Rethinking Sustainability Monitoring in the Arctic by Linking Resilience and Sustainable Development in Socially-Oriented Observations: A Perspective

Monitoring of social-ecological systems dynamics and sustainability is of high importance in a rapidly changing Arctic. The goal of this essay is to discuss and articulate the principles for designing a suitable Arctic sustainability monitoring framework based on the convergence between resilience thinking and sustainable development paradigms. We propose to integrate sustainability monitoring into the socially-oriented observations (SOO) methodologies in order to design Arctic sus-tainability monitoring as a transdisciplinary participatory activity that results in both co-production of sustainability knowledge and building more sustainable and resilient Arctic social-ecological systems by enabling continuous observation and informed decision-making. Special attention is given to approaches for developing sustainability indicators to monitor trends in Arctic social-ecological systems. It is argued that sustainability monitoring is a valuable component of the Arctic sustain-ability knowledge system that integrates social and natural sciences and engages Indigenous, local, and traditional knowledge, entrepreneurship, education, and decision-making. Bringing together diverse knowledge systems is the primary route to collectively pursue sustainability in a holistic, polycentric, multifaceted, participatory, and knowledge-driven manner. Transdisciplinary SOO approaches and methods are specifically discussed

Multiwave matrix polarization lidar

Remote control of the state of the atmosphere is an urgent problem nowadays. The problem of remote monitoring of the optical parameters of the atmosphere is solved using a matrix polarization lidar (MPL). The scattering matrix obtained from polarization measurements contains complete information on the scattering parameters in the atmosphere. The purpose of the present research is the derivation of the theory and description of methods for solving problems of practical implementation of the multiwave MPL (MMPL). The problem is considered within the framework of the concept of the unified methodological approach to polarization studies. The MMPL operation principle is based on simultaneous use for sensing of the first, second, and third harmonics of radiation of a widespread Nd:YAG laser. The basis for achieving this purpose is provided by new methods of optical selection of the polarization components of radiation received in the experiment, methods of conducting polarization studies, and new solutions in experimental data processing methods. It has been shown that this challenge can be solved within the framework of simple solutions. Thus, the proposed MMPL is structurally simple and compact and can be implemented in mobile polarization lidar systems

THE METHOD OF DEVELOPING AN INTELLIGENT AUTOMATED SUBSYSTEM FOR ASSESSING THE LEVEL OF COMPETENCE FORMATION

In the article the question of an estimation of reliability of level of formation of the competences on the basis of indistinct production cognitive maps is considered. The paper considers the issue of assessing the reliability of competence level based on fuzzy production cognitive maps. The automation of the process of assessing students’ competence level remains one of the urgent tasks in the field of informatization of education. However, the organization process of measuring and assessing the competence level, which demands the usage of information technologies, is currently not fully determined. This is due, inter alia, to the lack of recommendations for expanding the functionality of the existing informational systems used in higher education institutions for monitoring their educational process in the context of changes in the functioning environment. To monitor the forming of competencies, it is important to develop a subsystem for assessing the competence level as a part of the information system of educational organization. In modeling the process of assessing the level of development of students' competencies, weakly structured non-formalized information is used, therefore, it is advisable to use cognitive technologies when building models. The analysis of existing methods for formalizing knowledge and experience of experts allowed to determine that when developing a subsystem for assessing the level of competence formation, it is advisable to combine (hybridization) technologies that use, depending on the type of tasks, the positive properties of production, fuzzy and neural network models that complement the methods of classical expert assessment. However, the insufficiency of the methodological substantiation of the development of models and algorithms of the subsystem for assessing the level of competence development significantly reduces the reliability of the estimates obtained. The report proposes a methodology for developing a subsystem for assessing the level of competence formation, which allows creating information-mathematical support for such subsystems based on competence models, algorithms for their structural and parametric identification, and databases that help to assess the competence level. This method describes a system of competence level assessment based on reliability criterion. Thus, the proposed methodology for developing a cognitive subsystem improves the accuracy of assesing the level of competence development based on the creation of its information and mathematical software using fuzzy production cognitive competence models, neuro-fuzzy algorithms and the fuzzy Mamdani fuzzy inference rule base for their structural and parametric identification. At the end of the work, it is also proposed to consider a number of sources devoted to the formation of students' competences in subject areas [4-34], which will be considered in the further works of the authors

Under-ice convection dynamics in a boreal lake

We investigated radiatively driven under-ice convection in Lake Onego (Russia) during 3 consecutive late winters. In ice-covered lakes, where the temperature of water is below the temperature of maximum density, radiatively driven heating in the upper water column induces unstable density distributions leading to gravitational convection. In this work, we quantified the key parameters to characterise the radiatively driven under-ice convection: (1) the effective buoyancy flux, B∗ (driver), and its vertical distribution; (2) the convective mixed-layer thickness, hCML (depth scale); and (3) the convective velocity,w∗(kinematic scale). We compared analytical w∗ scaling estimates to in situ observations from high-resolution acoustic Doppler current profilers. The results show a robust correlation between w∗and the direct observations, except during the onset and decay of the solar radiation. Our results highlight the importance of accurately defining the upper limit of hCML in highly turbid water and the need for spectrally resolving solar radiation measurements and their attenuation for accurate B∗ estimates. Uncertainties in the different parameters were also investigated. We finally examined the implications of under-ice convection for the growth rate of nonmotile phytoplankton and provide a simple heuristic model as a function of easily measurable parameters

Pilot studies of the unique highland palsa mire in Western Sayan (Tuva Republic, Russian Federation)

In contrast to the well-studied West Siberian sector of frozen bogs in the Russian Arctic, the frozen mound bogs (so-called “palsas”) on the highlands of Southern Siberia have not yet been studied, but they are suspected to be even more sensitive to ongoing climate change. This article provides the pilot study on palsa mire Kara-Sug in the highland areas of Western Sayan mountain system, Tuva Republic. The study focuses on the current state of palsa mire and surrounding landscapes, providing wide range of ecological characteristics while describing ongoing transformations of natural landscapes under a changing climate. The study used a variety of field and laboratory methods: the integrated landscape-ecological approach, the study of peat deposits, geobotanical analysis, and modern analysis of the chemical composition of water, peat, and soils. The study shows that highland palsa mires are distinguished by their compactness and high variety of cryogenic landforms leading to high floristic and ecosystem diversity compared with lowland palsa mires. This information brings new insights and contributes to a better understanding of extrazonal highland palsa mires, which remain a “white spot” in the global environmental sciences

Analysis of work and efficiency increase of of the ILUR-03 installation magnetron system for tubular specimens outer surface modification

The method of material near-surface layers doping by mixing of alloying elements films with ion beam is widely used in science and technology. Three magnetrons with independent power systems, integrated in installation for ion-beam treatment of long-range products ILUR-03, were used as deposition systems. Targets for magnetrons were in the form of disks 60 mm diameter and 5 mm thickness and consisted of the following elements: Al, Fe, Mo, Zr, Cr of purity better than 99.99 at.%. Deposition was performed in argon atmosphere at 1-5 Pa pressure and room temperature in stable current mode at 30-100 mA. Analysis of the obtained films on the surface of cylindrical specimens from zirconium alloys with the outer diameter of 9.15 mm showed high uniformity of coating on length of 300 mm, good adhesion and absence of discontinuities in the films body

Chiral photonic super-crystals based on helical van der Waals homostructures

Chirality is probably the most mysterious among all symmetry transformations. Very readily broken in biological systems, it is practically absent in naturally occurring inorganic materials and is very challenging to create artificially. Chiral optical wavefronts are often used for the identification, control and discrimination of left- and right-handed biological and other molecules. Thus, it is crucially important to create materials capable of chiral interaction with light, which would allow one to assign arbitrary chiral properties to a light field. In this paper, we utilized van der Waals technology to assemble helical homostructures with chiral properties (e. g. circular dichroism). Because of the large range of van der Waals materials available such helical homostructures can be assigned with very flexible optical properties. We demonstrate our approach by creating helical homostructures based on multilayer As$_2$S$_3$, which offers the most pronounced chiral properties even in thin structures due to its strong biaxial optically anisotropy. Our work showcases that the chirality of an electromagnetic system may emerge at an intermediate level between the molecular and the mesoscopic one due to the tailored arrangement of non-chiral layers of van der Waals crystals and without additional patterning

Особенности естественного возобновления в сосново-липовых и лиственнично-липовых насаждениях города Москвы

Problems of natural renewal of tree species (pine-linden and larch-linden stands) were studied in the territory of Forest experimental station, Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. Natural regeneration of tree species is one of the most urgent problems of forestry and forest park management in urban areas. Reforestation refers to complex natural processes that affect all components of biogeocenoses. The purpose of the research was to study natural regeneration in mixed stands in Moscow. Methods and results of field surveys of forest stands in permanent trial plots were described. The forest stands of permanent trial plots are mature and overmature, therefore at present there is a loss of large-sized pine and larch trees. Due to greater durability, larch falls off more slowly compared to pine. Further growth of pine-linden and larch-linden plantations depends on quantity and quality of undergrowth, its viability and growing conditions. In Forest experimental station, natural renewal prevails, represented mainly by the following species: maple and linden. Saplings of pine, larch, oak, and birch appear on some permanent test plots, but soon die due to unfavorable conditions. Oak undergrowth is also unreliable due to powdery mildew infection. The greatest loss of growth occurs in unfavorable growing conditions due to increased recreational loads.Рассмотрены проблемы естественного возобновления древесных пород на примере сосново-­липовых и лиственнично-­липовых насаждений Лесной опытной дачи Тимирязевской сельскохозяйственной академии. Естественное возобновление древесных пород — одна из актуальнейших проблем ведения лесного и лесопаркового хозяйства на урбанизированных территориях. Лесовосстановление относится к сложным природным процессам, оказывающим влияние на все компоненты биогеоценозов. Цель исследования — изучение естественного возобновления в смешанных насаждениях в условиях Москвы. Описаны методы и результаты полевых обследований лесных насаждений постоянных пробных площадей. Древостои постоянных пробных площадей относятся к спелым и перестойным, поэтому в настоящее время наблюдается отпад крупномерных деревьев сосны и лиственницы. Ввиду большей долговечности лиственница отпадает медленнее по сравнению с сосной. Дальнейшая динамика сосново-­липовых и лиственнично-­липовых насаждений зависит от количества и качества подроста, а также показателей его жизнеспособности и условий произрастания. В Лесной опытной даче преобладает естественное возобновление, представленное, главным образом, следующими породами: кленом и липой. Всходы сосны, лиственницы, дуба, березы появляются на некоторых постоянных пробных площадях, но вскоре погибают из-за неблагоприятных условий. Подрост дуба также является неблагонадежным из-за поражения мучнистой росой. Наибольшие потери прироста подроста по высоте происходят в неблагоприятных условиях произрастания, в результате утраты жизнеспособности из-за повышенных рекреационных нагрузок