Abstract: The subject of this article is the pollen spectra of the samples from the surface of Romantic's Glacier, located in the Polar Urals in the Rai-Iz mountain range, as well as generalization of the results of published studies dedicated to glaciers of the Urals. The author also examines the pollen spectra of massive ice, which can be attributed to ice of atmospheric origin on the basis of similarity with the pollen spectra obtained from the surface of the glacier. The article reviews climatic peculiarities of the Polar Urals due to the existence of glaciers below the snow line, namely the landscapes of the Polar Urals, including vegetation as a source of pollen and spores falling onto the surface of glaciers of the Polar Urals, as well as possibility of distant pollen drift to the surface of Romantic’s Glacier. The main result consists in the conclusion that the composition pollen spectra of the Romantic’s Glacier in the Rai-Iz mountainous area is mainly determined by the long-range transport of pollen and spores from the western and south-western regions in a latitude direction. The pollen spectra obtained from the surface of the Romantic’s Glacier are characterized by significant presence of various pollen from broad-leaved rocks of lip, maple, oak, and hazel. Pine pollen and high forest birch are prevalent. Local vegetation is very poor. However, the pollen spectra indicates pollen of heath and crowfoot family, and grasses.

Keywords: long distance transported pollen, pollen spectra, Polar Ural, glacier lake, glacier ice, glacier, spores, pollen, vegetation of mountain tundra, firn

Abstract: In the structure of the frozen thickness of the 2nd lake-alluvial terrace of the Gyda River were detected polygonal-wedge, lens massive and lensoid ice were. A detailed analysis of structural and textural peculiarities in the layers was carried out for the first time for these morphological types of underground ice. Based on the cryolithological structure of host rocks and structural-textural features of ice, the main mechanisms of deposit formation – polygonal-wedge, infiltration-segregational, and congelation were determined. The development of polygonal-wedge ice occurred in an alluvial floodplain setting of sedimentation accompanied by the climate fluctuations in the end of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The growth of ice wedge in the second half of the Sartan Period was interrupted under the reservoirs with shallow talik waters, after freezing of which there formed infiltration-segregational lensoid formation ices. The structure of frozen thickness was complicated by the lenses of congelation ice formed in thermoerosive niches in the Holocene optimum of about 6.5 thousand years ago. At the present time is possible the formation of similar types of ice on various sections of the relief. The established peculiarities of cryogenic structure are important for the creation of paleogeographic reconstructions and forecasting the dynamics of permafrost-facies environments accompanied by the modern changes in the depth of the seasonal thaw layer and the development of thermokarst.

Keywords: Holocene, climatic conditions, thermokarst, structure of ice, texture of ice, massive ice, ice wedge, permafrost, neopleistocene, north-west Siberia

Abstract: The research is conducted on the Holocene ice wedges exposed in the outcrop of the first marine terrace near the town of Anadyr, on the east of the Chukchi Peninsula, on the coast of Onemen Bay. Polygonal Relief is clearly traced on the surface of the first sea terrace in the area of explorations, the size of the polygons is about 8x12 m. In the exposed terrace, turf with a capacity of about 1.5 m is striped, underlied with sand clay with  capacity up to 2 m; below is the horizontally-stratified and. Ice wedges are embedded the turf (head of wedges) and in the underlying clay sand. The ice of wedges is vertically stratifies, yellowish gray. Ice wedges are also striped in turf  outcrops with capacity of up to 2.5 m, embedded in form of a lens from the terrace surface. Ice from three most fully exposed ice wedges was sampled for hydrochemical analysis. A total of 20 ice samples were collected from Holocene ice wedges, as well as ice from modern ice veinlet and water from Onemen Bay. It was found that mineralization of the studied Holocene ice wedges is low, does not exceed 80 mg/L, Na+, Ca2+, and Cl- dominate. Similar values of mineralization and ionic composition were obtained for modern ice veinlet. The obtained data correspond with data on ice wedges studied in other regions of Chukotka, both continental and coastal. Mineralization of most of the previously studied ice wedges did not exceed 150 mg/L. Low values of mineralization of ice wedges near Anadyr demonstrate mainly meteoric source of water forming ice, i.e. winter precipitation, prevalence of sodium and chlorine indicates the capture of sea aerosols by precipitation or wind introduction of droplets from the water area of the Onemen Bay to the surface of the snow cover.

Keywords: peatland, water source for ice growth, anions, cations, mineralization, east of the Chukchi Peninsula, ice wedge, marine terrace, Holocene, sea aerosols

Abstract: The subject of this research is the soils and soil-geochemical catenae in the area of Yeletsky settlement, located in the northeast of the Komi Republic. Catena were deposited on the mound covered with moss-shrub tundra transect from the interfluve of Usa and Yelets Rivers to a lacustrine depression, complicated by arching permafrost mounds. Within the district of research, the authors laid five soil incisions (EL20-P1, EL20-P2, EL20-P3, EL20-P4 and EL20-P5) that formed a soil-geochemical catena along the slope. Complex land cover found at the periphery. The explored soils were formed on silty loams with permafrost horizon at a depth of 0.5-0.7 m and belong to Cryosols, Turbic Cryosols and Histic Gleysols. Cryosols in the upper part of catena show specific cryogenic granular structure due to lack of soil moisture content. The soils on the slope and in the depression are more saturated with water; therefore, structureless Turbic Cryosols and Histic Gleysols are formed. In the soil horizons, the values of pH and electrical conductivity were measured, the content of organic carbon and soil texture were studied. An increase in soil acidity on organogenic zones by 4.3 - 5.7 was noticed; in underlying horizons the pH values reach 6.9.

Keywords: tundra, tundra podburs, cryometamorphic soil, peat-cryozem gley, peat-cryozem, cryozem gley, palsa, permafrost, Eletsky, Komi Republic

Abstract: This article continues the discussion on quaternary geology and paleogeography of the vast and well-studied shelf of the Barents Sea. The object this research is the relief and quaternary formations of the Barents shelf. The data of seismic-acoustic profiling and materials of engineering-geological drilling were used. Since the Barents shelf is a high-latitude area of Holocene sedimentation, the author analyzes various aspects of the quaternary sediments genesis, taking into account the geographic zoning of marine sedimentation processes and an increase in the gravitational consolidation of sediments down through the section. The genetic link between the microstructure and the degree of consolidation of clayey sediments with their seismic image was revealed, which was considered in interpretation of seismic profiling materials. Over the Barents shelf, the cover of weakly consolidated sediments of the last marine transgression is separated from the underlying morainelike or pre-quaternary sediments by a diachronous boundary of stratigraphic and sometimes angular unconformity. The transgression is not of glacioeustatic, but of tectonic nature. During the hiatus that preceded it, an erosional relief with river valleys and their tributaries was formed, the main features of which have been preserved in the northern deep-water part of the sea. The conclusion is argued that approbation of the glacial theory on the example of high-latitude Arctic shelf contradicts the facts and main provisions of glaciology, reflecting the overall crisis of this theory.

Keywords: seismostratigraphic complex, diamicton, diamicton mud, weakly consolidated sediments, continental glaciation, quaternary sediments, shelf, glacial theory, sedimentation break, radiocarbon dating

Abstract: The object of this research is the thermokarst occurrences, namely polygonal microrelief and frost cracking, which are the causes of natural hazards for the main water pipeline. The article demonstrates displacements, gaps and cracks in the pipes and fixtures of water mains, caused by thermokarst occurrences; satellite images indicate areal zoning of polygon microrelief. Thermokarst occurrences are detected by satellite images and publicly available on the website https://www.yandex.ru/maps/; the methods of field observation and photosurveying were applied,  the engineering-geological information and library material were processed. The method of areal zoning of the territory of activation of polygonal microrelief is based on the satellite images. The study was conducted by means of field observation on the key sections of the main water pipeline, as well as by processing of archival data acquired from engineering surveys of previous years. The obtained materials allow determining the current geocryological situation of the territory of the water pipeline and spread of negative cryogenic processes and phenomena. Based on the satellite images was described the method od areal zoning of the territory of polygonal microrelief and cracking, earlier proposed by the author. As a result of research, it can be concluded that frost-breaking cracks are the cause of stress-strain state of the water pipeline, and satellite images show the spread of areal zoning of polygonal microrelief and cracking.

Keywords: satellite images, rupture, displacement, waterlogging, thermoerosion, frost-fracturing, thermokarst manifestations, pipeline, main water pipeline, Central Yakutia