Russia

Eine Reihe von Untersuchungen, die zum gr??ten Teil in den Jahren 1941-44 durchgef?hrt worden sind, brachten neue Aufschl?sse ?ber das Klima der freien Atmosph?re ?ber dem Riesenraum Sibirien und dem angrenzenden Sektor des Polargebietes. Die Quelle dieser Untersuchungen bilden die aerologischen Stationen der UdSSR, an denen H?henwindmessungen bereits seit etwa 1924 angestellt werden. Messungen der vertikalen Temperaturverteilung liegen erst seit etwa 1932, nach Einf?hrung der Radiosonden vor.

Studies of the annual pollen and spore deposition in different areas of the Lena Delta were undertaken for the first time in the Asian sector of the Arctic during the Russian-German ''LENA 98'' and ''LENA 99'' expeditions in the framework of the International ''Laptev Sea System-2000'' Project. To achieve this objective, three spore-pollen traps were set up along the meridional delta profile in accordance with the European Pollen Monitoring Programme for the period July 1998 to August 1999.

New pollen and radiocarbon data from an 8.6-m coastal section, Cape Shpindler (69?43' N; 62?48' E), Yugorski Peninsula, document the latest Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history of this low Arctic region. Twelve AMS 14C dates indicate that the deposits accumulated since about 13,000 until 2000 radiocarbon years BP. A thermokarst lake formed ca. 13,000-12,800 years BP, when scarce arctic tundra vegetation dominated the area. By 12,500 years BP, a shallow lake existed at the site, and Arctic tundra with Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Salix, Saxifraga, and Artemisia dominated nearby vegetation.

A large section near the village of Hongurei on the Pechora River, ca. 100 km inland from the Barents Sea coast, reveals the following stratigraphic record of the last glaciation: The lowest units are lacustrine silt overlain by fluvial sand. These two units are repeated by glaciotectonic upthrusting from the NW. On top of this stacked succession is a till where fabric measurements reflect ice movement from the NE. Above the till is a partly laminated glaciolacustrine clay, probably deposited during the deglaciation of the site.

Based on observations during four scientific expeditions to the Kara Sea and the Siberian rivers Ob and Yenisei we determined the discharge, distribution and characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Surface concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) ranged from 151 IlM C in the northern Kara Sea to 939 IlM C in the river Ob. The estimated annual mean DOC concentration in the Yenisei (681 IlM C) was slightly higher than in the Ob (640 IlM C). Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) concentrations typically varied between 5 and 15 IlM N with higher values in the rivers.

Radiocarbon-dated pollen, rhizopod, chironomid and total organic carbon (TOC) records from Nikolay Lake (73?20'N, 124?12'E) and a pollen record from a nearby peat sequence are used for a detailed environmental reconstruction of the Holocene in the Lena Delta area. Shrubby Alnus fruticosa and Betula exilis tundra existed during 10,300-4800 cal. yr BP and gradually disappeared after that time. Climate reconstructions based on the pollen and chironomid records suggest that the climate during ca. 10,300-9200 cal. yr BP was up to 2-3 ?C warmer than the present day.

A high-resolution pollen record from Lake Teletskoye documents the climate-related vegetation history of the northern Altai Mountain region during the last millennium. Siberian pine taiga with Scots pine, fir, spruce, and birch dominated the vegetation between ca. AD 1050 and 1100. The climate was similar to modern. In the beginning of the 12th century, birch and shrub alder increased.

A high-resolution carbon isotope profile through the uppermost Neoproterozoic?Lower Cambrian part of the Sukharikha section at the northwestern margin of the Siberian platform shows prominent secular oscillations of d13C with peak-to-peak range of 6-10 ?. There are six minima, 1n-6n, and seven maxima 1p-7p, in the Sukharikha Formation and a rising trend of d13C from the minimum 1n of -8.6 ? to maximum 6p of +6.4 ?. The trough 1n probably coincides with the isotopic minimum at the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary worldwide.

Pollen, plant macrofossil, loss-on-ignition and radiocarbon analyses of a 1.4-m section in thermokarst topography from Faddeyevskiy Island (75?20'N, 143?50'E, 30 m elevation) provides new information on Late Pleistocene interstadial environmental history of this high Arctic region. Conventional radiocarbon dates (25,700 ? 1000, 32,780 ? 500, 35,200 ? 650 yr BP) and two AMS dates (29,950 ? 660 and 42,990 ? 1280 yr BP) indicate that the deposits accumulated during the Kargian (Boutellier) interval.

This annual survey, fielded June to December 2004, was conducted in over 50 countries to solicit public opinion on social and political issues. Respondents were asked what they thought was the most important goal for the world as a whole, whether they trusted people from their ethnic group more than people from other ethnic groups, if they heard about various global institutions, and their thoughts of these institutions. They were also asked for their overall opinion of various countries.