REGIONAL PATTERNS OF HEAVY-METALS (CO, CR, CU, FE, NI, PB, V AND ZN) AND SULFUR IN TERRESTRIAL MOSS SAMPLES AS INDICATION OF AIRBORNE POLLUTION IN A 188,000 KM(2) AREA IN NORTHERN FINLAND, NORWAY AND RUSSIA

The geological surveys of Finland and Norway and the Central Kola Expe dition in Russia are carrying out a geochemical mapping project in a 1 88,000 km(2) area north of the Arctic Circle. Several sample media (te rrestrial moss, organic topsoil (0-3 cm), topsoil (0-5 cm), complete p odzol profiles) were collected throughout the area during the summer o f 1995 at an average density of one sample station per 300 km(2). Colo ur surface maps of the major airborne pollutants (Ni, Cu, Co and S) fr om the Russian nickel mining and smelting industry in this area, as re corded by ICP-MS and ICP-AES analysis of terrestrial mosses, clearly s how the industrial sites and the areal extent of the pollution. The co ntrast between background and polluted sites is very large for Ni, Cu and Co, but not for S. Pollution follows the main wind and topographic al directions in the area, and gradients towards the west are rather s teep. Maps for some additional elements (Fe, Cr, Pb, V, Zn) show the i nfluence of other sources than just airborne pollution on the composit ion of the mosses. Zn is an example of an element whose local variatio n is so high that no reliable regional maps can be constructed using t he moss technique. A hitherto unknown, large V anomaly was detected in the surroundings of Murmansk.