Azov Sea Region Research Articles

Early Palaeolithic sites on the Taman Peninsula (Southern Azov Sea region, Russia): Bogatyri/Sinyaya Balka and Rodniki

New archaic Early Palaeolithic sites, Bogatyri/Sinyaya Balka and Rodniki, are reported from the Taman Peninsula in southern Russia. The geological setting of the sites as well as the mammal fauna, palynological data, and palaeomagnetic data clearly indicate mid Early Pleistocene, Early Biharian age of the deposits. In many of its typological and technological characteristics, the archaeological assemblages of Bogatyri/Sinyaya Balka and Rodniki are similar to the Oldowan industry, although they show specific local features.

Secular climate fluctuations in the Sea of Azov region (based on thermohaline data over 120 years)

Social and economic progress depends on many factors, weather and climate included. Present-day longterm forecasting infers global warming. However, the great interest shown by specialists in long-term and still debatable climatic tendencies should be balanced by a deep consideration for weather cataclysms. Their scrutiny in a long-term aspect may help to orient the society and economy toward the assessment of real natural risks. A glowing example of this thesis is the severe winter in 2006 on the East European Plain from Murmansk to Krasnodar. The weather on this territory spanning several thousand kilometers was characterized by both very low air temperatures (from ‐20 ° to ‐30 ° C) and a long period (more than 40 days) of frosts. The extremely cold winter caused arctic ice conditions with typical hummocking in the northern Caspian Sea, the Kerch Strait, and the Sea of Azov. The ice thickness reached 0.5 m, and the height of ice hummocks reached 1.5‐2.5 m. On the Taman Peninsula, vineyards and Lenkoran acacia planted about 50 years ago were destroyed by frost. Similar winters took place in 1910‐ 1911 and 1952‐1954. Unpredicted southwestern galetype gusty (up to 30 m/s) winds resulted in a significant shipwreck (12 vessels) in the Kerch Strait in November 2007. When analyzing climatic rhythms, one should rely upon the whole arsenal of methods and approaches, which give an integral image of natural trends. In particular, the paleogeographic analysis of sediment cores provides important information on climate chronology [1, 2]. The change of dominant zoobenthos assemblages on the shelf indicates climate fluctuations. Annual rings of trees and fish scales represent an additional source of information about the biotope of the mentioned biota during the tens of years of their life. Regular monitoring on standard hydrological sections

Progressively cooler, drier interglacials in southern Russia through the Quaternary: Evidence from the Sea of Azov region

Loess-palaeosol exposures along Taganrog Bay, Sea of Azov, in southern Russia, reveal a complex succession of Quaternary palaeoenvironments over the past 0.7 million years. The deposits overlie marine sediments of Tiraspolian (Cromerian) age. At the key section of Semibalki-1, four palaeosol complexes are identified within the series. The earliest palaeosol complex in the Semibalki-1 section is correlated with the late Muchkap Interglacial (the Vorona palaeosol). The soil type resembled modern subtropical Mediterranean region soils. The later Middle Pleistocene palaeosols bear evidence of soil-forming processes typical of various temperate zone environments, with a gradual transition to increasingly cooler, drier conditions. Soils suggesting transitional development between kastenozems and chernozems developed during the Likhvin Interglacial (Inzhavino PC). PC 2 (Kamenka Interglacial) is typified by eluviated Luvic Chernozemic soils, possibly formed under prairie parkland conditions. Finally, the Mikulino Integlacial of the Late Pleistocene (Mezin PC) is represented by chernozems similar to the modern (Holocene) soils of the region, but showing enhanced podzolization and fewer seasonal frost features. A succession of environmental changes has been traced in the study region, from semi-humid subtropical environments at the end of the Early Pleistocene to prairie environments, then to boreal-mild temperate during the Middle Pleistocene, and finally towards landscapes with typical steppe soils in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The sequence indicates that moisture supply and temperatures during successive interglacials shifted progressively towards increasingly cooler, somewhat drier climates, influencing soil formation.

Solving the Ecological Problems of Sand-Coquina Landscapes in the Eastern Sea of Azov Region by Means of Afforestation

Solving the Ecological Problems of Sand-Coquina Landscapes in the Eastern Sea of Azov Region by Means of Afforestation

Problems of Population Dynamics of the White-Eyed Pochard ( Aythya nyroca Guld., 1770) in the Eastern Sea of Azov Region

The long-term population dynamics of the white-eyed pochard ( Aythya nyroca ) in the eastern Sea of Azov region was analyzed. It was found that the local population of this species tends to decrease in size. Clutch size, egg size, reproductive behavior, intraspecific clutches, embryonic mortality, and hatching success in this population were studied. The contents of PCDD and PCDF in the eggs of waterfowl were estimated. The eggs of white-eyed pochard, compared to other waterfowl, proved to contain abnormally high concentrations of xenobiotics. Possible causes of A. nyroca population decline, including the impact of superecotoxicants, are discussed.

Wind effects on prey availability: How northward migrating waders use brackish and hypersaline lagoons in the sivash, Ukraine

Large numbers of waders migrating northward in spring use the Sivash, a large system of shallow, brackish and hypersaline lagoons in the Black Sea and Azov Sea region (Ukraine). The bottoms of these lagoons are often uncovered by the wind. Hence, for waders the time and space available for feeding depend on wind conditions. In hypersaline lagoons the benthic and pelagic fauna was very poor, consisting mainly of chironomid larvae (0.19 g AFDM·m −2) and brine shrimps Artemia salina, respectively. Brine shrimp abundance was correlated with salinity, wind force, wind direction and water depth. Dunlin Calidris alpina and curlew sandpiper Calidris ferruginea were the only species feeding on brine shrimp. As brine shrimp densities are higher in deeper water, smaller waders such as broad-billed sandpipers Limicola falcinellus are too short-legged to reach exploitable densities of brine shrimp. In brackish lagoons the benthic and pelagic fauna was rich, consisting of polychaetes, bivalves, gastropods, chironomid larvae, isopods and amphipods (8.9 to 30.5 g AFDM·m −2), but there were no brine shrimps. Prey biomass increased with the distance from the coast, being highest on the site that was most frequently inundated. Dunlin, broad-billed sandpiper and grey plover Pluvialis squatarola were the most abundant birds in the brackish lagoon. Due to the effects of wind-tides only a small area was usually available as a feeding site. Gammarus insensibilis was the alternative prey resource in the water layer, and their density varied with wind direction in the same way as brine shrimp. Curlew sandpipers and dunlins in the hypersaline lagoons and broad-billed sandpipers in the brackish lagoons often changed feeding sites, probably following the variation in prey availability. Only because of the large size and variety of lagoons are waders in the Sivash always able to find good feeding sites.

Relict features of loess in the Sea of Azov region

Relict features of loess in the Sea of Azov region