Geophysical Institute Research Articles

ПАМЯТИ ЕВГЕНИЯ АРКАДЬЕВИЧА КУЛИКОВА (27.01.1950 – 21.11.2020)

On November 21, 2020, at the age of 70, one of the world’s largest specialists in the science of tsunami, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Chief Researcher of the Tsunami Laboratory in the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Evgueny Arkadievich Kulikov, suddenly passed away. From 1980 to 1986 he was the Head of the Ocean Physics Laboratory in the Tsunami Department of the Sakhalin Complex Research Institute / Institute of Marine Geology and Geophysics, Far East Scientific Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk). From 2004 to 2018, E.A. Kulikov headed the Tsunami Laboratory of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences. E.A. Kulikov had students and colleagues all over the world – in Russia from Sakhalin to Moscow, in Europe, Canada, and the U.S.A. He left a bright mark in oceanology, in the science of tsunami, as well as in the memory of numerous friends and colleagues around the world as a remarkable scientist, teacher, and wonderful person. The presented article describes the main scientific stages of E.A. Kulikov.

CARPATHIANS

The article describes seismic observations in the Carpathian region in 2014, which were carried out, as before, by two organizations from two states: in Ukraine – the Seismicity Department of the Carpathian region of the Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, in Moldova – the Seismology Laboratory of the Institute of Geology and Seismology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. In Ukraine, 20 stationary digital stations and 3 temporary ones worked in the Dniester energy complex with a processing center in Lviv, in Moldova - six stations with a center in Chisinau. Different programs, local hodo-graphs and magnitudes were used. The consolidated catalog of earthquakes was created in Lviv. A map of epi-centers and a table of the distribution of earthquakes of different classes by region are given. The total number of earthquakes in 2014 was NΣ=81 in the range KP =5.2–14.3 with the interval of hypocenter depths h=1–154 km and the total seismic energy ΣE=2.11·1014 J. Of these, 18 earthquakes with depths h=77–154 km located in the Vrancea zone. The maximum earthquake with KP=14.3 was registered on November 22 in the Precarpathian Trough with hрР=37 km. In the Vrancha mountains the maximum earthquake occurred on March 29 with the KP=12.5 and hрР=136 km. In the Precarpathian and Transcarpathian regions, all earthquakes were weaker. The most powerful event in Transcarpathia was a perceptible earthquake that occurred near the Trostnyk seismic station on November 15 with KP=8.9. The earthquake source is located in the Earth's crust at a depth of h=10 km. The earthquake was felt by the population of the Dyakovo, Trostnyk, Fanchykovo villages with the intensity of 5 and 4–5. In general, in all the seismically active zones of the Carpathians in 2014, there was a slight increase in the level of seismicity compared to that in 2013.

Graphic design and scientific research – the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) experience

Abstract. One of the primary activities of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology; INGV) is the production of resources concerning educational and outreach projects in geophysics and natural hazard topics. This activity is aimed at transferring, periodically, results at the forefront of ongoing research to the public through an intense and comprehensive plan for scientific dissemination. Over the past 15 years, graphic and visual communication have become essential tools for supporting institutional and research activities. In this paper, we describe successful INGV team experiences resulting from a close relationship and collaborative work between graphic designers and research scientists. The main goal of the projects devoted to the general public, through the creation of a museum exhibition or the production of descriptive brochures, is to support scientists in conveying their message and making concepts fruitful, easier to understand but also fully enjoyable thanks to the emotional involvement that images may generate. Through a careful composition of signs and images, and through the use of different visual tools (colours, form and lettering) on different media (print, video and web), the graphics and editorial products together create a strong INGV-style identity, making it easily recognizable in any educational and outreach project. A full project product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and colours, which serve the purpose of unifying the whole set. Colour is used not only to help the project logo to stand out from the international overview but, in our case, also to generate a unifying return across all INGV sections. A recent and highly stimulating experience concerned the creation of edu-games, specifically designed for scientific dissemination, through a close collaboration between INGV graphic designers and their reference scientific community. The edu-games were designed as an effective combination of educational content and playful communicative aspects, leading the young players to learn while having fun.

ANALYSIS OF THE MAGNETIC STORMS CATALOG FOR MONITORING RADIO SOURCE FLUXE DATA WITH THE URAN-4 RADIO TELESCOPE IN THE ODESA MAGNETIC ANOMALY ZONE

Purpose: Compilation of a digital catalog of magnetic storms in the Odesa magnetic anomaly zone in order to find the reasons for possible changes in the radiation fluxes of cosmic radio sources, according to observations at the URAN-4 radio telescope. Design/methodology/approach: Since 1987 until now, the radio flux of powerful galactic and extragalactic radio sources has been monitored at the URAN-4 radio telescope of the Odesa Observatory of the Institute of Radio Astronomy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The monitoring program includes radio galaxies 3C274, 3C405 and supernova remnants 3C144, 3C461. Changes in the radio source flux level are determined by the ionosphere state due to the changes in space weather. At the “Odesa” geomagnetic observatory of the Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the geomagnetic field measurements have been made since 1948. Simultaneously, the measurements of three elements of the geomagnetic field: horizontal component (H), vertical component (Z) and inclination (D), have been recorded. Findings: Using the “Odesa” geomagnetic observatory data, the digital catalog of magnetic storms was compiled for the measuring period of the powerful space radio source fluxes obtained with the URAN-4 radio telescope. For the magnetic storms monitored during the periods of 1987–1995 and 2000–2009, the date and time are shown for the beginning and the end of the magnetic storm, the magnetic storm duration, the amplitude of the three magnetic field elements, being H, Z, and D, and the magnetic storm type characteristic.The “Odesa” geomagnetic observatory is located near the magnetic anomaly zone. To find the distinctions in manifestations of the geomagnetic activity arisen owing to the magnetic anomaly existence, the geomagnetic disturbances recorded at the “Odesa” and “Moscow” (IZMIRAN, Russia) observatories were compared. It was shown that the total annual duration of the magnetic storms was longer in Odesa than in Moscow. This demonstrates some special role of the magnetic anomaly in the development of geomagnetic disturbances. Conclusions: The digital catalog of magnetic storms in the Odesa magnetic anomaly zone was compiled for the 1987–1995 and 2000–2009 periods. It is also planned to terminate working over the complete catalog of magnetic storms recorded at the “Odesa” observatory for the entire continuous period of monitoring space radio sources at the URAN-4 radio telescope in order to find the manifestations of geomagnetic disturbances impact upon the ionosphere state and changes of intensity in cosmic radio source fluxes. These studies are supplemented by the comparative analysis of the “Odesa” observatory geomagnetic data and the data from some other geomagnetic observatories. Key words: solar activity; monitoring variability of radio sources; magnetic storms; catalog of magnetic storms; magnetic anomaly

Focus on glaciers: a geo-photo exposition of vanishing beauty

Abstract. Scientific research, respect for the environment, and passion for photography merged into an exceptional heritage of images collected by the researchers and technicians of the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS). The images were taken during past scientific expeditions conducted all over the world to widen scientific knowledge in the fields of Earth and ocean sciences, to raise awareness on the environment and conservation of natural resources, and to mitigate natural risks. In this paper, we describe a photographic exhibition organized using some of the OGS images to draw public attention to the striking effects of global warming. In the artistic images displayed, the glaciers were the protagonists. Their infinite greyish blue shades and impossible shapes were worthy of a great sculptor, and the boundaries with rocks or with the sea were sometimes sharp and dramatic and sometimes so nuanced that they looked like watercolours. The beauty of the images attracted the attention of the public to unknown realities, allowing us to document the dramatic retreat of the Alpine glaciers and to show the majesty of the Arctic and Antarctic landscapes, which are fated to vanish under the present climate warming trend. The choice of the exhibition location allowed us to reach a broad public of working-age adults, who are difficult to involve in outreach events. The creators of the images were present during the exhibition to respond to visitors' curiosity about research targets, the emotional and environmental context, and the technical details or aesthetic choices of the photographs.

A citizen science approach for supporting rapid earthquake impact assessments

After a strong earthquake, the rapid identification of the extent of the affected area is the most crucial task of civil protection authorities. The information provided by those directly affected by an event makes the difference since it offers the opportunity to take advantage of direct observations and, in the case alert systems are available, to verify if they worked properly. Thanks to the fruitful collaboration between the Regional Civil Protection of Friuli Venezia Giulia and the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS in Italy, a procedure for collecting rapid information about the impact of an earthquake using an expert crowdsourcing approach has been in place for some years. The volunteers of the civil protection, appropriately trained, upon receipt of the seismic event notification, are asked to rapidly compile a specific questionnaire, describing the impact of the event. Data are rapidly coded, and the results are summarized in a seismic impact map showing the effect of the earthquake throughout the territory in a simplified way. This map complements the impact estimation provided by the analysis of recorded shaking data. This paper describes the results obtained by analyzing the “Trained Volunteers Seismic Evaluation” questionnaire (TVSE) completed by volunteers for some of the most significant events in recent years.

Empirical fragility curves for Italian residential RC buildings

In this paper, empirical fragility curves for reinforced concrete buildings are derived, based on post-earthquake damage data collected in the aftermath of earthquakes occurred in Italy in the period 1976–2012. These data, made available through an online platform called Da.D.O., provide information on building position, building characteristics and damage detected on different structural components. A critical review of this huge amount of data is carried out to guarantee the consistency among all the considered databases. Then, an in-depth analysis of the degree of completeness of the survey campaign is made, aiming at the identification of the Municipalities subjected to a partial survey campaign, which are discarded from fragility analysis. At the end of this stage, only the Irpinia 1980 and L’Aquila 2009 databases are considered for further elaborations, as fully complying with these criteria. The resulting database is then integrated with non-inspected buildings sited in less affected areas (assumed undamaged), to account for the negative evidence of damage. The PGA evaluated from the shakemaps of the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and a metric based on six damage levels according to EMS-98 are used for fragility analysis. The damage levels are obtained from observed damage collected during post-earthquake inspections through existing conversion rules, considering damage to vertical structures and infills/partitions. The maximum damage level observed on vertical structures and infills/partitions is then associated to the whole building. Fragility curves for two vulnerability classes, C2 and D, further subdivided into three classes of building height, are obtained from those derived for specific structural typologies (identified based on building height and type of design), using their frequency of occurrence at national level as weights.

A Compact Muon Telescope for Monitoring Secondary Cosmic Ray Fluxes

The cosmic ray laboratory of the Polar Geophysical Institute has created a simple and compact telescope with a modular design that is designed to detect ionizing particles in the energy range from 1 MeV to 100 GeV. The telescope consists of two scintillator plates separated by a layer of lead that are located one above the other. The electronic circuit creates a channel for counting the upper detector and a channel of coincidences with the lower one. The area of each detector is 0.25 m2; the average count rate of the upper detector is 3000 pulses/min.

Measurements of Seismometer Orientation of the First Phase CHINArray and Their Implications on Vector-Recording-Based Seismic Studies

ABSTRACT From 2011 to 2013, the CHINArray project led by the Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, made the first phase deployment of 350 broadband seismometers at the southeastern margin of the Tibetan plateau. The three-component records of the CHINArray-I have been widely used in studying seismic structures beneath the margin under the assumption that the two horizontal components of seismometers are well aligned toward geographic north and east. In this study, we estimated the actual orientation of the two horizontal components of the 350 seismometers by analyzing P-wave particle motions of teleseismic earthquakes. Among the 350 stations, we found 80 stations were mildly misaligned by 5°–20°, and another 49 stations had misorientations larger than 20° or other malfunctioning issues. We also investigated how sensor misalignment affects seismic studies that rely on the vectorial nature of seismic recording, such as constructing receiver functions, estimating seismic anisotropy, and extracting surface wave Green’s functions from ambient-noise data. We found a large deviation in sensor orientation could result in wrong results or large measurement errors, whereas a mild sensor misalignment tended to decrease measurement stability and reliability.

Взаимосвязь числа дней с грозой и продолжительности гроз по данным визуальных и инструментальных наблюдений

For study the relationship between number of days with a thunderstorm recorded by weather stations and duration of thunderstorms in hours for these days, instrumental observations of the thunder direction-finding network of High-Mountain Geophysical Institute were used. We used data on thunderstorms in the North Caucasus for a long-term observation period in 2008-2019. Based on these data, they are grouped for various territories for analysis: the number of days with thunderstorms per month, per year, and the duration of thunderstorms per month and per year. A correlation analysis was performed between the number of days with thunderstorms and the duration of thunder-storms in hours according to LS 800 data. Thus, the dependence of the number of days with thunderstorms on the duration of thunderstorms is clearly traced - with an increase in the number of days with thunderstorms per year, the observation point increases in direct proportion to the duration of thunderstorms per year. With an increase in the number of days with thunderstorms on a given territory by one day, for the month in question, the duration of thunderstorms increases by 3.89 hours.

A Global Archive of Coseismic DInSAR Products Obtained Through Unsupervised Sentinel-1 Data Processing

We present an automatic and unsupervised tool for the systematic generation of Sentinel-1 (S1) differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) coseismic products. In particular, the tool first retrieves the location, depth, and magnitude of every seismic event from interoperable online earthquake catalogs (e.g., the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and then, for significant (with respect to a set of selected thresholds) earthquakes, it automatically triggers the downloading of S1 data and their interferometric processing over the area affected by the earthquake. The automatic system we developed has also been implemented within a Cloud-Computing (CC) environment, specifically the Amazon Web Services, with the aim of creating a global database of DInSAR S1 coseismic products, which consist of displacement maps and the associated wrapped interferograms and spatial coherences. This information will progressively be made freely available through the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) Research Infrastructure, thus providing the scientific community with a large catalog of DInSAR data that can be helpful for investigating the dynamics of surface deformation in the seismic zones around the Earth. The developed tool can also support national and local authorities during seismic crises by quickly providing information on the surface deformation induced by earthquakes.

Walter Heinrich Munk. 19 October 1917—8 February 2019

Born in Vienna, Austria, shortly before the Austro-Hungarian Empire lost its access to the sea, Walter Munk became a leading geophysicist and physical oceanographer after being sent to school in New York State and later moving west to California. He and Harald Sverdrup developed wave prediction schemes that were used by the Allies in World War II to evaluate whether amphibious landings would be feasible. His post-war research included further major contributions to the understanding of ocean waves, as well as ocean circulation, tides, internal waves, mixing processes and many other phenomena. He showed how variations in the Earth's rotation contained a wealth of valuable geophysical information and was an instigator of the ‘Mohole’ project that failed for political reasons but paved the way for the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Although primarily a theoretician, throughout his career he was an enthusiastic adopter of new technologies and data analysis techniques. He showed how acoustic transmissions could be used to map ocean eddies and currents as well as to monitor temperature changes of whole ocean basins. He was a key adviser to the US Navy and a dedicated member of the science advisory group, JASON, that focuses on national security. As well as his scientific contributions, his legacy includes the La Jolla Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics. He was liberal in his political outlook, gregarious, hospitable and treated everyone, from undergraduate to admiral, with the same interest and respect.

Seiсhes Excited by the Atmospheric Disturbances within the Range of the Meteotsunami Periods nearby the Southern Part of the Sakhalin Island

Purpose. The aim of the paper is to study four synoptic situations, in which the seiches energy increase was observed in the coastal zone of the southern part of the Sakhalin Island, and to consider their possible meteorological origin. Methods and Results. Records of the waves obtained in the Institute of Marine Geology and Geophysics in 2008 using both the instruments installed in eight points in the coastal zone of the southern part of the Sakhalin Island, and the synoptic maps provided by the Sakhalin Hydrometeorological Service Department, were used. For all the observation points, four synoptic situations characterized by increase of the seiches energy within the meteotsunami existence range were considered. It is shown that the amplitudes of the main part of the observed waves exceed the criterion equal to 4 xrms. Therefore the events under consideration can be related to meteotsunami; at that, their energy is distributed almost all over the whole range of tsunami waves. When meteotsunami is absent, energy of the sea level oscillations in the range 4–120 min is reduced by an order. Since fluctuations are observed in the coastal zone possessing the resonant properties, arrival of meteotsunamis to these areas eventually results in exciting the seiches which are recorded. It is shown that in the coastal zone, cold fronts generate meteotsunamis, which, in their turn, give rise to seiches. Conclusions. The conditions for generating sea waves by the atmospheric disturbances within the range of the tsunami periods 2–120 minutes are described. It is found that movement of an extended cold front in the east-south direction leads to generation of the large-amplitude seiches in the region of the southern part of the Sakhalin Island, just where all the settlements are located. At a synoptic situation when two cold fronts are moving over the island, generation of high-amplitude seiches is possible in the places, near which a cold front is passing.

Seyshi, vyzyvayemyye atmosfernymi vozmushcheniyami v diapazone periodov meteotsunami, u poberezh'ya yuzhnoy poloviny ostrova Sakhalin

Purpose. The aim of the paper is to study four synoptic situations, in which the seiches energy in-crease was observed in the coastal zone of the southern part of the Sakhalin Island, and to consider their possible meteorological origin. Methods and Results. Records of the waves obtained in the Institute of Marine Geology and Geophys-ics in 2008 using both the instruments installed in eight points in the coastal zone of the southern part of the Sakhalin Island, and the synoptic maps provided by the Sakhalin Hydrometeorological Service Department, were used. For all the observation points, four synoptic situations characterized by in-crease of the seiches energy within the meteotsunami existence range were considered. It is shown that the amplitudes of the main part of the observed waves exceed the criterion equal to 4 xrms. There-fore the events under consideration can be related to meteotsunami; at that, their energy is distributed almost all over the whole range of tsunami waves. When meteotsunami is absent, energy of the sea level oscillations in the range 4–120 min is reduced by an order. Since fluctuations are observed in the coastal zone possessing the resonant properties, arrival of meteotsunamis to these areas eventually results in exciting the seiches which are recorded. It is shown that in the coastal zone, cold fronts generate meteotsunamis, which, in their turn, give rise to seiches. Conclusions. The conditions for generating sea waves by the atmospheric disturbances within the range of the tsunami periods 2–120 minutes are described. It is found that movement of an extended cold front in the east-south direction leads to generation of the large-amplitude seiches in the region of the southern part of the Sakhalin Island, just where all the settlements are located. At a synoptic situation when two cold fronts are moving over the island, generation of high-amplitude seiches is possible in the places, near which a cold front is passing.

Correction to: The ELFIN Mission

Correction to: Space Sci. Rev. (2020) 216: 103 Affiliation 2 in this article is the wrong affiliation that instead should read: “Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA” which should be regarded as the final version by the reader.

IRMA platform for the calculation of damages and risks of Italian residential buildings

Italian Risk MAps (IRMA) is an innovative IT platform developed by European centre for training and research in earthquake engineering (Eucentre) with funds of the Italian Civil Protection Department, and addressed to the scientific community. IRMA allows data sharing, methods and models aimed to evaluate the seismic risk of Italian residential buildings, in order to comply with the requirements of the “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030” (Sendai Framework). IRMA uses OpenQuake, a calculation engine developed as part of the Global Earthquake Model, to evaluate earthquake loss estimation. The user can create and upload different exposure/vulnerability databases as well as different sets of fragility curves on the platform. The hazard used in the platform is the MPS04 hazard model, developed by National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology that is actually the reference hazard map for the Italian code regulation. IRMA is extremely flexible: by combining the different exposure databases with all the possible sets of fragility curves, the user can produce maps of conditional damage (i.e. the return period is selected) or unconditional damage (i.e. an observation time window is selected). Damage scenarios can also be performed by using shakemaps of seismic events as input. The shakemaps, preloaded in the platform, are those referred to the recent seismic events in Italy. The article describes the context in which IRMA was developed, its features and architecture. IRMA was used in 2018 by DPC to produce the National Risk Assessment, in agreement with EU decision 1313/2013.

Short-term seismicity patterns along the most active faults in Iran

In this study, six seismically active fault systems located in different tectonic regimes have been surveyed. The data were from three Persian seismotectonic provinces (Alborz-Azarbaijan, Zagros and East-Central Iran) with different seismic properties, covering a time span of 8 years. The earthquake (Eq.) data have been recorded by the seismological network of the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Tehran, Iran (IGUT), the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology of Iran (IIEES), and also include the early large instrumental earthquakes in the Engdahl catalog. During this period, few months of seismic quiescence occurred on the entire length of both Dasht-e Bayaz (DB) and Abiz faults, while most of the moderate and large earthquakes occurred after few months of lack of seismicity on the Main Recent fault, DB, Golbaf and Kazeroun faults. Moreover, single and triple migration patterns of seismicity were regularly seen along Golbaf fault and North Tabriz fault (NTF), respectively. Some large earthquakes (the 2011, MN 5.2 Eq. of Golbaf F. and the 2008, MN 5.2 Eq. of NTF) occurred at the end of these seismicity migration patterns. Along NTF, a diffuse seismicity with no specific seismic pattern has been distinguished. In all the case studies and during the investigated time period the entire lengths of the fault systems were not active at the same time. Finally, there is not a clear relationship between the duration of the seismic gaps and the magnitude of large earthquakes with different co-seismic rupture lengths in depth.

Aerogeophysical characterization of an active subglacial lake system in the David Glacier catchment, Antarctica

Abstract. In the 2016–2017 austral summer, the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) and the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) collaborated to perform a helicopter-based radar and laser altimeter survey of lower David Glacier with the goals of characterizing the subglacial water distribution that supports a system of active subglacial lakes and informing the site selection for a potential subglacial access drilling project. This survey overlaps with and expands upon an earlier survey of the Drygalski Ice Tongue and the David Glacier grounding zone from 2011 and 2012 to create a 5 km resolution survey extending 200 km upstream from the grounding zone. The surveyed region covers two active subglacial lakes and includes reflights of ICESat ground tracks that extend the surface elevation record in the region. This is one of the most extensive aerogeophysical surveys of an active lake system and provides higher-resolution boundary conditions and basal characterizations that will enable process studies of these features. This paper introduces a new helicopter-mounted ice-penetrating radar and laser altimetry system, notes a discrepancy between the original surface-elevation-derived lake outlines and locations of possible water collection based on basal geometry and hydraulic potential, and presents radar-based observations of basal conditions that are inconsistent with large collections of ponded water despite laser altimetry showing that the hypothesized active lakes are at a highstand.

Preface

Edition contains the proceedings of the VIII All-Russian Conference on Atmospheric Electricity, dedicated to the 185th anniversary of the hydrometeorological service of Russia and the 85th anniversary of the High-Mountain Geophysical Institute of Roshydromet, held in Nalchik on September 23 and 27, 2019.The main part of the papers of the Conference was devoted to the development of methods and tools for observing the state of the electric field of the atmosphere, the thunderstorm state of clouds and lightning activity, and the interaction of electrical and meteorological processes in clouds, as well as the study of the influence of processes occurring in the upper atmosphere on the state of the electric field, its relationship with protons and solar activity. The results of mathematical modeling of electrical processes in the surface layer of the atmosphere, a three-dimensional model of a convective cloud with a detailed account of microphysical, electrical and thermodynamic processes, as well as issues of modeling thunderstorms were presented. The results of experimental and theoretical studies of the effect of electric field on charge water droplets, the growth charge of ice particles in clouds, in ice-forming properties of the reagent were considered. The issues of regulating thunderstorm activity, as well as the influence of variations in the electric field on meteorological phenomena that are dangerous for people were discussed.The present edition contains particular papers of Conference participants and is intended for a wide range of specialists engaged in the study of atmospheric electricity.

Peer review declaration

All papers published in this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.□ Type of peer review: Single-blind / Double-blind / Triple-blind / Open / Other (please describe) Double-blindThe conference Program Committee chose 4 reviewers. The papers were distributed so that each was reviewed by two reviewers.List of reviewers:✓ Fedchenko L.M. – Grand PhD in geographical sciences, professor, research advisor, High-Mountain Geophysical Institute;✓ Senov H. M. – Grand PhD in physico-mathematical sciences, professor, Institute of Computer Science, Electronics and Robotics;✓ Kalov H.M. - Grand PhD in physico-mathematical sciences, professor, research advisor, High-Mountain Geophysical Institute;✓ Barekova M. V. – PhD in physico-mathematical sciences, scientific secretary, High-Mountain Geophysical Institute. Conference submission management system: Conference site:http://vgistikhiya.ru/index.php/konferentsiiConference secretary mail: sozaeva.lezhinka@yandex.ru□ Number of submissions received: 18 □ Number of submissions sent for review: 18 □ Number of submissions accepted:16 □ Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 88,88 □ Average number of reviews per paper: 2 □ Total number of reviewers involved:4 □ Any additional info on review process: □ Contact person for queries: Sozaeva Lezhinka Tanashevna, +7(928) 723 20 08, sozaeva.lezhinka@yandex.ru