Lower Don River Research Articles

AMS Radiocarbon Dating from the Neolithic of Eastern Ukraine Casts Doubts on Existing Chronologies

The Seversky Donets River (Northern Donets) basin in eastern Ukraine and the Lower Don River valley in Russia were inhabited by populations that have been considered to be one of the earliest pottery-using cultures in Europe. The early pottery sites are all located on riverbanks and contain middens with many mollusk shells and fish bones. This suggests the intense exploitation of freshwater resources. The accuracy of radiocarbon dates obtained from these locations is of crucial importance for understanding the development of new technologies, diversification of the food consumed and its preparation strategies, as well as the degree of sedentism in this region, associated with the beginnings of pottery-making technology. The chronology of Neolithic sites in this region, however, was developed on the basis of 14C dates commonly obtained through the dating of freshwater mollusk shells, pottery with mollusk shell temper, or organic residue on pottery shards. Such samples are potentially affected by the freshwater reservoir effect, raising concerns about the accuracy of those dates. This paper presents accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates from a small pilot study from sites in eastern Ukraine in order to test for the presence of the reservoir effect in this region. The AMS 14C dates presented in this paper challenge the 14C chronology based on mollusk shell or organic residue, which appears to generate much older dates than those on wood charcoal or terrestrial animal bone.

Upper Paleolithic subsistence practices in the southern Russian Plain: paleolandscapes and settlement system of Kamennaya Balka sites

In this article, the methodical and practical problems of creating reconstructions of the subsistence practices and settlement systems for Lowland Upper Paleolithic sites are discussed. Sites of the Kamennaya Balka district are located in small valleys on the right bank of the Lower Don River near its mouth. The environment of the area of the archaeological sites was investigated with combined geological-geomorphological, pedological, paleozoological, and pollen methods. The paleolandscapes and paleоgeographic reconstructions of the main stages of the relief and landscape development of the sites area as the mutual features of the subsistence strategies in this region for the period of 17,000–14,000 BP are described. The complex of paleoecological research of the Kamennaya Balka clearly show that the “steppe zone” did not exist as a single entity, but it was divided into numerous separate loci with their specific features of occupation and cultural adaptations. Our investigations gave a principally different picture of vegetation and climate. During three periods of settlement at the Kamennaya Balka II, paleoecological conditions changed but in a general way remained favourable.

Spiders (Aranei) and some of their cenotic links in gully forests of the Lower Don River

The spider fauna (Aranei) of gully forests at the Lower Don River are discussed. The diversity and richness of the taxonomic composition of araneofauna are described; 201 species from 110 genera and 26 families have been identified. Mesophilic species with a wide range of habitats form the basis of the spider fauna in gully forests; 23% of all spiders are forest species. Great similarity has been observed between the araneofaunae of different types of gully forests. The species Phrurolithus minimus and Dipoena melanogaster are new to the spider fauna of Rostov oblast. The role of spiders as food items for nestlings of the great tit (Parus major) and the blue tit (P. caeruleus) has been shown. Selectivity in the choice of prey by two species of tits in the gully forest at the Lower Don River has been revealed. Spiders in the nestling food of P. caeruleus constitute about 50%.

Relative abundance of two dreissenid species, Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis in the Lower Don River system, Russia

Relative abundance of two dreissenid species, Dreissena rostriformis bugensis and Dreissena polymorpha, in the total dreissenid community was calculated for 15 sites in the lower Don River system, Russia, between 1977 and 2010 to determine relative trends in their sympatric occurrence. The proportion of D. r. bugensis first increased at most stations reaching a maximum by 1999. However, after 1999, this species consistently decreased at 14 of the 15 sites. Degree of decline seems to correlate strongly to calcium content and total mineral content of the water. At sites in the Manych River with a higher Ca 2+ and total mineral content, the proportion of D. r. bugensis in the total dreissenid population declined from 65–75% in 1999 to 14–22% by 2009–2010, whereas at sites in the Don River with lower Ca 2+ and total mineral content its proportion declined from 25–50% to only 1 %. However, Ca 2+ and total mineral content cannot explain the synchronous and consistent long-term decrease in relative numbers as observed. D. r. bugensis normally displaces D. polymorpha over time due to superior physiological characteristics. Reasons for the decline of D. r. bugensis in the total dreissenid community are unclear, but given its synchronicity despite different times of invasion and hence species interactions we assume a macroregional factor affecting all the populations examined.

Comparing Hyperspectral and Multispectral Imagery for Land Classification of the Lower Don River, Toronto

Urban greenspace is important for the health of cities. Up-to-date databases and information are vital to maintain and monitor growth in cities. During the last decade, advances in spaceborne hyperspectral sensors have resulted in some advantages being gained over multispectral sensors for land cover monitoring (due to increased spectral resolution). The objective of this research was to compare Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) Hyperion hyperspectral data to Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Satellite Probatoire d’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) 5 multispectral data for land cover classification in a dense urban landscape. For comparative analysis, orthorectified aerial imagery provided by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) was used as ground truth data for accuracy assessment. This study utilized conventional and segmented principal components (CPCA and SPCA) for data compression on the Hyperion imagery, and used principal components analysis (PCA) as a visual enhancement technique for multispectral imagery. Image processing including the generation of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and mean texture was also performed for both Landsat and SPOT sensors. Unsupervised iterative self-organizing data analysis (ISODATA) classification procedures were performed on all images to produce land cover classification maps for a portion of the Lower Don River in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Experiments conducted in this research demonstrated that hyperspectral imagery produced a higher overall accuracy (5-6% better) than multispectral data with the same resolution for defining vegetation cover. In addition, SPOT generated greater accuracy results than Landsat or Hyperion for vegetation classes. It was found that conventional Hyperion and segmented Hyperion methods outperformed the Landsat 5 TM sensor for vegetation differences (for tree canopy and open green spaces).

Monitoring the seasonal dynamics of ecologically tolerable levels for water regime, temperature, and pH in water objects of the Lower Don River

The feasibility of ecological standardization of physicochemical factors that do not refer to concentrations of polluting substances (water regime, water temperature, and pH) is confirmed. The opportunity of standardization is provided with the approach developed by the authors, which is based on joint analysis of the data of biological and physicochemical monitoring. Additional opportunities provided by the method used for the analysis are connected with calculating the admissible influence values that vary in time. The seasonal dynamics of the obtained ecologically tolerable levels (ETL) for factors disturbing the well being of biological indicators is investigated. The water sample points are analyzed concerning their ecological well being or ill being depending on observance or nonobservance of ETL values.

Long-term dynamics of water-borne nitrogen, phosphorus and suspended solids in the lower Don River basin (Russian Federation)

A long-term study (1986–2002) of water-borne nutrient and suspended solids dynamics was undertaken on the lower Don River, which plays an extremely important role in the water supply of the Black Sea and Azov Sea basin. Suspended solids were greatest in spring and summer and were correlated to river discharge. Mean annual nitrogen concentrations increased from 1986 to 1995 and then decreased from 1996 to 2002. Unlike nitrogen, phosphorus concentrations (both phosphates and total phosphorus) gradually increased throughout the study period changing the river from an oligotrophic to upper mesotrophic status. If this trend continues phytoplankton could become nitrogen-limited leading to the development of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial blooms. No obvious relation between fertiliser usage over the Rostovskaya Oblast and nutrient dynamic patterns was identified, probably because only 10% of the water in the river comes from this area. The reason for the unusual and contradictory nitrogen and phosphorus changes remain largely unknown for this regulated river.

Recent trends in relative abundance of two dreissenid species, Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena bugensis in the Lower Don River system, Russia

We sampled sites in the lower Don River system, Russia between 1977 and 2004 (5 sites) or between 1999 and 2004 (10 sites) to determine relative trends in two dreissenid species, Dreissena bugensis and Dreissena polymorpha. The sites were located in the main river, in connecting reservoirs, and in a major tributary, the Man- ych River. For sites sampled beginning in 1977, D. bugensis was first found in the lower river in 1980 and then more upstream in 1991. The relative proportion of D. bugensis increased to reach a maximum of 30-50% of the dreissenid population by 1999. After 1999, this species decreased at 14 of the 15 sites. At sites in the Don River, the proportion that D. bugensis comprised of the total dreissenid population after 1999 declined from 25-50% to 10-18%, whereas at sites in the Manych River the propor- tion declined from 65-75 % to 33-43 %. The decline of D. bugensis relative to D. polymorpha is unique; in most other water bodies D. bugensis displaces D. poly- morpha over time because of its superior physiological attributes. Reasons for the rela- tive decline of D. bugensis are unclear, but we speculate that selective predation by fish may be a potential factor.

Relative Distributions of Dreissena bugensis and Dreissena polymorpha in the Lower Don River System, Russia

AbstractA survey was conducted in the lower Don River system in Russia to confirm the presence of Dreissena bugensis, and to compare its distribution relative to that of Dreissena polymorpha. In 1999 and 2001–2002, dreissenid mussels were collected at 15 sites in the main river, in connecting reservoirs, and in a major tributary, the Manych River. Collections were made near stations where long‐term monitoring data on total mineral (sum of principal ions) and calcium content were available. Both dreissenid species were found at all sites, with D. bugensis comprising 4–75% of all dreissenids at individual sites. D. bugensis was relatively more abundant than D. polymorpha in the Manych River where total mineral and calcium content was significantly higher than in the Don River, suggesting the two species may have different calcium requirements. Examination of archived samples indicated that D. bugensis was present in the Don River system as early as the 1980s, presenting the unresolved enigma of why D. bugensis has not displaced D. polymorpha as the dominant species as typically found over shorter time periods in other water bodies. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Biotesting in the Assessment of Environmental and Toxicological State of Water Bodies in Lower Don River Basin

The toxicity of river water in the Lower Don basin was studied using biotesting with different biological objects. Water taken from most examined reaches of the Don and its tributaries was shown to exert toxic effect on crustaceans, algae, protozoa, and Rotifera.

Optimization of Storage/Treatment Scheme for Combined Sewer Overflows

The evaluation of various schemes to eliminate Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) from the City of Toronto to the lower Don River and the shores of Lake Ontario resulted in the selection of a storage tunnel system, from which flows are pumped to a treatment facility before discharge to the receiving waters. This paper discusses the procedure used and the results obtained to optimize the combination of the storage volume and treatment rate to meet the required objectives. To analyze the effectiveness of this scheme in reducing the number of overflow events and the total volume of the CSO, long term simulations were carried out. The City's Quantity-Quality Simulation model (QQS model, developed by Dorsch Consult) was calibrated and run for four years of rainfall record. These years were selected as two average precipitation years, a dry year and a wet year representing the last twenty years of precipitation record. The model was used to predict the frequency of overflows resulting from different storage volumes (represented by tunnel sizes) and different treatment rates (represented by pumping rates from the tunnel). A family of curves was plotted using the QQS results, to present the relationship between the storage volume and the treatment rate vs. the effectiveness of the scheme presented by the resulting number of CSO events per year, and the percentage reduction in the overall annual CSO volume. To optimize the scheme the total cost of the storage and treatment was estimated, and a family of curves was produced among alternative schemes consisting of combinations of storage sizes and treatment rates, their effectiveness and their overall cost. The curves were plotted to present the effectiveness in the entire waterfront area, as well as the effectiveness in separate areas, since different water quality objectives were set up according to the water use activities in those areas. The procedure then identified the most cost effective combination of tunnel sizes and treatment capacity to meet the objectives in the different areas.

Changes in the Geography of Population Centers in Connection with Creation of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir

AbstractThe author discusses some of the problems involved in the resettlement of population from lands flooded by the filling of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir on the lower Don River in 1952 in connection with construction of the Volga-Don Canal.