SEISMICITY of the AMUR and PRIMORYE, SAKHALIN, and the KURIL-OKHOTSK REGION in 2015

A review of the Amur and Primorye, Sakhalin, and the Kuril-Okhotsk region seismicity for 2015 is presented on the basis of data from the regional network of stationary seismic stations of the Sakhalin branch of the Geophysical Survey RAS with the involvement of data from adjacent seismological Russian and foreign agencies, as well as ten stations of the local network operating in the south Sakhalin. Parameters of 1643 seismic events have been determined, 126 of them are explosions. Focal mechanisms were calculated for 62 earthquakes. 48 earthquakes have shown a macroseismic effect. A map of the epicenters is presented, the distribution of the number N of crustal and deep-focus earthquakes by a magnitude, a total seismic energy ∑E for seismically active regions of three regions are given, in comparison with the average parameters N and ∑E for 20012014. For each region, an analysis of the parameters of the seismic regime in 2015 is given in comparison with long-term averages, the maximum and significant seismic events are described. The seismicity of the Priamurye and Primorye, Sakhalin, and the Kuril-Okhotsk region in 2015 can be characterized as a moderate one.

Трансформация этни­ческого состава населения украинского Подунавья: к вопросу о переселении молдаван/румын на Дальний Восток (1947-1949 гг.) / Transformation of the Ethnic Combination of the Ukrainian Podunavia Population: on the Issue of the Resettlement of Moldavians/Romanian to the Far East (1947 – 1949)

Based on previously unpublished archive documents (Ismail, Ukraine), the organization and resettlement of parts of the residents from the lower Danube region to South Sakhalin in 1947-1949 are considered. First of all, the resettlement touched the representatives of the Moldovan/Romanian ethnic group living in Reni district. This relocation should be seen as an attempt from the part of the Soviet totalitarian regime to transform the ethnic composition of the region, having evicted the part of the local population to remote corners of the Soviet empire, which, without much enthusiasm, met the socialist changes of the second half of the 1940s and related to the collectivization of agriculture. The age, gender, and quantitative indicators are analyzed. Lists of immigrants to the South Sakhalin in 1947 and 1948 are given.

The Complexes of the Late Period of the Nabil Archaeological Culture (North-Western Sakhalin).

The article analyzes the archaeological materials of the two Nabil dwellings located on the sand spit, which separates one of the largest lagoons in the north-eastern part of Sakhalin Island from the Sea of Okhotsk. The researched archaeological objects are presented by pit dwellings with entrances in the form of a corridor-crawlway. The objects are synchronized, and they have C14 calibration age within the 4th –2nd century BC. During the existence of the settlement (the climate boundary was between Sub-Boreal and Sub-Atlantic phases) the climate was a little warmer than the modern one. The objects were located in the favourable fishing area of the island. The household complexes of the dwellings are similar. The Nabil’s pottery has foreign cultural influence and it is differentiated from the Early Nabil complexes. There are a lot of stone tools intended for the fishery. The stone tools were locally produced. There are both the stone tools and the corroded metal fragments and the stone replica of the metal tools. The Nabil jewelry is of transit origin and it shows the presence of relationships between South Sakhalin and the continental areas of Far East. It is assumed that in the conditions of a shortage of metals, the need for its import caused the integration of the peoples of Sakhalin into the system of regional trade and exchange relations. Keywords: Sakhalin Island, Paleometal age, Nabil culture, pit dwelling, pointed shape pottery, stone tools, tubular beads, iron Acknowledgements: The author is grateful to her teachers and colleagues Doctor of History Alexander A. Vasilevsky and Candidate of History Vyacheslav A. Grishchenko for critical and suggestive remarks that contributed to a broader understanding of the sources.

Comparative study of the fullness of dwarf Siberian pine seeds Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel from places of natural growth and collected from plants introduced in northwestern Russia by microfocus X-ray radiography to predict their sowing qualities

As a result of analysis of the quality of Pinus pumila seeds by the method of microfocus X-ray radiography in combination with the automatic analysis of digital X-ray images, it was found that the best characteristics of individual structures and organs of seeds were demonstrated in samples collected from trees growing at site 71 of BIN RAS; the worst — from seeds taken from South Sakhalin. The seeding qualities of Pinus pumila seed samples were determined by standard methods. Based on analysis of the characteristics of digital X-ray images of Pinus pumila seeds, it was found that a seed sample from site 71 BIN RAS was characterized by the high level of embryo area 4.19±0.49 mm2, maximum embryo to thalus ratio 60.95±7.45 %, high level of endosperm area 23.93±1.24 mm2, and maximum ratio square of embryo area 9.45 ±1.17 %. The same sample was characterized by a maximum weight of 1000 seeds and a maximum absolute and soil germination ratio, compared to other samples. The obtained data showed that Pinus pumila seeds collected from plants introduced in northwestern Russia by most parameters are not inferior or are even superior to seeds from the natural range.

Analysis and revision of the Miocene boreal faunae of bivalve mollusks of the South Sakhalin

Приведены результаты изучения остатков фаун двустворчатых моллюсков из миоценовых отложений Южного Сахалина. Их анализ позволил выделить три бореальных комплекса моллюсков: невельский, раннечеховский и курасийский, фиксирующие периоды похолодания климата в миоцене региона. Изучение неогеновых представителей родов Lucinoma и Mya позволило обозначить среди них ряд таксонов, имеющих стратиграфическое значение. Установленное присутствие тепловодных двустворок в фаунах позднечеховского времени Южного Сахалина, очевидно, отражает собой начальный этап тенденции нарастающего потепления климата в миоцене региона с климатическим оптимумом в верхнедуйско-сертунайское время. Высказывается следующее мнение: неустойчивые климатические условия в позднем палеогене – раннем неогене северной части Япономорского региона могли быть основной причиной возникновения здесь одного из мощных центров эволюции морских малакофаун бореальных районов северной Пацифики. The results on the studying of the faunae of bivalve mollusks remains from miocene deposits of the South Sakhalin are presented. The analysis of the last ones allowed distinguishing the following three boreal assemblages of mollusks: Nevelskiy, early Chekhovskiy and Kurasiiskiy, recording the period of climatic cooling in miocene of the region. Studying of Neogene representatives of Lucinoma and Mya generas allowed identifying some taxa among them which have stratigraphic significance. The detected presence of warm water bivalves in the faunae of the late Chekhovsky time of the South Sakhalin appears to reflect the initial stage of the tendency of the intensifying climate warming happened during miocene, with climatic optimum during the Verkhneduysky – Sertunaysky times. An opinion is expressed that the unstable climatic conditions in the northern part of the Japan Sea region during late Paleogene – early Neogene could have been the main reason for originating of one of the high-potential centers of evolution of the marine malacofaunae of boreal regions of the North Pacific.