Geochemical barriers as a form of self-organization of geochemical systems (case of study Kerch Peninsula, Russia)

According to the author's concept, discharge of groundwater to the surface is considered as a sharp change of geochemical conditions, leading to the formation of geochemical barriers (GCB). In the article presented results of geochemical study of groundwater-soil-organic matter-gas interaction as example of Kerch Peninsula self-organizing system The geochemical barriers give rise to the formation of a kind of non-equilibrium geoecosystems with an individual structure of direct and inverse connections between the components, size and borders of geochemical systems (GCS) are determined by many factors: frequency and scale of discharge, chemical composition, temperature of the source and of the environment, phase transitions within the system with interacting heterogeneous media: «water - rocks», «water - atmosphere», «water - ice», «water - soil», «water - plants (including algae and other living organisms)», and etc. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are used as tracers of this interaction. © The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2019