Home – Home – Jornals – Advanced Search

Systematic scientific and technical support is an integral part of engineering surveys, design, and construction of various objects in the permafrost zone. Geotechnical monitoring is a continuation of the scientific and technical support provided to construction projects during the operational period. In this study, we examine the systematic scientific and technical support at all stages of project implementation and argue that the methods of scientific and technical support require refinement. Problematic issues and potential ways to improve scientific and technical support for projects under complex geocryological conditions are considered.

This study aimed to establish patterns of heat flow changes under the impact of snow tamping. To achieve this goal, a criterion for the efficiency of snow tamping has been introduced as the ratio of heat fluxes from the ground to the air before and after tamping the snow cover. If the convective component in the heat transfer coefficient is not taken into account, then the criterion is a simple quadratic dependence on the snow cover compaction coefficient. A quantitative and qualitative assessment of the accepted assumption has been performed and demonstrated that the error in determining the efficiency criterion does not exceed the values allowed in engineering practice. Thus, it has been found that the increase in the initial heat flux during snow tamping is proportional to the square of the degree of snow cover compaction and does not depend on its thermophysical properties. The formulated provisions are presented in the form of 3D graphs, which makes it possible to visually verify the validity of the assumptions made and the conclusions drawn.

Further deepening of the Yubileinaya kimberlite pipe open-pit mine and bringing its upper part to the maximum surface contour required a series of studies aimed at improving the stability of the pit’s upper slopes. This necessitated an investigation of local mining-geological and cryohydrogeological conditions, such as the presence of substantial talik zones beneath Protochnoye and Travyanistoye lakes, which affect not only the deposit’s water inflow but also slope stability, particularly in areas of talik water discharge. It was found that the talik zones had undergone changes during the deposit development expanding from their original dimensions both in plan and in section. Calculations were performed to assess potential shifts in the position of the 0 °C isotherm in the cross-section due to thawing caused by convective water flow. This flow intensified due to increased movement of groundwater and surface water from upland ditches through the talik body toward discharge points on the pit slopes. The predicted thawing extent generally aligns with the actual recorded changes in the depth of talik zones. The hydrogeological modeling helped determine the optimum operating regime for drainage wells with elimination of water discharge areas from talik zones after implementing the proposed solutions.

The prospects and relevance of the application of an all-season soil thermal stabilization system and the principles of its operation are considered. Data on soil temperature changes under the impact of the all-season thermal stabilization system and seasonal cooling devices on a test polygon and their comparative analysis are presented. The results obtained attest to a higher efficiency of the all-season soil thermal stabilization system for cooling and freezing soils in comparison with seasonal cooling devices.

The species composition and isotopic characteristics of bone and dental tissues from zooarchaeological collections of Xiongnu sites (Early Iron Age) in Western Transbaikalia were studied. The presence of bones of small ruminants, cattle and horses among the sacred-burial utensils indicates a high proportion of the nomadic way of life in the life of the Xiongnu. At the same time, the remains of domestic pigs, wild animals and fish bear evidence of elements of a sedentary lifestyle, hunting and fishing. It has been revealed that the difference in the isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen of the bones and teeth of the remains of small ruminants and cattle from the composition of the remains of horses suggests a differentiation in the conditions of their breeding. It has been found that cattle were grazed in dry steppe conditions, while horse pastures covered steppe and forest-steppe/forest landscapes. The heavier carbon isotope composition of the remains of pigs and dogs indicates the presence of C4-type plants (probably millet) in their diet. Based on a comparison of the values of the isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen in the bones and teeth of fossil ungulates and modern ecosystems, it was concluded that during the Xiongnu era, dry steppes dominated in the intermountain depressions of the southern part of Western Transbaikalia, and open landscapes were somewhat more widespread than at present. The Xiongnu sites in Western Transbaikalia (4^th century BC - 1^st century AD) date to the decline of the Xiongnu nomadic empire and are associated with the time of the climatic shift in Northern Mongolia and Transbaikalia towards aridity, which occurred at the beginning of the Subatlantic period 2500-1900 years ago.

Soil depth plays an important role in plant growth. Evaluation of soil depth using digital terrain analysis is able to be conducted not only with less time and labors, but also without solum destruction, compared to conventional field observation. This research aims to improve the accuracy of soil depth prediction in digital terrain analysis using parent material dataset and non-linear partial least squares regression. Modeling of soil depth was performed and compared using simple partial least squares regression (SPLSR), PLSR with parent materials (PLSRP), and non-linear PLSR with parent materials (NPLSRP), simultaneously. While using the PLSRP and NPLSRP, different models were built, corresponding to parent materials within the study area. Models fit was evaluated with coefficient of determination of calibration (R2cal), coefficient of determination of validation (R2val), root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC), and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP). The use of the PLSRP improved the performance of the prediction by 0,08 for the R2val and by 6,2 for the RMSEP, compared to the SPLSR. The NPLSRP increased the R2val by 0,31 and decreased the RMSEP by 17,1, compared to the PLSRP. The results indicated that the use of the NPLSRP would be able to improve accuracy of soil depth prediction, significantly.

The most significant economic and geographical conditions for the formation of the entrepreneurial environment in Kyrgyzstan have been identified. Some socioeconomic features of entrepreneurship in the Kyrgyz Republic are shown, taking into account the specifics of the transition period. The institutional problems that hinder the successful development of entrepreneurship in Kyrgyzstan have been clarified. The main institutional trends of recent years are characterized. The strategically significant task of successfully forming an entrepreneurial environment is considered in relation to the general state of the country’s national economy. The conclusion that the development of entrepreneurship is vital for the sustainable development of the state economy is substantiated. Socioeconomic processes in Kyrgyzstan that are significant from the viewpoint of ensuring the continuity of economic policy for the development of entrepreneurship in the region have been identified and analyzed. It has been revealed that historical and economic trends in the formation of the entrepreneurial environment in the Kyrgyz Republic influence the current state of entrepreneurship. The article has clarified the main chronological milestones in the development of entrepreneurship in Kyrgyzstan, which together help to understand the current contours of the entrepreneurial environment and determine the nature of the region’s prospective development. Due to the socio-political upheavals in the Republic, largely caused by the systemic socio-economic crisis, incompetence and corruption in all branches of government, and the strengthening of the shadow economy, issues of ensuring the country’s economic security are becoming acutely relevant. It is concluded that the most intense centers of destabilization require the priority implementation of adequate measures to eliminate them. It has been established that the country’s external debt has become a source of threat not only to the economic security of Kyrgyzstan, but also to the country’s political independence. It has been revealed that poverty of the population and income inequality continue to be the most pressing social factors, negatively impacting the quality of human capital, which is an important element in the context of formation of the “middle class” in society. It is concluded that sustainable development of entrepreneurship is of particular importance in Kyrgyzstan, since the success of the market economic system is associated with the development of entrepreneurship in the country.

The article provides an assessment of the scientific legacy of the outstanding Siberian economic geographer and economist V.A. Krotov from the standpoint of modern problems of territorial development and management. During the period of industrial development of Eastern Siberia, V.A. Krotov worked on issues of optimal distribution of productive forces and on the development of the theory of territorial production complexes (TPCs), based on the geographical features of the regions of new development. In the context of the prevalence of sectoral planning, he insisted on the need to develop schemes for the distribution of territorial productive forces, and his approach to planning was based on economic zoning. It is shown that, with the cessation of state control of production, the main complexes created during that period remain the foundation of the economic structure of resource regions with integrating intra-corporate planning. In the economic zoning scheme, V.A. Krotov insisted on the integration of Irkutsk oblast with Krasnoyarsk krai within the Angara-Yenisei region, rather than with Transbaikalia. The scientist’s views are compared with modern approaches to solving this problem (the Baikal region, identified in the 2000s as part of the federal planning system, was again replaced by the Angara-Yenisei region in the 2019 Spatial Development Strategy of the Russian Federation, and Transbaikalia was annexed to the Far East). In his work on the territorial management system based on the TPCs, V.A. Krotov attempted to apply foreign experience, including elements of mutual attraction between producer and consumer in polarized development theories, as well as interregional agreements using the example of the Tennessee Valley Authority. With the elimination of institutional barriers of the socialist economic system, this issue began to be widely developed in modern regional science, including comparisons of the TPCs with poles of growth and clusters. The V.A. Krotov’s contribution to the methodological coordination and integration of research on key problems of distribution within the framework of economic geography and regional economics is noted.

The article considers the life and creative work of Honorary Member of the V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Society, Doctor of Biological Sciences V.A. Kuzmin, a leading specialist in soil geography, who headed the Irkutsk Branch of the V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Society for over 30 years and worked at the V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Institute of Geography of Siberia and the Far East of the USSR Academy of Sciences) for over 50 years. The main results of his research on the soils of Central and Eastern Siberia are presented from the very beginning of his scientific career at the Faculty of Biology and Soil Science (formerly the Faculty of Geology, Soil Science, and Geography) of Irkutsk State University and in the Soil Science Laboratory of the East Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The article examines a wide range of issues of his scientific work: the history of soil development, the features of their development on various rocks, soil-geographical mapping, humus composition, soil cryogenesis, the features of mountain soil formation, water and temperature regimes, ecological functions and chemical composition of soils, as well as other landscape components. It presents the scientist’s first field soil studies in remote, almost inaccessible mountain areas of the Baikal region and Northern Mongolia, as well as the results of 50 years of soil-geographical and soil-geochemical research in various regions of Siberia, summarized in personal monographs. The main scientific achievements of V.A. Kuzmin are outlined, including the results of the study of the evolution of natural conditions and soils within these territories during the Holocene. The article lists his many soil maps of individual regions of southern Eastern Siberia (Irkutsk oblast, Western and Northern Pribaikalie, the Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo Plain, the Goloustnaya River basin, the Lake Baikal basin within the Russian Federation, and others), in the compilation of which he was one of the first to use space data, improving soil mapping techniques. The central motivation behind V.A. Kuzmin’s work is revealed, i.e. his concern for the rational use of Eastern Siberia’s land resources, the protection of its unique beauty, and the careful management of the Lake Baikal basin’s resources.

The article considers the role of Boris Filippovich Lut (1930-2021) in the study of the relief of the bottom and shores of Lake Baikal and the formation of the Baikal depression. The chronological framework of the article is defined by the second half of the 20^th century and covers the period of scientific and scientific-organizational activity of B.F. Lut, a famous Soviet and Russian scientist-geomorphologist, Baikal scholar, candidate of geographical sciences, and author of more than 200 scientific papers. His major geomorphological works include dozens of maps, diagrams, profiles, graphs, and photographs, which provide excellent illustrations of natural processes on the shores of Lake Baikal. The article provides an overview of his expeditionary fieldwork on deep surveys of Lake Baikal, geomorphological study of the bottom and shores of the lake, processes of relief formation, formation and geodynamics of the Baikal depression, and practical application of geomorphological knowledge. During the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) on Northern Baikal, based on the work of B.F. Lut and his colleagues, the tunnel railway option was chosen as more economically and environmentally efficient than the “coastal” route, which would degrade the natural environment. B.F. Lut’s research into the Baikal depression, and particularly its underwater part, is a significant contribution to the geomorphology of the Baikal mountain region and is still in demand today, as evidenced by references in Baikal studies publications.