The Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is one of the most intensively developing regions of the country. Amongst the major domains of economic and industrial growth and improvement is transport ...infrastructure and particularly the railway network. This area is being exposed to negative factors of rapid climate change that can significantly affect and compromise this activity. Thus, it is vital to take them into account during design, construction, and operation of the railway infrastructure facilities. This work details the production of a digital atlas comprising the 1950–2021 dynamics of the main hydrometeorological parameters: air and soil temperature, precipitation, wind speed, air and soil humidity, and snow cover thickness. The maps are based on climatic data derived from the MERRA-2 (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2) reanalysis. In total there are 459, which are arranged into 7 chapters. The atlas geographically covers the western part of the Russian Arctic encompassing the regions of quite intensive transport development, which includes the construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway. Original algorithms of geospatial data processing and their further representation as well as the maps compiled in GIS environment are discussed. Comprehensive analysis of climatic changes in the region of the Russian Arctic including detailed quantitative evaluation over 40 years is given. In the Discussion, we focus on those changes of the regional climate which, from our point of view, are the most significant for consideration by railway operators. The obtained results contribute to framing the theoretical basis of design, development, and sustainable operation of the railway infrastructure in the Arctic and facilitate the decision-making process. This is the first experience of building a specialized climatic cartographic product for the needs of the Russian railways, and to our knowledge the first atlas such as that in the world. In the future, the amassed experience may be transferred to other regions of the Russian Federation as well as similar regions in Canada, Sweden and Highland China that are also subject to significant climate change.
In the present study, the structure of sedimentary basins in the eastern Asia Arctic zone is analysed by employing the approach based on decompensative gravity anomalies. Two obtained models, ...differing in their initial conditions, provide thickness and density of sediments in the study area. They demonstrate essentially new details on the structure, shape, and density of the sedimentary basins. Significant changes in the sedimentary thickness and the depo-centre location have been found for the Anadyr Basin in its continental part. Also, new details on the sedimentary thickness distribution have been revealed for the central part of the Penzhin and Pustorets basins; for the latter, the new location of the depo-centre has been identified. The new model agrees well with the seismic data on the sedimentary thickness for the offshore part of the Chauna Basin confirming that the method is robust. The most significant lateral redistribution of the thickness has been found for the Lower Cretaceous coal-bearing strata in the northern part of the Zyryanka Basin, where the connection of two coal-bearing zones, which was not previously mapped, has been identified. Also, the new details on the sedimentary thickness distribution have been discovered for the Primorsk Basin. Therefore, the new results substantially improve our knowledge about the region, since previous geological and geophysical studies were unsystematic, sparse, and limited in depth. Thus, the implementation of the decompensative gravity anomalies approach provides a better understanding of the evolution of the sedimentary basins and the obtained results can be used for planning future detailed studies in the area.
Modern satellite gravity missions and ground gravimetry provide operational data models that can be used in various studies in geology, tectonics, and climatology, etc. In the present study, ...sedimentary basins in the southern part of the East European Platform and adjoining areas including the Caucasus are studied by employing the approach based on decompensative gravity anomalies. The new model of sediments, implying their thickness and density, demonstrates several important features of the sedimentary cover, which were not or differently imaged by previous studies. We found a significant redistribution of the low-dense sediments in the Black Sea. Another principal feature is the increased thickness of relatively low-dense sediments in the Eastern Greater Caucasus. The deepest part of the South Caspian basin is shifted to the north, close to the Apsheron Trough. In its present position, it is almost joined with the Terek–Caspian depression, which depth is also increased. The thickness of sediments is significantly decreased in the eastern Pre-Caspian basin. Therefore, the new sedimentary cover model gives a more detailed description of its thickness and density, reveals new features and helps in better understanding of the evolution of the basins, providing a background for further detailed studies of the region.
The article is focused on the approach based on the discrete mathematical analysis conception and continues a series of studies related to the application of the previously developed methodology to ...geophysical data analysis. The main idea of the study is the modification of earlier conceptions regarding the interpreter’s logic that allows introducing a multiscale approach and performing the time series analysis using the activity measure plots, implying the vertical scale. This approach was used to study the morphology of several intense geomagnetic storms at the final stages of the 23rd and 24th solar activity cycles. Geomagnetic observatory data and interplanetary magnetic field parameters as well as the solar wind flux speed and proton density were analyzed for each of the studied storms using the activity measures. The developed methods, applied to geomagnetic storm morphological analysis, displayed good results in revealing the decreases and increases in various durations and intensities during storms, detecting low-amplitude disturbances, and storm sudden commencement recognition. The results provide an opportunity to analyze any physical data using a unified scale and, in particular, to implement this approach to geomagnetic activity studies.
The installation and development of a magnetic observatory can require additional studies of the magnetic properties of construction materials for pavilions and measurement pillars, as well as of the ...environmental conditions, including, first of all, the magnetic properties of the surrounding rocks. In some cases, detailed studies of magnetic susceptibility can be necessary. To date, these procedures have only briefly been described in the existing manuals and guides. With the development of new construction materials, as well as with the increase in the number of magnetic observatories, the need for such studies has risen even more. This article is focused on studies of the magnetic properties of construction materials for magnetic observatories, and the results are presented based on our experience in the deployment of magnetic observatories and stations in Russia and abroad. An overview of the magnetic susceptibility of different materials is presented. A kappametry method and its application to studies of construction materials are described, and the results of magnetic susceptibility tests performed on the construction materials and the surrounding rocks in the vicinity of an observatory are provided. Finally, some recommendations for studies of materials for observatory construction are given.
This paper presents the results of the creation of a geomagnetic data storage system that combines raw observation data from different geomagnetic observation networks along with derived indices and ...indicators of geomagnetic activity. Geomagnetic data, provided by observation networks, undergo a series of data quality validation procedures. The implemented instruments and procedures facilitate the creation of a uniform database from multiple sources.
The continuous growth of geophysical observations requires adequate methods for their processing and analysis. This becomes one of the most important and widely discussed issues in the data science ...community. The system analysis methods and data mining techniques are able to sustain the solution of this problem. This paper presents an innovative holistic hardware/software system (HSS) developed for efficient management and intellectual analysis of geomagnetic data, registered by Russian geomagnetic observatories and international satellites. Geomagnetic observatories that comprise the International Real-time Magnetic Observatory Network (INTERMAGNET) produce preliminary (raw) and definitive (corrected) geomagnetic data of the highest quality. The designed system automates and accelerates routine production of definitive data from the preliminary magnetograms, obtained by Russian observatories, due to implemented algorithms that involve artificial intelligence elements. The HSS is the first system that provides sophisticated automatic detection and multi-criteria classification of extreme geomagnetic conditions, which may be hazardous for technological infrastructure and economic activity in Russia. It enables the online access to digital geomagnetic data, its processing results and modelling calculations along with their visualization on conventional and spherical screens. The concept of the presented system agrees with the accepted 'four Vs' paradigm of Big Data. The HSS can increase significantly the 'velocity' and 'veracity' features of the INTERMAGNET system. It also provides fusion of large sets of ground-based and satellite geomagnetic data, thus facilitating the 'volume' and 'variety' of handled data.
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