Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Natural processes cause sedimentation in local depressed surface zones of urban landscapes with the formation of micro water bodies (puddles). Urban puddle sediments are a geochemical trap for contemporary anthropogenic sediments. These sediments accumulate pollutants over the surface and over time. Samples of urban puddle sediments were collected in residential areas of six Russian cities (the number of sites in parentheses): Tyumen (43), Chelyabinsk (60), Nizhniy Tagil (69), Magnitogorsk (41), and Ufa (43). The cities are located in different geological, geographical, climatic, and industrial zones. The particle size composition, pH, concentration of organic matter, and heavy metals in the puddle sediments were characterized for the surveyed cities which were then ranked by the degree of pollution. The main sources of heavy metal pollution were discussed.