strontium (Sr 90) accumulates in the bone tissue of animals, since its properties are very close to calcium, which is the basis of the mineral component of bones. The body confuses these compounds and includes strontium in the bones. Another example is organochlorine pesticides such as DDT. These substances are highly soluble in fats and poorly soluble in water (this property is called lipophilicity in chemistry). As a result, substances from the intestine do not enter the blood, but into the lymph. With the blood, toxic substances would be delivered to the liver and kidneys - the organs responsible for the decomposition and elimination of toxic substances from the body. Once in the lymph, these substances are distributed throughout the body and dissolved in fats. Thus, a store of toxic substances in fats is created. Animals and plants also accumulate heavy metals, radionuclides, toxic organic compounds (pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls). These compounds are present in animals and plants in ultra-low concentrations (less than 10 mg/kg), the determination of which requires the use of complex analytical equipment.

Consistency
In part, we have already talked about the need to take into account the relationship between media and objects when sampling.
An ideal research system should be able to trace the path of the pollutant from the source to the sink, and from the exit point to the target (object of influence). The monitoring system should work in such a way that, by studying the interactions between environments, it can describe the paths of the biochemical circulation of substances. For this, a systematic approach is used, which allows creating transfer models.
On land, the atmosphere is the main pathway for the propagation and transport of pollutants. The intake of substances is associated with their concentration in the air and precipitation from the atmosphere with precipitation and dry fallout. The removal occurs by rivers, streams and surface washout during the period of snowmelt and rain. There may not be any removal outside the territory, and substances accumulate in the so-called accumulative landscapes - lowland swamps, depressions, ravines and lakes. To link all the examined components into a single system, it is necessary to collect the parameters of the main abiotic and biotic indicators of objects and ecosystems as a whole.

The main abiotic indicators are:

Climatic:
1) Air temperature and pressure - to bring the volume of pumped air during sampling to normal conditions, as well as to simulate the process of pollutant transfer.
2) Wind speed and direction - ways of pollutant transfer from the source, identification of the source, modeling of the transfer process, monitoring of the release from the enterprise (source).
3) Amount of precipitation - calculation of precipitation of pollutants from the atmosphere. Hydrological: water level, flow rate and runoff volume -
necessary to determine the time of sampling and calculate the volume of pollutant removal and determine the source (path of entry).

Soil: soil volumetric weight, type and genetic horizons, mechanical composition. All this must be investigated to determine the density of pollution and the biological capacity of soils. It is also important to take into account the aeration, drainage and watering of the soil. These indicators characterize the intensity of decontamination of pollutants. For example, under anaerobic conditions (reducing reactions predominate in the soil without access to oxygen) and under conditions of increased moisture (signified by traces of gleying on the soil profile), most pesticides and other complex hydrocarbons (for example, polychlorinated biphenyls) are rather quickly decomposed or consumed by anaerobic microorganisms. Biotic parameters: key ecosystem parameters are collected to detect the effect of pollution and to calculate biogeochemical cycles and translocations of pollutants in ecosystems. The main parameters are: productivity, litter, total biomass and phytomass. An important characteristic that is used in the organization of long-term monitoring of the state of natural ecosystems is the rate of litter decomposition. Special tests have been developed to control the rate of decomposition. With a high level of pollution, the rate of decomposition of the litter decreases.

Multicomponent
Modern industry and agriculture use a huge amount of toxic compounds and elements and, accordingly, are powerful sources of environmental pollution. Many of them are xenobiotics, i.e. synthetic substances that are not characteristic of living nature. The reason for the deterioration of the ecological situation and the oppression of biota can be any of the substances. Until recently, control over the entire spectrum of pollutants was practically impossible. Trends in the development of analytical methods and instruments have led to the fact that now it is quite possible to obtain information about ultra-low concentrations of almost all substances. However, these devices are too expensive for widespread implementation in practice, and there is no need for this. It is enough to single out the most dangerous or most informative substances, and carry out thorough control over them. In this case, of course, one has to put up with the instrumental methods of analysis available.

The GEMS program identifies the main, most dangerous (priority) pollutants and the most important media for their control (Table 1). The higher the priority class, the higher their danger to the biosphere and the more thorough the control.
Data on the main priority pollutants are necessary and sufficient for a comprehensive characterization of the pollution of the territory. Many of them are indicative of a whole class of pollutants. Conventionally, pollutants can be divided into 3 types according to their behavior in the natural environment:

1. Substances that are not prone to accumulation in natural environments and to the transition from one environment to another (translocation). As a rule, these are gaseous compounds.
The priority medium for observations is air.
2. Substances partially prone to accumulation, mainly in abiotic environments, as well as migrating in various environments. These substances include nitrates and other fertilizers, some pesticides, petroleum products, etc.
The priority environment is natural waters, soil.
3. Substances that accumulate in animate and inanimate nature and are included in the biogeochemical cycles of ecosystems. This group includes the most dangerous substances for the organism of animals and humans - pesticides, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals.

The priority environment is soils and biota.
The type (or level) of the surveillance program indicates the extent of the pollutant's spread.
The impact (local) level indicates that the pollutant is dangerous only close to the source (large city, factory, etc.). At a considerable distance, pollution levels are not dangerous.
The regional level means that dangerous levels of pollution can be created in certain regions over a sufficiently large area.
At the baseline or global level, pollution has assumed planetary proportions.
Table 1. Classification of priority pollutants

Note: I - impact, R - regional, B - basic (global).

Where to start with a comprehensive characterization of pollution?

Starting to create a system of local monitoring of environmental pollution, one should:
1) Clearly define the study area.
2) After that, it is necessary to determine the near and remote sources of pollution. This work is called - inventory of sources of pollution. To carry it out, it is necessary to determine the existing and other possible sources of pollution and substances that can be emitted by these sources on the territory of your residence and (or) research, as well as to estimate the volume of emissions of emitted pollutants (power of sources). Sources, at the same time, are divided into point and area sources. Point, or organized, sources are localized on the ground, i.e. have a defined ejection point, for example, in the form of a pipe. These can be industrial enterprises, houses with stove heating, boiler rooms, landfills.

Areal, or unorganized, sources do not have a specific pipe - pollutants are emitted over a specific area. These are highways and railways, agricultural land where fertilizers and pesticides are used, forest land that can be treated with insecticides and defoliants.
There are local sources, i.e. located in the study area or within 10-20 km from it and regional, located 50-200 km away. At the same time, you should try to evaluate the sources and identify the most powerful ones that determine the level of pollution in your area.

For example, the zone of influence of a point regional source, the Monchegorsk Severonikel Mining Plant, extends over a territory of more than 100 km. In the area up to 20 km from the plant, all vegetation was burned by acid precipitation, with the exception of the most resistant mosses, and the contamination of soils and, accordingly, mushrooms and berries with heavy metals spreads within a radius of 50 km from the plant.
In such cases, smaller sources of heavy metals and sulfur compounds have little or no effect on the overall pollution pattern, since completely suppressed by a more powerful source. The measurement results will thus be determined by the meteorological factors of pollutant transfer and the intensity of the plant's emissions.

It is also important to pay attention to the ways in which pollutants spread. Substances from a source to the environment may be emitted to the atmosphere or discharged to a watercourse or sewer. Source inventory is a painstaking and difficult job. However, a successful inventory of sources promises half the success of your undertaking. You can get the necessary information about the sources and power of emissions from local environmental committees. Each industrial facility that emits products of its activities into the environment has an environmental passport and is obliged to conduct an inventory of pollution sources on its territory. 3) At the third stage, using the knowledge and techniques of bioindication, one should try to detect effects. 4) The fourth stage includes a comprehensive survey of all environments based on your existing measuring instruments. Here, at first, simple flatbed studies, such as snow measurements and analysis of snow samples for the content and composition of particulate matter and the concentration of hydrogen ions (pH), will be of great benefit. After the examination, you can already judge the degree of industrial and agricultural pollution in your area and determine the most significant sources of pollution.

5) After that, you can start under-flare observations and organize monitoring of the activities of a particular enterprise that makes the maximum contribution to the pollution of your area. The essence of underflare observations is that in the direction of the prevailing winds at an equal distance from the source, information collection points (points) are laid. At the same time, it is good to combine various research methods - chemical, biological (for example, bioindication), geographical, etc. On the windward side, at some distance from the source, it is also necessary to lay an observation point that will play the role of a control point, but only if it is not located on the windward side of another equally powerful source. Comparing the results obtained by lee points located at different distances from the source between themselves and with the control point, you can clearly show the impact of this enterprise on the state of the environment and determine the area of its impact.

Of course, with a limited number of observations, you will not be able to recreate biogeochemical cycles. This task is only possible for large scientific teams, but you will already be able to judge the level of pollution and the sources that make the maximum contribution to the pollution of the natural environment in your area. The ultimate goal of conducting a comprehensive survey of the territory is to assess the state of pollution in your area. The assessment includes a comparison of pollution levels in your area with other areas, the usual, background levels of pollution for selected pollutants, and determining the strength of the impact and the compliance of the quality of the environment with accepted maximum allowable standards. Unfortunately, environmental standards have not been fully developed and it is often necessary to use only the sanitary and hygienic standards listed in the list of additional literature. You can get acquainted with the background levels in local SES, environmental committees and in the yearbooks of Roshydromet.

References:
"Program of Comprehensive Study of Pollution of Terrestrial Ecosystems (Introduction to the Problem of Environmental Monitoring)" Yu.A. Buivolov, A.S. Bogolyubov, M.: Ecosystem, 1997.

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Environmental monitoring

At the end of the 20th century, the scientific and technological activity of mankind has become a tangible factor influencing the environment. In order to optimize the relationship of man with nature and the ecological orientation of economic activity, a multi-purpose information system of long-term observations has appeared - monitoring.

Ecological monitoring (environment monitoring) (from Latin monitor - one who reminds, warns) is a multi-purpose information system for long-term observations, as well as assessment and forecast of the state of the natural environment. The main goal of environmental monitoring is to prevent critical situations that are harmful or dangerous to human health, the well-being of other living beings, their communities, natural and man-made objects.

The monitoring system itself does not include environmental quality management activities, but is a source of information necessary for making environmentally significant decisions.

The environmental monitoring system accumulates, systematizes and analyzes information: on the state of the environment; about the causes of observed and probable changes in the state (i.e. about the sources and factors of influence); on the admissibility of changes and loads on the environment as a whole; about the existing reserves of the biosphere.

Basic monitoring system procedures

3 selection (definition) and examination of the object of observation;

3assessment of the state of the object of observation;

3prediction of changes in the state of the object of observation;

3 presentation of information in a form convenient for use and bringing it to the consumer.

Environmental monitoring points are located in large settlements, industrial and agricultural areas.

Types of monitoring

1. Depending on the territory covered by observations, monitoring is divided into three levels: global, regional and local.

· Global monitoring - monitoring of global processes (including anthropogenic influence) occurring on the entire planet. The development and coordination of global monitoring of the natural environment is carried out within the framework of UNEP (a UN body) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). There are 22 networks of active stations of the global monitoring system. The main objectives of the global monitoring program are: organization of a warning system about a threat to human health; assessment of the impact of global atmospheric pollution on climate; assessment of the amount and distribution of contaminants in biological systems; assessment of problems arising from agricultural activities and land use; assessment of the response of terrestrial ecosystems to environmental impacts; assessment of pollution of marine ecosystems; creation of a system of warnings about natural disasters on an international scale.

· Regional monitoring - tracking processes and phenomena within a single region, where these processes and phenomena may differ both in nature and in anthropogenic impacts from the basic background characteristic of the entire biosphere. At the level of regional monitoring, observations are made of the state of ecosystems of large natural-territorial complexes - river basins, forest ecosystems, agroecosystems.

· Local monitoring is the monitoring of natural phenomena and anthropogenic impacts in small areas.

In the local monitoring system, the most important is the control of the following indicators (Table 4).

Table 4

Objects of observation and indicators

Atmosphere	Chemical and radionuclide compositions of the gaseous and aerosol phases of the air sphere; solid and liquid precipitation (snow and rain) and their chemical and radionuclide compositions, thermal pollution of the atmosphere.
Hydrosphere	Chemical and radionuclide composition of the surface water environment (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.), groundwater, suspended matter and bottom sediments in natural drains and reservoirs; thermal pollution of surface and ground waters.
	Chemical and radionuclide compositions.
	Chemical and radioactive contamination of agricultural land, vegetation, soil zoocenoses, terrestrial communities of domestic and wild animals, birds, insects, aquatic plants, plankton, fish.
urban environment	Chemical and radiation backgrounds of the air environment of settlements, chemical and radionuclide compositions of food products, drinking water, etc.
Population	Population size and density, birth and death rates, age composition, morbidity, etc.), socio-economic factors.

2. Depending on the object of observation, there are basic (background) and impact monitoring.

· Basic monitoring - monitoring of general biospheric natural phenomena without the imposition of anthropogenic influences on them. For example, basic monitoring is carried out in specially protected natural areas, which practically do not experience local impacts of human activities.

· Impact monitoring is the monitoring of regional and local anthropogenic impacts in especially hazardous areas.

In addition, monitoring is distinguished: bioecological (sanitary and hygienic), geoecological (natural and economic), biospheric (global), space, geophysical, climatic, biological, public health, social, etc.

Environmental monitoring methods

Various research methods are used in environmental monitoring. Among them are remote (aerospace) and ground methods. Remote methods, for example, include sounding from artificial satellites, spacecraft. Terrestrial methods include biological (bioindication) and physico-chemical methods.

One of the main components of environmental monitoring is biological monitoring, which is understood as a system of long-term observations, assessment and forecast of any changes in the biota (the presence and disappearance of any species, changes in their state and abundance, the appearance of accidental introducers, changes in habitat, etc.). ) caused by anthropogenic factors.

The structure of biological monitoring is quite complex. It consists of separate subprograms based on the principle based on the levels of organization of biological systems. Thus, genetic monitoring corresponds to the subcellular level of organization, while environmental monitoring corresponds to the population and biocenotic levels.

Biological monitoring implies - the development of early warning systems, diagnostics and forecasting. The main stages of activity in the development of early warning systems are the selection of suitable organisms and the creation of automated systems capable of isolating “response” signals with sufficiently high accuracy. Diagnostics involves the detection, identification and determination of the concentration of pollutants in the biotic component based on the widespread use of organisms - indicators (from the Latin indicare - to indicate). The forecast of the state of the biotic component of the environment can be carried out on the basis of biotesting and ecotoxicology. The method of using organisms - indicators is called - bioindication.

Bioindication, in contrast to a simple physical or chemical measurement of anthropogenic factors (they provide quantitative and qualitative characteristics that make it possible to judge biological effects only indirectly), makes it possible to detect and determine biologically significant anthropogenic loads. The most convenient for bioindication - fish, aquatic invertebrates, microorganisms, algae. The main requirements for bioindicators are their multiplicity and constant connection with the anthropogenic factor.

Benefits of live indicators:

Summarize all, without exception, biologically important data about the environment and reflect its state as a whole;

· make it unnecessary to use expensive and time-consuming physical and chemical methods for measuring biological parameters (short-term and burst emissions of toxicants cannot always be registered);

reflect the speed of changes occurring in nature;

· indicate the ways and places of accumulation of various kinds of pollution in ecological systems and possible ways of getting these agents into food;

allow to judge the degree of harmfulness of certain substances for nature and man;

make it possible to control the action of many human-synthesized compounds;

help to regulate the allowable load on ecosystems.

Two methods are generally suitable for bioindication: passive and active monitoring. In the first case, visible and invisible damage and deviations from the norm are examined in free-living organisms, which are signs of mass stress exposure. Active monitoring attempts to detect the same effects on test organisms under standardized conditions in the study area.

Monitoring the state of natural resources in Russia

Environmental monitoring of the environment can be developed at the level of an industrial facility, city, district, region, territory, republic.

There are several departmental monitoring systems in the Russian Federation:

* Environmental Pollution Monitoring Service of Roshydromet;

* monitoring service of the forest fund of Rosleskhoz;

* monitoring service of water resources of Roskomvod;

* service of agrochemical observations and monitoring of pollution of agricultural lands of Roskomzem;

* Service for sanitary and hygienic control of the human environment and his health of the State Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision of Russia;

Control and inspection service of the State Committee for Ecology of Russia, etc.

Monitoring Organizations anthropogenic impact on various objects of the environment	Objects of study
Federal Service of Russia for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring	Atmospheric air pollution. Pollution of land surface waters. Sea water pollution. transboundary pollution. Comprehensive monitoring of environmental pollution and impact on vegetation. Atmospheric pollution. Global background atmospheric monitoring. Comprehensive background monitoring. radiation factors. Emergency toxicological monitoring.
Ministry of Natural Resources Protection of the Russian Federation	Natural and disturbed groundwater regime. Exogenous geological processes.
Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Russian Federation	Soil pollution. Vegetation pollution. Water pollution. Contamination of agricultural products, products of processing enterprises.
State Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance of the Russian Federation	Drinking sources of water supply for settlements. Work area air. Food products. Noise sources. Sources of vibration. Sources of electromagnetic radiation. Population morbidity from environmental pollution factors. Residual amount of halogen-containing compounds in food products.
Federal Forestry Service of the Russian Federation	Monitoring of forest resources
Federal Agency for Fisheries of the Russian Federation	Monitoring of fish resources.

Atmospheric air monitoring. Atmospheric air in Russia is not taken into account as a natural resource. To assess the level of air pollution in 506 cities of Russia, a network of posts of the national service for monitoring and controlling air pollution has been created. At the posts, the content of various harmful substances in the atmosphere coming from anthropogenic sources of emissions is determined. Observations are carried out by employees of local organizations of the State Committee for Hydrometeorology, the State Committee for Ecology, the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision, sanitary and industrial laboratories of various enterprises. In some cities, observations are carried out simultaneously by all departments. Atmospheric air quality control in settlements is organized in accordance with GOST 17.2.3.01-86 “Nature Protection. Atmosphere. Rules for air quality control in settlements”, for which three categories of atmospheric pollution observation posts are established: stationary posts (designed for regular air sampling and continuous monitoring of pollutant content), route posts (for regular monitoring using specially equipped vehicles), mobile posts (carried out near highways to determine the features of air pollution created by cars), under-flare posts (carried out by car or at stationary posts to study the features of air pollution by emissions from individual industrial enterprises).

Water monitoring is carried out within the framework of the state water cadastre. Accounting for water resources (except for underground) and monitoring their regime is carried out on a network of hydrometeorological observatories, stations and posts of Roshydromet. Roskomvod provides enterprises, organizations and institutions with control over the correct accounting of the amount of water taken from water sources and the discharge of used water into them. State accounting of groundwater (including operational reserves) is carried out by organizations of the Ministry of Natural Resources Protection of the Russian Federation. The selected drinking and technical waters are subject to control.

Monitoring of land resources is carried out by both land users and state land management bodies. Land inventory is carried out once every 5 years. Information on state registration of land use, accounting for the quantity and quality of land, soil appraisal (comparative assessment of soils according to their most important agronomic properties) and economic assessment of land are recorded in the state land cadastre.

Monitoring of mineral resources is carried out at various stages of their development. Geological study of the subsoil, accounting for the state of the movement of mineral reserves are within the competence of the bodies of the Ministry of Natural Resources Protection of the Russian Federation. Supervisory activity in the field of rational use of mineral resources is carried out by Gosgortekhnadzor of Russia (a specialized control body that, along with supervision of the state of safety of work in industry, supervises compliance with the procedure for using subsoil during the development of mineral deposits and the processing of mineral raw materials). The Ministry of the Russian Federation for the Protection of Natural Resources in terms of subsoil protection controls about 3,650 enterprises for the extraction and processing of mineral raw materials, which include more than 171 thousand objects (mines, mines, quarries and cuts).

Monitoring of biological resources. Accounting for game and game animals is entrusted to the State Service for Accounting for Hunting Resources of Russia, which, based on the available information, makes forecasts for the rational use of animal resources. Monitoring of fish resources is carried out in all fishing basins and in places most exposed to anthropogenic impact. It is carried out by employees of fishery institutes, ichthyological services of fish protection bodies subordinate to the Federal Agency for Fisheries of the Russian Federation.

Works on the study and mapping of stocks of wild plants are carried out mainly by research institutes and departments of relevant universities. In particular, for the industrial raw materials of medicinal plants, the areas of their placement, reserves within the ranges, are determined. In addition, work is underway to assess the floristic diversity of individual regions, regulate pasture pressure on natural groups, and control the removal of commercial plants.

Monitoring of forest resources includes accounting of the forest fund, protection of forests from fires, sanitary and forest pathological control and control of logging and reforestation, as well as specialized monitoring of industrial and territorial complexes, zones of ecological trouble. The functional and technological structure of the national level of the forest monitoring system includes: forest management enterprises, forest pathological monitoring service, specialized forest protection enterprises and stations, research institutes, industries and universities, and some others.

In the state environmental management system, an important role is given to the formation of the Unified State Environmental Monitoring System (EGSEM) (Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of March 31, 2003 N 177) as a source of objective comprehensive information about the state of the natural environment in Russia. This system includes: monitoring of sources of anthropogenic impact on the environment; monitoring of pollution of abiotic and biotic components of the natural environment; ensuring the creation and functioning of environmental information systems.

Ecological problems at different stages of society development.

Economic relations that develop in the process of interaction between society and nature.

Territorial aspects of the formation of modern global environmental processes.

Population growth. Food and energy problems.