Home – Home – Jornals – Advanced Search

Analysis of the properties of the Bazhenov Formation metalliferous oil from the West Siberian oil and gas basin is presented During the development of these oil reserves, there is a danger of heavy metals (for example, vanadium and nickel) entering the environment during oil extraction, transportation and refining. The information from the database of the Institute of Petroleum Chemistry SB RAS (Tomsk) and the methods of statistical and spatial analysis of geographical information systems are used in the work. Based on the classification of hard-to-recover oil, deposits of the Bazhenov Formation with high and medium vanadium and nickel content have been identified. The distribution of oil from these fields over the depth of occurrence is shown. With an increase in the depth of occurrence, the concentration of metals in oil decreases by almost an order of magnitude. The lithological features of reservoir rocks have been revealed: metalliferous Bazhenov oil is mainly found in sandstones (86.2 % of oil samples) and in sandy-siltstone rocks (13.8 % of samples), which confirms that the reservoirs of the formation belong to the terrigenous type. The average values of reservoir parameters characterising filtration properties and the capacity of deposits are determined. To analyse metalliferous Bazhenov oil, a set of 68 oil samples from 33 fields in the West Siberian oil and gas basin was used. The results obtained in the study can be used in the development of new methods and technologies, and improvement of the existing ones, for the extraction and processing of metalliferous oil, taking into account environmental consequences.

Oil production from low-permeable reservoirs is an urgent and promising issue because of the depleted reserves of oil extracted using traditional procedures, both in Russia and abroad. The statistical analysis of porosity distribution in the sediments of the main oil and gas basins (OGB) of Russia is presented: the Volga-Ural, Timan-Pechora, North Caucasus and West Siberian. These basins have large reserves of hard-to-recover oil from complex formations with low porosity. Computer maps of the deposits with low-pressure reservoirs are presented. In the West Siberian basin, 15 deposits of this kind have been identified, 13 deposits in the Timan-Pechora basin, 63 in the North Caucasus, and the largest number of deposits is located in the Volga-Ural basin - 82. The great role of low-porosity rocks in the oil and gas potential of basins is shown, 80 % of the Russian reserves of low-porosity sediments are concentrated in the Volga-Ural basin. According to lithological characteristics, low-permeable reservoirs mainly belong to carbonate sediments, but the porosity of terrigenous rocks is higher, compared to carbonate deposits. The presence of reservoirs in various stratigraphic layers has been established, starting from the Cenozoic and ending with the Paleozoic, but most rocks belong to the Paleozoic age. The distribution of reservoirs with low porosity is analysed as the depths increase. It is shown that porosity decreases at great depths (over 5000 m) by a factor of 2-3, while the proportion of low-porosity sediments increases with depth, compared to medium-pored and highly porous rocks. In the future, at great depths, the role of low-permeable reservoirs as the sources of hard-to-recover oil will only increase.

The achievements and problems of the V.B. Sochava’s geosystem doctrine, its spread abroad and development towards the joint use of conceptual, statistical and mathematical analysis in geography are discussed. The doctrine is considered in the context of the general systems theory and the possibility of applying other intertheories that explain the properties of nature, economy and population of a territory in unified system terms. The basic concept is a “structure” that imposes a system order on a set of elements to ensure their organization and functioning. Geosystems differ in the type of intertheoretical description of elements and their relationships - complex, functional, dynamic, behavioral, classificational, etc., as well as in the form of expression: natural and integral geosystems, metasystems, monosystems, polysystems, geocomplexes, episystems, chorions, and holаsystems. Their properties are reflected by special mathematical formulas of differential geometry of layered spaces. In particular, holаsystems of integrity are described as structures of surfaces defined by continuous functions (manifolds), enveloping in these spaces the planes of functions of a set of adjacent monosystem layers (geomeres) and thereby determining their pairwise connectivity and territorial organization of polysystems (geochores) in the unity of the geographical environment. Different types of geosystems are considered only as subjects, not objects of geographical research, which makes it possible to choose specific directions, models and methods for solving scientific problems. Formalization of accumulated geosystem knowledge is supported by conceptual schemes in the form of graphs and charts, and materials of statistical processing of primary and cartometric data. V.B. Sochava set the task of creating a functional-geomeric model to reflect the importance of geomers in the structure of geochores. It is proposed to discuss this problem in terms of the ordinal intertheory of describing the distribution of geoms by significance (occurrence) in different physical-geographical regions of Baikal Siberia. It is assumed that the same problem is solved by means of different intertheories using the appropriate mathematical apparatus. The development of such research tools corresponds to different directions of improving the geosystem analysis methods.

The analysis of various types of islands occurring on rivers with a branched channel or on meandering rivers was carried out, which made it possible to classify the islands taking into account the features of their formation, development and dynamics, as well as depending on the characteristics of the channel itself. Six main categories of islands have been identified, associated with their characteristics and conditioned by genesis, position in the channel, compliance with a particular structural level of branching, shape in plan (hydraulic resistance exerted by the island on the flow), and age. In addition to the main factors, the classification of islands is influenced by the characteristics of the channel itself, among which we can note its widening (the formation of an island in local widenings of the channel or due to the splitting of the flow into two or more branches of the current), stability, which determines the size and number of islands in each branching node, which, in turn, is directly related to the dispersion of the flow along the branches. Separately identified are the types of islands formed by sand or pebble-boulder deposits, differing in the degree of resistance to the impact of the flow (intensity of erosion of the headland) and in the development of the floodplain facies of alluvium and floodplain soils, which determines the type and nature of vegetation on the island. The considered classification features take into account the main function of the islands, such as flow dispersion, and can be applied when considering the water transport use of rivers.

Multidimensional global changes are projected onto Russia and its regions, initiating priority attention to the problems of spatial development. The purpose of the article is to form systemic ideas about the South of Russia as one of the key and most dynamic macroregions of the Russian Federation, about prolonged trends and current problem situations of the implementation of the “southern vector” of the spatial socio-economic dynamics of the country, and about the strategic priorities of the South Russian regionogenesis and its new (“large”) formats. Priority attention is paid, in particular, to the long-term trend of the “flow” of the population to the South of Russia and the transformation of its ethnic structure. The “wave-like” dynamics of population growth in the South Russian macroregion has been identified; it is related to its position in the center-periphery system of the country, as well as ethnodemographic and geopolitical circumstances. The article shows the socio-geographical specificity of the South of Russia that developed in the post-Soviet period and is transforming in the “post-Crimean” conditions (polyethnicity, coastalness, near-border location, comparative agroclimatic and recreational “southernness”, stability of the residential structure, etc.), as well as its functionality on a nationwide scale (agricultural-industrial, residential-recreational, transport-logistics, and military-geostrategic). The current megatrends in the natural-economic and ethnocultural spheres inherent in the South Russian macroregion are characterized. It is emphasized that the deepening stratification of the South Russian space (including under the influence of ethnodemographic processes at the regional and municipal levels) and its development as a whole according to the polycentric model are combined with the accelerated formation (due to changes in geopolitics, transport infrastructure, economic sphere) of interregional, transboundary aqua-territorial integrity - the Great South of Russia.

The article presents the results of the study of the heavy metal content in soil and paint samples collected at the Belarusian (“Mount Vechernyaya”) and a number of Russian scientific stations (“Bellingshausen”, “Mirny”, “Progress”, “Novolazarevskaya”) and field bases (“Molodezhnaya”, “Druzhnaya-4”). The studies were carried out in the summer Antarctic seasons of 2021/22 and 2022/23. Paint samples were collected from old painted surfaces of buildings/infrastructure elements and abandoned vehicles. Soil samples were collected near buildings from a depth of 0-10 or 0-15 cm. The content of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn) in solid substrate samples was determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. It was found that the content of lead in previously used paints in 76 % of cases, zinc in 60 % of cases, and chromium in 47 % of cases exceeded 1000 mg/kg of dry matter. High concentrations of cadmium (more than 10 mg/kg) were recorded in 20 % of cases. A wide range of measured concentrations of most heavy metals was revealed in soil samples near painted surfaces, with the maximum recorded lead content. The condition of painted surfaces at the research stations, destruction of coatings, and paint removal by strong winds are discussed. It is shown that local high concentrations of heavy metals in Antarctic soils (“hot spots”) can be caused by their leaching from painted surfaces and dispersion of paint fragments. The need for special studies to quantitatively assess the impact of paint coatings on the content of heavy metals in the soils of Antarctic oases is substantiated.

The article is concerned with the study of the influence of the herbaceous vegetation cover of terrestrial and aquatic facies on the cycle of ore and associated chemical elements near the site of Cu-Zn pyrite deposit development and Cu concentrate production (Southern Urals, north of the steppe zone, Republic of Bashkortostan). Thirty-five test plots were studied, 106 samples of total cuttings, 118 soil samples, 38 reed samples, and 38 bottom sediment samples were processed. Correlation and regression analysis of the Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Cd, Co, Cr, Ca, Sr, Ba, V, Sc, and Sb content in total cuttings, reed samples, soil and bottom sediments was carried out. The content of individual forms of chemical elements in the soil was determined by the sequential extraction method. The reserves of elements in total cuttings, the humus soil horizon (total reserve and the reserve of three mobile fractions), and reed beds were calculated. The volume of Cu, Zn, and Cd input with dump drainage waters was estimated. The role of reed beds as a geochemical barrier in a polluted small river was revealed. Arguments were obtained in favor of a weak stabilizing effect of grass stand on the Cu and Zn reserve in the soil; the Cu and Zn contents in cuttings are interrelated, despite the variability of the abundance of different plant species; they also do not correlate with the contents of these elements (both total and mobile forms) in the soil. A hypothesis is substantiated that excessive grazing (or other mechanical impact) near mining facilities can lead to an increase in the abundance of metal-concentrating species, due to which both the concentration and the Cd reserve in cuttings significantly increase. It was found that in the studied river reed beds can act as a biogenic geochemical barrier for Cu (but not for Zn or Cd). Suggestions for increasing the barrier efficiency are presented.

The regional problem of pollution of the natural environment components with heavy metals in the territory of accumulated environmental damage of the arsenic and battery plants in Svirsk (Irkutsk oblast) has been investigated. The analysis and assessment of the levels of content and distribution of mobile forms of polluting elements in the snow cover and soils in the industrial, residential and recreational zones of the city territory have been carried out. The following indicators were used for the ecological and hygienic assessment of pollution of the snow and soil covers: the coefficient of concentration and accumulation of chemical elements, the total pollution index, and the degree of chemical pollution. It has been established that within the considered functional zones of the urbanized territory of the city there have been observed increased levels of accumulation of mobile forms of heavy metals in the components of the natural environment, caused by the impact of emissions from industrial enterprises, a thermal power plant, household furnaces, and accumulated harmful waste from former enterprises. The accumulation of elements is manifested to the greatest extent for cadmium, manganese, zinc, and lead in snow, and for arsenic, zinc, chromium, and lead in soils. A comparatively lower level of soil pollution with heavy metals is noted in the city territory after the environmental rehabilitation of the accumulated waste of the Angarsk metallurgical plant. Direct and inverse correlations have been found between the content of elements in the snow cover and soils, indicating a high environmental significance of the impact of technogenic factors and increased migration capacity of mobile forms of cadmium, zinc and manganese in the “soil cover-adjacent environments” system. According to the total pollution index, the category of snow cover pollution corresponds to a low level, while the category of soil pollution ranges from a hazardous level in the multi-story residential sector and recreational area to an extremely hazardous one in industrial and low-rise residential zones. The degree of urban soil pollution increases in the following order: multi-story residential area < coastal forest area < low-rise residential sector < industrial zone.

The article considers the regular patterns of exogenous processes manifestation in the Baikal basin, established on the basis of monitoring data of their long-term dynamics. The analysis is based on an extensive database obtained on the western, southern and eastern shores of Lake Baikal. The research methods included experimental observations (runoff sites, benchmark method, dust collectors, etc.) on representative sites, interpretation of space images, and aerial photography from remotely piloted aircrafts. The main attention is paid to such characteristics as the rate of processes, direction and volume of transported matter as a result of mudflows, landslides, coastal abrasion, and the activity of water and wind flows. The article shows temporal organization of exogenous processes, expressed in a pronounced rhythmicity of their course, controlled by changes in secular and intra-secular cycles of water content in Lake Baikal. It is established that low-water periods are characterized by high intensity of aeolian migration of matter. Detailed observations during the last low-water period recorded its average value of 500 g/m². During high-water periods, erosion processes are active, mudflows and landslides are recorded, and shore erosion occurs. Intensive mudflows were recorded in 1930-1938, 1960-1962, and 1968-1972, with a maximum in 1971, when the total volume of drift from the slopes along the river valleys between the towns of Baikalsk and Slyudyanka amounted to more than 1 million m³ of loose rock. The results obtained make it possible to predict the further course of processes and minimize the negative consequences of their manifestation.

The main hydroclimatic factors of rainfall and mud flood formation have been studied, and the spatial distribution of flood hazard of various genesis has been determined within the territory of the Slyudyansky district of Irkutsk oblast. The maximum water levels at six hydroposts of the Roshydromet network for 2001-2022 have been analyzed. All flood cases with the excess of critical levels corresponding to the onset of flooding have been identified. Flood-forming precipitation and atmospheric circulation features have been assessed for years with floods. It has been determined that the greatest danger is posed by rainfall and mud floods in the Khamar-Daban estuary zone. Mudflow processes are most developed here, and the towns of Slyudyanka and Baikalsk, as well as the sludge storage facilities of the closed Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, are at risk. In the 2001-2022 period, floods were recorded at three hydroposts in 2001, 2005 and 2019. The floods in 2001 and 2019 were of rainfall genesis, and in 2005 - mixed snow and rain. Extreme precipitation (up to 200 mm per day or more, according to the Khamar-Daban weather station), along with previous humidification of the territory during the meridional circulation of the atmosphere, are the main factors in the formation of rainfall floods and mudflows here. Foothill weather stations reflect the climate of only the coastal strip. The most representative data for a significant part of the river basins are the data of the high-mountain (1442 m above sea level) Khamar-Daban weather station, where almost twice as much precipitation falls as in the foothill territory. This difference in the amount of precipitation is not taken into account when analyzing observation data from weather stations located in the foothill territories. Therefore, for mountain catchments, it is important to create an observation network in high-mountain areas where rain floods and mudflows are formed, especially where settlements are located in the foothills.