Regional development and the natural resources of the U.S.S.R.

The recent experience of the rising cost of exploiting new material resources in the U.S.S.R. has led to exploration of alternative methods, particularly greater intensification of exploitation. The regional variations in the balance between intensive and extensive methods is considerable and is consequently an important aspect of Soviet geographical research. This paper discusses the criteria and methodology for this crucial economic/resource regionalization of the U.S.S.R.     

Socio-economic geography in the U.S.S.R.

A major field of research since the 1920s has been methods and theories of economic regionalization. The territorial-production complex is now recognized as a key developmental tool within the framework of economic-planning regions. Recently, there has been a more marked growth of study into problems of natural-resource development, social progress and change in the U.S.S.R. as well as into the spatial structure of other nations, particularly other socialist countries and non-socialist developing countries.     

Structure of the earth''s crust on the territory of the U.S.S.R.

The compilation of statistical data for 269 seismic crustal sections (total length: 81,000 km) which are available in the U.S.S.R. has shown that the preliminary conclusions drawn on relations between the elevation of the surface relief and Bouguer anomalies on one hand and crustal thickness (depth to the M-discontinuity) on the other hand are not fulfilled for the continental part of the U.S.S.R. The level of isostatic compensation has been found to be much deeper than the base of the earth's crust due to density inhomogeneities of the crust and upper mantle down to a depth of 150 km.

The results of seismic investigations have revealed a great diversity of relations between shallow geological and deep crustal structures:

Changes in the relief of the M-discontinuity have been found within the ancient platforms which are conformable with the Precambrian structures and which can exceed 20 km. In the North Caspian syneclise, extended areas devoid of the “granitic” layer have been discovered for the first time in continents. The crust was found to be thicker in the syneclises and anteclises of the Turanian EpiHercynian plate. In the West Siberian platforms these relations are reversed to a great extent.

Substantial differences in crustal structure and thickness were found in the crust of the Palaeo zoides and Mesozoides. Regions of substantial neotectonic activity in the Tien-Shan Palaeozoides do not greatly differ in crustal thickness if compared to the Kazakhstan Palaeozoides which were little active in Cenozoic time. The same is true for the South Siberian Palaeozoides.

The Alpides of the southern areas in the U.S.S.R. display a sharply differing surface relief and a strongly varying crustal structure. Mountains with roots (Greater Caucasus, Crimea) and without roots (Kopet-Dagh, Lesser Caucasus) were found there.

The Cenozoides of the Far East are characterized by a rugged topography of the M-discontinuity, a thinner crust and a less-pronounced “granitic” layer. A relatively small thickness of the crust was discovered in the Baikal rift zone.

The effective thickness of the magnetized domains of the crust as well as other calculations show that the temperature at the depth of the M-discontinuity (i.e., at depths of 40–50 km) is not higher than 300–400° C for most parts of the U.S.S.R.     

3S技术在神农架滑雪场生态环境影响评价中的应用

神农架滑雪场位于国家级自然保护区的边缘地带。运用景观生态学原理和方法,采用3S技术,对滑雪场景观生态体系的结构和功能状况进行评价,通过景观多样性指数、景观聚集度指数等指标量化计算及比较分析,预测了项目建成后对所在区域生态完整性的影响程度及将造成的敏感生态问题。结果表明,评价区自然系统的生物量将减少430.26 t,平均净生产力降低为881.55 g/m2.a,项目建设不会改变林地的模地地位,其对生态环境质量仍有较强的调控能力。3S技术结合景观生态学方法将生态环境影响评价由定性评价转向定量预测,为建设项目生态影响评价研究作了有益的探索。     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111001319

The microbial diversity in Wuli Area,Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau was investigated using 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analyses.A total of 117 bacterial and 66 archaeal 16S rRNA gene clones were obtained from the Wuli cold springs.The bacterial clones could be classified into Pwteobacteria,Acidobacteria, Deinococci,Sphingobacteria,Flavobacteria.Nitrospirae,Actinobacteria,Gemmatimonadetes, and unclassified-bacteria;and the archaeal clones could be classified into Crenarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota.Among the major groups,Pwteobacteria and Crenarchaeota were dominant in the bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene clone libraries,respectively.The clone sequences obtained in Wuli cold springs were closely related to those from cold habitats,such as snow/ice/soils on high mountains or at high latitude.Especially,the microbial community composition of Wuli Area was more similar to that in Tibetan glaciers than cold environments of other locations.The data presented in this study have implications for a better understanding of microbial diversity in cold springs on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111001307

South China Sea(SCS) is the largest Western Pacific marginal sea.However,microbial studies have never been performed in the cold seep sediments in the SCS.In 2004."SONNE" 177 cruise found two cold seep areas with different water depth in the northern SCS.Haiyang 4 area,where the water depth is around 3000 m.has already been confirmed for active seeping on the seafloor.such as microbial mats,authigenic carbonate crusts and bivalves.We investigated microbial abundance and diversity in a 5.55-111 sediment core collected from this cold seep area.An integrated approach was employed including geochemistry and 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analyses.Here,we show that microbial abundance and diversity along with geochemistry profiles of the sediment core revealed a coupled reaction between sulphate reduction and methane oxidation.Acridine orange direct count results showed that microbial abundance ranges from 10~5 to 10~6 cells/g sediment(wet weight).The depth-related variation of the abundance showed the same trend as the methane concentration profile.Phylogenetic analysis indicated the presence of sulphate-reducing bacteria and anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea.The diversity was much higher at the surface,but decreased sharply with depth in response to changes in the geochemical conditions of the sediments,such as methane,sulphate concentration and total organic carbon.Marine Benthic Group B.Chloroflexi and JSl were predominant phylotypes of the archaeal and bacterial libraries,respectively.     

李四光和卡尔宾斯基金质奖章

中国地质学家李四光与当时苏联地学界来往交流紧密,他对地质学的贡献得到了苏联地质学家的高度评价。1958年,苏联科学院全体大会选举李四光为苏联科学院院士,并授予卡尔宾斯基金质奖章;该奖章是1947年由当时的苏联科学院和俄罗斯科学院共同发起的、对地质科学有突出贡献的科学家最高单人奖励,李四光是第六位获奖人,也是至2017年止唯一获此殊荣的外籍地质学家,他的获奖理由是:在地质、古生物、地层和矿产研究工作的综合贡献。李四光有两部著作在苏联被译成俄文出版,分别是1952年的《中国地质学》和1958年的《中国西北部的旋卷构造》,这两部译作对当时的苏联地质界产生了很大影响,极大地推动了李四光学术思想的广泛认知;"地质无国界",中国地调百年的发展历程也有着俄罗斯地学理论、规范、方法实践的烙印,在新的"一带一路"合作倡议和李四光学术精神传承下,中俄、中国与中亚在地学领域的交流合作将不断深化,硕果累累。      

A possible juvenile ceratopsoid ilium from the Cenomanian of central Utah,U.S.A.

We describe a small ilium, with fibrous texture characteristic of juvenile bone, from the lower Cenomanian of central Utah, U.S.A. The ilium was recovered from the upper part of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation. The ilium most closely resembles that of immature ceratopsid ilia referred to Agujaceratops mariscalensis from the Campanian Aguja Formation of southern Texas, U.S.A. Both have everted dorsal margins over the iliac body, subhorizontal postacetabular processes, and laterally compressed, anteroventrally curved preacetabular processes. If correctly identified, the small ilium from the Cedar Mountain Formation is the oldest ceratopsid or ceratopsoid known, and shows that the diversity of early ceratopsians was greater than previously realized.     

Seismic studies of low-velocity layers and horizontal inhomogeneities within the crust and upper mantle on the territory of the U.S.S.R.

Recent seismological studies of low-velocity layers in the U.S.S.R. have led to the development of new methods of investigation. The most important results obtained are presented in this paper. Several new techniques of record treatment and advanced computer programs make it possible to solve two-dimensional problems of seismic wave propagation in complex media and to outline zones of velocity inversion in the crust and mantle of many regions in the U.S.S.R.Zones of this type seem to occur only locally and are typical of some particular geostructures. Lateral inhomogeneities are also found to be closely related to geological features. Their depths sometimes can reach 300–400 km.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111001344

The Rehai Geothermal Field,located in Tengcbong County,in central-western Yunnan Province, is the largest and most intensively studied geothermal held in China.A wide physicochemical diversity of springs(ambient to ~97℃;pH from≤.8 to≥9.3) provides a multitude of niches for extremophilic microorganisms.A variety of studies have focused on the cultivation,identification,basic physiology,taxonomy,and biotechnological potential of thermophilic microorganisms from Rehai.Thermophilic bacteria isolated from Rehai belong to the phyla Firmicutes and Deinococcus-Thenmts. Firmicutes include neutrophilic or alkaliphilic Anoxybacillus,Bacillus,Caldalkalibacillus.Caldanaerobacier, Laceyella,and Geobacillus,as well as thermoacidophilic Alicyclobacillus and Sulfobacillus. Isolates from the Deinococcus-Thermus phylum include several Meiothermus and Thennus species.Many of these bacteria synthesize thermostable polymer-degrading enzymes that may be useful for biotechnology. The thermoacidophilic archaea Acidianus.Melal/osp/utera.and Suljolobus have also been isolated and studied.A few studies have reported the isolation of thermophilic viruses belonging to Siphoviridae(TTSP4 and TTSPIO) and Fuselloviridae(STSVl) infecting Thennus spp.and Suljolobus spp..respectively.More recently,cultivation-independent studies using 16S rRNA gene sequences, shotgun metagenomics,or "functional gene" sequences have revealed a much broader diversity of microorganisms than represented in culture.Studies of the gene and mRNA encoding the large subunit of the ammonia monooxygenase(imioA) of ammonia-oxidizing Archaea(AOA) and the tetraether lipid erenarchaeol. a potential biomarker for AOA.suggest a wide diversity,but possibly low abundance,of thermophilic AOA in Rehai.Finally,we introduce the Tengchong Partnerships in International Research and Education(PIRE) project,an international collaboration between Chinese and U.S.scientists with the goal of promoting international and interdisciplinary cooperation to gain a more holistic and global view of life in terrestrial geothermal springs.     

Nature conservation in the Nordic countries: Consensus rather than conflict

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the aims, methods, planning and management, and current problems of countryside conservation in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The traditional Nordic common-law of “every man's right of access” to the countryside is of longstanding. In these countries conservation is as much concerned with the protection, for public use, of landscapes of recreational and/or scenic value as with the conservation of ‘wild nature’. In addition, conservation is usually closely integrated with other aspects of physical planning, while responsibility for its management has been devolved, to a greater or lesser extent, from national or regional authorities to local government. The particular aims and methods of conservation, however, vary with the nature of the biophysical resource base, the legislative structure and the stage of conservation planning in the individual countries. In this respect, Denmark has the most sophisticated and developed system, Finland the least. The wider concept of conservation and its close integration with countryside planning in all the Nordic countries contrast with conservation in the U.K. It is suggested that the Nordic approach to the solution of conservation problems might be relevant to a solution of the increasing conflict of ecological, economic and social interests in the British countryside today.     

Crustal investigations of the U.S.S.R. by means of earthquake-generated converted waves

The method of earthquake-generated converted waves which is based on the simultaneous recording of longitudinal (P), transverse (S) and converted (PS and SP) waves has been used in the U.S.S.R. since 1956. Converted phases generated at crustal and upper-mantle discontinuities in the seismic focal area are carefully analyzed. In this paper some dynamic characteristics of transmitted PS- and SP-waves arising at different types of boundaries are described.

From a comparison of the properties of the recorded converted waves with the results of theoretical computations conclusions can be drawn with regard to the possible structure of the “exchange” (conversion) boundaries. Seismic cross-sections are presented which illustrate the high effectiveness of the method in regional investigations of crustal structure. Owing to its significance and the multitude of observations (over 22,000 km of observation lines) the method is one of the principal seismic techniques used in the U.S.S.R. which give quantitative information on crustal layering.     

桂林喀斯特世界自然遗产提名地珍稀濒危和特有生物物种多样性及保护

珍稀濒危和特有物种是地区生物物种的重要组成,研究珍稀濒危和特有物种的多样性对生物保护和良好生态环境的维护有重要意义。本文在对桂林喀斯特世界自然遗产提名地生物物种调查的基础上,对提名地内的珍稀濒危和特有生物物种及其受威胁级别情况进行了统计,并从种群、群落和生境3个层面对珍稀濒危和特有物种的保护提出了建议。结果表明,在167.5 hm2范围内共有高等植物754种,脊椎动物525种;列入 IUCN红色名录443种、濒危野生动植物国际贸易公约67种、中国物种红色名录145种、中国国家重点保护野生动植物55种,并包括部分古老孑遗植物,珍稀濒危生物多样性较高;此外提名地还拥有87种特有种,是动植物特有种的重要资源地。在珍稀濒危和特有物种多样性的保护上,应根据提名地的珍稀濒危物受威胁级别,有计划地开展种群调查和生境分析,确定不同级别珍稀濒危物种的最小生存种群和最小动态区,并采取就地保护或迁地保护的措施,以促进小种群的发展;加强顶级群落的保护和监测研究,实施封山育林和群落恢复工程,促进群落的正向演替;划定珍稀濒危和特有种群和群落保护范围,建立自然保护区,维护其生存繁衍所必需生境量;此外着重加强对野生兰科植物的研究及生存空间保护,加强洞穴、峰林、峭壁等独特生境的保护。     

Development of geological research in U.S.S.R Academy of Sciences and U.S.S.R. Ministry of Geology and Mineral Reserves

On October 12, 1962, a joint session of the Presidium of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences and the Collegium of the U.S.S.R. Ministry of Geology and Mineral Reserves adopted a resolution “On the present state of the geological sciences in the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences and the U. S. S. R. Ministry of Geology and Mineral Reserves and their prospects for the future.” Important contributions of Russian geologists are acknowledged, but attention is drawn to many shortcomings. Future goals of geological study and work are given in detail. Twenty-one lines of research to be concentrated on are given, covering all phases of geology, geophysics, and geochemistry. In discussing the failings of the geological profession in Russia, it is of interest to note the following comment: “Geological research in other countries is still insufficiently studied and applied, and we are not making adequate use of geologic information from abroad.” The list of the Russian geologists' shortcomings sounds vaguely familiar. —J. R. Hayes     

Thermal waters in the U.S.S.R.

A very interesting and informative paper on widespread occurrence of a thermal hydrosphere. Geothermal power uses are discussed. Distribution of heated waters, some up to 150° C is discussed in considerable detail, especially with reference to possible power utilization of the geothermal energy. Seven hydrothermal regions of the U.S.S.R. are discussed and delineated. Chemical quality of waters is referred to. There is a summary listing of locations in the U.S.S.R. where thermal waters could be utilized for generation of electric power. — B. N. Cooper.     

Integrating Vulnerability Into Estuarine Conservation Planning: Does the Data Treatment Method Matter?

Protected areas will more efficiently protect biodiversity if threats to the persistence of populations are addressed. Seagrass meadows are globally regarded as critical habitats because of their ecosystem services, human use values, and their diminishing extent. While selecting priority areas for conservation of seagrass meadows is largely aimed at maximizing the protection of their biodiversity, little attention is paid to consider simultaneously the representation of biodiversity and the minimization of threats. This study developed and tested an approach for integrating vulnerability of seagrass meadows to anthropogenic disturbance with the selection of estuarine-protected areas. Vulnerability was measured by data on different land use types in subcatchments. Conservation value was measured by irreplaceability, diversity indices, and rarity of macroinvertebrate species in seagrass meadows. Vulnerability was incorporated into conservation planning by plotting grid cell scores for conservation value versus their scores for vulnerability. The results showed that the performance of the model for the integration of vulnerability into estuarine conservation planning was sensitive to the data treatment. The vulnerability of seagrass meadows and accordingly the arrangement of priority areas for conservation and management attention may change if more information is incorporated into the measurement of vulnerability.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987114000668

Microbial diversity in the hydrate-containing (sites SH3B and SH7B) and-free (sites SH1B, SH5B, SH5C) sediments collected from the Shenhu area of the South China Sea (SCS) was investigated using 16S rR...     

GEOBOTANICAL MAP OF THE U.S.S.R.

A newly compiled geobotanical map of the U.S.S.R. scale 1:4,000,000 is described. Two hundred and ten categories of vegetation are mapped, classified under 15 major groups. The relation of the mapped vegetation units to climate, soil, ground condition (permafrost), watersheds, and major geomorphic features is emphasized. -- M. Russell.     

New X.R.F. data retrieval techniques and their application to U.S.G.S. standard rocks

Accurate and consistent X-ray fluorescence analysis of major and trace elements using a single pressed pellet for each sample has been achieved with a wide variety of rock compositions. Counting techniques for use with data reduction and correction programs in Standard Fortran IV are described; the latter depend throughout on data developed from a wide range of standard rock compositions. A comparison of ten major and fifteen trace element analyses for U.S.G.S. standard rocks with averages taken from the literature testifies to the precision of these techniques.