Geological and geomorphological processes impacting nature management in the coastal zone of Pacific Russia

Abstract

The coastal zone of Pacific Russia (administrative areas of the Far East with access to the ocean) is characterized by many dangerous natural processes. However, due to the low population density of the region, their impact on nature management often goes unnoticed. This sometimes gives a false impression of their lack of strength compared to similar processes in other more populated areas of the world. However, if the population density in the coastal zone of Pacific Russia corresponds to the indicators of Japan or Indonesia, the consequences of their occurrence in most cases would be catastrophic. An inventory of hazardous natural processes in the region was carried out. The intensity of their manifestations in other parts of the world was compared and a division of these processes according to the degree of their danger to the region was made. In the category of the most significant processes, the force of manifestation of which corresponds to the maximum possible values observed on Earth, or is approaching them includes earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, avalanches and cryogenic processes. The second group includes mudflows, aufeises, river erosion, abrasion, landslides, screes, landslides, subsidence and suffosion. The third group (the probability and intensity of which within the coastal zone of Pacific Russia are minimal) includes gully erosion, sheet erosion, rock streams, heaving, shrinkage, karst and aeolian processes. If we compare with other Russian regions, some processes (volcanic eruptions and tsunamis) are distributed exclusively within the coastal zone of Pacific Russia, others (earthquakes, aufeises, abrasion, rock streams, cryogenic processes) have a generally higher intensity, the importance of the third (karst, subsidence, etc.) is obviously lower than in other Russian regions.