Home – Home – Jornals – Thermophysics and Aeromechanics 2020 number 5

The influence of a local change in surface temperature of a contoured nozzle corresponding to the Mach number M = 6 on the boundary layer stability and laminar-turbulent transition is numerically studied. The profiles of the laminar boundary layer are obtained by solving the Navier-Stokes equations with the use of the Ansys Fluid software system. N-factors of the growth rates of the Goertler vortices and also disturbances of the first and second Mack modes are calculated in the approximation of the linear stability theory. It is demonstrated that local heating ensures lower growth rates of the amplitudes of the Goertler vortices and the first Mack mode as compared to the base case; the more intense the heating, the more expressed this effect. The growth rate of the amplitude of the second-mode disturbances decreases during local heating of the nozzle to a temperature close to the stagnation temperature and increases at higher temperatures of local heating. It is found that local cooling leads to an increase in the growth rates of the amplitudes of the Goertler vortices and second Mack mode. The amplitude of the first Mack mode in the cooling region is smaller than that in the base case; however, further downstream, it is much greater than that in the base case. It is found that the surface of contoured nozzles should be heated in the region of the maximum growth rates of the amplitudes of the Goertler vortices; the higher the temperature, the more pronounced the expected effect. However, the maximum possible temperature is determined by the growth of the second Mack mode. The optimal option is to use the temperature of local heating of the surface at which the growth rate of the amplitude of the second mode is smaller than that of the Goertler vortices.

Controlled disturbances are inserted into the wind tunnel flow, and probing measurements of the fields of the amplitudes of pressure and phase velocity oscillations of these disturbances are performed. Based on the relations for inviscid interaction of long-wave vortex, entropy, and acoustic disturbances with the shock wave on a wedge and numerical simulations, the coefficients of conversion of various modes to pressure oscillations on the model surface are determined for the test conditions of a supersonic flow in the T-327B blowdown wind tunnel located at the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The method of mode decomposition for controlled disturbances with the use of disturbance conversion coefficients is implemented in the case of a flat plate model with a sharp leading edge aligned at different angles of attack and sideslip in the flow.

The work is devoted to the study of a vortex system formed in a flow past a streamwise-aligned external dihedral corner due to the drop of pressure between the corner faces. A detailed comparison of experimental and calculated data on the visualization of the flow and on the distribution of pressure over the model surface obtained at Mach number М_∞ = 2.27 in the range of angles of attack α = 0-20° is reported.

The effects of the groove size on the dynamical and thermal behavior in a round jet impinging on an axisymmetric corrugated surface are investigated numerically. The geometry is similar to that considered by Sagot et al. (2010, Int. J. Therm. Sci., 49, 1026-1030) in their experimental study. Three side lengths of the square grooves are tested, one eighth, one quarter and three eighths of the jet diameter. A comparison is made with the flat plate case. The nozzle-to-plate distance is 2D, the Reynolds number is Re = 23000 and the ratio of the plate-radius to nozzle-diameter is R/D = 6. The SST k-ω model is employed to take account of turbulence effects. An attempt is made to understand thoroughly how key parameters such as mean velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and temperature fields can influence the heat transfer performance. The local normal-to-wall temperature gradient and thus the local heat flux through the fluid/wall interface are strongly dependent on these parameters. This justifies our interest in analyzing the distributions of such determining factors in the wall jet and, particularly, in the recirculating zones inside the cavities. Their imprints on the friction coefficient and the local and averaged values of the Nusselt number are highlighted.

Mathematical modeling is offered for describing the effect of variable incidence between the body axis and the high enthalpy air flow on conjugated heat and mass transfer in a heat shield material while thermochemical decomposition of the shield. Results of numerical simulation were obtained for spatial supersonic flow near a body with pitch variations. The effect of body oscillation with the rates 0-100 deg/s on heat and mass performance was studied.

In this paper, a numerical study is performed to investigate the influence of adding glycol or alcohol to water on the thermal protection of a channel wall from hot air by evaporating this binary liquid film. The coupled governing equations in both phases with the boundary and interfacial conditions are solved using a finite difference numerical scheme. The effectiveness of adding a fraction of glycol or ethanol to water for the thermal wall protection is analysed. The influence of the film composition, the liquid mass flow, the velocity and the gas flow temperature at the inlet, on the intensity of heat and mass transfer is discussed. The results indicate that with a lower inlet liquid flow, the mixture ethanol-water presents the best solution for the thermal wall protection compared to ethylene glycol-water mixture. However, for higher inlet liquid flow rate, the two mixtures have the same trends for a water amount higher than 60%. The presence of ethylene glycol in the mixture reduces the heat transfer by latent mode. Consequently, the decrease of the wall temperature is mainly due to the sensible heat flux. The ethylene glycol-water mixture offers the best wall protection from the hot air stream. Accordingly, the most important factor for the wall protection is the thickness of the film that acts as an insulator. The pure water presents a better thermal protection but a very bad conservation of the liquid film. Furthermore, the heat transfer by sensible heat exchange contributes efficiently in wall protection than heat transfer by latent mode.

The article considers the objective-idealistic component in the philosophy of R. Descartes. The main attention is paid to the combination of the multiplicity of its mutually correlating dualistic components with the philosopher's monistic position on the whole. This is done with a focus on its following main distinctive features. It is a dualistic picture of the universe as an incorporeal God, on the one hand, and a corporeal nature, on the other hand. It is also a dualistic idea of the human as consisting of an incorporeal part of the soul, which is recognized as his mind, and the body. Again, it is the dualistic recognition of the irrationality of a number of Christian ideas about God and the presence of rational components in them as well. Besides, it is the inclusion of both the listed and other dualistic ideas of Descartes in his generally monistic picture of all things, in which God is assigned the role of the only creator of everything else.

The main thesis of the article is that the idea of A. Meinong's interpretation of the concept of existence as an eccentric and deliberately implausible concept that implies absurd consequences is unjustified. The author shows that, being correctly presented, this approach not only does not contradict our typical and natural intuitions, but corresponds to them more than any other theory of a similar kind. In this, the key thesis of Meinongianism is that the subject matter of certain thoughts and ideas is not necessarily caused by the existence of the corresponding subject in the physical world. One can think about something that does not exist and such thinking will not be empty. At the same time, this thesis is not aimed at proving the “existence of something non-existent”, but just states a certain fact, which, although it needs further clarification, surely cannot be denied.

D. Pritchard treats the conception of intellectual virtues as a primary theoretical notion and concludes that truth is the fundamental epistemic good and the goal of the scientific research. We criticize his approach in terms of T. Williamson’s knowledge first epistemology, which, in our view, is more fundamental than the virtue epistemology. We argue that knowledge is the only fundamental epistemic good and the goal of the scientific research. In respect to philosophy of education, our analysis leads to the conclusion that in education, one should primarily focus on acquiring the basic Wittgensteinian «hinge propositions».

The article introduces the idea of science as a development institution. The author proposes to consider the issue of the need to work out a response to global challenges from the perspective of institutional restructuring and reconceiving the whole field of science. For this purpose, two models of science are compared on the example of the Novosibirsk Academgorodok: the model within the framework of the project of a scientific town, which belongs to M.A. Lavrentiev's period, and the one within the framework of the new concept "Akademgorodok 2.0", which is currently being developed. The author emphasizes that in view of global challenges, former disputes about various attitudes in science, about scientific revolutions in T. Kuhn's spirit, disputes between metaphysics and logic, between ontologists and relativists have reached their limit; today, such contrasts are no longer relevant. Times have changed and science as an institution has got other tasks - it should become an institution of development. The article also notes that science itself can no longer be just a science; it becomes a techno-science.

The article considers the gap between the extensional and intensional elements of mathematical discourse in the development of programs concerning the foundations of mathematics. It is shown that F. Ramsey's desire to separate the intensional and extensional elements of discourse through the typology of paradoxes turned into an inversion of his project. The substantiation is produced that the development of the set-theoretic foundations of mathematics presupposed an extensional interpretation of mathematics, but nevertheless faced the need to assume the intensional element, for example, in relation to the axiom of choice. It is shown that the assumption of the intensional element of mathematical discourse is connected with philosophical programs, while the extensional interpretation is motivated by mathematical principles.

The work is devoted to important aspects of the cardinal phenomenon of scientific and philosophical thought, with other words cosmism, or cosmic thinking, which began to form in the late XIX - early XX centuries and continues to develop today. The work reveals the actual problem of understanding two main ways of knowledge - empirical scientific and metascientific (the comprehension of objects and phenomena by a person through his inner, spiritual, space), the synthesis of which is presented in the works of Russian scientists and cosmist philosophers. This synthesis is a new system of knowledge, which is the subject of research and allows us to understand a phenomenon or process in the most complete and deep way. This understanding is particularly relevant, because science faces a number of major problems that cannot be explained in terms of traditional, outdated approaches. The relevance of comprehending the two above-mentioned means of cognition is due to the need for further qualitative development of science, which is associated with a deeper understanding of different states of substance of the surrounding reality. One side of this reality is grasped empirically, the other side is grasped non-empirically, intuitively, supersensibly, or in a metascientific way. These two sides are also enclosed in the person himself, which makes it inevitable that the two corresponding ways of knowledge will naturally manifest in him. Namely with the development of the internal culture of man, his spirit, the effectiveness of a multifaceted cognitive process, expanding his horizons is bound. Culture, or the process of development of the human spirit, is the main condition for metascientific cognition, as well as its fruitful synthesis with empirical science.

The article discusses a project of social epistemology, which implies the interaction between different spheres of culture, in terms of the problem of incommensurability of theories. Various interpretations of the term "incommensurability" are analyzed and their applicability to the current scientific process is assessed. It is shown that in spite of different interpretations of incommensurability, there are still opportunities for interaction between scientific communities, communication and cultural exchange.

The article discusses the issue of the objective character of temporal relations, particularly temporal order, duration and simultaneity. The conclusion is made that some temporal relations, such as direction and temporal order, can indeed be objective, since they are caused by logical laws. With regard to duration and simultaneity, one can talk about absolute objectivity only in cases when the space-time interval is reduced to the time interval.

The purpose of the article is to show how new research and scientific trends are reflected in the thesis and conceptual framework of Charles Darwin's classic work "The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex". This work of Darwin deals with the vital issues of his time, which arose mainly after they drew the attention of this brilliant scientist. The evolutionary paradigm required considering a human being not as a divine creature, but as a creation of nature closely related to the animal world. This was done on the pages of the said work. As a taxonomist, Darwin could not help but touch upon the topic of similarities and differences among human races. And, finally, the scientist's attention came to the topic of "sexual selection"; he formulated it entirely by himself at the insufficiency of his previous concept of "natural selection".

The article reviews "Knowledge and Its Limits" by Timothy Williamson, which is one of his key works. It summarizes the main ideas of the twelve chapters of the book.

In connection with the taxonomic revision of the species of the genus Lappula Moench in the flora of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, a related group of L. subcaespitosa from the series Tianschanicae Popov ex Ovczinnikova of the section Microcarpae (Popov) Ovczinnikova was identified, which requires critical study. Analysis of all herbarium materials stored in LE, MW, TASH, AA, NSK, TK, KUZ Herbaria, including type specimens and new collections from the South Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan, from the territory of the Sairam-Ugam National Park, as well as from the Boraldai Mountains included into the system of ridges of the Syrdarya Karatau, made it possible to determine the diagnostic and ecological features, as well as the area of distribution of L. subcaespitosa and L. nevskii Raenko, and also to describe the new species L. kuprijanovii Ovczinnikova for science. The absence of a holotype required the lectotyping of the name L. subcaespitosa.

The history of the taxonomic study of species of the genus Galium L. (Rubiaceae) in Asian Russia is considered. Systems of the genus and the position of species within these systems are discussed. The main systems are A.P. de Candolle, E.G. Pobedimova, A.G. Elenevsky et al. It was revealed that C. Linnaei described the genus Galium in “Species Plantarum”. The first system of the genus was developed by A.P. de Candolle, in which he distinguished 13 sections. The system of the genus, proposed by E.G. Pobedimova, includes 93 species, united in 11 sections, 5 subsections and 19 series. E.G. Elenevsky et al. revised the volume of a number of sections, described 3 new sections, and one section was given as a new combination. Their system of the genus Galium contains 46 species, which are distributed in 21 sections. G. Gmelin, C. F. Ledebour, N.S. Turczaninow, K.J. Maximowicz, V.L. Komarov, P.N. Krylov, N.N. Tsvelev. It is shown that regional floristic summaries have expanded knowledge about the morphology, geography and ecology of species of the genus Galium in Asian Russia.

For the first time provides information on the mineral source located in Taganskiy basin, the Republic of Tyva. The list of algae includes 88 species belonging to 40 genera, 27 families and 4 divisions. The basis of the algal flora are diatoms. Dominant Achnanthidium minutissima, Diatoma mesodon, D. hiemale, and Meridian circulare were identified. An ecological and geographical analysis was carried out, according to which the algoflora is represented by benthic species, with a predominance of indifferent forms in relation to halobicity and active reaction of the environment. 74 saprobionts were detected in the studied watercourse. Geographically, cosmopolitans and boreal species dominated.

A review of Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai (Santalaceae) about its chemical composition, biological characteristics and pharmacology has been made. It was shown, that along the rich set of secondary metabolites among phenolic and others compounds, V. coloratum accumulates N-containing - lectins, viscotoxins, defensins and ect., and accumulates particular diarylheptanoids, lignans, chromones, which were not characteristic for other plants. Structural formulas of the majority of components are given in this paper. Collected information about biological activity of the extracts and individual components, confirmed expediency of using V. coloratum, in standart practice medicine.

The results of studying Hemerocallis minor during introduction in the forest-steppe conditions of the Novosibirsk region are presented. The features of seasonal development taking into account the temperature factor are considered. It was found that in the conditions of the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia, the flowering of H. minor occurred at the sum of positive temperatures of 703.5-828.0 °C. Information about the organogenesis of monocarpic shoot is given. It is shown that the generative shoot is laid in the year preceding flowering. In the pre-winter period, its condition is characteristic of the sixth-seventh stages of organogenesis. The life form of H. minor in the conditions of introduction belongs to short-rooted perennials, with a monopodially increasing axial shoot system of the rosette type and erect elongated generative shoots. The adventitious root system is formed by two types of roots: feeding and storing. The morphological description of seeds, their germination and productivity is presented. It is noted that seeds after 25-day stratification at a temperature of 5-6 °C germinate faster than without stratification. It was found that the coefficient of seed productivity had a value of 47.7 %. Xeromesophytic features in the anatomical structure of the leaf blade are revealed. Ulicny apparatus tetrazine type. The number of stomata on the lower epidermis of the leaf is 1.5 times greater than on the upper one. A well - developed mechanical tissue, the conducting sclerenchyma and the xylem and phloem.

The aim of the research was morphological and biochemical assessment of promising interspecific hybrids of breeding in CSBG in comparison with their original species and natural hybrids. Morphological features of the vegetative and generative spheres, yield and biochemical composition of fruits were studied by traditional methods. As a result of studying morphological, biological and biochemical features of interspecific hybrids of red currant created in CSBG, the possibility of effective use of wild Siberia species in breeding is shown. At the same time, special attention should be paid to Ribes atropurpureum forms selected in CSBG. According to the complex of morphological and biochemical characteristics, there were selected seven interspecific hybrids, which must be propagated and transferred to the State cultivar testing. Artificial hybrids are characterized by high yield, berry setting, content of ascorbic acid, and large fruit. A unique hybrid pool created in CSBG is the basis for further introduction and breeding.

The results of geobotanical descriptions of natural fodder grounds within the Turan-Uyuk valley were presented in the article. The most productive communities are marshy, saline and glycophytic meadows in the Uyuk river valley. There are steppe valley and dry valley meadows on the hills, as well as low productive small-grained steppes. Widespread shrub vegetation is willow, bird-cherry and caragana bush. An ecological analysis showed the prevalence of mesophytes (37.9 %), xeromesophytes (18.4 %) and hygrophytes (17.3 %). The most forward-looking fodder plants are cereals (Bromopsis inermis, Elytrigia repens, Alopecurus pratensis, Agrostis gigantea, Leymus ramosus, L. chinensis, Festuca rubra, genus Poa), steppe and swamp sedges (Carex duriuscula, C. acuta, C. cаespitosa, C. diluta) in a juvenile stage, beans (Caragana spinosa, Lathyrus pratensis, L. frolovii, Vicia cracca, Trifolium pratense, Tr. repens, Medicago falcata), motley grass (Potentilla anserina, Potentilla bifurca, Achillea asiatica, Achillea millefolium, Geranium pratense, Filipendula ulmaria, Sanguisorba officinalis). Among the swampy meadows, grass-cereal-sedges polydominant meadows (Carex caespitosa, Salix rosmarinifolia, Festuca rubra, Juncus arcticus, Alopecurus pratensis, Agrostis gigantea and various sedges) were widespread. The plant communities consisted of Equisetum palustre, Potentilla anserina, Eriophorum polystachion, Eleocharis acicularis, Deschampsia caespitosa, Hordeum brevisubulatum, Puccinellia distans were founded at the floodplain. The dry mass of the most productive swampy meadows ranged from 112.5 centners per hectare to 134.3 centners per hectare (the ones can be used as spring pastures). Halophytic communities varied greatly both morphologically and floristically (Hordeum brevisubulatum, Leymus angustus, L. chinensis, Plantago cornuti, Halerpestes salsuginosa, Saussurea amara). The dry phytomass of steppe communities (Achillea asiatica, Bromopsis inermis, Plantago major, Potentilla bifurca and Phlomis tuberosa, Geranium pratense, Fragaria viridis) is less (33.0 and 30.9 centners per hectare), than that of swampy meadows, but the species composition includes valuable fodder plants. The real halophytic meadows were consisted of groups of cereals (14.8 centners per hectare), sedges (6.2), saltwort (4.5), motley grass (5.9) and dead plants (32.8). These communities are valuable and highly productive. Glycophytic meadows (Bromopsis inermis, Elytrigia repens, Achillea millefolium, Potentilla anserina) had high productivity (46.1 centners per hectare), with motley grass (23.3) and dead plants (17.8). Biological productivity of swampy meadows varies widely - from 11.5 to 134.3 centners per hectare (dry mass), saline ones - from 40.7 to 51.5 centners per hectare. Small-grained steppes are not recommended for a cattle breeding due to severe degradation.

Syntaxonomy of zonal tundra vegetation is still not clear and far from unambiguous explanation. This article presents the results of floristic classification of zonal tundra communities in the Asian Arctic tundras. These communities, widespread under automorphic conditions on the watersheds are included in a new alliance Salici pulchrae-Caricion lugentis, described from the Far North-East of Russia. This unit includes 7 associations and 2 subassotiations, based on relevees ftom Magadan region, Chukotka and Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. The classification is conducted by the Braun-Blanquet method (Westhoff, Maarel, 1978; Mirkin,1989; Dierschke, 1994; Mirkin et al., 2000). Diagnostic species of the alliance include hypoarctic dwarfshrubs, tundra graminoids and some mosses and lichens, common for southern tundra subzone, typical and subarctic tundras of the Asian sector of Russian Arctic - Aulacomnium palustre, Aulacomnium turgidum, Betula exilis, Carex lugens, Eriophorum vaginatum, Flavocetraria cucullata, Ledum decumbens, Salix pulchra, Vaccinium uliginosum, Dicranum elongatum, Dryas punctata, Hylocomium splendens, Ptilidium ciliare, Tomentypnum nitens, Vaccinium vitis-idaea. Geographically new alliance coveres the territory of boreal highlands of Czersky and Kolymsky mountain ranges, tundra zone of Sakha Republic and Chukotka to the north and east from treeline. The alliance Salici pulchrae-Caricion lugentis is not yet disposed in some higher units - order and class. It has been suggested that for higher syntaxa Carici arctisibiricae-Hylocomietea alaskani Matveyeva et Lavrinenko 2016 cl. prov. is proposed (Lavrinenko et al., 2016). To determine the syntaxonomical status of the class and proposed order new relevees from this remote territory is expected.

Theoretical constructs of economic and recreational geography are identified, which could reflect the specifics of regional rural tourism. In this regard, the usefulness of using classical economic and geographical constructs is emphasized: “territorial socio-economic system”, “countryside” and “geosystem”. It is suggested that rural tourism in the Russian regions may develop according to certain models. Which are directly dependent on the natural resource, production and spiritual and other subsystems of the territorial socio-economic system. Attention is paid to the development of a methodological approach to assessing resource potential, because it has not received proper development. It has been shown that increased research in this area has contributed to the recourse to economic categories. To assess the resource potential of rural tourism, it is proposed to use the index of concentration of resource potential. The proposed theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of resource potential for the organization of rural tourism are tested by the example of municipal districts of Rostov oblast. The selection of this southern territory is due to the socio-economic efficiency of the development of rural tourism in typical agricultural regions and the suitable potential of rural areas without a clearly pronounced coastal-beach and medical-mineral specialization. Based on this approach, a typology of municipal districts of Rostov oblast was carried out and conclusions were drawn about the resource component of the rural area of Rostov oblast for organizing rural tourism. It was found that Rostov oblast is a multi-resource territory for the organization of rural tourism and diverse models of the development of rural tourism based on both the production and spiritual spheres apply to rural areas.

An assessment is made of the non-carcinogenic risk to human health in Rostov-on-Don from observations at fixed stations of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of the Russian Federation, in particular, data of the Rostov Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring for the period 2015-2017. Analysis of information available showed that the largest contribution to the risk of health disorders of the population of the city is made by suspended matter, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde. Motor transport is the main source of air pollution in the city. To assess the non-carcinogenic risk within the city limits, three separate district-specific activities of the population and, as a consequence, the emerging impact on human health were identified: one is located in the central part of the city; the other is industrial, and the third is in the residential zone. Based on the results of the risk assessment of chronic intoxication, it was found that in the first and second districts, suspended substances are the most dangerous. In the third, the most dangerous substance is formaldehyde. The total risk of immediate action in the first and second areas is defined as the maximum risk associated with exposure of the population to suspended substances, and in the third area - with exposure to carbon monoxide. Summarizing the results of the non-carcinogenic risk assessment, we can conclude that in the central part of Rostov-on-Don, the level of air pollution in 2015-2017 reached dangerous values for human health.

An assessment is made of the impact on the environment from several mining and mining and processing enterprises of the Altai Republic, including the Veselyi and Kalgutinskii mines, and the abandoned Aktash mining and metallurgical enterprise. The industrial zone is located 2150-2200 m above the sea level in the upper reaches of the Yarlyamry river (the Chuya river basin, Southeastern Altai). The territory of the Karakul deposit of polymetallic ores belongs to Southeastern Altai. A comparative analysis is made of the content of toxicant elements in environmental components in the zone of influence of the mining enterprises. A study is made of the content of trace elements in industrial mining landscapes of Altai. It is found that the waste ores are the main contributors of pollutants; therefore, environmental measures should be focused on decreasing their emissions to the environment. The pollutants in wastewaters from the mining enterprises of the Altai Republic are represented by three main groups, with heavy metals posing the greatest ecological hazard to the environment components; chemical reagents, petroleum products, phenols, etc. are dangerous to a lesser degree. Pollution of wastewaters with trace elements of a general composition is, in general, insignificant.

An attempt has been made to construct models that approximate the time-series statistical properties of the useful inflow into Lake Baikal and its relationships with potential predictors permitting predictive assessments to be obtained. The solution of the problem consists of two parts. In the first part, physical and statistical models are constructed, which reflect the known regularities of the formation of runoff from the catchment. These patterns are manifested in the presence of significant regression relationships between the predicted value of the monthly inflow and its hydrometeorological predictors. The models thus constructed can be used to forecast the average useful inflow for the next month. The predictive correction for interannual variability to the seasonal wave of the inflow in these models is formed by taking into account such a variability in the values of the predictors known at the time of forecasting. The second part of the research is devoted to the study of the presence of possible trends and cycles in the interannual variability in useful inflow in the most water-abundant third quarter of the year in order to try to predict it with a lead time of a year or more. It is shown that various models of cycles with parameters estimated by using of the training sample do not provide the stability of the solution on the control sample. The best result was shown by a cyclical model with fixed periods, reflecting the possible impact on the inflow variability provided by gravitational influence of the Moon and major planets on the Earth and the Sun. Nevertheless, this model cannot also be considered statistically significant due to the small share of the explainable variance and the data deficit on useful inflow into Baikal.

This article presents an analysis of data on the transformation of the main components of ecosystems of steppizated pine forests in the Selenga Middle Mountains (Western Transbaikalia) under the influence of fires. It was established that ground fires of medium intensity prevailing in the region transform living ground cover, change the composition and properties of forest litter and morphological, physicochemical and hydrothermal properties of soils. The post-fire dynamics revealed a slight transformation of species diversity, projective cover and phytomass of herbaceous vegetation, and a more noticeable change in the parameters of moss-lichen cover, litter and soils. A fresh burn showed total death of mosses and lichens, and a small thickness and low reserves of litter consisting largely of fractions of fresh litter of the needles and branches. In the upper pyrogenic soil horizons, moisture decreased and temperature increased immediately after the fire. Very dark coloring from the products of organic matter combustion, alkalization, increasing content of calcium cations and carbon in humus-incorporated horizons and oxalate-soluble iron content in illuvial soil profile horizons were revealed. Five or more years after the passage of the ground fire there occurred positive changes associated with an increase in the thickness of litter and the formation of lichen cover as well as a gradual change in the chemical properties, a decrease in temperature indicators and some stabilization of field moisture parameters in the upper part of the soil profile. It is concluded that these transformations of the properties of litter, moss-lichen cover and soils have a negative influence on post-fire restoration of forest vegetation and pine regeneration in burnt areas formed by ground fires of medium intensity.

We considered the main natural features of the geosystem components and conducted a cartographic analysis of the landscape structure of a section of the Malyi Khamar-Daban Range located within the basins of the Temnik river on the northern macro slope (Lake Taglei’s area) and the Torei river (tributary of the Dzhida river) on the southern macro slope of the range. We carried out the landscape analysis and mapping on the basis of the principles of the structural-dynamic geomeric approach developed in the geosystem theory by the Siberian School of Landscape Science. The analysis of the landscape structure was carried out by using manual and automatic processing of spatial information using GIS methods based on Earth remote sensing data, route landscape studies, topographic and thematic maps as well as published evidence. We constructed a physical-geographical profile for a part of the field research route, showing the characteristics of some geosystem components (vegetation, topographic features, soil, Quaternary deposits and pre-Quaternary geological formations). A large-scale landscape-typological map has been compiled, consisting of two parts, which displayed geomers of different scale levels: regional (geoms) and topological (facies). The map legend represents different aspects of structural-dynamic heterogeneity: taxonomic affiliation of geosystems, factor-dynamic properties, seriality and the nature of anthropogenic disturbances in geosystems. The map shows 2413 sections contoured by four geoms, six classes and three groups of facies and 24 facies and their anthropogenic varieties. Four degrees of anthropogenic disturbance of derived geosystems are represented. We identified on the ridge, within the boundaries of the study territory three altitudinal landscape belts that reflect the landscape organization of the geosystems of the study area: mountain taiga (subbelt of watershed-slope larch-Siberian stone pine taiga and subbelt of slope larch taiga), mountain-forest-steppe and foothill-valley steppe areas.

Detailed mapping of the landscape and morphological structure of the Anapa bay-bar based on interpretation of aerial and satellite images and field research was performed during 2012-2019. At the new level we analyzed the formation history of the Anapa bay-bar geosystem and its constituent elements, including the Vityazevskaya bay-bar. It was found that the landscape-morphological structure of the Anapa bay-bar was formed under the influence of multiple fluctuations of the Black Sea level and the volume of solid runoff of the Kuban river. Variability in external conditions predetermined a significant difference in the structure of individual sections of the Anapa bay-bar. A characteristic feature of the Vityazevskaya bay-bar, in contrast to the other areas, is the presence of relict dune ridges. Analysis of the landscape-morphological structure, supplemented by hydro-lithodynamic regime data, showed that the Vityazevskaya bay-bar is distinguished by the greatest width and development of all longitudinal zones, which are characteristic for the Anapa bay-bar: the beach, the dune belt, hilly sands and the lowland around the lagoon. The structure and location of landforms reflects the stages of formation of the accumulative body under study during the change in the configuration of the adjacent shores under the influence of abrasion and other processes. The Vityazevskaya bay-bar, located in the most hydro-dynamically active zone, is subject to periodic effects of extreme waves. During this period, a hydrogenous reformation of the beach relief occurs, and the dune zone undergoes a significant transformation. Later, the eolian transformation of the coastal relief is observed again, and vegetation develops. A high variability in the relief and periodic flooding and drainage of the territory contributes to the formation of a significant variety of dune and aquatic landscapes, which determine the high environment-oriented value of the Vityazevskaya bay-bar.

Results from studying the gross content of macro- and microelements in the peat deposits of a forest swamp in the northern Sym-Dubches interfluve (Krasnoyarsk krai) are presented for the first time. The swamp was formed 11 800 years ago. The mixed deposit is formed by fen, transitional and raised bog peats of forest-boggy and swampy subtypes. It is found that the average content of elements in the raised bog and transitional types of peat is below the Clarke lithosphere. In the fen peat 12 elements significantly exceed the lithosphere Clarke. Average concentrations of elements in peats of the transitional and raised bog peat types differ slightly from each other. In the peat of the fen peat type, the concentration of a part of the elements exceeds their content in the raised bog and transitional peats by a factor of 4 to 20. A comparative analysis of the average elemental content in various species of the raised bog and transitional types showed that their values change slightly when one type changes for another. In the fen species of peat, the woody Hypnum, woody and Hypnum types that compose the bottom part of the deposit are distinguished by the highest concentration of elements. The high content of most chemical elements in the fen peat species is explained by the bog genesis, rich in water and mineral nutrition for seven thousand years, the chemical composition of peat-forming plants as well as by a combination of two processes: biogenesis and hydromorphogenesis, which contribute to the accumulation of Fe, S, P, Si, Al, Ca, Cu, Mn, Ni, Ba, V and Co. The high concentration of macro- and micronutrients, such as K, Cr, Ti, Ge, Se and Zr, was also influenced by forest fires, which occurred 5030, 5745, 7412 and 7790 years ago, as evidenced by fire layers.

Soil studies on the territory of the Southern Cisbaikalia have shown that climate and topography have a noticeable effect on the diversity and spatial distribution of soil cover at the macro- and meso-level. A complex geological structure, the uneven age and variety of bedrocks, and the composition and degree of weathering of the parent rocks determined the uniqueness of the soils of the study area. For example, the development of residual-carbonate burozems is confined to the places of outcrops of Cambrian high-carbonate rocks. The organization of the soil cover at the micro-level is due to the paleocryogenic Late Pleistocene microrelief. Its hilly-depressive forms contributed to the differentiation of soil formation processes, which led to the complication of soil cover. Contrasting soil microcombinations are represented by complexes of automorphic, autonomous soils on polygons-hillocks and semi-hydromorphic, heteronomous in cryogenic wedge-shaped structures (depressions). On the hillock polygons, the soil profile is formed in the undisturbed soil mass, which corresponds to the post-lithogenic type of soil formation, and the periodic removal of soil material indicates a denudation model of pedogenesis. In depressions, soil formation occurs in redeposited soil material; the presence of one or several buried humus horizons corresponds to the synlithogenic type of soil formation and the accumulative-sedimentary (sedimentation) model of pedogenesis. The result of this research was the compilation of a landscape and soil map of Southern Cisbaikalia using the Quantum-GIS program by interpolating the points of soil sampling using landscape indication methods.

Temperature characteristics of the atmospheric air and soil are among the main indicators that determine the meteorological conditions of the selected period. However, they include not only the actual temperature of the air and soil, but also meteorological parameters, such as the beginning of seasonal freezing and thawing of the soil and the depth of soil freezing, which, in turn, depends considerably on the period of snowmelt. Several issues have been dealt with to assess the thermal conditions for the occurrence of spring and early-summer floods on the Iya and Uda rivers in 2019. We examined the long-term thermal regime of the atmosphere and soil by using data from weather stations Tulun, Nizhneudinsk and Alygdzher. The long-term dynamics of thermal indicates is shown, trends in their changes are calculated, as well as analyzing the characteristics of the thermal regimes in May-June of 2019 prior to the flood. It was found that in the valleys of the Iya and Uda rivers there is a high consistency of thermal regimes of the air and soil. Over the last 30-year period, the recorded positive (especially negative) air temperature anomalies in May and July were not extremely high, capable of influencing physical and geographical processes, including the water regime of rivers. The air and soil temperatures in May-July 2019 were close to the average long-term values and did not have a significant impact on the strength and duration of the abnormal flood. An indirect effect could have been caused by soil overexposure due to the past heavy rainfall of the second decade of June, because the presence of a “zero curtain” in the soil column prevents the passage of moisture deeper than 80 cm.

Based on the biostratigraphic analysis of the sediments of the first terrace above the floodplain, the history of development of the ecosystems of the lower reaches of the Knevichanka River over the past 5350 cal BP was reconstructed. Differences were identified and characteristics were determined in the structure of vegetation cover during the final phase of the Holocene optimum and during multidirectional climatic fluctuations in the Late Holocene. It is found that broad-leaved plants in the final phase of the Holocene were more widespread on the mountain slopes than at present. The accumulative plains were dominated by grassy meadows with small-leaved plant communities. Vegetation on the slopes of the valley of the Knevichanka river was dominated by mixed forests, with a predominance of Korean pine, Japanese red pine, oak, elm, Amur cork tree, lime, lilac, Manchurian walnut and other species. In the lower reaches of the Knevichanka river, in the place of the marshy plains and water areas of Lake Krolevetskii and Lake Orlovskii there existed a extensive shallow sea bay that was connected in a narrow strait with Ussuri Bay. A cooling period that began at the end of Middle Holocene and continuing at the beginning of Late Holocene led to a reduction of broad-leaved plants in vegetation and to a more widespread occurrence of small-leaved plants. At that time the formation of the soil layer of the first terrace above floodplain began in the lower reaches of the river. In the course of the marine regression, the coastal lowlands became free from sea water, and the upper part of the shallow bay was detached from the sea. A lagoon was formed on the place of the marine gulf. The lagoon became gradually desalinated, shallowed and began to connect with the sea by the Knevichanka and Artemovka channels. However, during the syzygial tides and wind-induced surges, seawater was still penetrating it at regular intervals. At the end of the Late Holocene, the valley of the Knevichanka river developed natural conditions giving rise to the modern structure of vegetation. Desalination of Lake Krolevetskii and Lake Orlovskii occurred, the outlines of which acquired the modern position.

This article describes for the first time the fragments of relict permafrost discovered by the author on the coast of the Strait of Tartary in the valley of the Medvezhya river, represented by a complex of frost mounds located in the intermontane area of the Kupol and Malaya Medvezhka mountains. The form, main features and the area of occurrence were studied as well as identifying the landscape-indication and identification features of the complex of frost mounds on the territory of the Strait of Tartary were revealed. On one of the clearly pronounced frost mounds, a well was drilled to the full depth of permafrost occurrence, with the description of the core (rock composition, presence of signs of permafrost, depth and thickness of permafrost), and its ground-geological conditions: rock thickness and composition were determined. The main soil-geological and climatic factors of the preservation of the complex of frost mounds in the Medvezhya river valley, including a thick peat horizon, geomorphological conditions and microclimatic features, are characterized. A probable estimate is made of the time of formation of relict cryogenic forms. The issues related to the origin of hummocky peatlands with respect to the identified relict permafrost forms are discussed. In addition, the role of paleogeographical conditions on the territory of the Lower Amur region is pointed out and interpolated using, as an example, the nearest research object: the Tyapka peat bog in the Bolshaya Mar’ urochishche. A similarity with migration frost mounds associated with migration of moisture to the freezing front at the time of freezing of heavily waterlogged bogs with pools was determined. It is found, however, that the dominant role is played by erosion and thermokarst processes in the formation of relictt permafrost forms in the Medvezhya river valley.

A qualitative assessment is made of dust pollution in zones affected by crushed stone quarries as well as was carrying out a spatial analysis of the dust distribution geoinformation technologies. Primary data were provided by the results of geochemical field sampling of soils and snow cover and Earth remote sensing. The factor analysis based on geochemical data has revealed a trace element (V, Co, Ni, Cu and Sc) association characteristic of both the soil and snow. These elements display elevated concentration coefficients in the rocks quarried, namely Late Vepsian gabbro-dolerites. Models of the spatial distribution of the identified trace element association, based on the results of the study, were constructed using QuantumGIS programme. It has been noted that high factor values were obtained near the quarries. Analysis of the spectral characteristics of snow cover, based on Landsat satellite images, has revealed quarry dust migration routes. Assessment criteria were provided by the normalized snow index and the snow pollution index. They were calculated for open monitoring sites with abundant snow where the snow retains its natural condition over the entire winter season. Interpolation models, showing the distribution of these indices, were constructed. The results of the distribution are clearly correlated with the wind regime. The limiting role of the relief in the movement and accumulation of dust pollution is shown. Comparison of the spectral indices obtained for images from different years has shown that the results obtained at a snow melting stage are most contrasting, although the spatial distribution pattern of pollution generally varies slightly.

The basin analysis for assessing the status of groundwater on the Khovu-Aksynskii arsenide-cobalt-sulfide deposit (Tyva Republic) located on the left bank of the Elegest river was carried out together with field morphometric studies and hydrogeochemical sampling. It was determined that the chemical composition of groundwater is largely dependent on the basin organization of the territory. The structural indices of areas, lengths, slopes and bifurcation calculated for the Khovu-Aksynskii gully basin, and also the geomorphological work indicate that within its limits the functional type of the 3rd order basin components on removal and accumulation of water and lithodynamic flows changes from the denudation (in the upper component) to the accumulation (in the middle) and transition - in the integral lower component. In accordance with the type of basins, it has been established that the groundwater chemistry is formed mainly in the middle and lower components of the basin under natural and anthropogenic impact. With distance from the pollution sources, the halos are formed in the groundwater of deluvial-proluvial horizon, reflecting a decrease in the total mineralization (from 0.68 to 0.3 g/L), hardness (from 7.1 to 3.2 mg-eqv/L) and arsenic (from 0.013 to less than 0.005 mg/L). The absence of water pollution by ore-forming heavy metals (nickel, cobalt and copper) typical for the deposit and tailing dumps is also explained by the transitional type of integral component of the catchment basin. The results obtained show the possibility of using it in modeling the conditions for denudation and accumulation of natural and anthropogenic pollutants in the underground aquifers.

This article presents the results of the GIS analysis of the transport accessibility of regional centers for residents of Zabaikalskii krai with the central regional hospitals located in them. The analysis was performed in the ArcGIS environment using the authors’ approach and the custom tools created, such as models of geoprocessing processes. For analysis, we used official statistical information from the databases of Rosstat and Zabaikalkraistat, and data from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Road Facilities of Zabaikalskii krai. Based on the existing settlement systems and the road network, service areas consisting of “temporary” access zones determined by the time of travel by car were built for each central district hospital. The results of the analysis indicate the existence of spatial and temporal inequality for region’s residents in the possibility of obtaining medical services. It was found that more than half of the region’s settlements, that is, 82 % of the krai’s inhabitants, are located in the hourly accessibility zone by car. Twelve percent of the region’s population lives in settlements that are one to two hours away by car from the district centers. The acute problem is the availability of medical care for residents of the northern districts of the region. It has been established that residents of 69,3 % of settlements in the region are located remotely from official inter-municipal bus routes, their population can mainly rely on private and fixed-route taxi or their own transport. Therefore, even for those living in the hourly accessibility zone, the ability to reach the district center can be a significant problem.

This paper presents an analysis of response of the ecosystem service value to land use/land cover (LULC) changes as well as of the spatial contribution from individual ecosystem service function changes of Barasat Sadar sub-division (West Bengal, India) during the period between 1977 and 2016 based on the modified coefficient. Landsat series satellite images were downloaded at about ten year’s intervals to envision occurrences in spatio-temporal LULC patterns. A supervised classification was performed based on maximum likelihood (MXL) classifier to identify the LULC characteristics. Ecosystem serviced value were calculated per hectares of the terrestrial ecosystem based on the coefficient of each land cover characteristics used in earlier research. The highest value of ecosystem service value was recorded for a surface waterbody in 2016 (477.06 million dollars) and the lowest value was estimated at 0.98 million dollars for fallow land. Our results suggest that deterioration in agricultural fallow, dense vegetation, scrub land and rapid expansion of crop land, and surface waterbody artificial infrastructure for the period of 1977-2016 led to an incessant loss of the total ecosystem service value to the tune of $238.92 million using the coefficient adopted in calculations. The outcome of the investigation can serve as a reference and basis for enlightening decision building concerning the management of land resources and subsidize to a trade-off between urban growth and the lessening in ecosystem services.