Western Shore Research Articles

Materiality of Seclusion: A Decorated Monastic Hermitage in the Dead Sea Escarpment

The monastic practice of Lenten retreats in the desert is attested in ancient Palestine by the early fifth century. However, within the large archaeological corpus of desert monasticism, sites that can be positively identified as Lenten hermitages were previously unattested. The hermitage discovered during the recent survey of the Dead Sea Escarpment is situated in a rock shelter in a narrow natural ledge, part of the high cliff towering the western shore of the Dead Sea. The harsh, arid environment and lack of perennial water sources nearby make the site a suitable abode mainly during the spring season. The walls of the shelter are covered by two layers of plaster bearing the remains of two different decorative programs, adorning the cell with red paintings and repetitive round medallions and blind arcades. Both phases of decoration exhibit initial lining, probably in preparation for relatively long texts. The sophisticated decoration of this isolated hermitage, which was not meant to impress visitors but rather to stimulate spiritual work in solitude far from the distractions of the outside world, provides an exceptional opportunity to discuss the interaction between the landscape, the image, and the written word in the ascetic practices of Palestinian monasticism.

Pharmaceuticals and other contaminants of emerging concern in Admiralty Bay as a result of untreated wastewater discharge: Status and possible environmental consequences

Considering how the impact of human activity in Antarctica is growing, the aim of this study was to conduct the first assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), other emerging contaminants (ECs), and antibiotic resistance genes present in the western shore of the Admiralty Bay region of King George Island. In total, more than 170 substances were evaluated to assess the potential environmental risks they pose to the study area. The major evaluated source of pollutants in this study is discharged untreated wastewater. The highest PPCP concentrations in wastewater were found for naproxen (2653 ngL˗1), diclofenac (747 ngL˗1), ketoconazole (760 ngL˗1), ibuprofen (477 ngL˗1) and acetaminophen (332 ngL˗1). Moreover, the concentrations of benzotriazole (6340 ngL˗1) and caffeine (3310 ngL˗1) were also high. The Risk Quotient values indicate that azole antifungals (ketoconazole), anti-inflammatories (diclofenac, ibuprofen) and stimulants (caffeine) are the main groups responsible for the highest toxic burden. In addition, antibiotic resistance genes integrons (int 1) and sulphonamide resistance genes (sul 1–2) were detected in wastewater and seawater. These results indicate that regular monitoring of PPCPs and other ECs is of great importance in this environment. Additionally, the following mitigation strategies are suggested: (1) to create a centralised record of the medications prescribed and consumed in situ (to improve knowledge of potential contaminants without analysis); (2) to use more environmentally friendly substitutes both for pharmaceuticals and personal care products when possible (limiting consumption at the source); and (3) to apply advanced systems for wastewater treatment before discharge to the recipient (end-of-pipe technologies as a final barrier).

Spatio-temporal trends in the density and condition of a secondary consumer, Bythotrephes, in southern Lake Michigan

Natural gradients in temperature, nutrient loading, and primary productivity contribute to broad scale regional differences in the food web structure of large lakes, such as Lake Michigan. These factors influence spatial patterns of primary production and resource reliance of high trophic level consumers. Secondary consumers, such as larval fish and predatory zooplankton represent an important intermediate link within large lake food webs, but spatial patterns in their density and physiological condition have not been as thoroughly assessed. To analyze the spatial and temporal condition of secondary consumers in Lake Michigan, we sampled the ubiquitous spiny water flea, Bythotrephes cederströmii during the 2015 Cooperative Science and Monitoring field year in Lake Michigan. Monthly estimates of density, instar frequency, length-at-age, and RNA content of Bythotrephes were compared between the eastern and western shores of southern Lake Michigan. Condition indices differed seasonally between the eastern and western shores. During June-August, Bythotrephes were more abundant and in better condition along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, but in September, all indices were comparable between transects. While this study focused on a single year, other studies across multiple years have demonstrated consistent upwellings and cooler temperatures along the western shore of southern Lake Michigan relative to the eastern shore. A temporal lag in preferable environmental conditions along the western shore may be common and lead to delayed growth and reduced physiological condition of secondary consumers, such as predatory zooplankton and late spring emerging larval fish.

The modern wave-induced coastal staircase morphology along the western shores of the Dead Sea

This research provides insights into the formation of the coastal cliffs comprising the staircase morphology along the western coast of the Dead Sea as a result of its anthropogenic, regressive modern (last ~50 years) lake-level fall. The analysis of this morphology is based on observations and measurements of the impact of seasonal lake-level rises of 0–0.2 m and 0.7–2 m in normal versus exceptionally wet winters, respectively. We conducted repeated detailed topographic surveys of the shores for characterizing the evolving morphology with time, and coupled them with wind speed and wave amplitude during cliff formations. The detailed lake-level curve and the almost monotonic level decline allow associating each cliff with the exact year and season of its formation. This detailed chronology allowed, in turn, to identify and associate the pronounced and well-documented seasonality in the lake-level fall with the wind and wave data during specific seasons, years, and multi-year episodes. As a result, we can point at the controlling processes and environmental conditions for cliff formation. Under the regional Mediterranean climate with its distinct seasonality, winters are characterized by eastern Mediterranean low-pressure systems, generating the Jordan River flow in its northern headwaters and its discharge into the lake; this discharge controls the level fluctuations. At the Dead Sea area, these winter systems precipitate little. However, they generate high winds and storm waves that erode an additional coastal cliff at the base of the preexisting staircase every winter. Therefore, at the seasonal scale, a clear separation exists between (a) individual, cliff-forming, stronger wind storms operating only during winters under relatively stable water levels, and (b) the ~1-m annual lake-level fall, mostly during summers. This pronounced seasonality in both the wind and lake level (a) dictates the seasonal pace of cliff formation at vertical intervals similar to the magnitude (~1 m) of the annual lake-level fall by evaporation and artificial brine diversion, and (b) facilitates the cliff separation in the landscape. This regular pacing by winter storms, the minor lake-level rises, and the annual evaporation and diversion support the preservation of the individual cliffs that assemble into the staircase morphology in the coarse-clastic delta fronts and mudflats characterizing the recently emerging coast. Anomalous lake-level rises during exceptionally wet winters are more erosive, even with regular wind storms; they create the largest lateral erosion. Under the emerging shore topography, which results from the steep bathymetry, the outcome is cliffs often much higher than the respective amplitude of their causative lake-level rises. This depends on the duration of the rise and of individual storms and indicates that under the variance of the modern hydroclimatology, the abnormal seasonal lake-level rises operating with regular winter storms, can aggressively erode the shore.Proposed plans to stabilize or raise the falling water level of the Dead Sea would induce coastal erosion and stream incision, which would threaten the existing highway and other infrastructure built close to its shore.

Observations of the Development and Vertical Structure of the Lake-Breeze Circulation during the 2017 Lake Michigan Ozone Study

Abstract Ground-based thermodynamic and kinematic profilers were placed adjacent to the western shore of Lake Michigan at two sites as part of the 2017 Lake Michigan Ozone Study. The southern site near Zion, Illinois, hosted a microwave radiometer (MWR) and a sodar wind profiler, while the northern site in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, featured an Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI), a Doppler lidar, and a High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL). Each site experienced several lake-breeze events during the experiment. Composite time series and time–height cross sections were constructed relative to the lake-breeze arrival time so that commonalities across events could be explored. The composited surface observations indicate that the wind direction of the lake breeze was consistently southeasterly at both sites regardless of its direction before the arrival of the lake-breeze front. Surface relative humidity increased with the arriving lake breeze, though this was due to cooler air temperatures as absolute moisture content stayed the same or decreased. The profiler observations show that the lake breeze penetrated deeper when the local environment was unstable and preexisting flow was weak. The cold air associated with the lake breeze remained confined to the lowest 200 m of the troposphere even if the wind shift was observed at higher altitudes. The evolution of the lake breeze corresponded well to observed changes in baroclinicity and calculated changes in circulation. Collocated observations of aerosols showed increases in number and mass concentrations after the passage of the lake-breeze front.

Paleo Isobaths in 3D Seismic Exploration Data Uncover Submerged Shorelines From Glacial Lowstands: A Case Study From the Levant Basin

Modern petroleum exploration extracts 3D volumes of seismic data where certain curves can be drawn delimiting stratigraphic horizons. Such curves hold a promise as piercings for identifying tectonic offsets in 3D. Pinchout points on vertical sections connect with adjacent sections to form contours in 3D. Such a contour, showing quasi-uniform depth, may be considered a paleo-isobath. Here we focus on pinchout paleo-isobaths in the western shores of the Levant that might record ∼120 m drop in sea level at the peak of late Quaternary glacials. We identified a pinchout isobath, ∼15 km offshore, ∼140 m below sea level. Water depth averages ∼90 m, and sediment cover averages ∼45 m. Allowing for isostatic adjustment, this is compatible with eustatic levels of the last two glacial maxima. We hypothesize that the contour mapped is closely related to the shoreline of one of the last glacial maxima. The pinchout pattern is continuous for ∼25 km in the southern reaches of the survey area, at depths of 137 ± 2.5 m, an isobath within the observational uncertainty. The isobath is lost for ∼10 km in the central portion of the survey, north of which a slightly deeper isobath reappears for 7 km, until it disappears approaching a bathymetric trough. The deeper pinchout isobath reappears in the northernmost section of the survey, where it deepens by an average of 5–6 m relative to the southern part (from 137 m to 142 m). The deepening of the pinchout contour is consistent with massive sliding underlying the trough. Sliding here has been attributed to sediment load or salt tectonics, and has been recently associated with a local tsunami dating 9.6 ± 0.3 ka. Recent work relocated the deepest earthquakes on the Levant southern shelf (depths circa 30 km) to the trough, with epicenters coinciding with the boundary faults. This may indicate an active deep-seated tectonic feature. Expressions of the contour outside the survey area will offer tests to our paleo-shoreline hypothesis. Additional pinchout isobaths and pinchout contours associated with earlier lowstands will help constrain tectonic rates as well as glacial eustatic levels and hydro-isostatic effects, with potential regional and global applications.

First finds of sessile ciliates (Ciliophora) in artificial and natural caverns on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea

The article presents sessile ciliates (Ciliophora) found during first studies of biological diversity of the underwater part of the artificial canal, created in the middle of the 20th century on the western shore of the Balaklava Bay (Sevastopol, the Black Sea), and the natural coastal Catherine Grotto (Cape Aya, the Black Sea). In total, 4 species of ciliates were found, one of which Cothurnia ovalis Kahl, 1933, is new not only for Balaklava Bay, but for the Black Sea. Description of the species, their systematic position, morphometric characteristics and information about their distribution are given.

Spatio-temporal variation of cyclone intensity over the coastal region of Bangladesh using 134 years track analysis

The cyclone tracks from 1877 to 2020 were analyzed to detect the spatial and temporal intensity. The tracks were gathered from previously published works. The previous articles' tracks were digitized and converted to shape files for analysis in Arc-GIS. A total 126 cyclone tracks were used to detect monthly and seasonal cyclone intensity and spatial variations. The fluctuations were examined over a 30-year period, which is believed to be the climate of a particular location. Tropical cyclones hit the Bay of Bengal's coast starting in May and lasting until December. In May and October, the number of cyclones is at its peak (26 nos in each month). From June through September, the number of cyclones fell. In October and November, the number of cyclones increased dramatically. The number of cyclones substantially fell in December, and no cyclones were observed from January through March. From 1939 through 1969, the highest number of cyclones (36) was recorded. In the mid- and late-twentieth century, there were a higher number of cyclones. The coastal region of Bangladesh suffered the fewest cyclones in history over the recent era (2001–2020). The western shore was particularly vulnerable from 1877 to 1907, and the entire coastal region was dangerous from 1908 to 2000. In the Post-monsoon (October to December) season, the number of cyclones is lower than in the Monsoon period (May to September). In the pre-monsoon season, 71 cyclones strike, while in the Monsoon season, 53 cyclones strike.

Sensitivity of tidal hydrodynamics to varying bathymetric configurations in a multi‐inlet rapidly eroding salt marsh system: A numerical study

AbstractWe describe the development of a high‐resolution, two‐dimensional hydrodynamic model for a multi‐inlet rapidly eroding tidal wetland on the western shore of Delaware Bay, using the finite‐volume, primitive equation community ocean model (FVCOM). Topo‐bathymetric surveys, together with water surface and current velocity measurements during calm and stormy conditions, have been conducted to support model validation. The tested model is then used to quantify the tide‐induced residual transport and asymmetry at major inlet entrances to determine the governing hydrodynamics. We chose a skewness method to calculate the tidal asymmetry and serve as a proxy for sediment transport estimates. The effects of the dredging of an artificial entrance channel and progressive channel deepening in shifting wetland hydrodynamics are shown by developing a scenario analysis. Model results show that the artificially dredged channel has altered the volume exchange at other inlet entrances and increased the net seaward export. The changes in the characteristic frequency of the frictional dissipation in the channel and the system's natural frequency are investigated using a simple ocean–inlet–bay analytical model. Subsequently, we have compared the channel friction scale to the inertia scale and observed that the new connection and gradual channel deepening reduce the overall frictional dominance. Ultimately, the study has shown how the short‐ and long‐term channel bathymetry changes, mainly the artificially dredged channel and progressive channel deepening, can affect the connected system's net circulation and trigger internal marsh erosion.

Description of four Iolaus Hbner, 1819 species in the subgenus Philiolaus Stempffer amp; Bennett, 1958 from East Africa, assigned to the proposed I. maritimus species group (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Theclinae).

Four new Iolaus Hbner, 1819 species are described in the subgenus Philiolaus Stempffer Bennett, 1958. They are assigned to the newly formed I. maritimus species group. Members of the group occur in the coastal forests of Kenya, submontane and montane forests in Tanzania and Mozambique, and are locally distributed in montane forests at the western shores of Lake Malawi, in southwestern Tanzania, and northern Zambia/Malawi.

Wind-driven upwelling and surface nutrient delivery in a semi-enclosed coastal sea

Abstract. Wind-driven upwelling is an important control on surface nutrients and water properties in stratified lakes and seas. In this study, a high-resolution biophysical coupled model is used to investigate upwelling in the Strait of Georgia on the Canadian Pacific coast. The model is forced with surface winds from a high-resolution atmospheric forecast and has been tuned in previous studies to reproduce extensive observations of water level, temperature, salinity, nutrients and chlorophyll with competitive skill relative to similar models of the study region. A total of 5 years of hourly surface nitrate and temperature fields are analyzed in order to characterize the dominant upwelling patterns of the basin. A prevailing along-axis wind pattern steered by mountainous topography produces episodic upwelling along the western shore during the spring and fall southeasterlies and along the eastern shore during the summer northwesterlies, as indicated by positive nitrate anomalies. Principal component analysis reveals that these cross-axis upwelling patterns account for nearly one-third of the surface nitrate variance during the summer productive season. By contrast, nearly half of the surface temperature variance over the same period is dominated by a single, combined mixing and diurnal heating–cooling pattern. The principal components associated with these patterns correlate with along-axis wind stress in a manner consistent with these physical interpretations. The cross-axis upwelling response to wind is similar to other dynamically wide basins where the baroclinic Rossby deformation radius is smaller than the basin width. However, the nitrate anomaly during upwelling along the eastern shore is stronger in the northern basin, which may be indicative of an along-axis pycnocline tilt or an effect of the background along-axis stratification gradient due to the Fraser River. Our findings highlight an important spatiotemporal consideration for future ecosystem monitoring.

Great Britain in the conflict over Iran oil: the First World War period

The article highlights the activities of Great Britain in the competition for control over oil fields and the oil industry in Iran (Persia) and the South Caucasus in 1914-1918, which was not the subject of special research in Russian historiography. On the eve of the war, Great Britain actually controlled the production and refining of oil in Persia through the AngloPersian Oil Company. With the outbreak of the war, British interests in the region were put under threat by Germany and the Ottoman Empire, which sought to challenge the British monopoly on Persian oil. Despite the fact that the territory of Persia remained far from the major battles of World War I, the country was a strategically important war theater for Great Britain. The British troops stationed in Persia controlled the territory of southern Persia, while the north of the country was controlled by Russian troops. After Russia’s withdrawal from the war at the end of 1917, there was a threat of strengthening the positions of Turkish troops and their allies in Persia and their advance to the Caucasus, to the oil fields of Baku. To counter this threat, a special taskforce was formed, called «Dunsterforce». During its 8-month stay in Persia, Dunsterforce strengthened the British position in the country, successfully suppressing anti-British forces with weapons, diplomacy and the pound sterling. Dunsterforce failed to protect Baku from capture by the Turks in September 1918. However, in November 1918, British troops managed to take over Baku. As a result, by the end of the war the western, eastern and southern shores of the Caspian Sea were under the full control of the British military. under the full control of the British military.

Run Away from History

Run Away from History Kazim Ali (bio) I’m at the tail end of this conversation but also at the tail end of history. Fanny Howe says five Black boys on a corner (any corner) are “runaways from history.” Meaning they are still enslaved. Still a slave. Tongo Eisen-Martin says, “I am arrested all the time for nothing.” And yet there is no white crime in America, statistically speaking, no police crime. When a dog wagged its tail and approached Christian Cooper in Central Park a white woman began screaming. That is the mythic beginning of the end for a Black man: a white woman screaming. It doesn’t matter what laws apply to his body because Blackness is the first law. It happened exactly when George Floyd was expiring. I thought of his breathlessness when I read about Amy Cooper screaming into her phone in Central Park. “Cooper,” every newspaper found it necessary to mention, “is of no relationship to Cooper.” Floyd being pressed from breath is what Cooper in her brutal imagination wanted to happen to Cooper. Fanny is the mother of a novelist and a designer, mother-in-law of another novelist and a poet, aunt to a novelist, sister to a poet, daughter of an actress and a Pink Boy, mentored by a playwright called Beckett, mentor to an aspirant named Ali, who followed her from the Vineyard to the Western shore, as did the characters in her novels, obsessed also with understanding race in America, trying to understand what is the worth of a person. I saw Tongo Eisen-Martin recite his poetry twice, and each time—for twenty minutes or a half hour—he recited off the page, only from memory, no, not from memory, membery, but from breath. In breath his lines arose. I kept checking against the page because I thought he might be engaging in a more ancient practice of inspiration, but no, not that: the words were as inscribed. [End Page 139] What words inscribe laws on bodies? Old Western ones that began with the representation of wealth: value placed upon labor and bodies required to transfer wealth. But from whom to whom? One Cooper was looking for birds. But in Black life in America the most ordinary event brushes up against death. [End Page 140] Kazim Ali Kazim Ali is the author of numerous books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and cross-genre work. He is professor and chair of the Department of Literature at the University of California San Diego. Copyright © 2022 State University of New York

Les plus anciennes industries paléolithiques en Russie

Early Paleolithic sites (Oldowan and Acheulian) in the European part of Russia are concentrated in the southern part of the Russian plain, in the piedmont of the Caucasus and in the North Caucasus, south from 50N latitude. The Taman Paleolithic complex (sites of Bogatyri/Sinyaya Balka, Rodniki 1 and 2, Kermek; and localities of Tsymbal, Lisy and Peresyp), Akushin Paleolithic complex in Central Dagestan (sites of Aynikab 1, Mukhkay 1 and 2) and complex of sites in Maritime Dagestan (sites of Rubas 1, Darvagchay 1, Darvagchay-Zaliv 1 and 4) are discovered and studied. The initial human settlement of southern Russia began about 2 Ma and went through the Caucasian isthmus along the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The most ancient Homo of the first wave of settlement from the African ancestral homeland was able to reach the Caucasus and the southern part of the Russian plain by 2 Ma, as confirmed by the Liventsovka locality in the city of Rostov-on-Don. The Acheulian is represented by stratified sites of the Early Acheulian on the territory of Dagestan. At present, it can be argued that the territory of southern Russia was part of the area of initial human settlement from Africa. It is more difficult to estimate the time and ways of the initial human settlement of Northern Asia. The few sites attributed to the Lower Paleolithic are, for the most part, geologically unconnected or are questioned as to the authenticity of the artifacts. The only clearly stratified Middle Pleistocene site, Karama in the Altai, delivered a pebble tool industry. In addition, the finds of bifaces in Tuva, near the Mongolian border mark the northern limit of the distribution of the Acheulian in Asia.

Оценка современного экологического состояния почв западного побережья озера Байкал (на примере почв прибрежной части озера, дельты и бассейна реки Голоустной)

The work was carried out on the territory of the Goloustnensky municipality, located on the western shore of the lake Baikal and part of the Baikal National Park. The article presents the data of the modern assessment of their ecological state. 10 test sites were laid in the Goloustnaya River basin, its delta, as well as in the forest of the coastal part of the lake. Baikal. To assess the current state of soils, concentrations of petroleum products and heavy metals (cadmium, lead, cobalt, nickel, copper, chromium) in them were determined. The results of the study showed that the content of petroleum products in soil samples is minimal and below the permissible level of pollution. The content of cobalt, nickel, copper and chromium has been found to exceed Clark and regional background values. The increased concentrations of metals are most likely due to natural factors – namely, the composition of the underlying rocks, rather than anthropogenic impact.

The shores of the contact zone of the Subarctic and moderately cold seas

Longitude sectorality and latitudinal zonality of morpholithogenesis on the coast of Sakhalin is the result of the unique geographical position of the island, which is a zone of mutual influences and interactions of neighboring geosystems of the subarctic Sea of Okhotsk and the moderately cold northern part of the Sea of Japan – a contact geographical structure. Based on the digitizing of maps of morphogenetic types of shores, modern morpholithodynamic settings and lithological complexes of the coast, geomorphological and morphodynamic differences of the shores of Sakhalin Island are shown, the eastern shores of which have a subarctic appearance, and the western shores are washed by the temperate sea.

Statistics of fetch-limited wind waves observed along the western coast of the Gulf of Aqaba

Wind driven waves regime along the western shore of the Gulf of Aqaba is only sparsely investigated, despite its significant impact on the abundance of engineering, leisure, and environmental protection activities in the gulf. As part of an ongoing effort, this study is aimed at partially closing the knowledge gap in describing the statistical parameters of typical wind-wave fields observed under the diurnal sea-breeze conditions characterizing the local wave climate. Also testing the suitability and performance of a few selected statistical models in describing the distributions of observed surface elevations, wave heights, and crest and trough amplitudes. Models’ performance is assessed based on an empirical data set collected during a 50-h long measurement campaign, including an analysis of breaking-wave occurrences with a method allowing an accurate identification of breakers across the full range of crest amplitudes and breaking intensities. It is found to be satisfactory and suitable for future implementation in local wave-field modeling. In particular, the distributions of crest amplitudes and wave heights tend to be affected by the frequency of occurrence of breaking waves, calling for further development of the models to account for breakers, especially over the range of high waves.

Experiential Intensity of Exploring Place Abandoned

There is a growing global shift towards urbanization resulting in diminishing connections with the traditional rural placescape. Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) has a long history of out-migration and internal migration between communities in coastal areas within the province. Resettlement programs initiated by the NL government between 1954 and 1975 accounted for the internal migration of approximately 30,000 people from 300 communities. Modern-day encounters with these abandoned communities are relevant to understanding the loss of place and home, as significant numbers of students in NL today are affected by migration. This paper is a phenomenological study of the experiences of educators as they explored the remnants of an abandoned community. The participants of the study were six experienced public school educators with teaching experience at the primary, elementary, intermediate, and secondary levels. The study took place in eight abandoned communities located on the western shore of Placentia Bay, where mainly the remnants of Isle Valen, St. Leonard’s, St. Kyran’s, and Great Paradise were explored. Data collection consisted of two personal interviews and one group hermeneutic circle, with the aim to answer one fundamental question: What is the experience of educators exploring the remnants of an abandoned community? Data in this study are represented by lived experience descriptions, which were interpreted hermeneutically and guided by four phenomenological existentials: temporality, corporeality, spatiality, and relationality. The results of this study not only provide deeper insight into intense experiences in communities abandoned through resettlement; they also reveal the significance of place in our lives, place as heuristic teacher, the pedagogical power of place, the need for local, meaningful place-based experiences in a curriculum as lived, and their potential for furthering personal and educational insight no matter where in this world we live or dwell.

Impacts of lake breeze meteorology on ozone gradient observations along Lake Michigan shorelines in Wisconsin

Daytime onshore lake breezes are a critical factor controlling ozone abundance at coastal sites around Lake Michigan. Coastal counties along the western shore of Lake Michigan have historically observed high ozone episodes dating to the 1970s. We classified ozone episode days based on the extent or absence of the lake breeze (i.e., “inland”, “near-shore” or “no” lake breeze) to establish a climatology of these events. This work demonstrated variable gradients in ozone abundances based on these different types of meteorology, with the sharpest ozone concentration gradients on days with a near-shore lake breeze. On 76–82% of days in which ozone reached 70 ppb for at least 1 h, a lake breeze was present. Evidence of ozone gradients from multiple observation platforms during the 2017 Lake Michigan Ozone Study (LMOS 2017) are shown for two days with different depths of lake breezes.

Impact of forest wildfires on components of mountain landscapes of the Baikal region

Forest wildfires cover vast territories of mountainous Siberia. As a result, the appearance of the landscape changes completely, as well as the properties of its components. The paper considers the impact of wildfires on the components of the mountain-taiga geosystems of the Primorskii Range, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Baikal. This is the driest area in the Baikal region, with Goletz and mountain-taiga landscapes, coupled with steppe areas. Wildfires regularly occur during hot and dry periods in all zones of the range, especially since 2015. We made landscape descriptions of the territory of the key site and compiled a map of the landscape structure with conflagration fires overlapped with partially and, optionally, completely burnt-out areas. The vegetation cover has suffered the most, and the characteristics of the hydrological regime and the properties of soils have changed. The vegetation is at the initial stage of recovery, and only a few species can be found in the herbaceous-subshrub cover. The characteristics of the water regime, primarily the temperature on the pyrogenically disturbed catchments, undergo significant changes. The mode of mineralization of streams is unstable, and the amplitudes of water level fluctuations are higher due to the destruction of the natural underlying surface of the catchment. The chemical composition of water in streams after wildfires is generally preserved. Although, an increase in the concentration of nitrates and hydrocarbons is possibly due to fires. Pyrogenic destruction of forest ecosystems inevitably leads to the degradation of mountain soils, which are restored over many decades. After fires in soils, acidity and, consequently, the content of organic matter decreases due to their mineralization.