Changes in the Biomass of Vegetation in the Aral Sea Region

Long-term changes in the plant biomass of the dried bottom of the Aral Sea and the Karakalpak part of the Ustyurt plateau were determined. Despite the drying of the Aral Sea 50 years ago, primary and intermediate stages of vegetation haloseries dominated by annual and shrub halophyte fraction remains as the main directing force of succession. The emergence and increase in the area of "zero" or arid local territories after the 1990s is observed in the central, especially southern part of the Karakalpak Ustyurt. In contrast to the formation of vegetation on the drained bottom of the Aral Sea, long-term changes in the biomass of various natural-territorial complexes of Ustyurt are characterized by a negative correlation with a reduction in the area of mirrors over the past 30 years.

Transient motion of the largest landslide on earth, modulated by hydrological forces

Sea-level rise of the Caspian Sea (CS) during the early Khvalynian (approximately 40–25 ka BP) generated hundreds of giant landslides along the sea’s ancient coastlines in western Kazakhstan, which extended hundreds of kilometers. Although similar landslides have been observed along the present-day coastlines of the CS in the area of a prominent high escarpment, it remains unclear whether some of these ancient landslides are still active and whether the movement is slow or catastrophic, as previously suggested. The present study is the first to show evidence proving that the geomorphic responses to sea-level changes of the CS that were triggered in the Pleistocene are currently active. Using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data, we show that one of these giant landslides occurring along the western shore of the Kara-Bogaz-Gol (KBG) lagoon of the CS presents active transient motion, which makes it the world’s largest active landslide reported thus far. Extending more than 25 km along the eastern coast of the inundated KBG depression in a N–S direction with maximum landward expansion of 5 km from the shoreline to the flat Ustyurt Plateau, this landslide conveys ~ 10 × 109 m3 rocks toward the lagoon at a rate of ~ 2.5 cm/year. This event releases a nearly episodic aseismic moment of 6.0 × 1010 Nm annually, which is equivalent to the response of an Mw 5.1 earthquake. We analyze the present-day evolution of this giant coastal landslide at high temporal and spatial resolutions using Sentinel-1 radar images acquired on descending and ascending modes every 12 days between 2014 and 2020. Modelling with elastic dislocations suggests that the KBG landslide was accommodated mostly by a shallow basal décollement with a nearly horizontal listric slip plane. Moreover, our analysis reveals week-long accelerating slip events at changing amplitudes that occur seasonally with slow, lateral spreading rather than sudden catastrophic motion. A strong correlation between the episodic slip events and seasonal water-level changes in the KBG lagoon suggests a causative mechanism for the transient accelerating slip events. Although water-level changes are widely acknowledged to trigger transient motion on a land mass, such movement, which is similar to a silent earthquake, has not been observed thus far at this mega scale; on an extremely low-angle detachment planes at < 5° with modulation by sea-level changes. This study suggests that present-day sea-level changes can reactivate giant landslides that originated 40–25 ka.

Paleoanthropological Characteristics of the Early Sarmatian Population of Emba Basin River According to the Data from Mortyk I Cemetery

The paper focuses on the anthropological materials obtained from the cemetery Mortyk I. This archaeological monument is located on the Emba River, which originates from the western slopes of Mugodzhar mountains and flows into the Caspian Sea. Today it is one of the southernmost studied Sauromat-Sarmatian monuments of the early nomads. Unfortunately, there are practically no studied cemeteries dating back to the VI–IV centuries BC located in this region, despite the large number of cemeteries in this region and the Northern Aral Sea region. Anthropological materials from Mortyk I cemetery were studied using the craniological and osteometric programs, comonnly used in Russian science. A statistical and individual typological analysis was performed due to small number of series and their satisfactory preservation. According to the results of the analysis, the presented series shows the closest analogies with the population of the Ural river basin of the end of VI–IV centuries BC, despite the small number of individuals. Moreover, it can be noted that the Mortyk I archaeological monument appears to be the part of the general array of Sauromat-Sarmatian monuments, which occupies not only the Ural river basin and the Ustyurt plateau, but also the region to the north of the Aral Sea. It can be assumed that forming of culture and physical characteristics shown by the early nomads of the Sauromat-Sarmatian appearance connects them with the territory of the Aral Sea region and the Southern Ural. Further study of the monuments in the arid territories of the Northern Aral Sea region will reveal a lot of answers to debatable questions about the early nomads of the Volga-Ural region and Western Kazakhstan and origin and genesis of their culture and appearance.

Geographical innovations in the flora of the Mangystau region

This article gives the new 7 species to the flora of vascular plants of Mangystau region (Artemisia sieversiana Willd., Ribes aureum Pursh, Tulipa gerneriana L. (T. schrenkii Regn. M. Roem., Tulipa patens Agardh ex Schult. & Schult.fil, Malus siversii (Ledeb.) M. Roem., Urtica dioica L. and Lonicera tatarica L.). The plants are discovered during expeditionary research 2013-2018 on the territory of the Western Karatau Range, the South Aktau Range, the North Ustyurt Plateau and the Tyubka-ragan Peninsula. The short information on floristic innovations is given. The updated composition of the flora of vascular plants of the Mangystau region was 684 species.

Dinocysts from the mid–upper Eocene Aktumsuk section, Ustyurt, Uzbekistan: biostratigraphy and paleoenvironments

The results of palynological study of the MidUpper Eocene sediments of the Aktumsuk key-section (Ustyurt Plateau, Uzbekistan), calibrated with nannoplankton data, are presented. Dinocyst stratigraphical distribution permitted to recognize five Dinoflagellate zones from the Peri-Tethys zonation: Costacysta bucina, Enneadocysta pectiniformis, Rhombodinium draco, Rhombodinium perforatum, and Thalassiphora reticulata. First-order calibration with nannoplankton zones permitted to precise the lowermost occurrences of the key dinocyst species. Based on the dinocyst and nannoplankton data, two important stratigraphic hiatuses, corresponding to the upper Ypresian and Upper BartonianLower Priabonian, were recognized. Analysis of quantitative fluctuations of different groups of palynomorphs through the section indicates paleoenvironmental changes in this part of the Peri-Tethys during the LutetianPriabonian: the beginning of significant transgressive phase in the early Lutetian, relative deepening in the Mid Lutetian; after the break in sedimentation at the end of Bartianianbeginning of Priabonian the sedimentation continues again in the open-marine (outer neritic) environment.