Purpose. The purpose of the study is to obtain quantitative characteristics of the spatial variability of heavy metal concentrations in suspended matter, as well as to assess the relationship between this variability and the hydrological and hydrochemical characteristics of the northern Black Sea waters.

Methods and Results. Data on the volume and mass concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Ni, Fe, Cr, V, Co) in the Black Sea suspended matter obtained during the 133rd cruise of R/V Professor Vodyanitsky were used. A total of 44 water samples were collected at 33 stations and processed. The data on metal content were obtained using X-ray fluorescence analysis.

Conclusions. The volume and mass concentrations of the analyzed metals in suspended matter varied spatially within two orders of magnitude. Elevated volume concentrations of heavy metals were observed in the northeastern part of the study area, whereas lower values were typical in its southwestern part. The spatial variability in mass concentrations of heavy metals exhibited a more complex pattern. Elevated values of Pb, Zn, and Ni were noted in the deep part of the sea, while lower values were observed in the coastal area. Elevated values of Fe and V were typical of the shelf section from Cape Meganom to Cape Chauda, and lower values were typical of the deep-sea part. Higher and lower concentrations of Cr and Co were observed both on the shelf and in the deep-sea part of the study area. In the deep part of the sea, the mass and volume concentrations of metals both increased and declined with depth. In the upper part of the thermocline, the volume (Pb, Ni, Fe, Cr, V, Co) and mass (Fe, Cr, V, Co) concentrations of most heavy metals rose by a factor of 1.1–47.1. On the shelf in the near-bottom layer, the volume (Zn, Fe, Cr, V, Co) and mass (Zn, Fe, V, Co) concentrations of most heavy metals also grew by a factor of 1.1–137. Principal component analysis showed that the spatial variability of volume and mass concentrations of Fe, V, Co, and Cr is related to the impact of the lithogenic factor (coastal abrasion, inflow of the Sea of Azov waters, and atmospheric transport), the variability of Zn and Ni is driven by the influence of the biogenic factor (phytoplankton production, adsorption on organic matter), and the Pb variability is related to the hydrodynamic factor (mixing depth variability).