Dornogobi Research Articles

Монастырь Хамарын-хийд: история и современное состояние (по материалам полевой экспедиции 2022 г.)

The article introduces results of the 2022 field expedition to Mongolia aimed at exploring history and culture of Khamaryn Khiid Monastery in Dornogovi Province, and provides brief historical and biographical data on the latter’s founder Ven. Luvsan Danzanravjaa. Goals. The study seeks to reconstruct key stages in the formation of the monastery’s architectural complex. Methods. The research methods employed are those of historical/topographical analysis (sacred objects), participant observation, comparison, historical/biographical investigation, and etymological analysis (toponyms). Results. Nowadays, Khamaryn Khiid serves as a tourist spot rather than a religious center. Both domestic and foreign tourists are eager to visit this sacral place in the Eastern Gobi. Despite extensive infrastructure development measures have been undertaken, there is still a lack of hotels and public eating places. The monastery has a high potential to become a leading object of religious tourism.

Applicability of Grassland Production Estimation Using Remote Sensing for the Mongolian Plateau by Comparing Typical Regions in China and Mongolia

Grasslands on the Mongolian Plateau are critical for supporting local sustainable development. Sufficient measured sample information is the basis of remote sensing modeling and estimation of grassland production. Limited by field inventory costs, it is difficult to collect sufficient and widely distributed samples in the Mongolian Plateau, especially in transboundary areas, which affects the results of grassland production estimation. Here, considering that the measured sample points are sparse, this study took Xilingol League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China and Dornogovi Province in Mongolia as the study areas, introduced multiple interpolation methods for interpolation experiments, established a statistical regression model based on the above measured and interpolated samples combined with the normalized differential vegetation index, and discussed the applicability of grassland production estimation. The comparison results revealed that the point estimation biased sample hospital-based area disease estimation method and radial basis function showed the best interpolation results for grassland production in Xilingol League and Dornogovi Province, respectively. The power function model was suitable for grassland production estimation in both regions. By inversion, we obtained annual grassland production for 2010–2021 and the uneven spatial distribution of grassland production in both regions. In these two regions, the spatial change in grassland production showed a decreasing trend from northeast to southwest, and the interannual change generally showed a dynamic upward trend. The growth rate of grassland output was faster in Xilingol League than in Dornogovi Province with similar physical geography and climate conditions, indicating that the animal husbandry regulation policies play important roles beyond the influence of climate change. The study recommended grassland estimation methods for an area with sparse samples and the results can be used to support decision making for sustainable animal husbandry and grassland succession management.

Evaluation of lead (Pb) concentration in animal tissue, soil, and water samples from grazing pasture near mining industry in southern part of Mongolia

Lead (Pb) is a substance that can cause serious damage to the brain and kidneys, soften bones, adverse effect to the reproductive system, and can be fatal. Long-term exposure to the substance can damage not only children, but also adults' nervous systems. Lead does not belong into the category of toxic substances due to its effects on the human body. It is considered as a harmful substance. In this study, we analyzed lead concentration in liver and kidney of cattle, horse, sheep, and goat from the mining areas located in the Ulaanbadrakh, Zuunbayan, and Airag soums of Dornogovi province. As a result, the level of lead in the liver of sheep and goat Zuunbayan soum of Dornogovi province was slightly higher than in other soums. The content of heavy metals in water and soil samples did not exceed the international standard average.

Preliminary results of biostratigraphic studies of Lower Cretaceous sediments in the Ergel-Khaliv area, SE Mongolia

The research area is located in the territory of Khatanbulag soum, Dornogovi province, in the Great Govi Province (coordinates: 108°25'39.04"E and 43°10'11.43"N). Here, the authors studied the composition of sediments that had previously been classified as Lower Cretaceous Khukhteeg Formation, forming Mt. Ergel-Khaliv during earlier mapping work. The authors revealed fossils of faunas and floras, processing some data of biostratigraphic survey works taken on fossil-bearing sediments of the area. The fieldwork was conducted in April 2019 by researchers from the Institute of Paleontology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences. The area is very rich in fossils of mollusca, therefore, the local communities named it Dun-Ovoo (Conch hill). During the previous studies, the sediments outcropping around the Ergel-Khaliv were classified as Khukhteeg Formation (K1ht, Aptian-Albian) based on lithological characteristics and comparing them to the type section of the Khukhteeg Formation sediments. Our research revealed biostratigraphic basements and recorded previous data of collected fossils two types of mollusca; we have studied plant fossils, turtles, ostracods, fish and dinosaur bones had been revealed at first in that area. The results of the research work, the fossils that found in the mountain, were amended by more and new types and families of fauna and flora and their constituents. These new findings were helpful in the precise determination of the age of the sediments and provided some information on the paleoenvironmental conditions of the sedimentation period.

Geological, mineralogical, and oxygen isotope studies of the Chandmani Uul iron oxide–copper–gold deposit in Dornogobi Province, Southeastern Mongolia

AbstractThe Chandmani Uul deposit is located in Dornogovi province, Southeastern Mongolia. Iron oxide ores are hosted in the andesitic rocks of the Shar Zeeg Formation of Neoproterozoic to Lower‐Cambrian age. Middle‐ to Upper‐Cambrian bodies of granitic rocks have intruded into the host rocks in the western and southern regions of the deposit. The wall rocks around the iron oxide ore bodies were hydrothermally altered to form potassic, epidote, and sericite–chlorite alteration zones, and calcite and quartz veinlets are ubiquitous in the late stage. Since granitic rocks also underwent potassic alteration, the activity of the granitic rocks must have a genetic relation to the ore deposit. The ore mineral assemblage is dominated by iron oxides such as mushketovite, euhedral magnetite with concentric and/or oscillatory zoning textures, and cauliflower magnetite. Lesser amounts of chalcopyrite and pyrite accompany the iron oxides. Among all these products, mushketovite is dominant and is distributed throughout the deposit. Meanwhile, euhedral magnetite appears in limited amounts at relatively shallow levels in the deposit. By contrast, cauliflower magnetite appears locally in the deeper parts of the deposit, and is associated with green‐colored garnet and calcite. Sulfide minerals are ubiquitously associated with these iron oxides. The oxygen isotope (δ18O) values of all types of magnetite, quartz, and epidote were found to be −5.9 to −2.8‰, 10.5 to 14.9‰, and 3.6 to 6.6‰, respectively. The δ18O values of quartz–magnetite pairs suggest an equilibrium isotopic temperature near 300°C. The calculated values of δ18O for the water responsible for magnetite ranged from 2 to 10‰. All the data obtained in this study suggest that the iron oxide deposit at the Chandmani Uul is a typical iron oxide–copper–gold deposit, and that this deposit was formed at an intermediate depth with potassic and sericite–chlorite alteration zones under the oxidized conditions of a hematite‐stable environment. The δ18O range estimated implies that the ore‐forming fluid was supplied by a crystallizing granodioritic magma exsolving fluids at depth with a significant contribution of meteoric water.

Holocene vegetation cycles, land-use, and human adaptations to desertification in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia

Since the end of the Pleistocene some 11,700 years ago, the landscape and vegetation of the Mongolian Gobi Desert has been profoundly changing, punctuated by the appearance of lakes, wetlands, and finally aridification. Vegetation communities have responded to these changes according to temperature shifts and northward to southward movements of the edges of East Asian monsoonal systems. Human groups have lived, foraged, and traveled through the landscape of the Gobi for millennia, adapting their technologies and systems of plant and animal use with the dramatic changes of flora and fauna, and likely contributed to the character of the vegetation communities in the region today. Pastoral nomads living in semi-arid regions are sometimes implicated as contributors to desertification. However, our research at the Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Dornogovi Province, Mongolia has yielded geoarchaeological and phytolith data which show the opposite effect. Changing landscape and vegetation patterns from the Middle to Late Holocene suggest that early pastoralists might have contributed to a shift away from halophytic desert vegetation, and an increase in semi-arid desert-steppe grasses. We suggest that the halophytic succulents growing around saline ponds during the Mid-Holocene wet phase, were replaced by Stipa and other steppic grasses after pastoralists entered the region, increasing hillslope erosion which covered the saline sediments of the valley floor, and encouraged the growth of grass seeds carried in the dung of herd animals.

Distance learning for maternal and child health nurses and midwives in Mongolia: a qualitative evaluation.

Continuing education is vital for the development of the competencies of nurses and midwives. We analysed the effectiveness of a distance education programme for maternal and child health nurses and midwives in Mongolia, assessing its strengths and limitations and ways in which it could be improved. The aim of this research is to provide an analysis of the successes and failures of the programme, in order to improve future versions of this and similar programmes in Mongolia and elsewhere. We carried out a qualitative descriptive study in Mongolia in August 2015. This consisted of three semi-structured interviews and two focus groups in the Second National Hospital, Ulaanbaatar, and three semi-structured interviews and one focus group in Dornogovi Provincial Maternal Hospital, Sainshand, Dornogovi Province. In total, there were 22 participants in our research. Data from the interviews and focus groups were thematically coded and analysed using NVivo version 10. The distance education programme is well received by participants. They suggest that it has improved their clinical practice and education in a number of areas, and are anxious for the programme to continue. A number of alterations would be necessary to improve both the quality of the programme and the ability of participants to foster change on the basis of what they have learnt. This provides challenges for both the programme organizers and the providers of maternal and child health services in Mongolia. The success of the distance education programme suggests that collaborations of this type are a cost-effective method of disseminating best practice in policy and practice to improve the quality of care provided to mothers and children in low-resource settings. A distance education programme is vital to link maternal care providers in Mongolia to new trends in care. Mongolia's relative isolation means that this programme is particularly valuable there. However, the programme could work equally well in other developing country settings.

Health Risk Connected With the Low Selenium Levels in Foodstuffs of Mongolia

The objective of this study was to evaluate health risks connected with the selenium level in foodstuffs of Mongolia. Meat of domestic animals from 17 provinces of Mongolia (n=142), wheat (n=30), garlic, eggs, blood serum samples from the Dornogovi province of Mongolia (n=40) were obtained to determine the selenium level by fluorimetric method. The Se levels were 105-346 (173±42) µg/kg d.w. in meat of domestic animals, 6-34 (18±10) µg/kg in wheat, 68±2 µg/kg in garlic and 13.14±0.54 µg/100 g in eggs. Contrary to areas of marginal Se deficiency (Moscow region) Mongolia was characterized by elevated Se levels in lung of domestic animals compared to liver concentrations of the element. Calculated Se intake with meat by residents of Mongolia varied from 8.7 to 17 µg/person/day. High concentrations of Cd, Pb and Ni in wheat of Selenge, Tuv and Dornod provinces accordingly, Al in Selenge grain and Ni and Pb in spring garlic of Zavkhan province presented additional health risks for the population. The mean serum Se level of the Dornogovi population was 71±5.7 ?g/l, indicating a lower level of glutathione peroxidase activity. The study revealed that the most pronounced Se deficiency in foodstuffs of Mongolia was typical for the Northern and Eastern provinces of the country. Development of effective program of the Se status optimization in Mongolia should become one of the most important health care intervention priority so as to reduce the ecological risk arising from Se deficiency in Mongolia.

The investigation of probiotic potential of lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditional Mongolian dairy products

The aims of this study were to investigate the diversity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from traditional Mongolian dairy products, and to estimate the probiotic potential of the isolated strains. We collected 66 samples of the traditional Mongolian dairy products tarag (n = 45), airag (n = 7), aaruul (n = 8), byasulag (n = 1) and eezgii (n = 5), from which 543 LAB strains were isolated and identified based on 16S ribosomal DNA sequence. The predominant species of those products were Lactobacillus (L.) delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus, L. helveticus, L. fermentum, L. delbrueckii ssp. lactis and Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis. However, we could not detect any LAB strains from eezgii. All LAB isolates were screened for tolerance to low pH and to bile acid, gas production from glucose, and adherence to Caco-2 cells. In vitro, we found 10 strains possess probiotic properties, and almost identified them as L. plantarum or L. paracasei subspecies, based on 16S ribosomal DNA and carbohydrate fermentation pattern. These strains were differentiated from each other individually by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis. Additionally, it was notable that 6/10 strains were isolated from camel milk tarag from the Dornogovi province.

Removal of Hexavalent Chromium from Model Tannery Wastewater by Adsorption Using Mongolian Natural Zeolite

We applied Mongolian natural zeolite to adsorptive removal of hexavalent chromium contained in tannery wastewater. At first, characterization was carried out for various kinds of natural zeolites obtained from Tsagaan Tsav and Urgon deposits in Dornogovi province, southeast part of Mongolia. From the X-ray diffractometry analysis, the zeolite samples were composed of mordenite, quartz, gismondine, clinoptilolite, and chabazite, and many of the samples contained clinoptilolite, which is the most abundant natural zeolite. The BET surface areas and the pore volumes of the samples were much lower than those of pure zeolites, and ranged from 15 to 160 m2·g–1 and from 0.03 × 10–6 to 0.1 × 10–6 m3·g–1, respectively. A part of the zeolite samples were modified by a metal cation, barium cation, in order to adsorb hexavalent chromium, which is anion of chromate in aqueous solution. The content of barium in the modified zeolite was much higher than that in the unmodified one, so that the successful zeolite modification could be confirmed. Secondly, batch equilibrium adsorptions of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution, the model tannery wastewater, by the natural zeolites were carried out. Although the adsorption performances varied with the natural zeolite, all of the zeolites modified by barium cation could adsorb hexavalent chromium favorably and the fractional removal was over 0.9 at maximum, while the unmodified ones could not almost at all. The higher solution pH gave the higher adsorption performance and, then, main adsorbate was CrO42–, since this species is dominant in higher pH according to the speciation of hexavalent chromate anion. Consequently, we proposed to utilize Mongolian natural zeolite to treat the tannery wastewater containing hexavalent chromium.