A record of Botrychium lanceolatum (S. G. Gmel.) Ångstr., a new species for the flora of the middle zone of European Russia from Kostroma Region

The article reports on a find of a new plant native to the flora of central European Russia – Botrychium lanceolatum (S. G. Gmel.) Ångstr., which was discovered during a survey of a 60-year-old clearcut in the course of floristic work on the territory of M. G. Sinitsyn “Kologrivskiy Les” State Nature Reserve (the Kostroma Region). Collection and determination were carried out by the author of the article I. G. Krinitsyn. For the Kostroma Region, the species was not indicated in any floristic checklist. Herbarium specimens of the aboveground part of the sporophyte are kept in the Herbarium of the Kostroma State University and the “Kologrivskiy Les” State Nature Reserve Herbarium, as well as transferred to the Herbarium of the Altai State University (ALTB). B. lanceolatum is a relict species of the forest zone of the Holarctic with a fragmented range mainly in the subarctic, northern temperate zone and in the mountains of the warm temperate zone of Eurasia and North America. In Russia, it is sporadically found in the forest zone from the Murmansk and Leningrad Regions to Kamchatka and Sakhalin, inclusively; it enters the Arctic on the Chukchi Peninsula. The species is rare throughout its range; the populations are represented by single individuals. It is included in many regional Red Data Books of the Russian Federation. B. lanceolatum became the fifth species of the Botrychiaceae Nakai family in the pteridoflora of the Kostroma Region (and the middle zone of European Russia as a whole). In the Kostroma Region, the species is located on the extreme southern border of the range in the middle zone of the European part of Russia. The population of B. lanceolatum at the time of the discovery was represented by 4 individuals in different ontogenetic states. The data on the new location and phytocenotic conditions of growth of the species are given; a brief morphological description and information on the dynamics of the population are presented.

A Pixel-Based Vegetation Greenness Trend Analysis over the Russian Tundra with All Available Landsat Data from 1984 to 2018

As Arctic warming continues, its impact on vegetation greenness is complex, variable and inherently scale-dependent. Studies with multiple spatial resolution satellite observations, with 30 m resolution included, on tundra greenness have been implemented all over the North American tundra. However, finer resolution studies on the greenness trends in the Russian tundra have only been carried out at a limited local or regional scale and the spatial heterogeneity of the trend remains unclear. Here, we analyzed the fine spatial resolution dataset Landsat archive from 1984 to 2018 over the entire Russian tundra and produced pixel-by-pixel greenness trend maps with the support of Google Earth Engine (GEE). The entire Russian tundra was divided into six geographical regions based on World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ecoregions. A Theil–Sen regression (TSR) was used for the trend identification and the changed pixels with a significance level p < 0.05 were retained in the final results for a subsequent greening/browning trend analysis. Our results indicated that: (1) the number of valid Landsat observations was spatially varied. The Western and Eastern European Tundras (WET and EET) had denser observations than other regions, which enabled a trend analysis during the whole study period from 1984 to 2018; (2) the most significant greening occurred in the Yamal-Gydan tundra (WET), Bering tundra and Chukchi Peninsula tundra (CT) during 1984–2018. The EET had a greening trend of 2.3% and 6.6% and the WET of 3.4% and 18% during 1984–1999 and 2000–2018, respectively. The area of browning trend was relatively low when we first masked the surface water bodies out before the trend analysis; and (3) the Landsat-based greenness trend was broadly similar to the AVHRR-based trend over the entire region but AVHRR retrieved more browning areas due to spectral mixing adjacent effects. Higher resolution images and field measurement studies are strongly needed to understand the vegetation trend over the Russian tundra ecosystem.

Au‐Ag‐S‐Se‐Cl‐Br Mineralization at the Corrida Deposit (Russia) and Physicochemical Conditions of Ore Formation

The mineral and chemical compositions of ores from the Corrida epithermal Au-Ag deposit (Chukchi Peninsula, Russia) were studied using the optical and scanning electron microscopy with X-ray energy-dispersion microanalysis. The deposit was formed at the time close to the period when the basic volume of acid magmas had been emplaced within the Okhotsk–Chukotka belt (84 to 80 Ma). The Au–Ag mineralization is distinguished with Au-Ag sulphides and selenides (uytenbogaardtite-fischesserite solid solution, Se-acanthite, S-naumannite) and Ag halides of the chlorargyrite-embolite-bromargyrite series. The ores were formed in two stages. Using microthermometric methods, it has been established that the ore-bearing quartz was formed in the medium-temperature environment (340–160 °C) with the participation of low-salt (3.55 to 0.18 wt.% NaCl eq.) hydrotherms, mostly of the NaCl composition with magnesium, iron and low-density СО2. According to our results of thermodynamic modeling at temperatures from 300 to 25 °C and data on mineral metasomatic alterations of the host rocks, the Au-Ag-S-Se-Cl-Br mineralization was formed at decreasing temperature and fugacity of sulphur (logƒS2 from −6 to −27), selenium (logƒSe2 from −14 to −35), and oxygen (logƒО2 from −36 to −62), with near-neutral solutions replaced by acid solutions. Analysis of the obtained data shows that the Corrida refers to the group of the LS-type epithermal deposits. This deposit is a new example of epithermal deposits with significant quantities of Au–Ag chalcogenides (acanthite, uytenbogaardtite, fischesserite, naumannite and others).

Hydrochemical composition of Holocene ice wedges near the town of Anadyr

The research is conducted on the Holocene ice wedges exposed in the outcrop of the first marine terrace near the town of Anadyr, on the east of the Chukchi Peninsula, on the coast of Onemen Bay. Polygonal Relief is clearly traced on the surface of the first sea terrace in the area of explorations, the size of the polygons is about 8x12 m. In the exposed terrace, turf with a capacity of about 1.5 m is striped, underlied with sand clay with &nbsp;capacity up to 2 m; below is the horizontally-stratified and. Ice wedges are embedded the turf (head of wedges) and in the underlying clay sand. The ice of wedges is vertically stratifies, yellowish gray. Ice wedges are also striped in turf&nbsp; outcrops with capacity of up to 2.5 m, embedded in form of a lens from the terrace surface. Ice from three most fully exposed ice wedges was sampled for hydrochemical analysis. A total of 20 ice samples were collected from Holocene ice wedges, as well as ice from modern ice veinlet and water from Onemen Bay. It was found that mineralization of the studied Holocene ice wedges is low, does not exceed 80 mg/L, Na+, Ca2+, and Cl- dominate. Similar values of mineralization and ionic composition were obtained for modern ice veinlet. The obtained data correspond with data on ice wedges studied in other regions of Chukotka, both continental and coastal. Mineralization of most of the previously studied ice wedges did not exceed 150 mg/L. Low values of mineralization of ice wedges near Anadyr demonstrate mainly meteoric source of water forming ice, i.e. winter precipitation, prevalence of sodium and chlorine indicates the capture of sea aerosols by precipitation or wind introduction of droplets from the water area of the Onemen Bay to the surface of the snow cover.

Scheelite from Kekura gold deposit, Western Chukchi peninsula: Trace elements and fluid Inclusions

Scheelite from the Kekura gold deposit in the Western Chukchi Peninsula is reported for the first time. Three generations of the mineral have been identified. According to the LA–ICP–MS data, the Mo content in scheelite does not exceed 0,2 ppm and total REE ranges from 20 to 150 ppm. The REE distribution patterns of all three scheelite generations have a strong positive Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu*=4,455,6), which is typical of scheelite from intrusion-related and orogenic gold deposits. The high Sr concentration (1300–12000 ppm) is characteristic of the hypabyssal intrusion-related Au deposits. According to the fluid inclusion data, the minimal crystallization temperature of scheelite and associated quartz is 200–250 °С.

A new species of Schaefferia Absolon (Collembola: Hypogastruridae) from Chukotka, Russia, with remarks on the related forms

A new species of the genus Schaefferia, S. bermani sp. nov., is described from the eastern coast of Chukchi Peninsula (Russia). It is most similar to S. czernovi (Martynova) which is widespread in the northern parts of more western regions of the Palaearctic. Both species are characterised by the presence of 5+5 ocelli and a similarly shortened furca, but differ in morphology of the labial palp and chaetotaxy of Abd.4. Remarks on several related forms, including Japanese S. quinqueoculata (Yosii), are given.

Traditional Diet and Environmental Contaminants in Coastal Chukotka IV: Recommended Intake Criteria

The article is the last in the series of four that present the results of a study on environmental contaminants in coastal Chukotka, conducted in the context of a multi-disciplinary investigation of Indigenous foodways in the region. The article presents the Recommended Food Daily Intake Limit (RFDIL) guidelines of the locally harvested foods in coastal Chukotka. The guidelines were developed based on the results of the analysis of the legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and metals found in the samples of locally harvested food, which was collected in 2016 in the villages of Enmelen, Nunligran, and Sireniki on the south coast of the Chukchi Peninsula, Russian Arctic. The overall aim of the article is to expand the toolset for dealing with the challenges of: (1) setting the dietary recommendations when we assess multiple contaminants in a variety of foods (and our method of RFDILs calculation is an example of a possible approach), and (2) managing the real-life circumstances when many types of foods are mixed in many dishes regularly and the concentrations of contaminants in these mixed dishes become uncertain. Drawing on perspectives from the fields of environmental health sciences, humanities, social sciences, and visual art, the authors consider the RFDILs of the examined foods in the context of the culinary practices and aesthetics values (those that relate to the culturally held ideas of beauty ascribed to a dish or the processes of its preparation and consumption) of the Indigenous Arctic cuisine in the region of the Bering Strait, and in the broader dynamics of food and culture.