Environmental management of coastal regions in the Caspian Sea

Considering rapid population growth and migration, higher accumulation of communities is noticed in coastal areas. This is especially true with the coastal areas of the Caspian Sea. In the present investigation coastal areas between Jouybar to Behshahr region is selected for their special geographical and ecological locations. Further, adverse impacts of human, agriculture and industrial activities was examined along side the above mentioned coasts. It should be pointed out that protected Miankaleh Wildlife zone which is an internationally recognized wetland, falls within area of study. In the present study strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats method is used for the evaluation of environmental management status. In this regard, internal and external factors gained 2.28 and 2.58 scores. This is indicative of the abundance of weaknesses over strengths and it also shows that opportunities are more than threats. Subsequently 27 strategies were developed and quantitative strategic planning matrix method was also used to score each strategies. The results of quantitative strategic planning matrix method analysis was programmed in strategic position and action evaluation matrix. The present situation falls within “competitive” classification. This is indicative of weakness in coordinating development and environmental strategic plans. The result of present investigation strongly emphasis on compilation of strategic environmental plans for the control of population, pollution emission and land use planning changes. The most important strategies include development of environmental regulations and better supervision on enforcement of laws.     

Atmospheric circulation and storm events in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea

Extreme sea storms are dangerous and a potential source of damage. In this study, we examine storm events in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, the atmosphere circulation patterns associated with the sea storm events, and their changes in the present (1961–2000) and future (2046–2065) climates. A calendar of storms for the present climate is derived from results of wave model SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) experiments. On the basis of this calendar, a catalog of atmospheric sea level pressure (SLP) fields was prepared from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset for 1961–2000. The SLP fields were subjected to a pattern recognition algorithm which employed empirical orthogonal decomposition followed by cluster analysis. The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data is used to evaluate the occurring circulation types (CTs) within the ECHAM5-MPI/OM Atmosphere and Ocean Global Circulation Model (AOGCM) for the period 1961–2000. Our analysis shows that the ECHAM5-MPI/OM model is capable of reproducing circulation patterns for the storm events. The occurrence of present and future ECHAM5-MPI/OM CTs is investigated. It is shown that storm CTs are expected to occur noticeably less frequently in the middle of the 21^st century.     

The recent tectonics of the Caspian Sea region

Recent uplifts and depressions complicated by lineaments, many of which are faults, were found within the Caspian depression using complex structural and geomorphological studies, which included visual interpretation of different-scale topographic maps, as well as an analysis and computer processing of radar satellite images. In many respects, the latest dislocations correlate with the structures and sedimentary cover of the basement and are also determined by salt tectonics. Their formation is substantially influenced by the Ural Orogen and the Scythian plate is involved in the entire uplift at the latest stage.     

Peculiarities of the centennial salinity regime of the Caspian Sea

Based on primary information from the Caspian Sea oceanographic database, the centennial salinity regime was analyzed. The regularities of the salinity spatial dynamics and vertical distribution were found for the characteristic periods of the sea level changes. Significant changes in the hydrological regime and the structure of the water mass for the centennial period were shown.     

The Equation of State for Caspian Sea Waters

The density ρ of Caspian Sea waters was measured as a function of temperature (273.15–343.15) K at conductivity salinities of 7.8 and 11.3 using the Anton-Paar Densitometer. Measurements were also made on one of the samples (S = 11.38) diluted with water as a function of temperature (T = 273.15–338.15 K) and salinity (2.5–11.3). These latter results have been used to develop an equation of state for the Caspian Sea (σ = ±0.007 kg m⁻³)

Modern diversity of the macroalgae of the Sea of Azov,the Black Sea,and the Caspian Sea

Currently, the species list of the macroalgae (excluding Charales) inhabiting the southern seas of Russia includes 388 species, specifically, 362 species in the Black Sea, 46 species in the Sea of Azov, and 70 species in the Caspian Sea. The species list has been increased by approximately 30% (96 species, most of them are registered in the Black Sea), compared to the data obtained 30 years ago. The green and red macroalgae of warm-water Mediterranean and tropical origin (Ceramium, Polysiphonia, Laurencia, Ulva, and Chaetomorpha) and brown algae (Sargassum and Cytoseira) were the key invaders. Nowadays the maximal species diversity is found on the Crimean coast and the Turkish coast of the Black Sea; and the species list of the Turkish coast differs significantly from all the other studied sites of the Black Sea. The number of the algae of the warm-water complex increased the most in 1990s–2000s in the Black Sea; species of boreal-tropical and subtropical origin dominate. However, such a tendency was not observed in the Sea of Azov and in the Caspian Sea, but expansion of the habitats of the brackish green algae has been registered.     

Biogeochemical processes in the water column of the Caspian Sea in November 2008

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Holocene deposits in the Mangyshlak Peninsula,North Caspian Sea region

Comprehensive analysis of the data of high-precision seismoacoustic profiling, drilling and sampling of deposits using seabed corers, biostratigraphic studies, and radiocarbon age data was performed for the first time for Mangyshlak sediments in several bottom sites of the North Caspian. It was found that the Mangyshlak sediments comprise numerous linearly stretched depressions of 5–10 m in depth (morphologically similar to modern substeppe ilmen areas in the Volga River delta), which are covered by the Novocaspian sedimentary cover, and river incisions (among them the largest Volga River valley). In addition, the Mangyshlak sediments comprise the deltaic alluvial fans of different sizes along the shelf zone of the North Caspian. Analysis of mollusks and biogenic remains indicates that accumulation of the Mangyshlak sediments occurred in freshwater and slightly salty water environments under various hydrodynamic and hydrochemical conditions. According to radiocarbon dating of organic matter, the Mangyshlak sediments formed during sea regression in the range of 10-8 ka (isotopic age) or 11.5-8.5 ka (calendar age). Several types of sediments are distinguished: clayey-carbonate sediments, enriched with organic matter up to the formation of sapropel and peat, accumulated at the lowest sea level; weakly calcareous silty-clayey silts, formed during the subsequent intense filling of paleodepressions with terrigenous material. The features of the mineral composition of sediments are as follows: polymineral composition of clayey material with a high proportion of hydromica and disordered mixed-layered formations, a high content of minerals of the epidote group, amphiboles, and other accessory minerals. All of this indicates a genetic relationship between the Mangyshlak sediments and the Volga terrigenous material.     

Mineral Grains of Base and Precious Metals in the Surface Layer of Bottom Sediments in the Chukchi Sea

Data on electron microprobe X-ray analysis of mineral grains of base (Cu, Zn, Sn, Pb, Ni, Bi, and Mo) and precious metals (Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt) detected for the first time in the sediments of the Chukchi Sea are presented. The peculiarities of the morphology and chemical composition of the grains are considered along with their sources and distribution in the sediments.     

Deep basins of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea as remnants of Mesozoic back-arc basins

We review the geological and geophysical structural framework of the deep Black Sea and Caspian Sea basins. Based on seismic evidence and subsidence history, we conclude that the deep basins have an oceanic crust formed in a marginal sea environment. We propose that the present deep basins are remnants of a much greater marginal sea formed during three separate episodes during the Mesozoic: in the Middle Jurassic, Upper Jurassic and Late Cretaceous. A tentative sketch of the geologic evolution of the area is presented. The marginal sea reached its greatest extent in the Early Tertiary when it was about 900 km wide and 3000 km long. The central part of the marginal sea has since disappeared during the collision between the Arabian promontory and the Eurasian margin.     

Caspian Sea bottom scouring by hummocky ice floes

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Dynamics of Sedimentary Waves over the Western Slope of the Caspian Sea

Doklady Earth Sciences - Data on the assessment of the dynamics of sedimentary waves over the western slope of the Caspian Sea are presented. The process of formation of the wave structure of...     

Paleochannels on the Northern Slope of the Derbent Basin,Caspian Sea

The results of studies in the paleochannel of the Volga River, which was discovered earlier on the northwestern slope of the Derbent Basin, Caspian Sea, are presented. Seismoacoustic profiling in the paleochannel, combined with placement of submerged buoy stations equipped with current gauges, water temperature gauges, and sediment traps showed that the channel is not silted and cold heavy water is transported along it to the deep sea part of the sea, avoiding the general water transit along the western coast of the Central Caspian Sea. The preliminary calculations show that water discharge through the channel to the near-bottom part of the sea can be about 8–10 km³/yr.

     

Contourites in the Derbent Basin,Caspian Sea (Geophysical Data)

Doklady Earth Sciences - A high resolution seismic survey carried out by the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences in 2004–2012 near the foot of the continental slopes...     

On sedimentary waves at the western slope of the Middle Caspian Sea

Based on data of high-resolution acoustic profiling performed in the upper part of the sedimentary succession at the western continental slope of the Middle Caspian Sea (at a depth range from 100 to 400 m), we revealed specific accumulative forms of a running wave type. Examination of their morphology and inner structure allowed us to suggest two mechanisms of their formations: (a) by means of flank growth due to migration of channels of sedimentary flow associated with the Samur and other rivers and (b) due to flows of sedimentary material forming sedimentary waves.