The long-term dynamics of the Northern Dvina delta was studied with the comparison of space images of 1977 and 2020. A map of delta dynamics, compiled by them, shows that the islands at the delta coastline keep increasing and join to the delta, channel islands in the main branches are increasing, and small watercourses in delta islands become narrower and disappear. However, this long-term tendency of the continuing increase in delta area is now accompanied by the processes of shore erosion in islands at delta coastline from the side of the Dvina Bay.

The Samotlor oil and gas field in Western Siberia, one of the largest in the world in terms of oil reserves, has been developed since 1969. Natural forest and marsh landscapes are experiencing the strongest anthropogenic pressure due to the creation of a dense network of cluster drilling sites, roads connecting them with pipelines, enterprises for primary oil refining, lines of communication. Oil production and transportation activities during the development of the Samotlor field are accompanied by pollution of the territory and degradation of vegetation, and a reduction in forest areas. To identify the dynamics of natural forest-bog landscapes, which manifests itself in a change in the ratio of forest and swamp areas, we used a comparison of a survey topographic map at a scale of 1:200 000 in 1980, showing the distribution of forests, as well as passable and impenetrable swamps, with modern high-resolution satellite images, according to which deciphered the boundaries of forests and various types of swamps-raised ridge-hollow, ridge-lake-hollow and lowland. Comparison of materials from different times was carried out on a 7.5×13.5 km site southeast of Lake Samotlor. A comparison of maps compiled in 1980 and 2019 shows that the area of forests here has almost tripled; Herbaceous-shrub communities with small islands of residual forests formed on the site of reduced forest tracts. Among the swamps, a reduction in the areas of lowland fen was revealed, their localization along the shores of lakes, with the expansion of the areas of raised bogs. In place of the impenetrable swamps of 1980, ridge-lake-hollow complexes of raised bogs were formed, with wide distribution of ridge-hollow. It has been shown that, along with the negative processes of anthropogenic deforestation, ecosystem pollution and vegetation degradation, during the development of the deposit there is an increase in the drainage of the territory, accompanied by a local increase in greenery, which is additionally promoted by the tendency to climate warming.

The dynamics of Lena delta coastline since the late XX century up to the present time have been studied using Landsat satellite data. The comparison of different-time images of morphologically different segments of the delta coastline has shown the major portion of the delta to be stable. Minimal changes have been recorded near the mouths of the branches carrying a minor portion of the Lena runoff-the Olenekskaya and Tumatskie. In the eastern part of the delta, near the mouths of copious branches Trofimovskaya and Bykovskaya, no changes have taken place, as well as in its western part, which is represented by a part of abrasion marine terrace embraced by the delta. In the southwestern part, in the Olenek delta, the delta coastline has been eroded with the erosion material transported eastward by along-shore current. Near the mouths of the Tumatskaya branch, the forms of marine accumulation are unstable, and the marine terrace in the northeastern part of the delta shows a minor local erosion. The periods of erosion in different delta areas are not synchronous and the eroded zones are not large in size. No increment in the land, nor shore progradation have been seen.

The article suggests a method of mapping the natural and anthropogenic landscapes of river deltas based on satellite imagery in the publicly accessible information system Google Earth. In this system, images from the Landsat satellite help to identify a common landscape contour network. The contours are interpreted using super-high resolution images QuickBird and GeoEye, which are included in the system. Using detailed information for overview mapping with a hundred-times difference between the scales of interpretation and the drawn maps poses certain difficulties. The article considers different variants of the given method on the example of mapping the deltas of the Niger, Indus, Irrawaddy, Zambezi and the Huanghe River.

Using satellite images from the KeyHole 1977 and Sentinel-2B 2020 satellites, the dynamics of the tidal delta of the Northern Dvina River was investigated. When choosing images, it is necessary to take into account seasonal and tidal fluctuations in the water level; images for the dry season with a close tide phase at the moments of shooting in different years were selected. The first compiled map of delta dynamics for the period 1977–2020 shows that the growth of delta, noted by researchers earlier, continues – the attachment of islands along the sea edge to it, the accumulation of sediments and an increase in the area of channel islands in the main river-branches, narrowing and disappearance of small streams on the delta islands. But to the long-term tendency of delta growth, the processes of erosion of the coast on the islands of the sea edge are added from the side of the Dvina Bay.

This study focuses on the transformation of vegetation, degraded over vast areas due to industrial air pollution from the Norilsk metallurgical combine. To assess the current state of ecosystems, we employed a vegetation map that was compiled using median composites of summer imagery 2015–2021 from the Sentinel 2B satellite. The field data collected by a team of geographers from Moscow State University in 2021 was also considered. The analysis of the transformation of vegetation during the operation of the mining and smelting plant is based on a comparison of the vegetation map with the materials of field studies of the same team in 1997 and the vegetation classification based on Landsat images from 1995, taking into account earlier materials such as topographic maps of 1960 and 1977, and forest pathological surveys of the 1980s. For comparison with less detailed materials of previous years, the 2015–2021 map was transformed: similar mosaics of contours were identified on it. This provided the basis for identifying areas with a similar character of vegetation disturbance caused by industrial air pollution. Such areas were then combined into exposure profiles, which allowed us to analyze the transformation of vegetation at different distances and directions from the plant—in accordance with the prevalent winds. The successive replacement of dead forests by shrub and dwarf shrub tundra, degraded dwarf shrub tundra, and technogenic grassy and stony wastelands, as recorded by the 2015–2021 map, was revealed. The substitution series manifest themselves differently in various directions from the combine. Grassy and stony wastelands on sites of dead forests are common within a range from 3 km to the northeast to 10–15 km to the northwest and west and up to 25 km to the southeast of Norilsk. The development of vegetation observed during modern climate warming varies in different replacement zones of dead forests.

The results of detailed mapping of the landscape-morphological structure of the Anapa bay-bar based on interpretation of the aerial and satellite images and the field studies performed for the first time in 2012‒2019 are presented. The history of forming the Anapa bay-bar geosystem and its constituent elements, including the Vityazevskaya bay-bar, is analyzed at a new level. It has been found that the landscape-morphological structure of the Anapa bay-bar was formed under the influence of multiple fluctuations of the Black Sea level and the volumes of solid runoff of the Kuban River. Variability of external conditions is shown to determine a significant difference in the structure of individual segments of the bay-bar. One characteristic feature of the Vityazevskaya bay-bar is the presence of relict dune ridges. The analysis of the landscape-morphological structure, supplemented by the hydro-lithodynamic regime data, showed that the Vityazevskaya bay-bar is distinguished by the greatest width and development of all four longitudinal zones, which are characteristic for the Anapa bay-bar: beach, dune belt, hillocky sands, and the lowland around the estuary. The structure and location of the landforms reflects the formation stages of the accumulative body under study upon the change in the configuration of the adjacent shores under the influence of abrasion and other processes. The Vityazevskaya bay-bar, which is located in the most hydro-dynamically active zone, is subjected to periodic effects of extreme waves. During this period, hydrogenous reshaping of the beach topography occurs and the dune zone undergoes significant transformation. Later, eolian transformation of the coastal topography is observed again, and vegetation develops. The high topographic variability and periodic flooding-drainage of the part of the territory facilitate the formation of a significant variety of dune and aquatic landscapes, which determine the high natural value of the Vityazevskaya bay-bar.

With the warming of the climate and the resumption of the Northern Sea Route, studies of the dynamics of the northern deltas, that close the exit to the ocean, have intensified. The best way to detect changes is to compare images, obtained at the end of the last century from the Landsat/ETM satellite (resolution R = 30 m) and modern Sentinel-2/MSI images (R = 10 m). To identify the effect of differences in the resolution of the compared images on the accuracy of determining changes in the coastline, a graphical simulation of reproducing changes (areas of coastal erosion or sediment accumulation) at the pixel level was performed. Reproduction of changes had been simulated for coastlines, that coincide in the direction of the pixel grid lines and deviate from them at angles of 15°, 30°, 45°, when the coastline is shifted from 10 to 40 m. It has been revealed that it is possible to determine the displacement of the coastline starting from the value of 20 m from multitemporal images with a resolution of 30 and 10 m. For coastlines directed along the pixel grid lines, it is possible to downplay (or exaggerate) the washout (or accumulation) band by 1/2 RL + 1/2 LS = 20 m. Coastlines that are tilted to the pixel grid may show false changes, especially if the shoreline position is unchanged or the offset is small (10 m). The kind of the distortion strongly depends on the position of the real coastline within the large Landsat pixels. The greatest distortions are characteristic of coastlines that occupy a peripheral position in the cells of the pixel grid. The simulation results should be used when preparing palettes to determine changes from combined multi-temporal images.

В связи с усилением внимания к Северному морскому пути предпринята попытка картографирования по космическим снимкам распределения отмелей в дельте Енисея. Для исследования современного состояния отмелей используются снимки 2017–2019 гг. со спутника Sentinel-2. На Танамо-Мунгуйское расширение дельты составлена карта, на которой показаны песчаные и песчано-илистые прирусловые отмели, выделены отмели эстуарного залива, стрежневые зоны русел. Дополнительно отражены формы рельефа дна — участки грядового рельефа на песчаных отмелях, подводные продолжения русел и стрежневых зон потоков в эстуарии, показано распространение водной растительности. Сравнение составленной карты с топографическими и лоцманскими картами прежних лет позволяет судить о частичном размыве отмелей у оголовков крупных островов Лопатина и Судного.

Based on images from the Sentinel-2 satellite taken in 2017–2019, a map of shallows in the Yenisei delta was compiled. This paper highlighted the methodological problems that arise at using satellite images for research and mapping of underwater relief; the ways of their solution are offered. Consideration of the depth of penetration of sunlight into the water and analysis of the spectral brightness of underwater objects allow for the determination of the spectrum zone (red zone) optimal for interpreting sandy riverbanks and options for color synthesis. At a limited choice of cloudless images in the Arctic to have images obtained during the minimum water level, not only the imaging season (low-water period) but also interannual runoff fluctuations are taken into account. The water turbidity limits the possibility to interpret the underwater relief. Images obtained with minimal turbidity are selected, and in the case of spreading of turbid waters, multi-temporal images are compared to separate the image of volatile turbid waters from more stable bottom objects; color synthesis is applied at different times. The identification of sandbanks, ridged forms of relief, and the contours of underwater channels are performed by direct interpreting by the variations in the brightness of the image in the red zone. To identify sandy-silty and silty shallows, indicative interpreting based on the distribution of aquatic vegetation on silty deposits is used. The identification of sandbanks, ridged relief forms on them, and the contours of underwater channels are performed by direct interpreting by the variations in the brightness of the image in the red zone. To identify sandy-silty and silty shallows, indicative interpretation of the distribution of aquatic vegetation on silty deposits is used. To highlight the fuzzy boundaries between the shallows and core zones of streams, the brightness quantization of images is applied. Comparison of the Yenisei River delta shallows map compiled from modern photographs with topographic and pilot maps of the 1970–1980th shows a reduction in the area of shallows adjacent to the tips of large islands in the eastern part of the delta. This is in accordance with earlier revealed activation of the erosion of the banks of the branches of the Yenisei delta in the XXI century.

The Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant for the production of nickel, platinum and palladium is the main pollutant in the Arctic. The nature and degree of its impact on natural ecosystems over a long, since 1935, history of its work, varied along with changes in production volumes under different forms of ownership, and the response of ecosystems developed against the background of climate warming. Based on a review of studies carried out in the region, periods with different ratios of technogenic and natural factors in the dynamics of ecosystems are distinguished, which also differ in the methods of their study. In the second half of the 20th century, in the 1970s–1990s, an increase in sulfur dioxide emissions into the atmosphere led to the drying up of larch forests at a distance of up to 120 km southeast of the plant, recorded by aerial photography and forest pathological studies, as well as by a map of the ecosystems state, compiled by Landsat imagery and MSU field research. At the end of the 20th century, after the collapse of the USSR, an interruption in the operation of the plant, which passed from state to private ownership, led to a decrease in production rates and emissions into the atmosphere. This was combined with climate warming, which intensified in the Arctic regions. Complex expeditionary work of Siberian scientists in the first decades of the XXI century, including geochemical and dendrochronological studies, fixed the boundaries of zones of varying degrees of disturbance of ecosystems, but at the same time showed that along with the continuing degradation of vegetation, partial restoration of ecosystems is taking place. At the end of the second decade of the XXI century, Russian and American scientists, based on the processing of large volumes of remote sensing data, based on a multi-temporal analysis of vegetation indices, discovered the “greening” of low habitats in the Norilsk region as a result of secondary succession with a complex interaction of technogenic and natural, primarily climatic, factors.

Anapa bay-bar is largest sand accumulative coastal form of the Caucasus Black Sea coast. Bay-bar of the Solenoye Lake is the northern part of the geosystem of Anapa bay-bar. Research opportunities of the relief and the landscape-morphological structure of the bay- bar transformation using remote data are shown in this paper. Simultaneous satellite images from open sources were the basis for analyzing of the dynamics of the sea and lagoon shores of the bay-bar. In addition airborne laser scanning and digital aerial photography of the Solenoye Lake bay- bar have performed in 2013 and 2015. Further, aerial laser scanning data and aerial photography were used to create high-precision digital elevation models (DEMs) and orthophotoplans of bay-bar and adjacent coastal sections. The analysis of digital elevation models made it possible to obtain linear and volumetric morphometric characteristics of this accumulative form. Relief and plan cover changes of the bay-bar, recorded using differential DEM or found in photographs, have both anthropogenic and natural genesis. Relief changes caused by hydrogenic processes are concentrated within the beach and erosion cuts. It has been established that beach topography restructuring occurs in almost every severe storm. The alternation of areas with increasing and lowering surface and fluctuations of the beach width due to coastline migration is characteristic. Most of the changes of the relief and vegetation in the central part and on the lagoon coast of the bay-bar are caused by anthropogenic impact. Leveling surfer of bay-bar for buildings, tents, parking and the dike creation to protect territory are marked. In the future, the destruction of dikes under storm influence and the dune restoration under influence of eolian processes are observed.

Performing the function of information visualization, satellite images together with legends of landscape type maps, types of anthropogenic load under different economic use of the territory in various natural zones, maps of soil cover structures, seasonal production processes, create a visual image of the Earth’s night lights. The ecological functions of the images are manifested with showing the sources and distribution of pollution in different natural environments, i. e. smoke pollution of air, pollution of snow cover around cities, contamination of river and lake waters. The pictures illustrate the impact on the natural environment under extraction of minerals, oil production, mining coal, mineral raw materials, gold and diamonds. Particular attention is paid to industrial pollution of cities under the influence of ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, chemical industry and energy. In addition to these negative examples, the opportunities of using satellite imagery to monitor the effectiveness of environmental protective measures to reduce water pollution and the reclamation of quarries are shown.

With the help of field and remote (space) methods, detailed studies of long-term changes of the Danube delta coastline (DCL) were carried out. It was established that the DCL displacements (progradation or retreat) can be an effective indicator of delta formation process as a whole: the dynamics of the delta channel network and the redistribution of water flow and sediment load between the branches, the impact of external factors on the delta (river water flow and sediment load, wind and wave action, rise or drop of the sea level). To determine the causes and characteristics of the Danube DCL changes on seven genetically homogeneous areas the contribution of various factors to the balance of sand sediments forming the DCL was evaluated. Locations of the DCL progradation or retreat were determined. Comparison of the results of a study of the Danube DCL dynamics with the data on changes of morphology and regime of other large deltas may allow one to assess the causes and trends of modern processes in river deltas.

The increasing interest in the Arctic promotes appearance of new cartographic products to provide information for the primary tasks of this region development. So, several atlases of the Arctic have been already published. At the initiative and with the financial support from the oil and gas industry, a new Atlas «Russian Arctic» is being prepared for publication, in which considerable attention is given to the environmental aspects of the development of the North with account for conditions of changing climate. Unlike previous atlases, this Atlas contains thematic sets of satellite images reflecting changes in the natural environment, in particular, different types of natural ice under conditions of warming. The space part of the Atlas developed by the authors of this article covers a number of subjects. Thus, the decrease in the area of sea ice is illustrated by the materials of shooting from the space of the Northern polar cap for the period of the largest reduction in the area. Images made in different time fix retreating of the shores, composed of underground ice, being the result of the processes of thermal abrasion, thermal erosion and thermal denudation. Complicated ice conditions of navigation in the Ob Bay and characteristics of the Arctic rivers mouths are presented by pictures of tidal estuaries of the rivers Mezen and Kuloi. Images of ice jams at the mouth of the Northern Dvina River and materials of space monitoring of measures for liquidation of them are also given in the Atlas. Special attention is given to forms of permafrost relief, which are well displayed in high-resolution images. They show a polygonal micro-relief of different types and stages of development of them, as well as frost mounds, dales, and thermo-erosion forms. Formation of aufeises (naleds), thermokarst lakes, and craters of gas outbursts is also shown. The wildlife of the Arctic is represented in the Atlas as well. The pictures present a visual image of different types of tundra. The influence of warming on vegetation development is well reflected in the photo map of the dynamics of the vegetation index for 2000-2009, showing the growth of phytomass in the European North. The Atlas contains unique materials of satellite monitoring of Arctic mammals - walruses and seals. The impact of using mineral resources on the vulnerable nature of the Arctic is shown in the Khibiny region. Prominent examples of the vegetation degradation in the areas of Norilsk and Monchegorsk cities are given, where technogenic wastelands have been formed under the sulfuric acid fumes of the copper-nickel plants.

Ground (expedition) and remote (space-based) methods have been used to carry out detail studies of variations of Danube delta coastline (DC). The displacements of the DC (the progradation or retreat) have been shown to be an effective indicator of the process of delta formation as a whole: the dynamics of the channel network and the redistribution of water and sediment flow between branches, as well as the effect on the delta of external factors (river water and sediment runoff, wind, sea waves, and sea level rise and drop). The contributions of different factors to sand sediment balance have been assessed in seven genetically homogeneous areas to find the causes and features of variations of Danube DC. The areas of DC progradation and retreat have been identified. The comparison of the results of studying the dynamics of Danube DC with the data on changes in the structure and regime of other large deltas can be used to reveal the causes and trends in the modern processes in river deltas.

В.И.Кравцова 1 , А.Н.Инюшин 2 ПРИРОДНОЕ РАЙОНИРОВАНИЕ ДЕЛЬТЫ ЛЕНЫ ДЛЯ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ ДИНАМИКИ ЕЁ МОРСКОГО КРАЯ АННОТАЦИЯИстория формирования дельты Лены в позднем голоцене хорошо изучена палеогеографическими методами.Попытки исследования динамики современной дельты по разновременным топографическим картам и аэрофотоснимкам за период 1950-1991 годов показали отсутствие изменений.В настоящей работе выполнено исследование динамики морского края дельты за временной интервал с конца ХХ века по настоящее время по космическим снимкам, главным образом, со спутника Landsat.При большой протяжённости морского края дельты более чем на 1 500 км и её сложном строении характер берегов неодинаков и динамические процессы на разных участках могут быть различными.Учитывая это, для исследования динамики морского края мы выполнили природное районирование дельты на основе топографических и геоморфологических карт и космических снимков, принимая во внимание морфологию речных рукавов дельты, их ширину и густоту сети, характер их устьев, рельеф поверхности дельты, растительный покров и ландшафты в целом.На основе этого районирования морской край дельты был разделен на 7 участков и изменения исследовались для каждого из них.Из-за сложных погодных условий, необходимости в безоблачных снимках на конец лета, временной период исследования для отдельных участков был не одинаков.В результате анализа разновременных снимков на 97 % протяженности морского края дельты изменения не были обнаружены, но для 3 % выявлены изменения и составлены карты динамики.В западной части дельты Лены в устье Оленёкского рукава, где ранее сформировалась небольшая локальная дельта выдвижения, в 1980-2003 годах происходил размыв морского края и отступание берега со скоростью 20-30 м/год.Мелководья вокруг этой дельты также размывались и материал размыва переносился вдольбереговым течением.В северной части дельты, вблизи устьев Туматских проток обнаружено неустойчивое положение береговой линии с чередованием её выдвижения и отступания, а в северо-восточной части дельты на небольшом прямолинейном участке берега зафиксирован его размыв со среднегодовым отступанием в

Vityazevskaya Bay-Bar is a part of Anapa Bay Bar – large accumulative form of coastal relief on the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea. This part is located at a distance from the settlements, still less susceptible to human exposure and is an important resource for further recreational development. Detailed mapping of this region was performed basing on the interpretation of digital aerial photography with a resolution of 10 cm at a scale of 1:2 000 for dune belt zone, as well as using SPOT-6 satellite images with a resolution of 8 m at a scale of 1:5 000 for a wide area of around lagoon lowland. The compiled landscape-morphological map shows the specific features of this region. On wide beaches of Vityazevskaya Bay-Bar a belt of beach dunes were formed, but behind the beach zone the dune belt is not developed, replaced by gentle dune slopes. Together with hilly sands, they separate the beach from an extensive around lagoon lowland, in which downstream depressions, with sedge-reed thickets, sometimes filled with sea water, are combined with sandy rises, covered with grassy and tree-shrub vegetation, alternating at higher sites wind-waving sands. Several troughs crossing hilly sands contribute to the penetration of storm seawaters to lowland and dumping them back into the beach zone, where excessive moisture areas, mastered by vegetation, are forming. Thus, the combination of aquatic and dune landscapes is a distinctive feature of the Vityazevskaya Bay-Bar, which must be taken into account for its recreational development.

Analysis of dune terrain change at Anapa bay bar was carried out using repeated laser air scanning data collected in 2013 and 2015. Comparison of created difference DEM with detail landscape-morphological maps, compiled by digital air photos and satellite images, revealed various types of dune terrain dynamics and their distribution on the bay bar. Unused parts of bay bar, characterized by natural dynamics of dune terrain (wave erosion and blowing out at windward slopes and accumulation of sand plumes at leeward), occupied 46 % of the area. 10 % of the territory in areas of new construction are characterized by anthropogenic transformation (leveling surface with landforms destruction and filling up of marsh areas and lake basin). Areas, used for recreation, occupy 44 % of the bay bar and characterized by strong increase of destructive Aeolian processes – erosion at windward slopes and sand accumulation at leeward, – with dunes moving. Another effect of the anthropogenic impact – development of new forms of destruction (corridors of wind blowing out and waves moving, Aeolian and hydrogenic cones), which are common for seasonal-used areas with developed of extreme kinds of sports.