Home – Home – Jornals – Philosophy of Sciences 2025 number 2

The propagation and accumulation of impurities in the near-surface atmospheric layer largely depend on layer stability, which can be quantitatively characterized by the mixing layer height (MLH). For the first time, using a single methodology, the average values for 2001-2021 were estimated for different territories of Russia in the central months of seasons separately for daytime and nighttime. The analysis is based on MLH (or atmospheric mixing depht) values from the website [www.arl.noaa.gov] obtained during long-term studies of the long-range air mass transport to the various Russian regions. The MLH values averaged through the area over individual mainland quasi-homogeneous climatic territories or over Russian Arctic seas are given, as well as the spatial distribution of MLH over the Russian territory on a geographical grid of 1° × 1°. The results of the study can be used in environmental assessments of, for example, the atmospheric pollution potential, fluxes of aerosol impurities onto the underlying surface, sources of air pollution and the degree of their impact on the environment and humans, as well as in comparative analysis of climate of various Russian regions.

The Russian Federation participates in the international programme of Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET). Two regions in the Asian Russia were selected for monitoring research: South-Eastern Siberia (three sites) and the Far East (one site). A database on the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosol was compiled. The spatial and temporal variability of the ionic composition of aerosol over five-year periods from 2001 to 2024 was studied using the ratio of the total concentration of the main ions. Based on data of other projects, some relevant trace elements in atmospheric aerosol were analysed: Li, Al, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Sr, Th, U, Ba, Co (of terrigenous origin) and Cr, Cu, Ni (of non-terrigenous origin). Their contribution to the total level of atmospheric air pollution at the monitoring sites was assessed. The monitoring results of can be used for practical assessment of the environmental conditions, scientific research, and public information.

Atmospheric aerosol affects astronomical observations performed in the visible spectral range (400-700 nm). Therefore, information on the dynamics of the optical properties of the medium in the area of an astrophysical experiment is necessary for the correct interpretation of the results. Due to the lack of local measurements, data on the state of the atmosphere can be obtained, for example, from numerical simulation. The paper discusses the results of AOD simulation using the GEOS-CHEM chemical transport model and CAMS chemical reanalysis for the TAIGA gamma-ray observatory area, where EAS Cherenkov radiation is recorded at night. It is shown that the average AOD value (550 nm) for the period from September to April in 2019-2022 according to GEOS-CHEM and CAMS data are ~ 0.08 and ~ 0.05, respectively. The AOD maximum is observed in April and can attain 0.6. Verification of the simulation results using AERONET data showed their satisfactory agreement: the correlation coefficient is 0.92 for GEOS-CHEM and 0.91 for CAMS. Thus, the results of GEOS-CHEM and CAMS can be used at the stage of processing the experimental data of the TAIGA gamma-ray observatory, as well as similar astrophysical projects.

The morphology and composition of aerosol particles determine aerosol activity in atmospheric heterogenic processes affecting the optical, radiation, and chemical properties of the atmosphere. In addition, the structure and mineral composition of the particles serve indicators of anthropogenic and natural sources of pollutants into the environment. However, there is still insufficient information about the morphological characteristics of atmospheric aerosols. In this work, the mineral and matter characteristics of dust aerosol particles were studied, which made it possible to identify natural and man-made formations in aerosol composition in the surface air layer in Moscow metropolis in wintertime. Micro-particles containing a lot of potentially toxic elements, such as heavy metals and metalloids of man-made or mixed origin, were found. Several groups of metal-containing micro-particles in near-surface aerosol have been identified, among which the most common are: 1) sulfates (mainly Ba, Sr); 2) sulfides (Fe, Sb, Pb); 3) oxides (Fe, W, Cu, As, Cd, Pb); 4) intermetallides (Pb-Sn-Zn, Pb-Zn, Cu-Zn, Cu-Pb, Te-Sb-Al-Bi, Fe-Ni-Cu-Sn Fe-Cr-Ni); 5) native metals (Pb, Zn, Ni, Te, Fe, Zr, W). The distributions of various elements over the surface of filters with aerosol samples were evaluated, and it was found that most of the micro-minerals in dust particles are in the calcium phase and to a lesser extent, in silicate and aluminosilicate phases. The results complement information on the morphology and micro-mineral composition of aerosols in the near-surface air of a megalopolis and can be useful both for clarifying the role of aerosol particles in atmospheric heterogeneous processes leading to climate change and for solving applied environmental problems.

Thermophoresis of aerosols traditionally has been studied both theoretically and experimentally for spherical or, more generally, compact isometric particles. This paper compares the theory of thermophoretic motion of fractal-like particles developed by the authors with experimental data for carbon aggregates obtained in the gas phase under the DLCA formation scenario. It is shown that the theoretical results for the thermophoretic velocity qualitatively and quantitatively agree well with experiment. Possible limitations of the proposed theory and fundamental issues related to the estimation of the determining structural and thermophysical parameters for fractal-like aggregates are discussed. The results can be useful for the physics of atmospheric aerosols in modeling the processes of carbonaceous particles motion with fractal properties.

The atmospheric transformations of vegetation-emitted organic compounds are initiated by their interaction with photolytically generated short-lived free radicals. The chain process, which is a sequence of radical stages, leads to the formation of condensable products as the nuclei of aerosol phase. The free radicals generated during the photolysis of benzaldehyde and biogenic aldehydes, including aromatic ones (salicylic, ortho- and para-anisic), were identified under laboratory conditions. Chromatographic analysis of the products formed after the introduction of additional free radicals shows that the composition and amount of condensable products change. The field measurements of the concentrations of aldehydes and the products of their photochemical decomposition under sunlight were carried out, and the compounds formed in the interaction of initial aldehydes with free radicals were detected. These products can be employed to estimate the concentrations of free radicals even below the limit of detection by physicochemical methods. The rates of free radical generation and sink were shown to change with altitude in the troposphere. The approach taking into account the vertical transport of air masses and the corresponding changes in photolysis rate constants has been developed. The formation of condensable products is the chain termination stage in the whole process of atmospheric photonucleation of biogenic aldehydes. The new data on the altitudinal variation in the concentrations of short-lived free radicals allow calculating photonucleation rates for biogenic aldehydes at different altitudes. The developed kinetic schemes can be used to simulate the formation of organic atmospheric aerosol in the troposphere taking into account the vertical transport of air masses.

The results of studies of atmospheric aerosol in the 95th and 96th cruises of RV Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in the waters of the Barents and Kara Seas are presented. It is shown that the average values of aerosol characteristics over the Barents Sea are 1.1-1.9 times greater than over the Kara Sea. Taking into account the new data, the long-term average values of aerosol characteristics over these seas have been clarified: the volume concentrations of submicron aerosol were 0.47 and 0.44 μm³/cm³, respectively; concentrations of coarse aerosol were 2.17 and 1.65 μm³/cm³; mass concentrations of the absorbing substance (black carbon) were 67 and 36 ng/m³; aerosol optical depths of the atmosphere (0.5 microns) were 0.078 and 0.038.

Based on numerical simulation, we have estimated the thickness and spatial distribution of the methane hydrate stability zone (MHSZ) associated with submarine permafrost. Using CMIP6 ensemble model results under a scenario of high anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (SSP5-8.5), we find that the shrinkage of the MHSZ weakly depends on ongoing warming and occurs mainly on the lower boundary side. This process is mainly a consequence of the Holocene marine transgression and depends on the intensity of the geothermal flux. The spatial distribution of the methane fluxes from the bottom sediments as a consequence of the degradation of gas hydrates under the violation of their conditions of existence has been obtained. The estimated intensity of methane emission from the seafloor to the water was 15 Tg per year for the modern period and 16-17 Tg per year up to 2300 (similar estimates for the intensity of emission from the water to the atmosphere were not made in this work). Significant changes in the intensity of methane emissions from the seafloor to the water are not likely for at least several thousand years. The resulting fields of methane fluxes from bottom sediments can be used in numerical ocean models to estimate methane emissions to the atmosphere.

In environmental studies of atmospheric pollution, information is needed on the physical processes that determine the spatiotemporal distribution of aerosol fields. The article presents the results of lidar studies of the troposphere in the summer period from 2015 to 2023 on Lake Baikal, at the Boyarsky research station of Institute of Physical Material Science SB RAS, the Republic of Buryatia. Observations were carried out using LOSA lidars. Three main types of meteorological situations typical for the coastal zone of southern Baikal in the summer period, which determine generation and transport of aerosol in the atmosphere, are considered: breeze circulation, southwesterly transfer, and change of air masses. The features of the daily dynamics of the spatial distribution of aerosol in the atmosphere are given for the three specified types of situations. In the first case, the main changes are observed in the lower 2-3 km layer of the troposphere. During the day, due to the wind from the lake, the aerosol in the lower part of the atmosphere (below 1 km) begins to “press to the ground” and does not rise to the overlying layers. A distinctive feature of the second type of situations is that aerosol layers were detected at fairly high altitudes of up to 5-7 km. The third type is characterized by a smooth decrease of the observed aerosol layers throughout the range of altitudes down to the ground layer during the day. The results of two-position synchronous lidar observations of the transport of atmospheric heterogeneities at different altitudes above the coastal zone of Lake Baikal are also presented; it was revealed that the transport velocity can greatly vary, reaching several tens of meters per second.

It is currently relevant to study the composition and optical characteristics of aerosols in the atmosphere of Lake Baikal, a unique natural object. Results of the studies of the microstructural and physicochemical properties of near-water and near-ground aerosol in the atmosphere of the Lake Baikal basin in summer 2024 onboard the research vessel Akademik V.A. Koptyug and at the Boyarsky research station on the southeastern coast of the lake are analyzed. It is confirmed that in the absence of smoke plumes from forest wildfires, the aerosol spatial distribution over the lake and the black carbon concentration in particles are determined by the location of anthropogenic sources. The characteristics of hygroscopicity and volatility of the aerosol matter in the atmosphere of Lake Baikal depending on the particle size are studied for the first time. It is revealed that the aerosol condensation activity over the coastal zone is greater than over the lake. The results can be useful in developing regional models of atmospheric aerosol.

Cocrystals are commonly obtained using solid-phase or liquid-phase methods, though in the case if these methods are employed to develop cocrystalline pharmaceutical dosage forms, difficulties related to the control of mixture compositions and dosing accuracy arise. In the present work, we describe condensation-based method for generating aerosol particles of cocrystals formed by isoniazid, a known antituberculous remedy, and succininc acid. This method allows obtaining a pharmaceutical dosage form for delivery through inhalation with the high accuracy of dosage control. Inhalation delivery of isoniazid in the form of cocrystal can overcome the drug resistance of the mycobacteria by making high local concentration of the drug directly in the affected organ. The binary nucleation of the vapors of isoniazid and succinic acid in a horizontal flow thermal condensation reactor is investigated. The nucleation zone was determined using the method of supersaturated vapor shutoff. The composition of thus obtained cocrystals was determined by the full-profile X-ray diffraction. The conditions for generating cocrystals in a high yield have been selected, and nucleation rate was measured. The dose for inhalation delivery to laboratory animals under optimal conditions of binary nucleation is assessed. The results allow developing pharmaceutical dosage forms for delivery through inhalation with high accuracy of dosage control to treat pulmonary tuberculosis, including its drug-resistant forms.

The quality of atmospheric air in many cities of Siberia is unsatisfactory, which requires research to identify the cause-and-effect relationships between natural factors and the degree of anthropogenic impacts. The article studies long-term air pollution processes in Chita and the influence of calm conditions on them. Linear correlations between the measurements of monthly average concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene at Roshydromet stationary monitoring posts winters 2020/21 and 2023/24 are analyzed. It is shown that the paired measurements at posts, in general, are proportional to each other. The relationships between benz(a)pyrene concentrations and calm conditions are investigated. A dependence of its high concentrations on the frequency of calm periods in winter has been revealed. The established statistical relationships create opportunities for external control of observation results at stationary monitoring posts in the city and for assessing the effectiveness of measures taken to improve the quality of atmospheric air. The derived dependencies also allow numerically filling gaps in observation data and identifying additional emissions from benz(a)pyrene sources.

The study proposes a mathematical model for assessing the impact of crown forest fires on buildings. Based on this model, numerical calculations were performed to determine safe distances between forested areas and construction sites taking into account such factors as wind speed, building size, and other parameters. The model considers the type and properties of vegetation, geometric characteristics of forested areas, their moisture content, and fuel load. The finite volume method was used to obtain a discrete analogue of the model. As a result of the calculations, the maximal distances at which ignition of structures from wildfire sources is possible were determined. It was found that the distance between forest and building, at which ignition can occur, increases with the wind speed. Additionally, the calculations showed that an increase in building height also increases the safe distance. The proposed model can be used for numerical simulations aimed at ensuring fire safety during the design and construction of buildings near forested areas taking into account their specific characteristics.

Corporate strategic communication is important to sustainable development of contemporary business and its effective interaction with society. The aim of this research is a study of priorities and traditional values in strategic statements on official web-pages of large companies from a particular region. The Vologda Region is chosen as a test site for present pilot research. The material for this analysis consists of 20 strategic statements of the large companies from the Vologda Region. Their content is analyzed, first, with the Pearson-David palette permitting to check presence/absence of key priorities (customers, image, employees, etc.) and, second, via finding specially grouped traditional values of the Russian society (Motherland, labor, society, etc.). According to the results, the large companies considered state several priorities, among which the most common is products/services, and the least common is employees. Also, we find in the studied strategic statements all groups of traditional values (commonly, one-three per statement), among which the higher frequency is typical for society, labor, and traditions, and the very low frequency characterizes family. These results indicate a significant maturity of strategic communication between large companies from the Vologda Region. We suppose an influence of the regional specifics on the peculiarities of the interaction between business and society. The carried-out study contributes to the conceptual argumentation of a phenomenon of regional social partnership and the detection of peculiarities of its formation and development.

Modern problems in the field of formation of conscious safety behavior of future graduates of higher school are considered. The process of building a system of formation of conscious attitude to occupational safety and health regarding age specifics is visualized. As one of its stages it is suggested to introduce a practice-oriented discipline ‘’Occupational Health and Safety‘’ in higher e ducation institutions. Occupational safetyand health competences that a young worker should possess are formulated. A new formulation of the universal competence UK-8 is proposed, and a new competence UK-12 is formulated, which makes it possible to form informed safe behavior in a future worker.

This article examines the impact of green projects on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Kyrgyz Republic using correlation-regression analysis. Based on GDP data for 2010-2024, the volume of green loans, investments in fixed capital aimed at environmental protection, state budget expenditures on environmental protection, corporate expenditures on environmental measures, and the share of fixed capital investments dedicated to environmental protection, a mathematical model has been developed. A forecast of GDP dynamics up to 2035 was constructed, demonstrating stable economic growth under conditions of continued development of green initiatives. The findings underscore the importance of sustainable financing for Kyrgyzstan’s long-term economic development, as well as the necessity for governmental support and the attraction of private investments.

The article proposes the use of intellectual information support for decision making in the process of forming a securities portfolio based on knowledge engineering, the feedback principle and adaptation of risk assessment models. The structural diagram of the system for managing the process of forming a securities portfolio is considered, which includes three circuits - regulation, adaptation and training. It has been established that the systematic approach allows us to consider the process of forming an investment portfolio in the context of the current actual situation, real financial results, and cognitive characteristics of the investor. The results of a computational experiment conducted using historical data on securities quotes are presented, which, in comparison with a benchmark, showed that the use of intellectual information support can improve the efficiency of decisions made.

A method of predicting revenue based on a sustainable growth model, taking into account the change in the cost of borrowed funds, prices for products and means of production, has been proposed. The stochastic modification of the model is used, taking into account economic uncertainty. The forecasting horizon is limited to the period specified in the annual accounting reporting. The described method of forecasting does not have a long memory, so the resulting result is not tied to the previously prevailing trend. To take advantage of the new approach, time-intensive calculations and special training will not be required.

The object of research in the article is large manufacturing and technological companies of discrete production; the subject of study is internal prices and approaches to their determination, which significantly affect the economic performance of the system. For an adequate description of the functioning of the system, matrix modeling based on the methodology of the MOB is proposed. Economic and mathematical models, including the conditions of supply and demand, are used as tools for the interaction of the system’s firms with other firms in the market. The scenarios of the system functioning are considered, approaches to the formation of internal prices and their impact on the economic indicators of the system are proposed. Based on such dependencies, it has been established that the choice of an option for domestic prices can be made only when taking into account the values of a number of economic characteristics of the system, ordered by importance. A variety of internal price options for management decision-making is provided by the developed toolkit (a generator of internal price options). The final decision on the choice of an option for domestic prices in the context of several criteria is made by the LPR for reasons of economic expediency.

Maintaining auditor independence from the client is fundamental to enhancing the reliability of financial reporting, preventing conflicts of interest, and strengthening investor confidence in the capital markets. Various international frameworks, including the International Code of Ethics (IESBA) and International Standards on Auditing (ISA), have attempted to strengthen auditor independence and professional skepticism, but their application varies widely across jurisdictions. This study provides a comparative analysis of international standards governing the auditor - client relationship and assesses how different jurisdictions interpret, apply, and adapt the global audit framework. The study examines the contrast between the PCAOB’s enforcement mechanisms, pre-established EU regulatory constraints, and the IESBA’s flexible threat and protection approach, demonstrating how these mechanisms interact with national legal traditions, institutional oversight, and economic incentives. In addition, the study considers the significant impact of technological change on audit processes. The study concludes by offering policy recommendations for harmonizing global auditing rules, balancing the need for standardization with the flexibility of jurisdictions to accommodate economic and legal realities. This study contributes to the ongoing debate on global audit standardization by highlighting the need for a dynamic regulatory framework that can evolve with financial markets and technological innovation, ensuring that the audit profession remains a reliable guardian of financial integrity.

The article is devoted to a new territorially oriented direction of regional studies (place-based approach), focusing on a comparative analysis of the complementary interaction of territorial resources as a necessary condition for sustainable and competitive development of a region. The article reveals the conceptual characteristics of the resource complementarity of a region, its main types (organizational, institutional, technological, spatial, temporal, factorial, informational, process, functional, structural), and proposes a classification of the resource complementarity of the territory: external and internal, negative and positive, as well as complementarity by various types of resource connections and other features. Based on the analysis of the essential, specific and classification parameters of the resource complementarity of a region, the article substantiates the conclusion that the principle of complementarity of regional resources is not only a basic methodological postulate of sustainable regional dynamics, but also serves as the most important practical direction for ensuring the complementarity of regional resources in order to strengthen the sustainable competitiveness of the territory.

In recent years, there has been a steady trend towards digitalization of retail and wholesale trade. The article discusses the current state of online retail in Russia, provides the main indicators characterizing the current level and dynamics of online sales. Key elements of online commerce in Russia and factors affecting the online retail import have been identified. Describes the current state and development prospects of the FMCG market in Russia, including risks, main strategies, and customer behavior. The main global trends in the development of the В2В e-commerce and the features of wholesale online trading in Russia are also considered.

The innovative development of the Novosibirsk region is one of the directions of the region’s development, ensuring its competitiveness at the national and global levels. Continuous improvement of the field of innovation is considered as a necessary condition for ensuring the growth of the economic well-being of the region. This article examines the statistical indicators of investment activity in the region and their relationship with the indicator of economic well-being. Determining the dynamics of development in the sphere of innovation and identifying its connection with the level of economic well-being using the example of the Novosibirsk region is the purpose of the study. The study and analysis of literature, the method of generalization, observation and econometric modeling allowed us to identify trends in changes in the innovation sphere indicators and their connection with the gross regional product per capita in the Novosibirsk region for the period 2000-2022. The adoption of the innovative development strategy of the Novosibirsk region had a weak impact on the dynamics of innovation indicators. Changes in indicators affect changes in well-being with a long-time delay of 11-16 years.

This study considers the solution to the problem of finding the growth of production factors at known rates of investment development, given initial and boundary conditions of economic development. The solution process begins with the analysis of a homogeneous parabolic problem, for which the analytical solution is known in advance. In the process of studying, we find the eigenfunctions and eigenvalues of the Sturm-Liouville problem, which are necessary to calculate the growth of production factors and describe the dynamics of the economic system. To solve the problem under consideration, taking into account the influence of investment development rates, we formulate a new problem using the values of the growth of production factors specified in two extreme time intervals. In the case of continuity of the investment development rate function, it is possible to reduce the resulting problem to a known one-dimensional spatial problem of heat conductivity, for which the existence and uniqueness theorem has been proven. We apply the method of decomposing the solution into homogeneous and inhomogeneous parts. We write the general solution as the sum of the solution of the homogeneous problem and an additional component that considers the investment development rate. To find this additional component, we use the parameter variation method and approaches related to functions that satisfy the corresponding boundary conditions. In the final theoretical part of the work, we obtain a general solution, which consists of the sum of solutions of a homogeneous problem and additional functions that consider the influence of the speed of investment development. This approach allows us to obtain a complete picture of the behavior of production factors when investment conditions change and provides a basis for further research in the field of modeling economic processes. Numerical modeling of the growth of fixed assets in the United States in the period 2011-2022 was carried out, which allowed a detailed study of the dynamics of changes in fixed assets depending on time and volume. The Frankel - Dufort scheme was used, which showed good results, which indicates its effectiveness in predicting changes in the structure of fixed assets. The proposed model allowed us to identify key trends and dependencies, as well as determine possible development scenarios for making informed management decisions.

The article is devoted to the study of the modern Russian practice of creating university campuses based on public-private partnership (hereinafter - PPP). The relevance of the research topic is associated with the high need to create an innovative educational environment that meets international standards. The methodological basis of the study was the methods of synthesis, analysis, expert assessment and logical methods, and the information basis was the data of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. The main results of the study are the analysis of launched projects to create university campuses based on PPP (hereinafter referred to as campus projects), disclosure of the multilateral benefits of creating university campuses, identification of advantages and disadvantages of the concession agreement as a form of implementation of campus projects, consideration of key organizational, managerial and financial aspects of building concession models for the creation of university campuses, identification of prospects and offering recommendations to ensure the effectiveness of the implementation of campus projects. The novelty of the research is the theoretical justification for the creation of university campuses based on PPP and the development of practical recommendations aimed at developing this process in Russian conditions. The theoretical significance of the research lies in the formation of the scientific foundations of PPP in the higher education system, and the practical significance lies in the

Due to their high sensitivity to changes in habitat conditions, oribatid mites are a promising bioindicator for assessing the state of ecosystem. The article presents the results of the analysis of all available data (2015-2023) on the diversity and biotope distribution of the oribatid mites in the Lapland Nature Reserve, including material from the Great Scientific Expedition organized with the support of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel. The generalized taxonomic list of Oribatida of the Lapland Nature Reserve includes 94 species/subspecies from 55 genera and 31 families, of which 17 species were recorded for the first time in this area, and Protoribotritia oligotricha Märkel, 1963 - in the Kola Peninsula. The greatest diversity was recorded for the families Brachychthoniidae (21 species), Suctobelbidae (13), Oppiidae (9), Carabodidae (6), Crotoniidae and Ceratozetidae (5 species each). The oribatid communities studied formed three clusters: ‘forest’ (pine forests and dwarf shrub tundra); ‘tundra’ (lichen tundras); ‘bog’ (cotton-grass sphagnum bog). The oribatid communities of the ‘forest’ group had the highest similarity of faunas among themselves (35-42 %). The lowest similarity of species composition with other oribatid communities was found for sphagnum bog (8-12 %). In monitoring, in addition to the abundance and alpha-diversity parameters of oribatid mites, attention should be paid to the dominance structure and abundance of eurytopic species (Oppiella nova (Oudemans, 1902) and Tectocepheus velatus (Michael, 1880)), which may serve as additional indicators of habitat change. The results obtained are an important step in establishing the basis and in the future forming long-term data series that will allow monitoring the condition of the areas of the Lapland Nature Reserve, identifying and tracking trends.

Helminth fauna of three shrew species of the genus Sorex (Sorex araneus, S. caecutiens, S. minutus) of the Kola Peninsula was studied. Based on our own and analyzed literature data, a complete taxonomic list was compiled, which consists of 21 helminth species: 14 cestodes species of the families Dilepididae, Hymenolepididae and Mesocestoididae, four nematodes species of the families Strongyloididae and Heligmosomidae, three trematodes species of the families Omphalometridae and Brachylaemidae. The greatest diversity of worms in S. araneus was found: ten cestodes species, four nematodes species and three trematodes species. In S. caecutiens seven cestodes species, three nematodes species and three trematodes species were recorded. Eight cestodes species, three nematodes species and three trematodes species were found in the S. minutus. About 80 % of the studied shrews were infected with helminths. A comparative analysis of the helminth fauna of shrews in Eastern Fennoscandia (the Kola Peninsula, Finland and Karelia) was carried out in the direction from the south to the north of the region, in the latitudinal range (59-61°N, 62-65°N, 66-69°N). A high similarity between the quantitative and qualitative composition of the helminth fauna of shrews in the territory of Eastern Fennoscandia (Finland, Karelia, the Kola Peninsula) in the latitude range of 62-69°N (Cj=0.85) was found, which may be due to climatic conditions favorable for the completion of the life cycle of helminths.

The article presents the results of a study of the biological diversity of hydrobionts in the watercourses of the Upper Amur basin, located in the zone of influence of the mining facility of the mining company “Bystrinsky LLC” (BGRK). The Upper Amur Basin is a historical mining region. In addition to the functioning of the BGRK, other mining companies also produce ore and placer gold in this basin. The main studies of the impact of mining on the aquatic ecosystems of the Upper Amur basin are related to the study of the transboundary Argun River. The purpose of the work is to study the biological diversity of hydrobionts of watercourses of the Upper Amur basin, on the example of the Gazimur River, within the zone of possible negative impact of BGRK facilities. Currently, the hydrogeochemical anomaly of the mining area is a factor enriching the hydrochemical state of the aquatic environment. The high migration capacity of Al, As, Sr, Cu, Mn, Zn, Fe, V in the river waters under consideration allows them to accumulate to concentrations exceeding MPC, regardless of the degree of exposure to BGRK. Hydrobiological studies of the Gazimur River and its tributaries have shown that hydrobionts are represented by widespread species of Siberia and the Far East. Seasonal and interannual variations of biota are associated with changes in climatic, hydrochemical and hydrological indicators. One of the possible reasons for the low species richness and extremely low number of aquatic organisms near the BGRK (the Taina and Bystraya Rivers) may be the high turbidity of river water. Based on the results of the conducted research, indicator species of hydrobionts were identified for subsequent monitoring of the effects of mining on aquatic ecosystems.

The article deals with the heuristics of Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology and the phenomenological method of constitution in relation to modern philosophy, methodology and history of science. Recognizing the ambiguous fate of phenomenology as a conception of the transcendental foundations of positive sciences, the author attempts to define the sphere in which the phenomenological eidetics of intentional, temporal, genetic and intersubjective constitution would have an effect as a demanded part of scientific knowledge. The personal dimension of scientific creativity is chosen as such a sphere. This is justified by the priority consideration of intersubjective constitution, which carries out the temporal and eidetic correlation of various consciousnesses, including in the mode of their mutual intellectual empathy and modernization. The proposed approach is aimed at transforming fragmentary and purely informative knowledge on the history of science into its temporal-eidetic continuum, in which the personal destinies and ideas of great scientists would be perceived and experienced as modern and necessary for scientific creativity, cognitive psychology and philosophy of education.,

The article considers the general research discourse of works dealing with the philosophical and methodological problems of geological knowledge and cognition. It is shown that the philosophy of geology as one of the areas of philosophical and methodological research has been developing for a long time and until recently outside the general philosophical discourse and outside the community of philosophers. In the social and institutional sense, works on the philosophy of geology were and to a large extent now remain not so much another branch of the philosophy of science, but a certain meta-level of geologists’ understanding of their practical and theoretical experience. Today, there are already a significant number of works on the philosophy of geology, but it is highly conditional to talk about any traditions, trends, or directions with regard to this field. Works on the philosophy of geology were and for the most part remain single and conceptually poorly connected with each other. Nevertheless, the author of the article identified five key thematic areas dealing with the philosophical and methodological problems of geological knowledge and cognition; three of them relate to the Western segment of the philosophy of geology, and two to the Soviet one. The author believes that the areas considered in the article have every reason to develop into separate and full-fledged research traditions in the future. In addition, the article problematizes the subject of the philosophy of geology and examines several meanings of the concept of “geology”. As a solution to the problem of the polysemy of the concept of “geology”, the author proposes that not geology itself should be considered as the primary subject of the philosophy of geology, but geological cognition, within which all geological subdisciplines can be actualized.,

The question of the modality of “permitted” plays a key role in deontic logic and the philosophy of law, but it has long taken a second place compared to the more extensively developed categories of “obligatory” and “prohibited”. This lack of attention is partly due to the traditional definition of permission as an absence of prohibition, which allows legal systems to be treated as logically closed: if an action is not prohibited, it is permitted. However, this view gives rise to a number of theoretical problems and limits the possibilities of formal analysis of normative systems. First, real legal systems cannot always be considered as complete and consistent, in which each action is either prohibited or permitted. They may contain gaps, uncertainties and conflicts of legal norms due to their dynamic development, as well as the presence of multiple levels of norm creation. Second, equating permission with the absence of prohibition fails to account for the distinction between weak and strong permissions. Weak permission merely indicates the absence of prohibition, whereas strong permission presupposes the existence of a special norm that explicitly sanctions an action. In open normative systems, these two types of permission do not always coincide, which calls into question the principle of “everything that is not prohibited is permitted.” Thus, the study of the modality of “permitted,” especially in open normative systems, requires a more sophisticated logical framework than traditional deontic logic focused on the interdefinability of “permitted” and “prohibited,” that is, on understanding permission as the absence of prohibition.,

The article considers the thesis that the claim of ignorance plays an important role in external scientific communication and constitutes a key element of normative epistemic dilemmas. As a starting point, T. Williamson’s problem of the mathematician’s dilemma is examined, which suggests that epistemic dilemmas arise from conflicts between norms of knowledge. While critics of this problem argue that such conflicts rarely occur in real science, the article shows that they do arise, but not within science itself, rather in the sphere of its external communication. Williamson’s original dilemma can be resolved by making a claim of ignorance. However, examples related to the COVID-19 pandemic illustrate that the role of such claims in science differs from how they are perceived in politics. In the context of contradictions between science and the political sphere, external social and political factors make it difficult to openly acknowledge scientific uncertainty, forcing scientists to make unambiguous statements even when certainty is unattainable. This not only undermines public trust in science, but also turns scientific uncertainty into a tool for political struggle.,

The article deals with the analysis of the problems of classification and systematization of knowledge in the context of current epistemological problems related to the growing phenomenon of online encyclopedism. The purpose of the article is to identify the main epistemic parameters of the online encyclopedia, which distinguish it from the traditional format. It is substantiated that the concept of a digital encyclopedic interface captures the changes that have occurred, both in terms of presentation and in terms of obtaining information by users. The main parameters of the Internet encyclopedia are outlined, reflecting both positive and negative trends in the use of digital technologies. The openness and fundamental incompleteness of knowledge, pluralism and coexistence of opposing positions on the issues under consideration, the inclusion of unverified and sometimes false information in the content are highlighted as the main parameters of the online encyclopedia. The example of modern online encyclopedias reveals the transformation of the encyclopedia reader’s function as a consumer of information into the function of an expert reader. It is shown that following the passive reader model can result in negative consequences related to receiving unreliable information or a disorderly set of data, which undermines trust in science as a whole.,

The article presents the results of a theoretical analysis and laboratory studies of the zonality of the multidirectional deformation process of heaving of freezing soils using the example of light sandy loam widespread in the seasonal freezing-thawing layer in Russia. Ideas about the characteristic zones of freezing soil are developed, namely, a cryogenic contraction zone is added, the mechanism of its formation is substantiated, and the role in cryogenic heaving of soils is shown. The results are important for the physical formulation of a mathematical model of freezing and heaving of clay soils, taking into account heat and mass transfer and multidirectional deformations, in relation to the fundamentals of geocryological forecasting of the stability of buildings and structures in the area of distribution of frost-susceptible soils in the cold regions of Russia.

Data from detailed and long-term coastal studies in the Arctic have been utilized to estimate the rates of coastal erosion along the Laptev and East Siberian seas, as well as to reveal the specific features of geomorphological and cryogenic coastal processes. Eroding coastlines are dominant in the study region with erosion rates as high as 25 m per year along the coasts composed of very ice-rich permafrost sediments. The Laptev and East Siberian coastline was subdivided into 123 coastal segments each characterized by specific lithology, coastal morphology, and dynamic regime. It was found that the average long-term rates of retreat of the shores of the Laptev and East Siberian Seas are characterized by the highest rates of destruction in comparison with the shores of all other Arctic seas.

The study examines the chemical composition of spring waters in the central part of the Chara basin and its evolution over the past four decades. The current chemical composition of the spring waters is characterized as magnesium-calcium bicarbonate with total dissolved solids (TDS) ranging from 36 to 162 mg/L and fluorine content varying between 0.01 and 4.0 mg/L. This research presents, for the first time, data on the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in the springs of the “Sands” massif. The isotopic composition of these springs is as follows: δ¹⁸O = (-16.95 ± 0.69) ‰, δD = (-130.20 ± 4.42) ‰, d_exc = (5.40 ± 1.38) ‰. The combined results of chemical and isotopic analyses suggest the involvement of glacial waters from the Kodar mountains in the formation of the springs within the massif. These springs are formed through the mixing of waters from aeolian and lacustrine-alluvial deposits with more mineralized intrapermafrost waters of fluvioglacial deposits. The degree of participation of waters from different aquifers is reflected in the fluorine content and isotopic composition of springs. The first aquifer system waters have a heavy isotopic composition and contain less fluorine (0.4-2.0 mg/L). The waters from the second aquifer system have a light isotopic composition and a fluorine content of 2-4 mg/L or more. Over the past 40 years, a decrease in mineralization, the content of Na⁺ + K⁺, Cl^- and F^- in spring waters indirectly indicates an increase in the share of glacial runoff in their nutrition.

The paper presents actual data of methane content measurements in frozen sediments and ground ice in the western sector of the Russian Arctic, at the sites located from the western coast of Yamal to Western Taymyr. The cryolithological structure of sampling sites is presented, and stratigraphic and genetic complexes of sediments and ground ice are identified. It is shown that the methane content in sediments formed during colder climates is generally lower than in warmer periods. Minor differences are noted in the methane content in sediments of different lithological composition. The methane content in wedge ice of different ages remains almost the same. The methane content in massive ice depends on the origin, composition, and freezing conditions of the enclosing sediments and varies greatly from sample to sample, reaching a maximum of 24 mL/kg.

This paper considers a new design of a super-deep pressure seasonally-acting cooling device, the principle of operation of which consists in the pressure mode of refrigerant flow due to the difference in the density of liquid columns in the gas-liquid mixture. A mathematical model of the system functioning has been developed, which allows estimating many parameters of operation, the key ones being temperatures in the evaporator, mass flow rates and velocities of the refrigerant flow in different phases, as well as the depth of the refrigerant boiling in the evaporator. Numerical experiments have been carried out, which have shown that the model adequately reflects the real operating conditions of the system under significant variation of key external conditions, such as ambient temperature and values of specific heat loads on the seasonally-acting cooling device evaporator. The parameters are determined for different depths of the evaporator part. One of the key performance indicators of the super-deep pressure seasonally-acting cooling device was the maximum refrigerant temperature in the evaporator, which turned out to be the most sensitive to changes in the specific heat load and atmospheric temperature. The dynamics of the refrigerant temperature and its distribution along the length of the evaporator determine the ability to maintain the required frozen ground regime.

In the Middle and Late Pleistocene, in the areas of the source and sink of radiative heat in the Northern hemisphere, the effect of dividing the intensity of seasonal irradiation by phases of changes in the intensity of annual irradiation is manifested. The average values of the intensity of summer radiation in the phase of increasing annual exposure exceed those in the phases of decreasing annual exposure. The average values of the intensity of winter radiation in the phases of increasing annual exposure are inferior to those in the phases of decreasing annual exposure. The effect of phase separation manifests itself in different ways in the areas of the source and sink of radiation heat. In the areas of the heat source, the phase separation of the intensity of summer and winter irradiation, on average, in the stages of high-amplitude oscillations of a  400-millennial cycle exceeds the phase separation in the stages of low-amplitude oscillations. In the areas of radiative heat runoff, on average, the phase separation of the intensity of summer and winter irradiation in the stage of low-amplitude oscillations exceeds the phase separation in the stages of high-amplitude oscillations. The values of the phase separation of the intensity of summer irradiation in the stages of high-amplitude and low-amplitude fluctuations in 5-degree latitude zones vary in different directions, and the intensity of winter irradiation is unidirectional. The phase separation is most noticeable in the area of radiative heat runoff of the Northern Hemisphere (the area of the cryolithozone) in the summer half of the year at the stage of low-amplitude oscillations of a  400-millennial cycle. This is typical for the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene (solar epoch 16), the Likhvin interglacial (solar epochs 8 and 9) and the present (solar epoch 1).

Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Pavlovich Melnikov celebrates his 85th birthday on July 5, 2025. The main milestones of V.P. Melnikov’s scientific biography are considered. His contribution to the creation of a holistic image of the Earth’s cryosphere and the formation of new directions of cryology is analyzed.