Environmental Impact Assessment of Geological Processes in Russia

Abstract

The new direction of geological sciences—ecological geodynamics engaged an estimation of the severity of ecological consequences of geological processes. In ecological geodynamics all natural processes are subdivided into four categories: catastrophic, dangerous, adverse and favorable. Catastrophic processes are directly life-threatening and are characterized by high speed and uncertainty of the occurrence moment. Dangerous processes are also life-threatening, but their action is stretched in time (comparably with a human life). Adverse processes—with long effect, indirectly impact on the living, reduce the comfort of existence of living organisms and living person due to destruction of engineering constructions. Favorable processes provide the optimum living conditions and residing, their influence is stretched in time. The severity of ecological consequences of catastrophic geological and other natural processes depends on three factors: speed and intensity of development of processes, population density and a level of the development of the society that determines the availability of services of the notification of the population about natural disaster. Catastrophes with human victims may not be, if disasters of high intensity have occurred on unpopulated area as it was in Altai Mountains at Chuya earthquake (9/27/2003) with magnitude 7,5.