Analysis of snow cover pollution in Arctic cities based on satellite albedo measurements

The article presents the results of the work devoted to the analysis of the Sentinel-2/MSI optical images applicability for monitoring the snow cover pollution in industrial Arctic cities. Initially, the authors evaluate the accuracy of calculating the albedo values from satellite images based on the albedo ground-based measurements with a pyranometer in Moscow and Kirovsk. Statistical analysis has shown a high correlation between ground-based and satellite albedo measurements, which makes it possible to use quantitative albedo values in the spatiotemporal analysis of snow cover contamination. For three cities (Murmansk, Vorkuta, Norilsk) that differ in physical and geographical conditions and the type of industrial enterprises, the analysis of snow cover contamination for the period 2016–2020 was carried out. For Murmansk, the main pollutant is coal dust from the seaport, where coal is handled in an open way. In early 2020. the city authorities have completed the construction of a dust screen around the port terminals to reduce urban pollution. The analysis carried out in the work showed that the installed screen significantly reduced the area of pollution in the city of Murmansk. For terrain height more than 120 m, the albedo values correspond to the maximum values for the selected date, which indicates that coal dust spreads for territories located at altitudes of less than 100 m. It was not possible to identify long-term dynamics of albedo values for Vorkuta and Norilsk. Polluted snow cover is observed at a distance of up to 10 km from polluting enterprises.