The paper deals with methodology for identification and mapping of nature management conflicts in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF). A nature management conflict means crises in social-natural system; and their manifestations in the Arctic zone are various. An important cause of conflicts is inefficient economic development. Nature management conflicts result from certain combinations of environmental and anthropogenic factors and are spatially different. Nevertheless they have common features. They relate to excessive exploitation of natural capital formed by territorial pools of ecosystem services. Such pools may be revealed using landscape ecology methods. The change in the spectrum of the most demanded ecosystem services is determined by the programs and the level of economic development, as well as the ideological reasons, both ethno-cultural and ethical (i. e. the ethics of consumption in a post-industrial society). The most demanded ecosystem services in nature management of the advanced development zones in the AZRF were identified. Identification of nature management conflicts is based on monitoring data, thematic maps of different scales and also a retrospective analysis of geosystems degradation indicators associated with the development of such conflicts based on historical documents. The conflicts of nature management are more often linked to the pattern of the exploitation of ecosystem services, known as “The Tragedy of the Commons”, when their use is controlled by utilitarian interests of a stakeholder. This does not meet the sustainable development goals adopted by the AZRF development strategy. A general model and a standard matrix for identifying conflicts of nature management are proposed. These enable to identify competition for the exploitation of ecosystem services pools formed by a territorial landscape structure. An algorithm for determining the dynamics of ecosystem services pools is defined. Ranking of the territory was carried out based on the analysis of spatial combinations of the most important socio-economic, ecological and environmental factors that complicate or facilitate the economic development. A special algorithm was elaborated for this. A classification of conflicts has been developed for mapping purposes, as well as methods of their presentation on maps. The results of the methodology implementation including the ecological-economic assessment are presented for the Nenets, North Yakut, and Murmansk advanced development zones of the AZRF.

It has now been reliably established that climate in the Arctic is changing much faster than the global average, due to the so-called “Arctic amplification” effect. The paper summarizes the results of the comprehensive analysis of the current state of hydrometeorological conditions in the Barents Sea. This made it possible to assess the general directions of the ongoing changes, which in the future may spread to the eastward marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean. Hydrometeorological conditions in the Barents Sea under significant reduction of the sea ice cover have been investigated on the basis of observational data, atmospheric and ocean reanalyses and satellite information. The fundamental conclusion obtained as a result of the analysis is possible activation of feedbacks in the “ocean-ice-atmosphere” system due to the general northeastward retreat of the ice edge in the Barents Sea. The reduction of ice cover primarily affects the nature of energy exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere. As a result, the regime of water masses formation changes towards a decreasing role of ice cover and increasing role of horizontal advection and heat accumulation in the upper water layer. However, the variability of heat fluxes is modulated by a combination of factors such as atmospheric circulation and heat advection in the ocean. Since long-term changes in the ocean and atmosphere are asynchronous, there is no direct relationship between changes in heat fluxes and the sea ice area. A significant increase in latent heat fluxes, and, consequently, total fluxes because of the sea ice area decrease since 2007 has been recorded while the sensible heat fluxes, on the contrary, have decreased. It is shown that the frequency of cold outbreaks over the Barents Sea, which also affect heat fluxes, is mainly determined by the interannual variability of the frequency of various large-scale atmospheric circulation modes and is not directly related to the ice area.

The paper presents the results of the analysis of wave-energy and thermal components of the hydrometeorological (HM) potential of coast thermoabrasion for nine key areas in the western and eastern sectors of the Russian Arctic for the period of 1979 to 2017. The air thawing and air freezing indices were used to calculate the thermal impact on the permafrost coasts the indices represent the accumulated sum of mean daily temperatures of the warm and cold periods, respectively. The wave-energy component is calculated using the Popov-Sovershaev method. The calculations used data from hydrometeorological stations and CFSR, CFSv2, MERRA and ERA5 reanalysis data. The duration of the ice period is determined using the satellite data.

It was found that the thawing index is everywhere growing steadily and significantly, and the total potential for destruction of the shores built of frozen dispersed rocks has been significantly increasing recently in all regions of the Russian Arctic. There is an increase in the HM potential for coastal destruction along the coast from about the Kolguev Island to Chukotka due to both thermal and mechanical factors, including the associated increasing ice-free period. For the period 1979–2017 the increment averaged 30 to 95% of the long-term average, which is 1.2 to 3 times the standard variability. The most significant changes are observed on the island of Ayon, which has the most severe climate; the least significant changes were in Lorino, on the Chukochy Cape and in the Buor-Khaya Bay. The increase results from both the increasing temperatures, and the growth in the energy flows of wind waves. The duration of ice-free period correlates with the warm season temperatures, the wind wave energy, and mostly with the total HM impact. Thus, the duration of the ice-free period is a leading factor in the dynamics of the Arctic coasts, determining both temperature and wave conditions. Changing frequency of storms of wave-dangerous directions plays the main role in the dynamics of the wind-wave factor.

The review of 55 publications focuses on the problem of the spread of natural focal diseases in the Arctic region under the global climate change. The influence of factors of a changing environment on the functioning of the foci of natural focal diseases in the Arctic regions of Russia, Europe and North America is considered, as well as the issues of the northward shift of the areas of pathogens, their carriers and vectors in connection with climate warming, and the examples of outbreaks of natural focal diseases in the Arctic regions are given. The articles were selected on the Pubmed, ScienceDirect, e-Library and Cyberleninka platforms. The analysis of publications made it possible to identify 18 natural focal diseases, the most significant for the Russian and foreign Arctic. A survey of distribution in Russia and other countries with Arctic territories was carried out for ten of them. It might be supposed that tick-borne infections will move most intensively to the north under climate changes, following the expansion of vectors and warm-blooded carriers. In addition, new outbreaks of tularemia caused by high numbers of vectors (mosquitoes and horseflies) could not be excluded, as well as the reactivation of anthrax foci due to the degradation of permafrost and thawing of cattle burial grounds. Summarizing the data on diseases and pathologies of the Arctic population showed that the most vulnerable groups are those who live in remote areas, where adaptation to climate change is most difficult due to insufficient economic support or lacking infrastructure. In general, there are a limited number of studies considering the spread of natural focal diseases under the changing environment, particularly for the most remote regions.

Long-term anthropogenic pressure and current climatic trends have led to significant changes in the structure and species composition of the vegetation cover of ecosystems in many regions of Russia. As an impact indicator vegetation clearly reflects the spatiotemporal dynamics of ecosystems, especially in theareas experiencing long-term intensive technogenic stress. An example is the Monchegorsk district in the central part of the Kola Peninsula. According to V.V. Kryuchkov’s classification, this region belongs to the zones of complete and partial disturbance of ecosystems. The aim of the study is to assess changes in the structure of vegetation cover and the dynamics of the boundaries of altitude zones in the Monchetundra mountain range, which experiences the technogenic impact of the Severonikel plant (Monchegorsk), under the modern climate change. The literature data and space imagery were used to reconstruct the structure of altitudinal zonality in the Monchetundra mountain range before the industrial development of the region. To study the current state and dynamics of ecosystems, the model territories were selected that are most contrasting in the exposure of slopes, determining the distribution of pollutants. A comparison of the structure of altitudinal zonality before the industrial development of the region with the current state made it possible to assess the general trend in the dynamics of the boundaries of altitudinal zones and determine main changes in the vegetation cover of the studied region during the period of industrial development. General improvement of the ecological situation in the region and the current climate changes have led to positive processes and partial restoration of vegetation cover within the degraded territories. However, under the extreme natural conditions this process is slow, although the identified trends in combination with measures taken by the Severonikel plant to introduce new technologies to reduce emissions of pollutants allow us to predict an improvement of the situation. Complex assessment of the state of vegetation cover of ecosystems based on the use of ground-based and remote sensing data made it possible to most accurately describe the current state, as well as the changes in the structure of plant communities.

To assess the scale of anthropogenic transformation of relief during the economic development of the territory of the Lower Ob River region, comprehensive geomorphologic studies were carried out in Salekhard and Labytnangi including the large-scale geomorphologic survey, UAV aerial photography, interpretation of satellite images and analysis of a digital elevation model. It was found that the direct transformation of relief significantly predominates over the indirect one within the territory of the Lower Ob region (the affected areas are 42,6 km2 and 3,7 km2, respectively). Widespread positive anthropogenic forms include areal ones (quarry dumps, solid waste and sawdust dumps) and road embankments (total area – 16,4 km², volume – about 30 million m³). Negative forms are represented by quarries and excavations, as well as drainage ditches (3,8 km² and approx 25 million m³). The morphological parameters of anthropogenic forms have been determined and their functional dependence has been shown. The area of artificial surface leveling and terracing was up to 22,4 km², indirect transformation of relief (areas of thermokarst activation, linear erosion and deluvial washout) is pronounced over 3,7 km². Natural relief of the valley complex of the Ob, Poluy and Sob rivers has undergone the greatest transformation as a result of the economic development in the Lower Ob River region: floodplains and river terraces account for 59% of the direct transformation area. The development of floodplain levels (as well as the interfluves) is accompanied by the construction of large positive forms (embankments), while during construction on river terraces relief is most often leveled without large-scale dumping of ground. It is shown that the scale of anthropogenic impact, including man-made forms of relief, is determined by two main factors, i. e. the type of land-use and the natural conditions, for example geological-geomorphologic and geocryological ones. The importance of the second factor significantly increases within the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation in comparison with other territories. Thus, it becomes necessary to perform a complex assessment of natural conditions for the prime areas of development in order to reduce expenses and minimize adverse and dangerous effects of nature management.

Arctic coastal zones are characterized by diverse severe hydrometeorological phenomena including high wind speeds, stormy waves and surges. Abundance of islands and mountain ranges, and rugged coastline in the Kara Sea contribute to the formation of mesoscale atmospheric circulations that largely determine the patternof coastal currents. The Arctic observational network is not dense enough to reproduce and investigate hydrometeorological characteristics; therefore the paper is based on high-resolution modeling of wind, waves, sea level and currents. Experiments were conducted with COSMO-CLM non-hydrostatic mesoscale atmospheric model for the Kara Sea region with ~12 and ~3 km resolutions. In contrast with global NCEP/CFSR reanalysis the model with 3 km resolution could reproduce such phenomena as tip jets, downslope windstorms and cyclonic chains in the skerries of different scales. This is an important reason for utilizing the COSMO-CLM wind speed fields as forcing data for modeling waves and surges. The WAVEWATCH III model was applied for wave simulation; and the ADCIRC model was used for sea level and currents simulation. During on-shore wind conditions there are almost no differences between wave simulations using high-resolution wind speed and NCEP/CFSR reanalysis. However, the impact of local wind field is significant when off-shore wind is observed. Sea level modeling within narrow bays and creeks using high-resolution wind speed fields has shown significant differences from the experiments based on the NCEP/CFSR reanalysis. Maximal calculated Kara Sea surges are up to 2,5 m and are noticed at the southern part of the Gulf of Ob. Surges in the Gulf of Ob are formed two times more often than in the Baydaratskaya Bay. Long-term trends in the number of surges are opposite, i.e. minimal number of surges was in the Baydaratskaya Bay during the 1995–2005, while maximal number of surges was in the Gulf of Ob during the same period.Keywords: high-resolution hydrodynamic modelling, wind waves, wind surges, COSMO-CLM, WAVEWATCH III, ADCIRC, Kara Sea.

There is a clear trend in the Arctic of increasing mean annual air temperature, decreasing area and depth of the sea ice cover [IPCC, 2021], increasing open water period; the glacier edges thaw and break due to storms, high shores destruct and extensive shoals appear. These changes are most noticeable on small Arctic islands, once surrounded by thick ice fields but increasingly exposed to open water, thus making them of special interest. During the unique complex expedition “Open Ocean: Archipelagoes of the Arctic. Severnaya Zemlya-2019” on the Professor Molchanov research vessel in August-September 2019 full-scale field surveys of the islands and unmanned surveys from quadcopters were conducted. Subsequent surveys based on remote sensing data are intended to combine detailed field surveys with an overview coverage of these islands. Different nature of the islands requires applying different methods of studying their dynamics with remote sensing data. Changes in the islands’ coastline are traced using a set of different time sources, i. e. the 1957 topographic map (1 : 200 000) and space images from Landsat 5, 7 satellites. The current situation is described according to cloud-free images from Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2 satellites. Multiple interferometric images of Sentinel-1B (IW – Interferometric Wide Swath) radar system processing level SLC – Single Look Complex for 2019 supported a study of the seasonal dynamics of the Vize Island surface. The multiyear dynamics of ice edge retreat was revealed for the Ushakov Island. The retreat rate analysis proved the accelerated decrease of the ice cap area since the 2010-s. We accessed the influence of changing climatic conditions on the coastline dynamics of the Vize and Ushakov islands with due account of the wind speed and direction and the air temperature. Uneven coastal erosion is characteristic of the Vize Island, and the areas with the highest rate of coastline retreat were identified, as well as new accumulative forms, e. g. bars. Multitemporal composites with coherence obtained from the radar data made it possible to characterize the seasonal dynamics of the state of the Vize island surface and its dependence on variable weather conditions. The results of research show an obvious response of the small islands’ coastlines to the climate changes of the 20th–21st centuries.

The ecological and geographical regularities of the spatial differentiation of bird fauna of Northeastern Russia seas in late winters of 1987 and 1988 were studied. Birds were almost never found in the Arctic Ocean, while 22 bird species were recorded in the Bering Sea (24% of all marine avifauna of the Russian Far East). The winter avifauna of the Bering Sea includes species that nest in the summer on the islands and coastal seas of Northeast Asia and northwestern North America. 17 species, i.e. 77% of the total species list, were recorded both in 1987 and 1988. Three areas of wintering birds concentration have been identified, namely near the southeastern coast of the Chukotka Peninsula, with clusters of many thousands birds, southeast of the Navarin Cape and south of the St. Lawrence Island. The taxonomic structure of winter avifauna in the Bering Sea is in line with the ecological characteristics of the North Pacific marine areas, located at the northeastern margins of Northern Asia, and is represented by the families of Procellariidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Anatidae, Laridae, and Alcidae. The Alcidae are quite typical of the avifauna of subpolar marine areas of the Palaearctic and prevail in terms of the number of species represented (n = 9). Winter avifauna of the Bering Sea includes representatives of 6 ecological-geographical groups, namely marine species of the continental and island coasts of the North Pacific and the Arctic Ocean, marine species of the North Pacific, species widespread in the tundra zone of Eurasia and North America, species of the islands of the Arctic Ocean, species of the Asian coast of the Arctic Ocean, species of the inland mountain streams. The population density over the autumn ice is 0.4 birds per 1 km² and 21.8 birds per 1 km² over young ice. The maximum bird population densities in young ice are due to the presence of open water areas which are easily accessible forage habitats. Northern Fulmar, Common Guillemot and Brunnich’s Guillemot predominate in bird populations over all types of the surveyed ice. According to the extrapolation data, in 1987–1988 1 500 000 birds wintered annually within the ice-covered water area of the Bering Sea.

A poorly-studied Kolyma River mouth section (near-delta section and the delta) was surveyed in summer 2019, first since the 1950-s. The complex hydrological survey included measurements of flow rates, water discharges, water depths, water surface slopes, water turbidity, temperatures, and conductivity. We also obtained remote sensing data using quadcopter, took samples of water and sediments for chemical and other analyses, and collected field data for the satellite data calibration. Five temporary hydrological gauges with loggers were organized to monitor hydrological conditions and the passage of river floods. Some measurements were made for the first time. Several series of runoff measurements at 24 cross-sections made it possible to reveal the along-channel increase of the Kolyma River flow, the contribution of main tributaries and the Stadukhinskaya anastomosing branch, velocities structure of the flow and the actual runoff distribution within the delta. The latter is already different from hydrological calculations of the late 20^th century, because the proportion of the Kamennaya Kolyma branch has increased by nearly 10%. Two zones of different water masses mixing were identified within the mouth area. The first zone is within the near-delta section where waters of the Kolyma River and its right tributaries are mixed. The second one is in the delta and on the seashore, where fresh and salt waters are mixed. The water of the Omolon and Anui rivers are less turbid (5–15 vs 120 mg/l) and less mineralized (55–70 vs 140–160 mg/l), and have basic salt composition as compared with the Kolyma River water. Waters of these tributaries are cooler. Despite gradual mixing, they flow along the right bank of the neardelta section of the Kolyma River channel reaching the head of the delta and moving further on. Thus the temperature data of the Cherskiy gauge are not representative. The influence of small inflows on the temperature regime is more complex. Mineralization of river waters increases towards the sea within the delta, but the real sea waters were found only in the lower part of the Chukochia branch. The spatial variability of the suspended sediment runoff is influenced by the dilution of Kolyma River water with waters of Anui and Omolon rivers, decreasing water surface slopes and current velocities downstream, runoff distribution in the delta, and a great amount of sediment material from eroded riverbanks, e.g. near the well-known Duvanny Yar. A new sediment trap, ADCP, turbidimeters and different probes were applied to collect unique data about sediment composition and their distribution within the stream.

The paper presents a detailed reconstruction of vegetation and environmental conditions in the western part of the Putorana Plateau over the past 4,000 years. New paleobotanical data were obtained, as well as the results of the analysis of macroscopic charcoal particles in two cores of bottom sediments from the lakes located in forest and tundra belts of the plateau. Cores chronology is based on detailed AMS radiocarbon dating, and the uppermost layers of cores are dated by ¹³⁷Cs/²¹⁰Pb analysis. According to the data obtained, vegetation pattern in the study area was close to modern one over the past four millennia. However, between 3.1 and 2.5 ka BP (thousands of calendar years ago) an increase of the area of larch, spruce and birch forests and woodlands was recorded in the lower belts of the plateau, apparently in response to the climate warming.

During the same period the number and intensity of fires in the study area also increased. The subsequent cooling led to the gradual degradation of woodlands, almost complete disappearance of spruce from the forest communities, and the expansion of tundra communities. Macroscopic charcoal data for the bottom sediments indicate rather low fire activity since 2.5 ka BP up until recent 200 years. No input of macroscopic charcoal particles to the lakes was recorded for the time interval of 1.1–0.55 ka BP. A sharp increase of concentration of macroscopic charcoal particles in the upper horizons of bottom sediments that have accumulated over the recent 200 years up to the maximum values for the entire studied period reflects a growing fire activity that has no analogues over the past four thousand years.

The results of a hydrological expedition of August 2020 to the Pechora River estuary make it possible to rethink the flow dynamics in the microtidal delta of the largest river in the Western sector of the Russian Arctic. Previously unknown features of cyclic changes in hydraulic parameters of the delta branches caused by tidal fluctuations in the sea level were discovered. The uneven change in water levels along the delta sea border, as the tidal wave moves westward along the shallow inlet of the Korovinskaya Guba Bay, caused the reverse currents and significant changes in the runoff distribution between the Pechora River main channel and principal delta branches. Under the total runoff of 1,9–2,0 thousand m³/s and the tide height of 1,0 m at the cape Bolvansky Nos the reverse currents occurred at the mouth of the Pechora River main channel with maximum flow of 4,76 thousand m³/s at low sea and 4,11 thousand m³/s towards the river at full tide. At the same time, no inflow of brackish water into the river was recorded. The main runoff redistribution in the delta occurs through reverse currents via the Mesino Straight near the Andeg village, where the Tundrovy Shar and Sredny Shar arms branch off the Malaya Pechora River to the left side. During the tidal cycle the flow distribution and current dynamics in this node are extremely complex being the key factor of watering for the western part of the Pechora River delta. Depending on the tidal phase the river flow through the Malaya Pechora branch from the delta apex to the Andeg village exceeds the main navigation way of the Bolshaya Pechora branch by 10– 18%. There was no transit flow in the right-bank Golubkovskiy Shar and Gorodetskiy Shar branches. The tidal level and discharge fluctuations were observed up to the Oksino gauge located 141 km upstream the mouth.

The ecological safety of the population and the natural environment of urbanization territories largely depends on the functioning of water disposal systems. The climatic features of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, namely a steady increase in air temperature with a low degree of precipitation, indicate the prospects of using solar energy to optimize the functioning of drying beds. The main specificity of these structures is a direct dependence of the waste treatment process on the cumulative effect of air temperature and precipitation (climate coefficient CC (μ)). The paper analyzes the regulatory requirements for the CC (μ) ranking for the territories of the Russian Arctic. The dynamics of CC (μ) was studied according to the data of weather stations deposited in the YOD archives Web Aisori-M VNIIGMI-WDC for the periods of action of regulatory documentation, i.e. 1958–1985 and 1986–2012. An increase in the mean annual air temperature between these periods was 0,3 to 2,0 °C. The range of values corresponded to the standard step of the CC (μ) ranking. The dynamics of the average annual precipitation changed significantly, which became a dominant factor, the influence of which changed the CC (μ) value and its territorial zoning in 1958–1985 compared to 1986–2012. Within the single zone of the normative CC (μ) corresponding to 0,7–0,8, the increase in CC (μ) for the territories of Vorkuta, Salekhard, Naryan-Mar and Turukhansk varied from 0,7 to 0,9. An increase up to 1,0 was recorded for the territories of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk located in the western part of the Russian Arctic within the zone of 0,8–0,9 standard CC (μ). The effect caused by decreasing amount of precipitation can be used by community services to increase the input of sludge mixture (higher load and lower operating costs) or to reduce the area of drying beds.