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The morphology, chemical composition, and ore and heavy-mineral associations of gold from placers in the Ursky ore cluster and the less-studied Kasminsko-Chesnokovsky prospective area in northeastern Salair indicate numerous and diverse primary sources, as well as the presence of gold in intermediate reservoirs. Gold with a fineness of 970-1000‰ is predominantly hypergenically altered. The placers have formed primarily from quartz, quartz-carbonate, and quartz-(carbonate)-sulfide veins and stockworks of the main gold mineralization stage, including mineralization superimposed on barite-polymetallic ores with fine and finely dispersed gold in the Ursky ore cluster, and on basic dikes. Another source of gold is metasomatite (carbonate-mica, quartzite, and quartz-albite-epidote rocks with rutile), which either accompanies gold ore bodies or is indirectly associated with them. Differences in the typomorphic properties of the placer gold are due to varying contributions from these primary sources. In the placers of the upper reaches of the Ur and Zvonchikha rivers, the source is likely gold mineralization predominantly superimposed on basic dikes. This gold exhibits high fineness (>910‰) and contains copper impurities (up to 1-6 wt.%), as well as an inclusion of Pd telluride in one instance. Quartzite is another potential source of Au (as observed at the Kopna deposit). In the lower part of the Ur River placer, the fineness of Au and the proportion of copper-bearing gold decrease, while gold with mercury impurities is more frequently encountered. The gold mineralization here is probably superimposed on polymetallic mineralization or localized within rocks of the Pecherkinsky complex. The presence of gold with fineness below 820‰ (as at the Iyunsky deposit) indicates polymetallic gold-bearing mineralization. Sources for the gold in the Chesnokovka and Kurnichikha river placers, besides mineralization associated with basic dikes, include mineralization characterized by gold with a fineness of 820-910‰ (including rather small and fine gold), which typically contains mercury impurities. These could be quartz veins and metasomatites developed in terrigenous rocks of the Suenginsky Formation, known within the area. Inclusions in gold from placers of the Kasminsko-Ursky ore district are represented by minerals from sulfide ores, metasomatites, and weathering crusts. Unlike gold from the Ursky ore cluster, gold from the Kasminsko-Chesnokovsky area contains no inclusions of copper minerals (chalcopyrite, bornite, covellite, and tennantite), which are common in pyrite-polymetallic ores. The typomorphic properties of gold from the Aprelsky deposit reflect multiple sources, including quartz veins, metasomatites in rocks of the Pecherkinsky Formation, and possibly mineralization superimposed on polymetallic ores. The sources of gold for the Khristinovskaya Yama placer are likely diverse and similar to those for the Ur and Zvonchikha river placers. An isoferroplatinum grain from the Khristinovskaya Yama placer can be classified as the Vilyui type.

In the new paradigm of the Russian oil and gas industry, much attention is paid to small hydrocarbon fields. This statement increases the requirements for the accuracy of small-scale anticlinal trap’s resources estimation. Such estimations can be made by probabilistic estimation of resources, taking into account the probabilities of the field existence. The objective of the research is the development of the scientific approach to quantifying the uncertainties associated with the existence and geometric parameters of small-scale anticlinal hydrocarbon traps mapped by modern 3D seismic exploration. The main method of solving this problem is stochastic modeling of structural uncertainties based on errors of structural mapping. The results of the study are summarized as follows. The probability functions of the trap’s area are determined by the intensity and size of the velocity anomalies, as well as the parameters of the trap itself and the nature of its structural environment. The distributions of the structural closure areas can be described by functions with both positive and negative asymmetry. The lognormal distribution is just one of the possible options. For small-scale hydrocarbon traps, their amplitude is comparable to the thickness of a productive reservoir; therefore, a change in the amplitude of the trap determines a change in the weighted average oil-gas-saturated thickness. As a result of the modeling, a positive relationship was established between variations in the anticline traps areas and their amplitudes. Accordingly, this relationship must be taken into account during the probabilistic assessment of the resources of this kind of the hydrocarbon traps. Otherwise, there may be a significant reduction in the range of uncertainty in resource estimates. Stochastic modeling of structural uncertainties is also a method of estimating the probability of the existence of anticlinal traps mapped by seismic exploration.

The paper describes methods for the three-dimensional interpretation of gravitational and magnetic anomalies, taking into account the relief of the Earth’s surface. Parallel algorithms for solving gravimetry and magnetometry forward problems (calculating field values from sources) are programmatically implemented for personal computers with graphics accelerators. Based on these algorithms, methods for solving inverse problems on correctness sets were developed. When modeling, sources of anomalies of arbitrary shape are approximated by a dense regular grid, the elements of which are parallelepipeds. Methods for identifying anomalies and localizing sources in the Earth’s crust, calculating their physical parameters were applied in modeling the structure of the Kraka ultrabasic massifs in the Southern Urals with an area 50 × 80 km². The height of the mountain ranges in this area reaches 1043 m, and the difference in relief heights is more than 500 m.

Based on the geographical approach and concept of cross-border geosystems integrating heterogeneous spatial data, the role of thematic cartography in the formation of a single transboundary geographic information space of the South Far East and Northeast China is considered. The methodology of creation and integration of digital thematic layers was demonstrated, including maps of modern land use and its dynamics (2000 - 2024) and a map of geoecological tensions in the research area. It used GIS technology (ArcGIS), remote sensing data (Landsat), open global data sets (Global Forest Change, Global Surface Water, LandScan Population Database, OpenStreetMap, VIIRS Nighttime Lights), national statistics of the Russian Federation and PRC. The key results show that over the study period, 12 % of the area experienced land-use changes, the most significant of which were deforestation and reforestation, and agricultural land expansion. Significant differences were identified between the Russian and Chinese parts of the geosystems: in the Chinese territory there is a higher proportion of land with medium and high geoecological stress, which is related to intensive agricultural use and high population density. It is shown that the thematic maps created during the study not only visualize spatial data, but also become an analytical basis for monitoring, forecasting and management decisions in the field of sustainable development of border areas. The work confirms that thematic mapping within the framework of the creation of a transboundary geoinformation space allows to overcome methodological fragmentation of approaches, heterogeneity and fragmentation of data, ensuring consistent analysis on both sides of the border.

By synthesizing and interpreting the data collected over many decades by a large number of teams from the Melnikov Permafrost Institute, a mapping methodology was developed and a geocryological map was compiled for the entire territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) at a scale of 1:1 500 000. The geocryological map is of great scientific and practical significance for several reasons. It covers a vast territory of Yakutia where permafrost underlies over 90 % of the land resulting in particularly severe environmental conditions, incomparable to any other region of Russia. For areas with no or little previous research, the map is the only tool for preliminary assessment of geocryological conditions, as well as for formulation of research tasks for development projects. The detailed geocryological map also provides a useful basis for environmental assessment and monitoring, geocryological prediction, and resource management. The new geocryological map of Yakutia is a comprehensive summary of current knowledge on the differentiation of geological and permafrost characteristics which are depicted as separate layers (ground ice content, permafrost temperature, active layer thickness, geocryological processes). The map legend shows 18 lithology classes, 11 mean annual ground temperature/active layer thickness ratios and 4 ice-content classes, as well as typical geocryological processes.

The article considers methodological issues and results of mapping complex physical and geographical studies of the south of Central Siberia at a scale of 1:1 000 000. Physical and geographical studies include a set of cartographic methods of study (landscape, physical and geographical, modern agricultural land use, agro-landscape and assessment of agro-natural potential). To display the research results, a methodology based on the synthesis of methods for mapping natural geosystems and agro-landscapes was used. The methodological basis was the principles of the doctrine of geosystems by V.B. Sochava. Landscape mapping was based on the principles of constructing a hierarchical structure of geomers. Based on the synthesis of the contour grid of the typological map of geosystems, a scheme of physical and geographical zoning of the study area was developed. As a result of landscape mapping and physical and geographical zoning, agro-landscape studies were carried out. Their methodology was compiled in accordance with the specifics of the work aimed at studying agro-landscapes and analyzing agro-natural potential. The initial stage of agro-landscape research was an assessment of the current state, nature and level of use of land resources, where, along with natural geosystems, agro-landscapes are reflected. The final stage, based on previous maps, was an assessment and mapping of the agro-natural potential of geosystems, with an exit to the development of recommendations and justification of ways to optimize the use of the agro-natural potential of the south of Central Siberia.

The article notes that one of the serious environmental problems in the south of Siberia is associated with the widespread processes of soil erosion, causing a decrease in soil fertility and a reduction in the area of arable land. Its solution is possible through the introduction of zonal systems of anti-erosion agriculture based on the knowledge of the mechanisms of erosion processes, their intensity and territorial distribution. The source of such information is soil erosion maps. They assess the scale of the modern development of soil erosion and deflation processes, provide quantitative information on the average annual losses from erosion (t/ha per year). The basic foundation of modern mapping of erosion-hazardous lands are quantitative models of erosion processes. The possibility of using models for the territory under consideration has been verified by data from field experimental studies, which have shown a high correlation coefficient of measured and calculated values. The authors have compiled maps of the distribution of zones with different intensities of rain and melt washout, gully erosion and soil deflation in the main agricultural enclaves of Eastern Siberia. The maps serve as a basis for choosing a land use policy. They can be used to assess the sustainability of landscapes and to solve various environmental problems. Currently, the role of agricultural erosion is increasing as a factor in the redistribution of matter on the earth’s surface and the main supplier of sediments and chemical elements to rivers and reservoirs. Therefore, ecological-erosion maps are supplemented by mapping of litho-catchment basins. Such work is carried out by the V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and they have a great future.

Socio-economic and natural processes and phenomena, such as the existing land use and resource management system, existing biological diversity, dynamic natural processes, interaction of various socio-economic factors, investment efficiency and the current environmental situation stimulate the emergence of various economic activities, influence the functional distribution of land and in the future on regional economic and environmental policy formation. These features, taking into account the identified factors, are considered on the basis of an integrated (quantitative and qualitative) assessment of their relationship with the subsequent identification of socio-economic situations, calculation of investment performance indicators and mapping of regional and intraregional differences. The task of sharing, generating and cartographic interpretation of regional socio-economic statistics and data with spatial distribution not related to administrative boundaries is addressed. The Baikal region has been chosen as the model territory. Methods of geoinformation modelling, mathematical and comparative analysis of geographical and statistical spatial and temporal data and interpretation mapping are used. Areas with different types of environmental land use policies (legal environmental, natural and resource factors of environmental policy) are identified, which are then compared with the identified regional socio-economic features of the territory development, shown in the example of investment efficiency. As a result, a map-scheme of development of the regional environmental policy of land use in the Baikal region has been drawn up, which is part of the future atlas of Asian Russia.

An assessment of the spatiotemporal dynamics of air temperature over the territory of the Tyva Republic was carried out for a 64-year period (1961-2024). The data used were ERA5 reanalysis data with a spatial resolution of 0,25×0,25°. The maximum temperature increase rate of 1 °C per 10 years was observed in autumn (September-October). The highest warming intensity of 0,6 °C per 10 years was recorded at elevations of 500-1000 m a. s. l. At elevations of 2200 m and higher, the maximum winter temperature anomaly of 1.28 °C was recorded on northeastern slopes in the Verkhne-Khemchiksky District. Maps of winter and summer temperatures across forest-growing (natural) districts, considering elevation levels, were created using Google Earth Engine.

In Russia, the basis for implementing water management measures are the Schemes of Integrated Use and Protection of Water Bodies (SIUPW), involving the systematized materials on the state of water bodies and their use within the boundaries of river basins. In the framework of SIUPW, a set of situation, evaluation, executive and forecasting maps (scales: 1:1 000 000-1:100 000), generally complying with the methodology of the Atlas of Asian Russia, is developed. In 2025, the series of SIUPW evaluation maps for the Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei, Angara, Khatanga, Pyasina and Nizhnyaya Taimyr river basins was updated via using the integrated methodology. Based on cartographic analysis, these maps allow to identify the areas with specific water use problems and determine the causes of their origin and severity, and, as a result, to develop a prioritized list of address water management and water protection measures.