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This article presents data on lithology, biostratigraphy, and molluscan paleontological characteristics of the Lower Volgian–Upper Ryazanian interval of the Yanov Stan Formation obtained from the core of the Novoyakimovskaya-1 parametric well. The formation consists of mudstone-siltstone intercalation with rare sandstone beds and numerous levels with carbonate concretions. For the first time, abundant glendonites are reported from the Yanov Stan Formation, including stratigraphic intervals from which they have not been previously known. An almost complete 290-m core of the Yanov Stan Formation with abundant ammonites and bivalves was obtained. This enabled us to develop a detailed biostratigraphic zonation of the section based on ammonites and bivalves. The following succession of ammonite zones, known in Western Siberia and, mainly, in Eastern Siberia (from bottom to top), was established: Paravirgatites lideri, Pavlovia iatriensis, Dorsoplanites ilovaiskii, D. maximus, Epivirgatites variabilis, Praechetates exoticus, Craspedites okensis, Praetollia maynci, Hectoroceras kochi, and Surites subanalogus. The bivalve succession, distinguished based on the members of the genus Buchia, includes the following Buchiazones: Buchia mosquensis, B. unschensis, B. okensis, ?B. jasikovi, and B. volgensis. The molluscan assemblages of the studied core, starting at least from the upper Middle Volgian, are similar to the coeval assemblages from the eastern part of the Yenisei–Khatanga depression and the Laptev Sea coast but differ from those from Western Siberia. This suggests the existence of some environmental factors that prevented the free distribution of mollusks from the western part of the Yenisei–Khatanga depression into the West Siberian basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Animal Metabolite Database (AMDB, https://amdb.online) is a freely accessible database with built-in statistical analysis tools, allowing one to browse and compare quantitative metabolomics data and raw NMR and MS data, as well as sample metadata, with a focus on the metabolite concentrations rather than on the raw data itself. AMDB also functions as a platform for the metabolomics community, providing convenient deposition and exchange of quantitative metabolomic data. To date, the majority of the data in AMDB relate to the metabolite content of the eye lens and blood of vertebrates, primarily wild species from Siberia, Russia and laboratory rodents. However, data on other tissues (muscle, heart, liver, brain, and more) are also present, and the list of species and tissues is constantly growing. Typically, every sample in AMDB contains concentrations of 60–90 of the most abundant metabolites, provided in nanomoles per gram of wet tissue weight (nmol/g). We believe that AMDB will become a widely used tool in the community, as typical metabolite baseline concentrations in tissues of animal models will aid in a wide variety of fundamental and applied scientific fields, including, but not limited to, animal modeling of human diseases, assessment of medical formulations, and evolutionary and environmental studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, an outbreak of anthrax killing thousands of reindeer and affecting dozens of humans occurred on the Yamal peninsula, Northwest Siberia, after 70 years of epidemiological situation without outbreaks. The trigger of the outbreak has been ascribed to the activation of spores due to permafrost thaw that was accelerated during the summer heat wave. The focus of our study is on the dynamics of local environmental factors in connection with the observed anthrax revival. We show that permafrost was thawing rapidly for already 6 years before the outbreak. During 2011–2016, relatively warm years were followed by cold years with a thick snow cover, preventing freezing of the soil. Furthermore, the spread of anthrax was likely intensified by an extremely dry summer of 2016. Concurrent with the long-term decreasing trend in the regional annual precipitation, the rainfall in July 2016 was less than 10% of its 30-year mean value. We conclude that epidemiological situation of anthrax in the previously contaminated Arctic regions requires monitoring of climatic factors such as warming and precipitation extremes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper part of the subsurface component of the Earth's cryosphere—polygonal peatlands—are considered in this paper. The polygonal peatlands are widespread in the cryolithozone in northwestern Siberia. When the upper permafrost layer thaws under the influence of climatic fluctuations, the ice-bearing transition and intermediate layers in the polygonal peatlands serve as a buffer zone. Therefore, the identification of these layers is a crucial task. The specific features of the layers, their relationship with ice of various origins, and the properties of peat have been determined. The differences in the structure of the intermediate layer, associated with polygonal microrelief of the surface, have been revealed. Thawing of the transitional layer against the background of modern warming has been recorded on the basis of monitoring of a seasonally thawed layer. To identify the transitional and intermediate layers, the indicators—the cryogenic structure, degree of preservation, color, water content, and density of peat—have been determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results characterizing the Pleistocene environments in the region of Northwestern Siberia are presented. The study of these environments is carried out from the perspective of the scientific concept of cryoheterotopy; this scientific approach is based on analysis of the typicality, atypicality, and utopicity of the positions of objects in space, which is united by a cryogenic system. A case study of the application of the developed approach to analyze the causes of contradictions regarding the structure of the regional Quaternary rock complex and crustal dynamics in the region in the Pleistocene is discussed, and a way to resolve these contradictions is presented. The characteristic features of development of the region studied are considered from the cryoheterotopic point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze ground temperatures measured daily at depths of 0–10 m in the Nadym region, north‐west Siberia (65°18′N, 72°6′E). Nadym is located within the discontinuous permafrost zone and the forest–tundra transition subzone, thus representing an area threatened by permafrost thawing. Soil comprises a 0.4–1.0‐m‐thick topmost layer of peat with high porosity (~0.9), underlain by layers of mineral soil (sand, clay, loam) with lower porosities of 0.3–0.4. With a numerical heat transfer model, we provide predictions of general permafrost development for the next 300 years. Furthermore, we apply the model with the same time frame, to predict permafrost evolution in two monitoring boreholes (BH) in the Nadym area, BH 1‐09 and 3‐09 with present (2012–2016) temperatures at the top of the permafrost (TTOP) of −2.0 and 0.0 °C, respectively. Applying a mild warming trend (0.02 °C/yr in mean annual air temperature [MAAT], corresponding to the IPCC representative concentration pathway trend RCP 2.6) does not lead to thawing of permafrost during the applied 300 years of simulation time in BH 1‐09, whereas in BH 3‐09 thawing has already begun. Applying a strong warming trend of 0.05 °C/yr in MAAT (corresponding to RCP 8.5) leads to gradual thawing of permafrost in both boreholes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warm urban climate anomalies are a challenging problem for city's economy and ecology. This problem is even more pressing in boreal environment with its sensitive ecosystems and considerable anthropogenic urban heat flux. The boreal regions of Eurasia witness both rapid urbanization and accelerated regional warming in the twenty-first century. Still, local climate of boreal cities is only fragmentary studied. There were no studies addressing spatial and temporal variability of urban temperature anomalies in Eurasian cities with cold continental climate. There were many indirect reports indicating large temperature anomalies and longer growing season in boreal cities. This study considered a land surface temperature (LST) anomaly, frequently referred to as a surface urban heat island (SUHI), in a typical young mid-size boreal city of Nefteyugansk. This city exemplifies urban planning and energy use patterns of a pleiad of cities in this oil and gas region of northern West Siberia. The study is based on LST products from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) onboard of the Terra and Aqua satellite platforms. The MODIS data for 14 years (2001–2015) were processed to reveal geographical extent and diurnal variations of the SUHI in summer (June, July, August) and winter (December, January, February) seasons. The study found that the mean annual SUHI has higher LST than the surrounding natural background by + 2.4 K. Considering the meridional temperature gradient in this region, such a strong SUHI makes the urban climate similar to climate found 600 km south of the city. The diurnal mean summer (+ 2.1 K) and winter (+ 2.4 K) SUHI intensities are rather similar in Nefteyugansk. The daytime (+ 2.1 K) and nighttime (+ 2.5 K) SUHI intensities are also similar in wintertime. In summertime, however, the daytime SUHI intensity (+ 3.3 K) is significantly larger than that in nighttime (+ 1.0 K). There is also larger interannual variability of the SUHI in the summer season, especially in nighttime. The SUHI statistics in Nefteyugansk discerns this cold continental city from previously studied cities in the temperate climate zone. Heating of apartment and industrial buildings maintains a large anthropogenic heat flux in the city (estimated to be on average of 15–20 W m−2) and therefore supports the persistent winter SUHI. Weak turbulent mixing in the stably stratified lower atmosphere traps the heat in the urbanized area. This study found that the SUHI footprint in Nefteyugansk is considerably (two to three times) larger than the area of the city proper itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanisms underlying effects of physical factors on twin births are unclear. The present work studied an association between monthly and yearly multiple birth rates (MBRs) in the Novosibirsk region, south-west Siberia, in relation to solar activity (sunspot numbers) and geomagnetic activity (Ap index) from 1957 to 2008. The difference was verified by comparing the yearly MBR observed in 3-year peaks (M = 7.36, SD = 0.33 per 1,000 births) and 3-year troughs (M = 8.10, SD = 0.31 per 1,000 births, p < .001) of an 11-year solar cycle. An inverse correlation (r = –.60, p < .001) was found between sunspot numbers and MBR for a lag of 1 year. Cross-spectral analysis of a 52-year time series established a common signal with the period of 10.5 years, as well as high coherence (K(2) = 0.87). The multiple regression analysis revealed a significant interaction of solar and geomagnetic effects upon the frequency of twin maternities. The results show that elevated solar activity within the 11-year cycle coinciding with the time of conception inhibits multiple births in a manner depending on geomagnetic activity. It is hypothesized that the likely mechanism underlying the association is early fetal loss induced by solar radiation/flux and its terrestrial mediators. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the Russian Federation, multiple sclerosis prevalence rates vary from 10 to 80 cases per 100,000, depending on region and the nationality of the population. The main characteristics of multiple sclerosis epidemiology in the XX century in this big territory are: (1) steady increase in multiple sclerosis prevalence and incidence rates, maybe because of better diagnosis and treatment, but also changes in environmental/epigenetic risk profile and/or lifestyle factors; (2) increase of the female to male ratio, increase in multiple sclerosis incidence mainly in females; (3) appearance and increasing frequency of multiple sclerosis in ethnic groups, previously free of multiple sclerosis (Northern Tribes, Yakuts and others). The latest data show that in European Russia, the multiple sclerosis prevalence varies from 30 to 80 cases, in Siberia—from 20 to 70 cases, with steady increases, especially in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]