Home – Home – Jornals – Atmospheric and Oceanic Optics 2021 number 6

Analysis of satellite and reanalysis data indicates a relationship between pyrogenic NO₂ emissions and atmospheric blocking events. According to the estimates for the period 2001-2019, with an increase in the integral blocking index by 10%, the total NO₂ emissions into the atmosphere during wildfires in Russia increase by 0.7 million tons. Against the background of a general decrease in 2001-2019 of pyrogenic NO₂ emission, a statistically significant increase in the NO₂ emission density per unit area by 23% was revealed. At the same time, a decrease in the total emission of NO₂ during wildfires was noted in relation to the corresponding emissions of carbon monoxide and fine aerosol.

The seasonal changes in the surface aerosol elemental composition in Moscow are considered in four data series: for summer and autumn 2019 and winter and spring 2020. The surface aerosol in megalopolis is significantly enriched with sulfur, heavy metals, and metalloids (Cu, Zn, Cd, Sb, Pb, Bi, etc.). We compare the mass concentrations, mass percentages, and enrichment factors for different elements in aerosol particles. The spatial distributions of elements in the surface aerosol is not uniform through the city, which may be associated with the specificity of local sources, underlying surface, and wind regime in different regions of Moscow. The concentrations of a number of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements are the highest in the central Moscow. The reasons for seasonal variability of surface aerosol elemental composition are discussed. Identification of the main sources of different elements is the task of the next investigation.

The diversity of spore-forming bacteria isolated from high-altitude and near-surface aerosol samples while monitoring the biogenic component of atmospheric air in southwestern Siberia were investigated. A significant predominance of spore-forming bacteria over representatives of other microorganism groups was recorded from October to December 2016. Sixty-two cultivated cultures of endospore-forming bacteria were isolated from the aerosol samples collected in that period. Their morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics were studied, their genomic identification was performed, and their enzymatic activity was determined. The isolated and characterized bacterial cultures were identified as belonging to the genera Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Brevibacillus, Lysinibacillus , etc. and possessing biotechnologically significant proteolytic, amylolytic, phosphatase, lipolytic, and nuclease activities.

The first results of studying atmospheric aerosol samples from the Middle Urals using a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer are considered. The aerosol sampling by the aspiration method on KFBZh and AFA filters is discussed. The difficulties in carrying out mass spectrometry "directly", that is, without preliminary sample preparation, are analyzed. On the basis of the results of mass spectrometry and optical microscopy of the filter surface, further prospects of their use for sampling aerosol microparticles are considered.

The article deals with assessing and analyzing the standard of living in a particular region. We aim to evaluate changes in the standard of living in the Republic of Buryatia from 2012 to 2018, relative to the period between 2005 and 2011. Based on the assumption that the standard of living is linked to expenditure patterns of households, we analyze structural shifts against the six components of monetary expenditures. The study presents point and interval estimates of structural shifts obtained with the bootstrap method. We check their statistical significance using the Mann-Whitney U and permutation tests. With the calculation results, we conclude that the standard of living in the Republic of Buryatia is declining, which is reflected in characteristic changes in consumer spending patterns and a negative gap between households ’ incomes and expenditures. The estimates of structural changes given in this article may be used by the Buryat government bodies as benchmarks or targets when drafting measures to improve the standard of living. Also, the described method is applicable in analyzing the standard of living at the federal district and national levels and for interregional comparisons.

The article is devoted to ensuring the quality of procurement in competitive procedures at the contract execution stage. Public medical institutions continue having problems with the deliveries of low-quality goods regardless of how contractual provisions are imposed. The study examines the procurement process and analyzes the public procurement of medical institutions in Moscow. We define the factors that affect the quality of delivered purchases, pointing out various procurement procedures and contract types that medical institutions use. The article also describes simple and complex contracts with verifiable and unverifiable quality. It estimates competition at the auctions where the number of participants is a decisive factor determining their success. We examine how the incentive system influences suppliers. The fixed-quality auction mechanism is compared to the negotiable-quality one. It is shown that the capacity of competitive procedures to ensure quality procurement depends on the customer discretion: the type of the contract, the comprehensiveness of the designed terms of reference, the choice of procurement method, and the degree of quality checks and the incentives system applied to suppliers. Following our research, we suggest that standardized goods or services should be purchased at open e-auctions, while those complex ones with difficult expense accounting must involve a negotiation stage. The systematized results help improve the approaches to analyzing policies in procurement quality assurance and well-thought-out contract policy implementation by public authorities.

The spread of the COVID-19pandemic is highly differentiated both among countries and areas within countries. This paper’s main objective is to identify regional characteristics influencing the extent of coronavirus infection in the Russian Federation during the second wave of the pandemic. We employ econometric modeling methods to assess relations between regional characteristics that reflect vulnerability or resistance of a region to infection and the scale of coronavirus proliferation. Among the resistance factors were the wealth and social capital accumulated by the region’s population. Residents in better-off Russian regions are less exposed to infection, while more impoverished regions, densely populated ones, regions with worse environmental issues, and the ones with older populations appear to be more vulnerable. We show the role of social capital in pandemic resistance: superior quality social capital is associated with lower infection and mortality rates. The results may inform regional policy measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other infections potentially.

The processes of depopulation of the country, almost all its regions, and localities are similar to those observed in almost all developed countries. They are further intensified during the thirty-year transformation of public relations in Russia itself. This article presents general and specific reasons for the depopulation of mental, social, economic, and political nature in the works of Russian geographers and demographers, sociologists and economists, ethnographers and political scientists. Summarizing and supplementing their results, we propose a verbal model of spatially mediated depopulation processes. It characterizes their logic and the dominance of economic factors regarding their progress in modern Russia. We critically evaluate the statistical accounting methods for geographically mediated depopulation and an ambiguous role of interregional and intraregional migration in the “desertification" of territories.

In the modern world, an objective need for significant socio-economic transformations is acute. This need is due to a few reasons, among which it is worth noting the income stratification, economic crises, and political instability. One of the effective tools aimed at solving these problems is social entrepreneurship. Given that social entrepreneurship is understudied and needs further elaboration, the article discusses the development of social entrepreneurship in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This made it possible to identify a sufficient degree of unity of social entrepreneurship development in the territory of the EAEU on the functional-activity level. In these countries, social entrepreneurship shows high overlap in the overwhelming number of focus areas. It is most often represented in social protection and rehabilitation, healthcare, sports and tourism, and education. Organizations of social entrepreneurship, as a rule, target socially vulnerable categories of citizens. The problems inherent in the current state of social entrepreneurship in the EAEU countries are also very similar. They should include imperfection of its legislative regulation, insufficient infrastructure support, low level of identification in society, as well as lack of an accounting system and regular monitoring.

Rural local self-governance as an independent political institution shows clear signs of degradation, its efficiency and capacity decreasing markedly over time. With local administrations having fewer powers and financial resources, destructive phenomena and processes are taking shape: rural infrastructure facilities are deteriorating, and negative demographic trends are emerging. This study intends to assess how these trends can be counteracted with rural residents self-organizing, to identify and classify the forms of public initiative participation in local self-governance. Having generalized the results of sociological research and presented them as case studies of rural settlements in Novosibirsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai, we managed to determine the main types of formal and informal public participation practices in initiating projects aimed at territorial improvement, social support, and other local issues. We conclude that local authorities’ insufficient performance, poor resource endowment, and unpreparedness for dialogue with the population encourage informal types of public participation in the life of the village. Such informal practices can draw local communities closer and help not only preserve but improve rural settlements. If the rural population is actively involved in various forms of public participation, it may partially compensate for the local government defects and counteract negative trends pertinent to sustaining the village.

The article identifies and analyzes in detail the root problems that hinder the strengthening of EAEU integration, particularly between Russia and Kazakhstan. It also considers the challenges of 2020, which have directly affected cooperation within the EAEU, exacerbating Eurasian integration’s previously existing limitations. Inconsistent macroeconomic policies, highly volatile EAEU member states’ currencies, and the EAEU economy being dominated by extractive industries are all recognized as major constraints to successful cooperation. The latter leads to weak intra-regional ties between member states and exposes the association to external shocks. As for macroeconomic policy discrepancies, the article explains them by showing how different EAEU countries are in their social and economic development. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic exerts additional negative pressure on integration processes within the EAEU, we conclude that Russia and Kazakhstan, the largest EAEU members, should take the initiative in enhancing cross-country cooperation by systematically addressing the challenges faced by the union.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a strategic project initiated by China and aimed at improving international cooperation. It calls for pursuing coherent infrastructure solutions, seamless trade, and financial interconnectedness by strengthening political interaction between partner states to achieve mutual benefits. The Sino-Russian ties within the Belt and Road Initiative, the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Greater Eurasian Partnership have become an integral part of their general strategic cooperation. Conjugating the development strategies is crucial for this cooperation to reach meaningful results. Comprehensive partnership between China and Russia, which includes their strategic interactions, relies on the basic principles outlined in the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. Now, at a time when the world is undergoing tremendous turmoil, Sino-Russian cooperation is not only an important external development factor for both countries but also a guarantee of regional and global stability.

The article examines methodological problems of managing the social and economic development of municipalities, considers approaches to drafting a new concept of municipal management for socio-economic processes, and analyzes current approaches to studying problems of municipal management based on socio-economic modeling. We make a case for employing a systematic approach in municipal management and modern economic and mathematical tools to improve the efficiency of management decisions. We design methodological foundations and apparatus to model the economic management processes for municipalities as complex institutional systems. The article proposes a balance-optimization model to forecast and manage socio-economic development processes in municipalities. The proposed methods rely on the following assumptions. Municipal management is a complex multidimensional process that implies dealing with strategic and tactical objectives. Allowing for the long-term goals, the need to better balance decisions in municipal management culminates in the need to improve multifunctional tools. Municipal development is exercised over fiscal cycles equal to one calendar year. Each such cycle involves significant managerial decisions that affect how the budget will replenish and where the funds will be allocated in the current year and onward. They also influence the qualitative, non-financial indicators demonstrating the city development. The proposed model predicts municipal development indicators for the long term. We use a positive generalization for the model based on the case studies of two towns, Berdsk (Novosibirsk Oblast) and Kyzyl, to review how it is applied to the largest municipality in the Russian Federation, namely the city of Novosibirsk. The research results have shown that this model can be used to forecast changes in a municipality that follow certain types of managerial actions. Moreover, it is possible to calculate the indicators of municipal development in the process of fiscal cycles, where each contains significant management decisions that affect budget replenishment in a few subsequent years instead of just the following one, as well as influence the social and economic indicators of the city development.

This paper aims to improve the methodological tools for analyzing the spatial effects of intraregional fiscal decentralization and suggest a way to increase the municipalities' tax potential in Russia. The growth of local tax powers - a key element of broader fiscal decentralization - is favorable for the efficiency of budget expenditures, local development, and improvement of quality of life. In this paper, the indicator of intraregional fiscal decentralization is the share of local budgets’ revenues from personal income tax (PIT) in consolidated regional revenues from PIT, i.e., the share of local PIT. We use structural and spatial correlation analysis, grouping and analysis of regional legislation. The article reveals the lack of growth of local authorities’ tax powers in 2014-2018, which underscores the problem of small local powers. It is established that the decentralization of PIT is present only if there is a small tax potential of a region, and as the latter grows, the former decreases. This indicates a lack of positive fiscal incentives to exercise effective local spending and develop the tax base. We propose and test a method of analyzing the spatial effects of the share of local PIT and discover that the spatial effects are present and positive. This points to inter-regional cooperation in the field of fiscal policy; that is, the regions are guided by each other while tackling the issue of intraregional tax decentralization. We also suggest a method for allocating general grants from the federal government to foster the local tax potential, using the spatial effects found. It is shown that neighboring regions will coordinate their intraregional tax decentralization, which will increase the amount of funds disposable by municipalities by a larger amount than the amount of the transfer allocated. The results can be used in the federal policy of increasing local tax powers and capacity.

The Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering SB RAS has traditionally served a communication platform for representatives of science, business, education, and state to interact with one another. This article gives an overview of how the problems of integration cooperation within innovation ecosystems were discussed at the regular April research-to-practice seminar on the challenges of high-tech business.

The shallows of the Laptev and East Siberian seas formed on the site of islands composed of the sediments of the Late Pleistocene Ice Complex which eroded in the 17th–20th centuries and are linked to positive morphostructures. The present article considers factors of modern sedimentation in marine shallows with the formation of islands (Yaya, Nanosny, Zatoplyaemyy, Leykina, etc.). Among these factors are a decrease in sea ice extent, an increase in the duration of the ice-free period, and the activation of destructive cryogenic processes triggered by the current climate warming. A decrease in ice coverage led to the dominance of hydrodynamic processes in sedimentation, unlike the primary role of sea ice in this process in the 17th–19th centuries. Sediment deficit in these centuries is substituted by its excess owing to the activation of cryogenic processes at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. As a result, the erosional profile of underwater slopes of shallows is transforming into an accumulative one. Sedimentation is occurring parallel to a rising sea level related to a warming climate. A rise in the surface of islands and sandbanks is recorded on satellite images where there are modern positive vertical movements. The formation of islands and sandbanks is accompanied by their syngenetic freezing.

The analysis of the Landsat satellite images revealed a significant increase in the area of thermokarst lakes in Central Yakutia over the period 2000-2019. The lake area increased twice in the basins of the Suola and Taatta River basins and by 25 % in the Tanda River basin. It has been established that, despite the presence of a general linear trend, the increase in the area of lakes occurs abruptly. Qualitative relationship between the changes in the state of the upper layer of permafrost and the dramatical increase in the area of thermokarst lakes has been revealed. The main factor leading to disruption of a stable state of thermokarst forms are short-term (1-3 years) periods of sudden changes in temperature of seasonally thawed layer from below-average to anomalously high values. These periods can be caused by a rare combination of hydrometeorological conditions, such as anomalously high values of snow water equivalent, increased annual precipitation, and an increased water content of soils of the seasonally thawed layer.

The results of determining the lower boundary of the methane hydrate stability zone based on geothermal measurements in 22 wells of the Srednevilyuysk gas-condensate field have been presented. A graphical method has been applied, which consisteds in comparing the thermograms with a phase diagram characterizing the equilibrium conditions of formation for the methane gas hydrates contained in the upper deposits of the field. At present, the upper gas deposits of the field (depths of 1035 and 1057 m) are located only 60-70 m below the stability zone. An approximate assessment of changes in the location of the lower boundary of the stability zone of methane hydrates in the Late Neopleistocene-Holocene has been made. It has been revealed that during the cold periods (~ 130 and 15 thousand years ago), the stability zone could fall below the upper gas deposits of the Srednevilyuysk field by 20-50 m.

The main goal of the research is to assess the nature of the spatio-temporal changes in the temperature regime of the soil of the East European Plain (Russian part) under the conditions of changes in snow cover and soil temperature in recent decades - at the local and regional levels. The phases of changes in soil temperature, snow thickness, and surface air temperature, typical for the study area, have been identified. Significant long-term tendencies in the progress of in soil temperature are characteristic of low-snow autumn and spring periods, as well as a significant correlation between soil temperature and air temperature during those periods in the absence of statistical relationships during the snow season. A sharp decrease in the seasonal and inter-annual variability of soil temperature in the period with stable snow cover has been revealed - by 3-5 times relative to the variability of the surface air temperature, and by 1.3-2.5 times relative to the variability of soil temperature in the pre-winter and spring periods with a progress of changes. Thus, the appearance of stable snow cover in the winter season determines the progress of soil temperature within a narrow corridor of near-zero values, low or insignificant coefficients of the linear trend, low seasonal and inter-annual variability, the absence of statistical relationships with the course of changes in snow thickness and surface air temperature - both at the local, and at the regional levels of the East European Plain.

Surface heat balance components have been calculated for the mountain valley Aldegonda Glacier (West Spitsbergen Island) based on a physical model with distributed parameters. The meteorological and actinometric observations on the glacier during the ablation period of 2019, a digital elevation model, as well as the remote sensing data needed for assessment of the reflective characteristics of the surface have been used as the input data. As a result of modeling, a spatial distribution of the values of the heat flux spent on melting with a resolution of one day has been obtained. According to the calculations, the average radiation balance for the period has been 89 W/m², which is approximately an order of magnitude higher than the heat inflow from turbulent flows (11 W/m²). The obtained results have been verified using data on the glaciological mass balance monitoring based on ablation stakes. Predicted thickness of melted ice layer is in good agreement with the measurements on ablation stakes. The model systematically overestimates the magnitude of ice melt, but the glacier-average value remains within the confidence interval of the observed value.

On the 22 of June, 2021 famous scientist, doctor of science in geology and mineralogy, Marina Oskarovna Leibman has celebrated her 70th anniversary. Marina Oskarovna combines a fundamental scientific approach with active field research, managing to cover a wide range of tasks for the study of permafrost and cryogenic processes. She has become an attentive scientific consultant and scientific advisor for many young researchers.

2020 is recognized as a milestone year in many national and regional development programs; it is customary to summarize the results in the context of achieving the results planned in targeted programs. Regional environmental programs are documents designed to reflect the specifics of the territory in solving the most important tasks in the field of environmental protection, the solution of which is predetermined by the regional environmental policy. It is shown that the problems of program execution are laid down at the stage of their formation. They are related in particular to the lack of coordination of environmental programs with strategic plans for regional development, the uniformity and selectivity of indicators used, etc. The need to adjust indicators in accordance with changing trends and problems of territorial development, which is especially important for the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District in connection with the activation of economic activity here, is indicated. The desire of the regions to reflect the specifics of the territory and meet the requirements outlined in the world development models explains the appearance of regional tasks in environmental programs. However, the solution of some of them is not provided with a methodological, organizational, or financial basis. Some problematic aspects of the formation of regional environmental programs are considered by using Khabarovsk krai as an example. The main reasons that cause difficulties in achieving priority goals, such as preserving landscape diversity, are highlighted. According to the main indicators, the planned results have been extended for another five years. The lack of compliance of the results with the stated goals can be explained by the lack of resulting environmental indicators in the strategic development plans for the region, the disunity of the tasks set in the regulatory legal acts of the federal subject, and by other reasons.

This article considers the prospects for restoring lithium production in Russia as one of the possible directions for the development of the mineral resource complex. It is shown that to date, a number of comparative economic advantages have been formed for this purpose. The main one is the dynamic growth of demand and prices for lithium-containing products. Arguments are given in favor of the fact that the current trends are not situational but long-term in nature, associated with the development of high-tech industries around the world. It is shown that this can be confirmed by the high growth rates of investments in renewable energy sources, which implies a significant increase in the production of lithium-ion batteries. It is noted that other high-tech sectors that require lithium-containing products are also actively developing in Russia. An overview of the lithium market from the supply side is given: the structure of its stocks, production and the main countries-producers and exporters of lithium are shown. The problems and prospects of resumption of Russian lithium production are considered. It is noted that the dynamic growth of lithium prices provides the possibility of profitable development of previously exploited deposits where production was suspended in the conditions of low prices in the 1990s. It is shown that the Zavitinsk field in Zabaikalskii krai has favorable conditions for the restoration of production which was closed in 1998. A SWOT analysis is made to confirm this conclusion. The following conclusions were drawn: resumption of lithium production in Russia will permit a step forward in the direction of reorientation from large export-oriented mining projects to the formation of high-tech production chains of a high degree of localization within the country; this would become of the most important “growth points” in the process of reindustrialization as well as creating new opportunities for development of territories and improvement of living standards in the east of Russia; domestic lithium production is of strategic importance for a broad segment of the new economy and, as such, will be sustainably supported by increasing demand in the long term.

This article considers the problem of updating the maps of the agro-climatic zones of Russia and Kazakhstan, taking into account current climate warming. Agro-climatic zoning of a territory is one of the most important parameters of agro-climatic support of the economy; however, the problem of creating modern specialized maps on this topic and updating climate standards in Russia and Kazakhstan remains. Regional studies of the last few years on climatology and adaptation of agriculture to climate warming directly or indirectly indicate the need for updating climate standards and reference material (maps, diagrams, textbooks, etc.). In the course of this study, the sum of active temperatures (ST₁₀) was calculated for 270 meteorological stations in Russia, Kazakhstan and adjacent territories for the period 2001-2018. The results obtained recorded a noticeable shift in the boundaries of agro-climatic zones and an increase in ST₁₀ by 200-600 °C depending on a specific territory as compared with data from the 1950s-1960s. The agro-climatic zones to the greatest extent shifted in 1600-2200 and 2200-2800 °C, but Kamchatka, the Aral Sea region and the Syr Darya basin are dominant in absolute value. The subtropical zone also expanded significantly beyond the Black Sea coast of Krasnodar krai, the southern coast of the Crimea and the extreme south of the Turkistan Region. The above information partially confirmed the forecast of Roshydromet in 2005, although in many regions of Russia the trend for ST₁₀ to increase was slightly weaker than expected.

This article proposes the approach to assessing the nonadditive property of the aquatic ecosystem (ecological well-being) of small streams. As the criteria for assessing ecological well-being, we used the stability of a water body to external influences, the water quality, the production of a resource link, the biota diversity, the rate of self-purification of the aquatic ecosystem, the trophic status were criteria for assessing environmental well-being. Some of these characteristics are estimated in terms of multi-criteria. The following indicators were used in the assessment: the catchment area of the river, the average annual water discharge, the duration of the low-water phase, the fluctuation of the water level, the biomass of forage benthos, the stability of the channel, the specific combinatorial water pollution index, the Shannon diversity index, etc. Five classes of environmental well-being were identified on a scale from 0 to 1: low, below medium, medium, above medium and high. On the basis of field data, a model-classification of the assessment of environmental well-being was tested for six streams of Leningrad oblast and the city of St. Petersburg. A calculation of the integral index of ecological well-being showed the absence of small rivers with high ecological well-being. Most of the stations used in the study belong to the category with well-being below medium. Only a few stations located in the sections of the streams at a distance from large settlements are categorized as medium and above medium.

Starting in 2006, active development of the slopes of the Aibga Ridge (area of the settlement of Krasnaya Polyana) in connection with the construction of sports and tourist facilities has led to changes in land use patterns, which promoted an intensification of exogenous processes, primarily debris flows, presenting a threat to engineering facilities and human safety. On the basis of using remote sensing data: high resolution satellite images, ortho-images from aerial photographs as well as digital elevation models constructed on their basis, the main types of anthropogenic disturbances and manifestations of exogenous processes were monitored for 2006 and 2019 for the hierarchical subordination of a series of test areas: the polygon (the area S = 25 km²), the basin of the Sulimovskii brook (S = 6,9 km²) and the key area on the catchment of the Chernyi brook (the right tributary of the Sulimovskii brook) (S = 0,8 km²), the upper reaches of which approach the engineering facilities of the Rosa Khutor health resort. As a result of the comparison, the dynamics of the associated spatial development of anthropogenic forms and natural processes is estimated. It was found that in the study area during 2006-2019 the anthropogenically transformed areas increased, on the average, more than by a factor of 5 reaching 25-30 %, and 50 % for the individual basins. The areas of exogenous processes increased qualitatively (according to the types of processes) and quantitatively (more than by a factor of 7, on the average), the contribution from which for the entire polygon reached 0,8 and 4 % of their area for separate watersheds. Anthropogenic changes in land use patterns promoted an increase in the overland runoff of water by a factor of 2, which led to a dramatic enhancement in erosion, landslide and related processes of slope runoff, resulting in an increase in recurrence of landslide-caused floods.

Landscape-ecological investigations were made at the topological level in the summer period of 2014 and 2016-2017 on the territory of the Udyl’ federal wildlife reserve, a model study area of the Lower Amur region. Twenty-six trial areas were established and described in detail. Soil temperature was measured at different depths in each trial state. To identify the regularities in soil temperature changes on the territory under study for understanding the interdependencies within the region’s geosystems, an analysis was made of the relationships between soil temperatures and environmental factors by using the method of multiple regression that was improved for ecosystem analysis. Spatial analysis of soil temperatures showed their dependence on the position in the landscape catena, the vicinity of the lake, slope exposure of the slope and on landforms. Regression models were constructed which describe soil temperature changes at different depths using topographic attributes. The models are characterized by close statistical relationships. The coefficients of determination R² varied from 0,83 to 0,87. The characteristics of the relief of the study territory were used to construct the model of the types of position (R² = 0,85). It was shown that surface soil layer temperatures are influenced the most by the position in the catena, and the temperatures at depths depend on the distance from the lake center. The identified relationships were used as the basis to construct detailed raster maps with cells of 50 x 50 square meters. They can be used to calculate soil and vegetation cover gridded maps. It was shown that the use of topography, which is a redistributor of light, heat, moisture, and lithodynamic flows, provides a clearly pronounced effect in soil temperature models. Identification of close relationships between abiotic features and topography enables reliable maps of biotic characteristics, in contrast to simple interpolation of measured data.

An analysis of domestic and foreign approaches to assessing the ecological state of recreational landscapes was carried out. We identified two main groups of approaches based on the regulation of recreational loads and on determining the maximum permissible changes in indicators of the state of the soil and vegetation cover. A large complex of physical properties and indicators of the chemical composition of soils on ten typical recreational sites and adjacent background sites was studied. Hardness, density, humidity, porosity, magnetic susceptibility, granulometric composition, pH water, absorption capacity, humus and carbonate content were determined for soils. A complex of biophysical and morphometric parameters of hanging birch and common pine: the temperature and humidity of the trunk and roots, the value of radial growth, and the value of the asymmetry of the leaf blade were studied. The directional character of the transformation of the properties and indicators of soils and wood species studied under increased recreational loads was established. A number of integral and parametric indicators for assessing the ecological state of soils, surface waters and the living condition of trees, including those determined using express-analyzers, have been proposed. According to the oxygen regime index, three main classes of surface water quality in recreational areas were identified: high, medium and low. The method of maximum permissible changes in the indicators of soil and vegetation cover for the assessment of the ecological state of recreational areas has been adapted to the conditions of the region. Their critical values for the third stabilized stage of soil digression and the third category of tree species life condition were determined. A series of nomograms for an approximate assessment, including in the Express version, of the stages of soil digression, the vital state of the forest stand, and the quality class of surface waters of the recreational territories of the Altai Republic was developed.

A diversity of soils of the Central ecological zone of the Lake Baikal drainage basin on the territory of Buryatia was revealed. It was established that soil cover consists of 38 soil types. An updated soil map of the region under study was compiled, on which 18 soil contours with the main, concomitant, and occurring types were identified. An area assessment of soil resources has been carried out. The dominant effect of the vertical zonality on the soil spatial distribution is shown, which is most clearly pronounced in high and middle mountains. It has been established that immature soils, such as lithozems and petrozems (Regosol and Leptosol) with associated soils prevail in the alpine part, as well as gleyzems (Gleysols) with peat-gleyzems (Histic Gleysols) and peat-lithozems (Histic Regosol). More than a half of the territory under study is occupied by soils of the middle mountains. The soil cover there is quite complex in composition, and podburs (Ferric Umbric Podzols), Burozems as well as Podzols, sod-podzols (Folic Podzols), sod-podburs (Ferric Folic Umbric Podzols), etc. are the most widespread. Podzols and gleic-sod-podzols (Folic Gleyic Podzols) with accompanying sod-podzols (Folic Podzols) and sod-podzolic-gley (Folic Gleyic Retisols) soils are predominant soils of low mountains. In the intermontane depressions, the dominant position belongs to Gray metamorphic soils (metamorphic Folic Umbrisols), sod-podburs (Ferric Folic Umbric Podzols) with sod-gray soils (Folic Umbrisols) as well as humus psammozems (Mollic Arenosol). In floodplains, estuaries, and river deltas, various complexes of alluvial soils: dark humus (Umbric Fluvisols), dark humus gley (Umbric Gleyic Fluvisols, layered alluvial (Fluvisols), sod-gley (Folic Gleyic Fluvisols), peat-gley (Histic Gleyic Fluvisols) etc. are formed. Peat eutrophic soils (Histosols) and peat-gleyzems (Histic Gleysols) occur on swamp massifs as well as peat-gley soils (Folic Gleysols) and peat-cryozems (Histic Cryosols). Lakeside territories are predominantly occupied by dark humus gley (Gleyic Phaeozems) and peat eutrophic soils (Histosols). It was found that saline soils are virtually absent.

Using the ICP-MS method we determined the elemental composition of near-shore waters of Lake Baikal and algae of the genus Spirogyra which have become of widespread occurrence in recent years in a shallow water zone adjacent to settlements and recreation sites, as well as of benthic algae dominating at littoral sites with a low level of anthropogenic impact. In the interstitional water of the overwash zone at the boundary the territories of settlements and recreations territories, elevated contents of Na, Mg, S, Si, P, K, Cl, Mn, Co and Ba were observed as compared to the water of background areas. The highest contents of the same elements: Na > Ca, K, S > Mg, Ba, P > Cl and Mn were also recorded in Spirogyra collected at the sites adjacent to settlements. A special feature in the elemental composition of algae of the genus Spirogyra growing in the lake’s shallow-water zone is a wide range of concentrations of Na, Cl, K, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Br and Ba as well as a very high content of Ba. Spirogyra spp. considerably surpasses the Baikalian benthic algae in the contents of Li, Na, Mn, Co and Ba and differs little in the contents of Mg, P, S, Cl, K and Ca. The aforementioned changes in the elemental composition of water and a high degree of concentration of Na, Cl, Mn, Co and Ba in Spirogyra uncharacteristic for the Baikalian species of algae suggest an increased input of dissolved compounds of Na, Mg, S, Si, P, K, Cl, Mn, Co and Ba with domestic sewage into the near-shore zone of the lake.

This article presents for the first time the hydrologic-morphological and morphodynamic characteristics of the river bed of the latitudinal stretch of the middle Ob within the Khanty-Mansiisk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra (upstream of the mouth of the Irtysh river). The assessment of the river bed deformations is based on the expedition-based data obtained in 2018, the analysis of satellite images, pilot charts and plans of channel bars for different time intervals. The morphodynamic types of river bed, the conditions and patterns of their distribution and alternation along the length of the river are determined; the characteristics of the river bed morphology and dynamics of each of the occurring morphodynamic types are assessed: a relatively straight line and unbranched; gentle, steep and straightening of rivers bends; single, floodplain-river bed, and complex three-branch and conjugate branching. For the first time, we assessed the impact of the river division into two independent branches forming the bifurcated river bed-the right river bed (the main as regards the discharge), and the left river bed, represented by the Yuganskaya Ob, Bolshaya Salymskaya and Neuliov river duct system. Also for the first time, complex three-branch forks with meandering branches are identified. Differences in the formation of the bends of the river bed, the bends of the branches of the forked river bed and river bed branches are revealed. The analysis of the bends was carried out using conventional techniques as well as statistical methods which allowed us to obtain empirical curves of availability and distribution density of their main morphological parameters: the radii of curvature, and steps and degrees of development of the river bends. Forks of different types were considered and the specificity of the complexity of the forks was revealed by comparing them with forks in the upstream sections of the middle and upper Ob river bed.

The problems of the functioning of water management system of the Angara river basin in the case of deviations from normal water-discharge conditions are considered. Based on the analysis of actual water resource management regimes of Angara cascade reservoirs over the last 30 years, it is shown that in years of high and especially low water availability the needs of water users for water resources with regulatory reliability and the enforcement of current legislation are not met in full measure. This statement is confirmed by the analysis of the water management system of the Angara river basin in the most well-known low-water periods. It is noted that the main reason for this situation, along with climate changes in the basins of Lake Baikal and Angara river, is the current legal framework and the water management system based on it. Other reasons for reducing the overall reliability and stability of the water management system are also considered. A universal indicator of sustainability is proposed in the form of a normative range of water resources availability for each water user, taking into account the fulfillment of various conditions and restrictions. A modeling of possible and acceptable modes of regulation of the Angara cascade reservoirs for various variants based on statistical data of inflow for a 115-year observation period is performed. For each of the variants considered, estimates were obtained of the water availability as regards the fulfillment of the necessary requirements and restrictions. Due to the fact that over the last two decades there has occurred a significant change in climate and hydrological characteristics in the basins of Lake Baikal and the Angara river, a scenario of long-term reduced water discharge was additionally developed. As a result of the research, the most effective (sustainable) version of regulation has been determined in terms of increasing the availability of water resources for water users and consumers within the Angara basin and meeting the main modern requirements and restrictions. To improve the stability of the water management system of the Angara river basin, it is proposed to make changes and additions to existing legal documents.

We examine the impact of roads on geosystems in areas of new development where the development of infrastructure in connection with extraction of hydrocarbons is proceeding most intensely. The objects for study are represented by automobile roads beyond the official network which were informally constructed, maintained or used by various organizations or private persons. We provide a schematic representation of the types of roads with different forms and regimes of management. As the model area for the study of the influence of roads on taiga geosystems, we selected the area in the north of Irkutsk oblast, in the interfluve of the Kirenga and Khanda rivers; field investigations of the transformation of geosystems were made along the informal road from the village of Vershina Khandy to the settlement of Magistral’nyi. Particular attention was paid to the possible intensification of geomorphological processes as one of the crucial factors for changes in geosystems. A comprehensive analysis of geological, geomorphological and landscape factors using remote sensing data and field studies made it possible to compile a geomorphological map with identification of dangerous exogenous processes. The main causes for landscape disturbances were identified, namely degradation and transformation of vegetation cover and changes in the temperature regime of permafrost, leading to waterlogging and subsidence of soils and, as a consequence, to the formation of multiple tracks along the roadside and an intensification of linear erosion.

An analysis is made of the current forest conditions and their water-regulating effect on the development of flood situations using, as an example, the Iya river basin where a catastrophic rainfall flood occurred in June and July 2019, leading to great damage and human casualties in the Tulunskii district of Irkutsk oblast. The methods of spatial-temporal analogies, mathematical-statistical analysis, aerospace monitoring and field geobotanical interpretation, and cartographic modeling are used. The main indicators reflecting the water-regulating functions of the forest (forest cover, bonitet, degree of closeness and the species and age composition of tree stands) are considered in terms of their dynamics for 2008-2018. We examine the main factors leading to an attenuation of the water-regulating functions of the forest: fires, felling and damage caused by pest insects and diseases. Results from analyzing Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 images and expedition-based investigations were used to compile the map displaying the territories with primary and disturbed vegetation communities as well as other anthropogenically modified territories (agricultural land, spoil heaps and refuse dumps, settlement territories, etc.). It was determined that the most disturbed communities are located in the flat and most developed, subtaiga forest provinces and are represented by secondary small-leaved stands with a significant inclusion of large-contour agricultural land (primarily arable land). The main conclusion of the study indicates that the forests of the territory, in terms of their quality characteristics, are in satisfactory conditions and adequately fulfill their water-regulating functions. The existing degree of disturbance of the forests did not contribute to an increase in the flood, because the abnormally abundant and long-lasting precipitation and the orographic features of the catchment basin served as its determining factors. However, a part of the territory located in the subtaiga province, due to its lower forest cover and active anthropogenic activity, needs reforestation on unused agricultural land.

The sequence of sediment accumulation of the first and second terraces above floodplain of the Tarbagataika river and changes in the stages of incision and filling, sedimentation and soil formation over the last 14 kyr BP in the river valley were revealed. The dynamics of the stages of sedimentation and of the phases of their stabilization and pedogenesis was subordinated to landscape-climatic changes in the study area. The time of geomorphological forming of terraces above floodplain is determined. For the second terrace of the Tarbagataika river, a change of the floodplain sedimentation regime for the subaerial regime occurred about 8 kyr BP. The accumulation of sediments of the cover genetic complex on the first terrace began about 3,4 kyr BP. Deposits of the second terrace above floodplain of the Tarbagataika river formed during the Late Glacial and Holocene, over the last 14 kyr BP. They are composed of alluvial sediments, accumulating 14.0-8.0 kyr BP and deposits of the cover genetic complex, the accumulation of which has continued since 8,0-0 kyr BP till the present. The first terrace of the Tarbagataika river has the Holocene age and is composed of alluvial deposits, accumulating 7.0-3.4 kyr BP and deposits of the cover complex which formed over the last 3.4 kyr BP. The phases of intensification of erosion-accumulative processes associated with the stages of increased water discharge were identified. The main stages of soil formation in the study area were determined. The data obtained are in good agreement with the previously identified stages of pedogenesis in the Selenga highlands and adjacent regions of Siberia and Mongolia.

Topical issues of Russian-Chinese cooperation in the field of science, municipal planning and investment policy are outlined by using, as an example, the model territory - the Angarsk city district, one of the largest industrial centers of Siberia and the Far East. An assessment is made of potential socio-economic and geopolitical effects and risks in the course of the implementation of the international infrastructure initiative of establishing the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor as well as the need to modernize the Trans-Siberian Railroad (Transsib), including in the form of a high-speed railroad. A retrospective review of the evolution of the investment climate of the Angarsk city district is provided through the prism of resource and raw materials, and energy and infrastructure projects of regional and transnational significance. Problems and difficulties of selecting new structural-investment and sectoral priorities of the regional economy in the conditions of continuation of the raw material inertial line of development are revealed. The conditions and factors of reindustrialization of the economy at the present stage, and also the directions of investment activity with the participation of foreign capital in the context of individual industries and enterprises of the city district are identified, the positive results of which can have a synergistic effect and ensure the transition from the raw-material to innovative model of economic development not only of Angarsk city district but also of Siberia in general. An assessment is made of the differences, priorities and prospects of international cooperation in terms of the “science - municipal management - business” triad. It is based on the scientific and applied research results of the Russian-Chinese interdisciplinary expeditions in the period from 2015 to 2018 during which the main directions and approaches of joint scientific and practical activities on the basis of research institutions of the geographical profile of Russia and China were developed and agreed upon. The study used methods of comparative-geographical and retrospective analysis, as well as GIS technologies and analysis of statistical patterns.

This article presents a simulation of agglomeration effects which are the factors for the development of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk urban agglomeration formed by the city. Agglomeration effects are divided into components: localization effects (MAR effects) which were estimated by using the measures of concentration of economic activity, and urbanization effects (Jacobs effects) which are assessed by using the measures of diversity (diversification). Initially, the maximum boundaries of the Irkutsk urban agglomeration were determined by using the two-hour transport accessibility isochrone; next, the agglomeration effects were simulated to identify the optimal combinations of territorial units composing it so that the highest efficiency of their interaction is achieved. A promising configuration of this urban agglomeration is determined by using the ratio of economic diversity and transport accessibility. Furthermore, the economic diversity in this ratio is the measure of the effects obtained from territorial interaction, and transport accessibility is the measure of the cost to achieve them. In addition, using the ratio of transport accessibility (remoteness from Irkutsk) and the population size, the priorities for improving transport accessibility of territorial units comprising the Irkutsk urban agglomeration within its optimal configuration were determined in order to substantiate the key directions of transport infrastructure development. It has been established that the population size of the Irkutsk urban agglomeration reaches a million as well as a high level of concentration and diversity of economic activity, which creates prerequisites for a further intensification of economic ties.

A feasibility study is made of the planned railway connection to the mainland Russian Federation and Sakhalin Island, based on a comparative analysis of currently available data and calculated characteristics obtained in the course of this study. The research was carried out in the following areas: comparative analysis of cargo transportation along the Vladivostok-Kholmsk route, calculation of payback based on the most modern reporting data, comparative analysis of historical projects, recent government documents and existing technical projects. Data of a comparative analysis of cargo transportation in terms of three parameters (distance, travel time and volume of cargo transportation) of the existing railway-ferry service and the planned railway connection along the Vladivostok-Kholmsk route, taking into account the specifics of the ferry service, were obtained and used as a basis to draw the economic-geographical conclusion. A calculation of the recoupment of the planned railway connection was done according to average statistical information. A comparative analysis was made of the historical projects beginning in 1875, and also an analysis of recent state documents (plans, strategies and programs). A comparative analysis was made of the current modern technical projects from the “bridge-tunnel” alternative, and their advantages and disadvantages; on its basis, the technical conclusion was made about the possibility and prospects of construction.

In accordance with the concept of geoethnocultural systems developed in Russian cultural geography in the last quarter of the 20^th century, the main components of the territorial structure of the ethnic space of the Central Asian region as of 1989 (according to the latest Soviet census) and the 2010s are identified, suggesting a radical restructuring of the ethnic space of the region in the post-Soviet period. That period showed a significant strengthening of the ethnic cores of national geoethnocultural systems and a strong narrowing of the area retaining a considerable influence of the Russian geoethnocultural system. During 1989 to 2017 the population size of the region’s countries increased from 49 to 70 million, i.e. by almost 43 %, whereas the proportion of Russians in the region’s population decreased nearly twice, from 9.5 to 6.9 %. In this regard, it is proposed to strengthen the ethnocultural component in the strategy of Eurasian interstate integration, with a focus on the solution of the problems of the Russian population in the young States of Central Asia which are actively involved in integration processes. The capital cities and territorial units of the Central Asian countries were grouped together according to the degree of ethnic transformation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The capital cities of the states of the Central Asian region experienced the most radical ethnic transformation. Because of a significant migration influx, titular ethnic groups began to make up the vast majority of the population, although in Soviet times the Republican capital cities were characterized by a preponderance of the Russian population. A significant restructuring of the ethnic structure of the population occurred in most of the previously predominantly Russian-speaking regions in the north of Kazakhstan. On the other hand, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and also several regions of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, where the share of the non-indigenous population was low in Soviet times, experienced minimal ethnic transformation.

The V Congress of the Geographical Society of the USSR (Leningrad, 1970) went down in the history of geographical science as one of the most productive. The scientific reports heard at the Congress summarizing the results research done in previous and outlining the prospects for the development of Russian geography are considered. Special attention was paid to geoecological topics. This article tracks the history of the inclusion of V.B. Sochava’s report “Geography and Ecology” in the program of the Congress, the discussion of the report during the Congress and subsequent publications. The report contributed to the development of V.B. Sochava’s theory of geosystems as a stage in the development of complex physical geography and became a milestone in the interaction of systems of geographical and environmental sciences.