Home – Home – Jornals – Advanced Search

The article presents the results from studying and analyzing subrecent spectra of the Transbaikalian region. A palynological analysis is made of pollen spectra of the mountain-taiga and steppe-taiga and steppe zones as well as studying the spectra from different-facies deposits of four key areas. The scheme of vegetation is compiled for each key area, and a detailed analysis is made of the palynospectra. The study revealed special features in the composition of spectra of different vegetation associations and their correspondence to the composition of modern vegetation. It is shown that the spectra faithfully reflect its integral zonal, regional and local peculiarities. A comparative analysis is made of the spectra from deposits of different genetic types. The com positions of the spectra from soil, alluvial and lacustrine deposits are compared. The relationship of pollen from light- and dark-coniferous species is analyzed. Methods of multidimensional statistics are used, including Principal Component Analysis. A fun damental difference is revealed in the composition of spectra for mountain-taiga and steppe landscapes. It is established that the main background in the subrecent spectra for mountain-taiga and steppe areas, respectively, is composed of pollen from woody plants and grasses. An analysis is made of current climatic parameters as well as determining the character of correlation between the composition of the spectra and the main parameters of climate determining the evolution of modern vegetation producing pollen spectra. Important parameters are determined; the mean annual precipitation amount, and the index of continentality which are reliable indicators of change in climatic conditions when carrying out paleoclimatic reconstructions in Transbaikalia. It is established that spectra with maximum content of pollen from dark- and light-coniferous woody plants tend to occur in areas with different mean annual precipitation amounts and with different values of the index of continentality.

Data on rock falls and landslides caused by strong earthquakes in the Zhetysu Alatau, Ile Alatau, Kungei Alatau and Teriskei Alatau mountain ranges on the territory of Southeastern Kazakhstan are presented. The study revealed more than 60 large seismogenic rock falls and landslides, the volume of 25 of them varies from 10 to 100 mil. m ³ , and the volume of the four largest exceeds 100 mil. m ³ . The volume of the largest rock fall in the valley of the Ulken Almaty river in the Ile Alatau moun tain range is estimated at 380 mil. m ³ . The highest density of seismogenic landslides was recorded in the low-mountain zone of the northern slope of the Ile Alatau range where the magnitude 9 earthquake of 1887 caused a massive formation of landslides with the volume totaling more than 400 mil. m ³ and a density of 1/5 km ² . The proportion of landslide-affected areas is esti mated at 5 % of the area of their occurrence. In the mid- and high-mountain zones of Zhetysu, Ile and Kungei Alatau, the density of seismogenic rock falls varies from 1/100 to 1/50 km ² , and the proportion of rock fall-affected areas varies from 1 to 1,5 %. It is found that seismogenic rock falls have dammed 26 lakes, and the volume of nine such lakes exceeds 10 mil. m ³ . The largest rock fall-affected lakes is Upper Zhasylkol in the valley of the Aganakty river in Zhetysu Alatau with the volume of 44 mil. m ³ . Data from earthquake catalog were used to compile the map for the recurrence frequency of earthquakes of magni tude higher than 6, capable of causing seismogenic rock falls and landslides. It is found that during the last 130 years, in Ile and Kungei Alatau such earthquakes recurred four times. It is established that earthquakes with maximum magnitude 9 are possible in the mountainous regions of Southeastern Kazakhstan.

The characteristic features of the transformation of the territorial geospace structure in the African Christianity religious geospace during 1910-2010 have been revealed. African countries within the boundaries of 2010 are used as territorial cells that have been fixed retrospectively over the course of the period analyzed. We used indicators, such as Ryabtsev’s index of relative structural shifts and the trajectory of the demographic center of the Christianity to assess changes in the inertia level of the ter ritorial structure for the entire time interval as a whole and for each of the components of its 20-year long periods. It is found that to date the adherents of Christianity are extremely unevenly distributed in the countries of Africa; however, over the course of the period under consideration there was taking place a homogenization of their settlement. In accordance with changes of the values of the indicators used, we identified two development stages of geospace of African Christianity: colonial and post-colonial. It is determined that the colonial stage (1910-1970) is characterized by a “compression” of territorial structure from east and north, and by a predominance of the south-westward direction of movement of the demographic center because of a decrease in the proportion in the Christian population of East Africa first on account of Ethiopia and Madagascar (1910-1930) and then North Africa on account of Egypt and Algeria (1930-1950). The territorial structure of Christianity’s geospace during the post colonial stage is characterized by a higher degree of inertia at the background of the westward ”expansion” and the “compression” from the south as well as by a change of the vector of movement of the demographic center for north-westward.

The ecological functions and features of the geologic environment are investigated in terms of environmental geology. The current status of the geologic medium is characterized as a crisis, and the issues of its protection and rehabilitation are not ap propriately addressed in environmental protection activity of the state and businesses. The most critical ecological-geologic risks include destruction and deformation of geologic strata, huge amounts of industrial waste, oil spills, landscape and soil degrada tion, air and surface water pollution, seismic and mudflow phenomena, etc. Mining operations have the greatest negative influ ence on the environmental parameters of the geologic medium. Inadequate attention to issues related to the present state and protection of the geologic medium leads to accidents and crises in industrial installations. Ecological-geologic hazard hotspots have emerged in areas of intense extraction and processing of mineral raw materials. On the other hand, the environmental component of active mineral resource use is neglected when formulating the prospects for a further development of resource regions. The country’s major mining companies, active participants of the world market of mineral resources, are the most proficient in sustainable mineral resource use. In recent years, Russia saw a large-scale improvement of environmental legislation. Many legal innovations focusing on the preservation of the geologic medium are scattered among different laws. The legal and financial preconditions for the ecologization of mineral resource use are examined. The state plays a key role to stimulate the sustainable mining, processing and transportation of useful minerals. It has to change significantly the system to support the geologic medium protection.

This paper presents the results of a comparative spatial analysis of the regions of the Russian Federation in the context of the concept of a green economy with the use of two quantitative factors that characterize the well-being of the population: the payroll fund and the total wage fund and own revenues of the regional budgets per capita. The key environmental and eco nomic indicators used in this study are the indicators of eco-intensity for regional economic systems. They show the particular negative impact on the environment “produced” by the regional economy per unit of economic result. The following character istics of the region’s socio-ecological system are considered: the volume of atmospheric pollutant emissions in terms of 1000 rubles of the regional payroll fund and in terms of 1000 rubles of own income to regional budgets. The study revealed a high degree of heterogeneity of Russia’s regions in socio-environmental characteristics. It is shown that not only does the population of many natural resource and industrial regions live in conditions of increased anthropogenic pressure (both total and specific), but it also is not provided with additional resources of “collective well-being” through its own budget income, in spite of the unfavorable ecological and natural conditions. It is concluded that carbon regulation aimed at developing a low-carbon economy should not focus on identical quantitative indicators for the whole country.

This paper considers the results of geomorphological field experiments in Siberia conducted at the permanent stations oper ated by the V. B. Sochava Institute of Geography SB RAS for a 60-year period and describes the observation methods. A unique database of quantitative data on the modern relief dynamics is provided. The rates of slow mass motions of soils on slopes, and also of the deluvial, aeolian and channel processes are presented. Observations for long-term time series are summarized. Much attention is paid to the results from investigating the slope processes. The contribution of stationary investigations to the solution of fundamental problems in geomorphology is shown. The role of field experiments in understanding the temporal organization of geomorphological systems is emphasized. Dynamic phases of the intrasecular cycles of exogenous relief formation are investi gated. Models of the contemporary functioning of denudation systems that cover all possible variety of dynamic phases and morphological and climatic conditions of denudation in semi-arid conditions of southern Siberia are obtained. We found that the spatial ordering of exogenous relief formation in the south of Siberia is manifested in the form of a regional series of cor relative denudational systems whose structure and functioning mode naturally vary along the aridity and continentality vectors of climate. The spatial ordering of aeolian lithostreams is shown, which are involved in a common cycle of matter spinning clockwise and moving aeolian fine material along the northern subarid foothills of the mountain belt of Southern Siberia. An important role of the observation results on the relief dynamics for solving ecological problems is pointed out. Prospects for a further development of experimental geomorphological research in Siberia using high-precision instruments, GIS technologies and other modern methods are outlined.

A study is made of the problem of inventory and development of the cadastre (register) of tourist attractions of a natural area in connection with the organization of tourist-recreational and educational activities in national parks. The content of the tourist attractions concept is considered. The rationale is set out for the most general categories (classes) in the classification of tourist attractions, such as natural-artificial, local-regional-global, exploited-potential, objects-events, and real-unreal. It is shown that the tourist attraction is not an object per se but an object in the structure of tourist-recreational, educational and other activities. It is found that objects and events become tourist attractions as a result of making them attractive in the eyes of the public. The diversity of tourist attractions of the Land of the Leopard National Park and surrounding territories and water areas was investigated. The following groups and sub-groups of tourist attractions were identified: landscapes or geocomplexes, the biota, medicinal springs and curative mud, places of human life and activity at present, places of life and activities of his torical persons, historical events of the 19 ^th -20 ^th centuries, places of life and traces of human activity in the Middle Ages, and places of life and traces of human activity of the ancient world. It is emphasized that one of the first stages of the organization of tourist-recreational and educational activities in the National Park involves developing the cadastre (register) of tourist at tractions which serves as the basis for working out, on the basis of which excursion routes and programs are developed. It is noted that paying due attention to local and regional tourist attractions is of great educational importance, as this restores to man the ability to see not only well-known (branded) objects but perceive the world around him in all its diversity.

A comprehensive characterization of the flood hazard on the rivers of the Baikal region is presented, which was obtained by investigating the streams within the basins of the Angara, Upper Lena (with the Vitim and Olekma), Lower Tunguska (head waters), Upper Amur and Lake Baikal (including the entire Selenga basin). The main flood indicators for the period 1985-2017 are estimated: the genesis, frequency, duration, flooding area and the force of impact. The influence of changes in the river runoff characteristics on the flood risk is shown by results of correlation analysis and analysis of integral difference curves. An assessment is made of the changes in the flood frequency at gauging stations during the period of pronounced climatic changes (from 1981 to 2014), compared with the earlier period. The flood hazard within the spatial context for municipalities in the rank of administrative districts is determined on the basis of the dual (socio-economic and natural) nature of floods. It has been confirmed that the most dangerous in the Baikal region are rainfall floods in the southern areas of Irkutsk oblast, the Republic of Buryatia and Zabaikalskii krai. They have the highest frequency, and the largest flooding areas and force of impact and are characterized by the greatest damage and by the largest number of victims and evacuated people. On the other hand, the fre quency of floods at gauging stations in recent years has decreased compared to the earlier period against the background of the observed low-water period, which is most pronounced on the rivers of South Baikal and in the Selenga river basin.

Results from investigating the geosystems of Cisbaikalia in its western and eastern parts (Primorskii Range and Barguzin Range, respectively) are presented. For studying three macroslopes of these mountain ranges (having an easterly aspect for the Primorskii Range and a westerly and south-easterly aspect for the Barguzin Range), the regional background and the main factors of the landscape differentiation of the study areas were analyzed. Structural features of topological geosystems are revealed, and large-scale maps of key areas are compiled (at a scale of 1:50 000). Maps of the landscape-typological structure were created on the basis of the structural-dynamic and facies analysis of landscapes. It is established that the main factors influencing the land scape diversity are the aspect and steepness of the slopes, the composition and structure of rocks, the absolute height, the amount of atmospheric precipitation, and anthropogenic impacts. It is determined that the influence of the lithomorphic factor is widespread throughout the study areas, the hydromorphic factor is also important, the cryomorphic factor occurs additionally in the goletz zone, and the xeromorphic factor is only observed on the Baikal Range and on the coastal plain in some areas of Priolkhonie. The dynamic aspect of the landscape structure and the relationships between geosystems are displayed in map legends.

Presented are the geological-geographical structural characteristics of the northeastern part of the Barguzin depression with a detailed description of the thermal springs (Kuchigerskii, Ukhmeiskii and Seyuiskii) and geological and hydrogeological condi tions of their discharge. Aerial photographs were used to identify a network of disjunctive dislocations represented by the general (Barguzinskii) fault and by the local (Ulyugninskii, Khakharkhai-Barguzinskii, Dzherginskii and Seyuiskii) faults. It is shown that the outcrops of thermal springs are connected with the intersection nodes of faults of several directions. New data on macro- and micro-component composition of the water, therapeutic mud and free gases are presented. It is determined that the content of La, Mn, Pb, Rb, Co, Cd, Ni, Zn, Cr and Sr in the water of the springs is above the concentrations of these chemical elements in Lake Baikal. High contents of Sr, Rb, Zr and Ba was observed in the mud composition of the Kuchigerskii and Umkheiskii thermal springs. It is established that the Kuchigerskii source is dominated by methane of organic origin and by nitrogen, while nitrogen is dominant in the Umkheiskii spring. The current status of the utilization of the thermal springs for medical and rec reational purposes is outlined. A high balneological potential of the thermal springs in the northern part of the Barguzin depres sion is shown.