Epidemiological significance of microbiote monitoring of arctic settlements along the Northern Sea Route

Monitoring of polar ecosystems is one of the most important areas of research in the use of Arctic territories in economic activities. An important place in such work is occupied by biomedical research aimed at identifying the risks of the occurrence of foci of infectious diseases in the areas of polar settlements.The purpose: to develop an algorithm for microbiological monitoring in the Arctic region.Materials and methods: classical bacteriological, mycological research, molecular-genetic, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric analysis, phenotypic methods for determining antibiotic resistance, methods of mathematical data processing.Results and their discussion. The paper considers the scientific and methodological principles and the main stages of microbiota monitoring in the areas of polar settlements. The results of the study of samples from several territories along the Northern Sea Route are presented. The main habitats where potentially dangerous microorganisms should be detected are indicated. The role of anthropogenic invasion in the formation of Arctic microbiocenoses is noted. The trends of increasing the number and diversity of pathogenic microorganisms, both in the natural biocenoses of the Arctic and in the areas of polar settlements, are discussed. The necessity of microbiological monitoring as an integral part of epidemiological monitoring in the areas of Arctic settlements along the Northern Sea Route is substantiated.

Analysis of XLPE cable parameters subject to thermo aging

Modern marine vessels use electrically driven rudders; cruise liners, gas carriers, tankers are equipped with Azipod systems manufactured by the Swedish-Swiss company ABB. Gondola-type propellers make it possible to break ice when the vessel is moving astern, therefore such vessels are used for work on the Northern Sea Route, in particular, when working on the Yamal LNG project. The 22MW Azipod propulsion system rotates 360° and enables difficult maneuvering without the assistance of tugs. When operating such propellers, powerful diesel generators are installed on the ship. For the transmission of electricity, ship cables are used, which are subject to increased requirements that meet the standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission. Modern marine vessels are equipped with XLPE or EPDM insulated cable lines; industrial production of these cables is carried out in the Russian Federation. In the course of the study, a method for auditing the state of insulation has been considered based on an assessment of the change in the tangent of the angle of dielectric losses in the process of thermal aging of the cable of the PvBPng(A)-HF brand. Measurements of the tangent of the dielectric losses' angle have been carried out with a Tangens-2000 insulation parameter meter.

DEPLOYMENT OF PROFESSIONAL VHF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS IN THE ARCTIC REGION

The importance of the Northern Sea Route as a global transport corridor, used for transportation of national and international cargo, will only increase because of the currently observed climatic changes. Currently, the only stable communication system there is satellite. The paper presents the results of software modeling of a technological radio communication line based on the VHF trunking network for sea vessels following a group along the Northern Sea Route.

Economics and politics of “old confrontation” in the New Arctic

The modern Arctic is becoming the strategic space and area of competition of many powers, the arena of political confrontations between Arctic and non-Arctic states. Arctic research has moved from the sphere of science to the sphere of geopolitics and geoeconomics and is of strategic importance in the system of national security. Climatic fluctuations in the Arctic have increased the availability of hydrocarbon, biological and other resources, and improved ice conditions in the water area of the Northern Sea Route. The study analyzes the Arctic policy of Western European and North American countries in the conditions of the “New Arctic”. An overview of strategic documents on ensuring the spatial development.

Arctic: A Rreimagined Strategic Resource Base for Russia

Russia’s Arctic ambitions are gaining attention as global warming provides Russia with an opportunity to access the untapped energy reservoirs lying in the seabed of the Arctic. Russia’s new Arctic strategy aims to utilize the Arctic as a ‘strategic resource base’ to fulfill its socio-economic needs. Moreover, the interrelated projects of Yamal LNG and the opening of the Northern Sea Route as a global shipping route show the Russian interplay of geo-economics and geopolitics. Similarly, the Russian strategies of the Northern Fleet’s revival, Sino-Russian cooperation, regional diplomacy, informational campaigns, and international law show Russia’s efforts to highlight its ambitions in the region. This paper argues that the melting ice in the Arctic coupled with evolving regional dynamics will enhance the Kremlin’s position in the region.

Re-navigating the Geopolitical Pivot: China in the Arctic-Heartland

Halford J. Mackinder cautioned the world that if a great industrial power manages to rule over the Heartland, it will govern the world. The 21st century is marked by the resurgence of his classical geopolitical thought. Global warming has rendered the Arctic navigable, altering the dynamics of the Heartland and world organisms at large, but now the caution comes from the Arctic. Mackinder's assertion that China, as a great industrial power, has developed its Arctic strategy for a Polar Silk Road to pursue its determined interests in the Arctic-Heartland. To further strengthen its position in the region, it has forged a cooperative alliance with Russia, one of the biggest Arctic states. Chinese interest in the region and the Strategic Russo-Chinese Alliance to develop the Polar Silk Road along the Northern Sea Route is a matter of grave concern for the world at large: for whoever rules over the Heartland, governs the world.

Regulatory and legal framework for managing the development of the Northern Sea Route

The article discusses the main strategic documents related to the subject area. Particular attention is paid to analysis of hazards and risks, issues of technogenic and environmental safety, the prospects for digital technologies creation. Approaches to accounting for uncertainty and risk, and their management are also considered.

THE NORTHERN SEA ROUTE, TRANSPORT ECOSYSTEMS DURING THE FORMATION OF THE 8TH TECHNOLOGICAL ORDER

The subject of the article is the ecosystem approach in the modernization of transport systems during the formation of the 8th technological order; the object of the article is the sphere of transport; the purpose of the work is to increase the efficiency of management of the development of transport ecosystems; to achieve this goal, the following tasks are solved: the tasks of system analysis of the development of a new technological order in the transport industry are clarified; the methodology of system analysis of international transport corridors is formed; the image of the future ecosystem of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) is synthesized after modernization on the basis of scientific achievements of the 8th technological order; scientific methods are the theory of hierarchical systems, system synthesis and analysis, logical and heuristic methods, system approach, heuristic forecasting, expert methods, efficiency theory; scientific novelty of the work is determined by the development of methods of system analysis in the field of transport, the methodology of forming the program of modernization of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) on the basis of scientific achievements of the 8th technological order.

RISK ANALYSIS OF OFFSHORE TRANSPORTATION ACCIDENT IN ARCTIC WATERS

A methodology for risk analysis applicable to shipping in arctic waters is introduced. This methodology uses the Bowtie relationship to represent an accident causes and consequences. It is further used to quantify the probability of a ship accident and also the related accident consequences during navigation in arctic waters. Detailed fault trees for three possible ship accident scenarios in arctic transits are developed and represented as bowties. Factors related to cold and harsh conditions and their effects on grounding, foundering, and collision are considered as part of this study. To illustrate the application of the methodology, it is applied to a case of an oil-tanker navigating on the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The methodology is implemented in a Markov Chain Monte Carlo framework to assess the uncertainties arisen from historical data and expert judgments involved in the risk analysis.