Ecological Systems and Devices Annotation << Back PRINCIPLES OF WATERSHEDZONING AND MONITORING OF THE SEDIMENT CONTAMINATION BY TRACE ELEMENTS B.I. Korzhenevskiy, G.Yu. Tolkachev, N.V. Kolomiytsev The study of pollution of water bodies with heavy metals still remains relevant when assessing the geoecological state of the environment around us. Using the example of the Volga River basin, the principles are proposed and the zoning of a large water body is presented. According to natural and man-made signs, the sites of four categories for monitoring the pollution of the territory with heavy metals are allocated on a hierarchical basis. The zoning of the bed of water bodies for the distribution of silty sediments – sorbents of pollutants was carried out. The elements of the energy approach are presented, giving an understanding of the most likely locations of pollutants – energy traps and potential barriers. Practical examples of the spread of pollutants in the natural and man-made environment are given. Keywords. Water bodies, geoecological zoning, sites of four categories, pollution monitoring, energy traps, potential barriers. DOI: 10.25791/esip.5.2023.1368 Pp. 11-16.