REFLECTION OF THE THEME OF THE ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE VORKUTA REGION OF THE KOMI REPUBLIC IN THE RUSSIAN ECOLOGICAL ATLAS

• Published in: Proceedings of the International conference “InterCarto/InterGIS”
• Main Author: O. I. Markova
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Laboratory of Complex Mapping, Faculty of Geography, MSU 2015
• Subjects: Russian Ecological atlas; ecological mapping; anthropogenic impact on the environment; Vorkuta region of the Komi Republic; coal industry; Pechora coal basin; Geography (General); G1-922; Arctic; Pechora; Russian North; Tundra; Vorkuta
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.24057/2414-9179-2015-1-21-222-235; https://doaj.org/article/5463df29857a4bea9f5ab29a1abce69a

Pechora coal basin is a second reserve of coal and lignite basins in Russia after Kuznetsk. Vorkuta industrial region (VIR), located north of the Arctic Circle, mastered since 1931. Coal mining closed method is produced in five mines. The depth of mining is 298 m. It is deeper than in the Kuznetsk coal basin. Since 2000, opencast mining is making in the Yunyaginsky mine. Field elaboration for more than 80 years has spawned a number of environmental problems specific to the area of coal mining. There are: the formation of anthropogenic landforms, emissions of the dust, heavy metals, the passing methane in the air, waters and soils, reduction and disappearance of aboriginal species of animals and plants. These problems are compounded by harsh natural conditions of Russian North, by special vulnerability of the environment in the tundra zone (subzone of southern shrub tundra). The map of Vorkuta industrial region was making for Ecological Atlas of Russia among other maps of impact areas with very poor ecological situation. The map in the scale 1:200 000 was produced with using of space images and literature data. It include: sources of anthropogenic impacts on the environment (coal mines, enrichment factory, sumps, enterprises of other industry branch, populated localities, roads) and different changes in the environment. Anthropogenic forms of relief, a dust content in the air on excess of maximum allowable concentrations, a content of microelements in the air, soils and rock mine dumps, an area of pollution of the cement factory, a polluted piece of the river Vorkuta and a fish productivity of separate pieces of the river Vorkuta are shown on the map by signs and diagrams. Diagrams of the number of species of regional fauna of birds (on natural and changed areas) and diagrams of relation of valuable and weed species of fish on different river pieces were built outside the map.