Ice jams and models along the Volga river

Ice is one of the leading causes of damage to infrastructure from water factors including flooding, ice blockages and hanging ice: In 2020, The Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet) recorded 1,000 dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena in Russia (97 phenomena more than in 2019), of which 372 phenomena caused significant damage to critical…

A regulatory shhh across Arctic coastal ecosystems?

Alongside the Arctic Ocean, the Barents, White, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi seas are marine ecosystems including seabeds, ocean floor and subsoils. Increases in drilling of the continental shelf increases environmental impact. Yakovleva noted the most common issues are emissions, oil / oil product spills, pollution, waste (including metals, radioactive, plastic etc ), and…

Great Norilsk Expedition results in 2023

In 2020, scientists from across 14 branches of the Russian Academy of Sciences began the expedition in Taymyr. They are assessing the state of Arctic ecosystems in the area. Early results of impacts on Arctic waters, via TASS and the Institute of Biophysics (EN) at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB-RAS);…

Climate risk planning for floods and droughts with a hint of Noah and Joseph

A team of researchers investigated the impact on health from floods and droughts between 2010 – 2020. Flooding can be caused by heavy rainfall, storm surges, tsunamis, snow and ice melt or damage to water infrastructure. Health impacts include injuries from flooding including collapsed buildings, floating objects, toxic water with increased pathogens. Regular flooding can…

Climate change impact on river basins in Ukraine 2020

The researchers used six models comparing precipitation and drought based on river levels using RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. Their predictions show a decrease in water in most of the eight main river basins, particularly between 2040 – 2070. The greatest reductions by the end of the century are predicted for Pripyat, Southern bug…

Linking science and action – how to resolve water challenges in Central Asia

With its mixed continental climate, Central Asia faces unstable periods of draughts and rains. This has led to serious water shortages across the regions (Fig. 1) followed by escalating water-based conflicts between countries, increased hunger and threatened economics. However, despite the scientific progress and the continuous international effort, Central Asian water management institutes still rely on…