Geological Museum Innovations to Dealing with Covid-19 Pandemic | Inovasi Museum Geologi dalam Menghadapi Pandemi Covid-19

Bandung Geological Museum as the thematic earth museum in Indonesia has been established on 16 May 1929. This museum has 417,882 collections, there are mineral and rock collections, vertebrate, invertebrate, paleobotanical fossils, and artifacts. As a government museum, the Geological Museum has a duty to disseminating geological information. This article aims to identify the Geological Museum’s activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. After the temporary closure in March 2020, the museum activities were carried out virtually, including Collection Talk, Day and Night at the Museum, virtual tours, Bincang Museum, virtual geoscience socialization, and introduce the collections by social media. Museum Geologi Bandung sebagai museum kebumian di Indonesia telah berdiri sejak 16 Mei 1929. Museum ini memiliki 417.882 koleksi, berupa koleksi mineral dan batuan, fosil vertebrata, fosil invertebrata, fosil paleobotani dan artefak. Sebagai instansi yang bertugas menyebarluaskan informasi kegelogian, dimasa pandemi Covid-19, Museum Geologi berinovasi melakukan kegiatan-kegiatan edukasi dalam bentuk virtual. Tujuan penulisan artikel ini adalah melakukan identifikasi kegiatan dilakukan Museum Geologi selama pandemi Covid-19. Pasca penutupan sementara Museum Geologi pada bulan Maret 2020, kegiatan yang dilakukan berupa kegiatan virtual diantaranya: Collection Talk, Day and Night at the Museum, virtual tour, Bincang Museum, sosialisasi kebumian secara virtual, dan pengenalan koleksi melalui sosial media.

Paleobotany collections: fossil woods available at the Bandung Geological Museum

Indonesia is a country which has plants species diversity. The form of ancient plants that grew in the past are recorded as fossil woods. Several fossil woods from regions in Indonesia were collected and became exhibition collections at the Bandung Geological Museum. These fossil woods on display requires biology identity to provide more information to visitors. Identification of species of fossil woods were carried out based on the anatomical features on the smoothed cross-section. Observations were carried out by a loop hand (a magnification of 10 times and a digital loop (with a magnification of 16 times). The fossil woods anatomy features observed included vessel cells, parenchyma cells, rays cells, and the presence of resin channels. The fossil specimen which had unclear anatomy features compared by detailed description of wood anatomy available at the library and collections of wood samples owned by the Xylarium Bogoriense. The fossil woods species are Canarioxylon sp., Terminalioxylon sp., Anisopteroxylon sp., Dipterocarpoxylon sp., Dryobalanoxylon sp., Hopenium/Hopeoxylon sp., Shoreoxylon sp., Kompassioxylon sp., and Xanthophyllum sp. The mostly fossil woods species resvectively belonging to the Dipterocarpaceae, Combretaceae, Polygalaceae, Burseraceae, and Leguminosae. The fossil woods member of Dipterocarpaceae family are conspicuously characterized with the presence of resin canals.

Development of the computing node for processing satellite imagery and spatial data for earth sciences

The work is devoted to the development of a computing node for processing satellite and spatial data for earth sciences by the example of its implementation as part of the Information and Analytical Environment to support scientific research in geology of the Vernadsky State Geological Museum (SGM RAS). The prerequisites for the creation of such a computing node and the requirements for it to solve geological problems are given. An overview of cloud platforms for access to satellite and spatial data and its processing has been presented. Based on the overview a conceptual diagram of a computing node has been proposed and the list of modern technologies required for building it has been determined. The developed node provides tools for searching data from external cloud providers, processing them with various built-in and custom algorithms, as well as tools for visualizing the results. It is an independent web service, although it is part of the Computational and Analytical Geological Environment of SGM RAS and is integrated with its services. This allows a wide range of users to access data and processing algorithms provided by computing node, including integrating it into other information systems as a third-party application for processing satellite and spatial data.

CONTRIBUTION OF THE NADRA GROUP TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN GEOLOGICAL EDUCATION

The contribution of the NADRA Group to the development of geological education in Ukraine is featured. The main areas of its activity are highlighted, including the support of the Geological Faculty (ERI «Institute of Geology») at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (KNU), advanced training of industry employees, geological education of schoolchildren, publication of specialized books and the professional magazine «Geologist of Ukraine» in particular. At the Geological Faculty of KNU four classrooms were renovated and equipped with computers, the auditorium named after Prof. Olgierd L. Einor was established, the premises of the Geological Museum were reorganized and renovated, etc. The valuable charitable assistance was provided during student geological field courses, namely the fuel, student accommodation, meals, field equipment, and the like. Many youth quizzes, olympiads, excursions, quests, festivals, conferences were carried out at the expense of NADRA Group. With its assistance, the clubs of paleontology, geology and geological local history were organized for students. NADRA Group has initiated the writing and publishing the book «Essays on the history of geological research at Kiev University» (1999). Since its first issue in 2003, the «Geologist of Ukraine» magazine has been published thanks to the information and financial support of NADRA Group. In 2008 it was published materials for the centenary of Prof. Einor. The «Treatises of the Tutkovsky Institute» were published during 2009 – 2011 at the expense of the company. The book by Rostislav Furduy «Brother of the Sun and Wind» (2011) was addressed to young geologists in Ukraine and published on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the company. In the same period, the work on the project «Depths of the Earth, the spiritual depths» was started, the essence of which was to encourage schoolchildren to study geology and related disciplines. The important components of geological education as advanced training, courses on the modern technologies, lectures by leading domestic and foreign experts, conferences, seminars, and trainings are very relevant. In general, the activities of NADRA Group are aimed at introducing leading decisions into the practice, developing educational institutions, and disseminating knowledge among the geological community. Over its thirty-year history, the NADRA GROUP has made a great contribution to the development of the geological industry in Ukraine and abroad.

Women in geology. Olga Alekseevna Denisova (1893—1972)

The article presents the biography of O.A. Denisova (1893—1972), one of the first Russian female geologists involved in practical geology. In 1918, she graduated from the Natural Department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow Higher Women’s Courses. During her studies, she participated in field research in the Moscow Region, on Volkhov and Vychegda rivers under the guidance of A.B. Missuna. In 1923, she graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in geology. Since 1918, O.A. Denisova had worked as a researcher in the Moscow branch of the Geological Committee, since 1920 as a geologist in the Geological Department of the Special Commission for the Study of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. Later she was engaged in the study of deposits of building materials and hydrogeological surveys. O.A. Denisova began her activity under the supervision of A.D. Arkhangelsky. The article contains her previously unpublished memories about this famous geologist. O.A. Denisova taught geology and hydrogeology at universities and technical schools in Moscow. In 1936 O.A. Denisova was awarded the degree of Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences without defending a thesis, and in 1946 the All-Union Certification Commission approved her with the academic rank of Associate Professor at the Department of Geology. O.A. Denisova was awarded the medal “For Valiant Labour during the Great Patriotic War of 1941— 1945” (1946) and “In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow” (1948). The collections of rocks and minerals collected by O.A. Denisova during field work in the Kursk and Belgorod regions, are stored in the State Geological Museum named after V.I. Vernadsky of RAS.

Quaternary proboscidean (Mammalia) remains of the UIS Geological Museum, Colombia

Proboscideans arrived in South America from North America during the Great American Biotic Interchange, becoming one of the most representative animals of the megafauna that inhabited this continent throughout the Quaternary. In Colombia, the abundance of their remains contrasts with scarce scientific descriptions and publications. This paper identifies dental and postcranial proboscidean fossils from the Center and Northeast of Colombia. The fossil remains were identified as molars (six), a tusk, cervical vertebrae, and a distal part of the right humerus. The tusk was assigned to Notiomastodon platensis, while the other remains were assigned to Gomphotheriidae, with at least six individuals: two immatures, two subadults, and two older adults – mature and senile. Keywords: South America, megamammals, taxonomy, Gomphotheriidae, Notiomastodon platensis.

Sverdlovsk Oblast in the diplomatic history of the USSR: visits of top officials of foreign countries to the region (1955–1965)

The article deals with the problem of increasing the regions’ role in international and foreign economic cooperation of the Soviet Union in 1955–65. The aim of the research is to study the dynamics of the visits of foreign countries’ leaders to Sverdlovsk Oblast, which was traditionally considered as “closed.” Based on the results of the study, the stages of diplomatic activity in the region are identified. It was found that 1955–59 and 1963–65, when 18 visits of leaders of capitalist, socialist and developing countries to Sverdlovsk Oblast were organized and held, were the most eventful periods in this regard. The programs of the visits to the territory of the oblast were analyzed. Based on the results of the analysis, the average length of stay in Sverdlovsk Oblast, the preferred period for a trip to the Middle Urals, and general principles and features of organizing the reception of eminent guests in Sverdlovsk Oblast were determined. It was revealed that the Sverdlovsk Oblast Committee of the CPSU approved a list of 64 institutions which were recommended for foreign delegations to visit. The article highlights the key objects and facilities that were shown to foreign guests. It was found that the main point of the program of almost all delegations was a visit to Uralmash. Foreign guests also visited other industrial enterprises, including those which were located within the 40–50 km radius of the administrative center of the region, the city of Sverdlovsk. The article reveals the importance of the role assigned to the cultural program (visiting the Geological Museum and theaters). Sojourn in Sverdlovsk Oblast allowed eminent guests to see the potential of one of the country’s industrial centers in person and facilitated placing orders in the oblast for the needs of the economy of foreign countries. In addition, an ideological task was solved: the peaceful stance of the Soviet Union which possessed powerful defense potential was demonstrated to the guests. The author concludes that the involvement of the USSR’s regions in the processes of international cooperation was effective. At the same time, the adjustment of the country’s foreign policy in the mid-1960s was marked by a trend towards a decrease in the number of trips of foreign countries’ top officials to the regions of the USSR, including Sverdlovsk Oblast, within the framework of official and working visits.

New suoid fossils (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the Miocene of Moghara, Egypt, and Gebel Zelten, Libya: biochronological implications

Some undescribed suoid specimens from early and middle Miocene deposits at Moghara, Egypt, and Gebel Zelten, Libya, are of interest for biochronology. The fossils comprise maxillae and mandibles with incomplete dentitions, which are described and illustrated in detail. Three species of suids and one sanithere occur at Moghara. A huge edentulous suid mandible was collected at Gebel Zelten in 1997 during the Spanish-Libyan Palaeontology Expedition. In January, 2020, additional sanithere fossils were collected from Moghara by a team from Cairo University and the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. A suid mandible with four teeth collected from Moghara in 1994, and now curated at the Cairo Geological Museum, confirms the presence of the species Libycochoerus massai at the site, previously represented by an isolated upper molar and two canines. A talus previously thought to be from Moghara is now known to have been collected at Wadi Natrun (late Miocene) and thus probably represents a tetraconodont rather than a kubanochoere. The age of the Moghara deposits is estimated to span the period ca. 19.5–16.5 Ma (late early Miocene, Faunal Sets PII–PIIIa) and the Zelten sequence is most likely to span the period ca. 17–14.5 Ma (late early Miocene to basal middle Miocene, Faunal Sets PIIIa–PIIIb).

Amphiboles of high-pressure metabasites of the Mica hill region (Polar Urals, Marun-Keu range) from the collection of A. A. Chernov Geological museum

The results of studies of amphiboles of high-pressure metabasites of the Mica hill region (Polar Urals) from the museum collection have been presented. The presence of obsolete names of amphiboles (carinthine) in the names of rocks makes the study of this group of minerals relevant. The specific identity of amphiboles was confirmed according to the new nomenclature. The analytical studies were based on optical and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray and spectroscopic methods. The detailed mineralogical-petrographic researches were resulted in discovery of amphibole apoeclogite blastomilonite, quartz-omphacite-amphibole-kyanite and amphibole-quartz-garnet eclogitoids. Iron-containing tschermakite was found in the matrix of amphibole apoeclogite blastomilonites, magnesiohornblendite and barroisite were found in porphyroblasts. Magnesiohornblendite was found in quartz-omphacite-amphibole-kyanite-containing eclogitoids, magnesiotaramite was determined in veinlets. Barroisite and large-crystalline magnesiotaramite were found in amphibole-quartz-garnet eclogitoids. The identified amphiboles testify to the fact that amphiboles of different chemical groups may be present in one type of high-pressure metabasites.

Paleozoic fossil plants of the north-east of the European part of Russia in the collections of the A. A. Chernov Geological museum

The article is devoted to the history of the study of fossil algae and plants in the Paleozoic sedimentary deposits developed in the north-east of the European part of Russia. The main locations of the fossilized flora in this area are indicated. The history of the study shows that the remains of ancient plants and algae have been studied unevenly, which is due to the nature of the distribution of the remains and their preservation, as well as the lack of specialists. The generalization of the available information made it possible to present a collection of fossil algae and plant remains of the Paleozoic in the A. A. Chernov Geological Museum, which are of scientific and educational interest.