Geoecological conditions of oil and gas fields of the unallocated subsoil fund of the southern industrial zone of the Yamal Peninsula

The paper presents the results of geoecological studies on the territory of the Rostovtsevsky and Nurminskoye deposits. It has been established that during the exploration work in the period from 1985 to 1995, the landscapes of the southern industrial zone of the Yamal Peninsula were subjected to significant anthropogenic impact. Subsequently, self-restoration of natural-territorial complexes in the area of drilling sites practically did not occur. There is a significant landscape-ecological difference from the background territories

STRATIGRAPHY AND GEOARCHAEOLOGY OF THE MULTILAYER SETTLEMENT OF YAMGORT I IN THE SUBARCTIC ZONE OF WESTERN SIBERIA

Objective: The purpose of the study is to reconstruct the natural and anthropogenic processes that took place on the territory of the Yamgort I settlement in the conditions of the North of Western Siberia. Methods and Materials: A study of the stratigraphic structure and geoarchaeology of the multilayer Yamgort I settlement located on the right bank of the Synya River in the northern part of Western Siberia is conducted. Results: It is established that humans lived on the territory of the settlement during the Eneolithic, the Late Bronze Age, and the Early Middle Ages. A consistent description of the geological horizons and cultural layers is given, and the genesis of the deposits composing the settlement is explored. Conclusion: The specificity of the structure comes from the alternation of different-age generations corresponding to the stages of change in natural conditions. Traces of stable soil formation are preserved in the places of formation of cultural layers. The identified soils of the settlement are a rare sample of northern subarctic paleo-urban soils that meet the criteria for inclusion of the object in the Red List of Soils of Russia

Resistance of Dairy Cows During the Use of New Production Fodder

This paper examines the development of a fundamentally new automated hydroponic system for growing green fodder, which creates a solid fodder base capable to satisfy the need of livestock for nutrients throughout the year with low material costs. The new hydroponic green fodder produced according to the developed technology contained the required nutrients that contribute to the digestion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates into easily digestible organic components (amino acids, fatty acids and simple sugars) which are simpler in their structure. Moreover, it completely replaced compound feed, a mineral supplement in the diet of milking cows, and reduced the amount of fodder needed. In dry matter, compared to fodder barley, the content of protein (128.93%) and fat (196.73%) were higher, and biologically active substances were also formed. The new fodder used the nutrients of the diet more efficiently, increased milk production and reduced fodder costs. When hydroponic green fodder from barley was introduced into the diet of cows with 100% replacement of the compound fodder and 50% replacement of grain mass, milk yield in the experimental group exceeded the yield in the control group by 6%. An additional 549.5 kg was obtained from each cow for lactation, and 549.5 × 20 = 10990 kg was obtained from the entire experimental group. The annual income from feeding green fodder was 329710 rubles at the purchase price of milk of 30 rubles / kg (10990 × 30), and the daily efficiency of compound fodder was (80.6 × 20) = 1612 rubles; for the period of lactation it was 491660 rubles. Keywords: technology, new fodder, productivity, milk quality, resistanc

The Development of the Russian Oil and Gas Industry in Terms of Sanctions and Falling Oil Prices

The aim of this paper is to analyze the current state of the oil and gas industry of Russia in the conditions of falling oil prices and sanctions policy as well as the forecast of the further development of the industry and search for the ways out. The research methodology is based on a systematic approach to assessing the state of the oil and gas industry of Russia. It uses a set of scientific and special methods of investigation including the abstract-logical method, balancing method, economics and statistics and comparative analysis, synthesis method and others. The article demonstrates that the sanctions imposed on Russian companies as well as unprecedentedly low oil prices in the short term did not have a major impact on the production stability of the Russian oil and gas sector. The reason is that Russia has a huge resource potential and Russian oil projects are profitable even at low oil prices. However, in the long term, these factors can have a negative impact on the industry, which is due primarily to the shortage of modern equipment and technologies for the implementation of promising projects in the Arctic shelf, as well as on deposits with difficult development conditions. The sanctions policy is not favourable for foreign companies because the long-term interests of our companies coincide with the interests of foreign business partners. The international coordination of efforts for solving many problems is needed, because of decreasing resources and infavourable oil production settings. The article shows that a major investment in the development of modern domestic equipment and technologies are required in the current situation; it is advisable to develop the residual reserves and reserves difficult to recover in the aged areas along with the implementation of large-scale projects for the production of hydrocarbons in new areas. Keywords: Russian oil and gas industry, energy market, sanctions, fall in oil prices, partnership, world energy JEL Classifications: Q32, Q40, Q4

Chemical pollution in Arctic cities: public health risk assessment and solutions

The research presents characteristics of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic inhalation and aquatic chemical risk caused by chemical pollutants of atmospheric air and drinking water exposure to the health of the population of the Arctic city of Salekhard. It has been established that carcinogenic risks with inhalation exposure to chromium, soot and formaldehyde as well as with oral exposure to cadmium, beryllium, lead and hexavalent chromium correspond to the upper limit of the acceptable risk and are subject to constant monitoring. The risk of oral exposure to arsenic needs to be minimized through the development and implementation of additional health measures. The calculated indices of non-carcinogenic risk for inhalation and oral exposure, not exceeding 1.0, that shows a low probability of adverse effects from critical organs / systems

Agrochemical and Pollution Status of Urbanized Agricultural Soils in the Central Part of Yamal Region

This research looked at the state of soils faced with urbanization processes in the Arctic region of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District (YANAO). Soils recently used in agriculture, which are now included in the infrastructure of the cities of Salekhard, Labytnangi, Kharsaim, and Aksarka in the form of various parks and public gardens were studied. Morphological, physico-chemical, and agrochemical studies of selected soils were conducted. Significant differences in fertility parameters between urbanized abandoned agricultural soils and mature soils of the region were revealed. The quality of soil resources was also evaluated in terms of their ecotoxicology condition, namely, the concentrations of trace metals in soils were determined and their current

Decentralized Control of a Group of Homogeneous Vehicles in Obstructed Environment

The presented solution is a decentralized control system with a minimal informational interaction between the objects in the group. During control and path planning the obstacles are transformed into repellers by the synthesized controls. The main feature distinguishing the developed approach from the potential fields method is that the vehicle moves in the fields of forces depending not only on the mutual positions of a robot and an obstacle but also on the additional variables allowing solving the problem of robot’s path planning using a distributed control system (Pshikhopov and Ali, 2011). Unlike the work by Pshikhopov and Ali, 2011, here an additional dynamic variable is used to introduce stable and unstable states depending on the state variables of the robot and the neighboring objects. The local control system of each vehicle uses only the values of its own speeds and coordinates and those of the neighboring objects. There is no centralized control algorithm. In the local control algorithms the obstacles are represented as vehicles being a part of the group which allows us to unify the control systems for heterogeneous groups. An analysis was performed that proves existence and asymptotic stability of the steady state motion modes. The preformed simulation confirms the synthesis and analysis results

Economic Problems of Exploring Hydrocarbons in Russian Northern Provinces in the Context of International Interests

The goal of the article is to analyze the present state and perspectives of exploring gas and oil resources of the Russian North in the context of economic interests of a number of foreign countries, to reveal both common things in interests of the both parties, and inconsistencies that must be aligned. The methodology of the research is based on the system approach to estimating the state of gas and oil resources of the Russian North and comprehensive analysis of aligning economic interests of Russia and a number of foreign countries. A complex of general scientific and special methods of research was used, including abstract-logical, balance, statistical analysis and others. The article shows that the Russian North is extremely rich in gas and oil resources that are both currently exploited and promising for reclaiming especially on the shelf of Arctic seas. It analyzes reasons of the decrease in the gas and oil production in the country that has occurred over recent years. It is caused by the fall of the demand for hydrocarbons in the world, sectoral sanctions, and the decrease in the production of the mineral resources base. Gas and oil resources of Russia fall within the interests of a number of foreign countries, mainly West European countries for which stable provision of the economy with raw hydrocarbons becomes one of the most important strategic tasks. Long-term economic interests of Russia coincide with the interests of the European Union, however, not fully. The authors come to the conclusion that in case of supplying hydrocarbons economic interests of Russia and European Union countries must be aligned not only in terms of searching for mutually profitable forms of cooperation but also solving basic inconsistencies that lie in the basis of opinions discrepancies. Keywords: gas and oil resources, the Russian North, Arctic shelf, Western European countries, Asia-Pacific countries, alignment of interests. JEL Classifications:, D74, F00, L71, Q32, Q3

Graphene-based photonic crystal

A novel type of photonic crystal formed by embedding a periodic array of constituent stacks of alternating graphene and dielectric discs into a background dielectric medium is proposed. The photonic band structure and transmittance of such photonic crystal are calculated. The graphene-based photonic crystals can be used effectively as the frequency filters and waveguides for the far infrared region of electromagnetic spectrum. Due to substantial suppression of absorption of low-frequency radiation in doped graphene the damping and skin effect in the photonic crystal are also suppressed. The advantages of the graphene-based photonic crystal are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure