ECOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL COMFORT CLIMATE OF THE ISLAND WEST SPITSBERGEN
The article is devoted to studying of features of the bioclimate of the island of Spitsbergen, formed on the background of the peculiarities of the climatic regime of the island as a whole and the contribution of meteorological parameters in the dispersion of anthropogenic pollutants of the surface layer of the atmosphere. The Svalbard archipelago (its Western part) is one of the strategic areas of the Russian sector of the Arctic, which has not only an important economic but also a unique scientific and theoretical significance, which actualizes the research topic. Currently, the main factors affecting the environment of the island include coal mining and, more recently, the increase in the tourism industry. Therefore, one of the most important problems of the Western part of the archipelago can be considered air pollution. A significant role in shaping the quality of the environment playing weather conditions that define the conditions of accumulation and dispersion of pollutants and air quality, and therefore are of great importance in the formation of ecological-geographical comfort climate. Hence, the aim of the study is to assess the ecological and geographical comfort of the climate in the Russian Arctic sector of the archipelago (Barentsburg settlement). To achieve the goal of the work, the physical and geographical conditions of the island of West Svalbard were considered; a study of the weather and climatic regime of the island for 2006-2015 was conducted; the main sources of influence on the air basin were determined. The formation of ecological and geographical comfort of the climate of the island of West Svalbard according to the data for 2006-2015 is estimated. The authors believe that studies of the meteorological potential of anthropogenic impurities dispersion in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation are very relevant, have practical significance and prospects for further industrial development of this zone.