KUNDUSUK ROCK ART SITE: THE RESULTS OF 2020 STUDY

Писаница Кундусук - уникальный объект наскального искусства в горах Западного Саяна. Наскальные рисунки обследованы авторами в 2020 г. Скала с рисунками находится на правом берегу реки Амыл. Выявлено 16 камней с изображениями антропоморфных лиц без контура «джойского» типа. Датируются рисунки эпохой ранней бронзы и отражают художественные традиции окуневской культуры. Объект маркирует один из центров как сухопутных, так и речных древних коммуникаций. Памятник, видимо, являлся древним культовым местом. Здесь совершались ритуальные действия и минеральной краской изображались антропоморфные объекты поклонения для успешного преодоления речных и других препятствий. Лица могли отражать облик духов места, реки, маркировать этнокультурную принадлежность древних художников. Kundusuk rock art site (“Pisanitsa Kundusuk”) is a unique object of rock art in the Western Sayan Mountains. The rock drawings were examined by the authors in 2020. The rock with the drawings is located on the right bank of the Amyl River. Sixteen stones with images of anthropomorphic faces without the contour of the “Dzhoi” type were revealed. The drawings date back to the early Bronze Age and refl ect the artistic traditions of the Okunev culture. The object marks one of the centers of both land and river ancient communications. Apparently, the site was an ancient cult place. Here ritual actions were performed and anthropomorphic objects of worship were depicted with mineral paint to successfully overcome river and other obstacles. Faces could refl ect spirits of a place, a river, mark the ethno cultural identity of ancient artists.

Gold and silver accessory minerals in ultramafites of the Kyzyr-Burlyuksky ultramafic massif (Western Sayan)

The study focuses on gold and silver accessory minerals (native silver, cuprous gold, luanheite (Ag3Hg), unspecified mineral phase (Cu,Ag,Hg), first diagnosed in dunites and apodunite serpentinites of the Kyzyr-Burlyuksky ultramafic massif, which is part of the Kurtushibin ophiolite belt of Western Sayan. The revealed ore minerals are mainly observed in the form of single hypidiomorphic, irregular microscopic precipitates (0.5– 3.0 μm) mainly inside magnetite, much less often in grains of avaruite. Typomorphic and chemical features of ore minerals, their natural setting in rock-forming silicate matrix are characterized. Formation and concentration of these accessory minerals is associated with superimposed low-temperature transformation (hydration) processes affecting original ultramafic rocks. At the same time, the presence of luanheite and an unnamed phase (Cu,Ag,Hg), along with the previously identified potarite (PdHg), is probably evidence of low-temperature conditions of mineral formation during the manifestation of epigenetic processes of serpentinization (lowgrade metamorphism) due to solutions enriched in mercury. The source of such solutions could be gabbro intrusions that penetrated later into the main ultramafic body.

Pilot Studies of the Unique Highland Palsa Mire in Western Sayan (Tuva Republic, Russian Federation)

In contrast to the well-studied West Siberian sector of frozen bogs in the Russian Arctic, the frozen mound bogs (so-called “palsas”) on the highlands of Southern Siberia have not yet been studied, but they are suspected to be even more sensitive to ongoing climate change. This article provides the pilot study on palsa mire Kara-Sug in the highland areas of Western Sayan mountain system, Tuva Republic. The study focuses on the current state of palsa mire and surrounding landscapes, providing wide range of ecological characteristics while describing ongoing transformations of natural landscapes under a changing climate. The study used a variety of field and laboratory methods: the integrated landscape-ecological approach, the study of peat deposits, geobotanical analysis, and modern analysis of the chemical composition of water, peat, and soils. The study shows that highland palsa mires are distinguished by their compactness and high variety of cryogenic landforms leading to high floristic and ecosystem diversity compared with lowland palsa mires. This information brings new insights and contributes to a better understanding of extrazonal highland palsa mires, which remain a “white spot” in the global environmental sciences.

Polymorphism in populations of Corydalis subjenisseensis s. l. (Papaveraceae) in the south of the Yenisei Siberia

Corydalis subjenisseensis (Antipova) is a tuberous ephemeroid characterized by a high morphological diversity. During the research work genetic polymorphism of 7 populations Corydalis subjenisseensis s. l., growing in the southof the Yenisei Siberia were analyzed using ISSR markers. The amplification of genomic DNA with 8 ISSR primers yielded100 DNA amplicons of which 78 were polymorphic. The number of amplified DNA fragments, depending on the primer,varied from 9 (ISSR-17) to 21 (HB14). The maximum level of genetic variation was observed for Western Sayan populations growing in aspen and fir forests. The genetic differentiation among populations (Gst) was 0.2415, indicating a highlevel of differentiation. The similarity dendrogram performed in the TFPGA program shows a division into 2 groups: thefirst group includes the Krasnoyarsk and Khakass populations of C. subjenisseensis, the second group includes the Tanzybei populations, which are characterized by a high level of polymorphism. A similar structure is observed when buildingclusters using the Bayesian approach. 69 genotypes are divided into a maximum of 7 genetic clusters. Among the populations of the Tanzybei, individuals of presumably hybridogenic origin are found, grouped around two centers of “attraction”.

Seismological studies in the Altai-Sayan mountain region

The paper provides a brief overview of seismological studies in the Altai-Sayan mountain region. The de-velopment of a network of seismological stations and experiments with temporary stations in the epicen-tral zones of large earthquakes is described. It is shown that the background seismicity of the region is or-dered over time into structures with a hierarchy in the rate of occurrence. Large earthquakes in some cases occur in places that do not match with the areas of increased background seismicity. Major earthquakes in Eastern Tuva (Busingol, Belin-Biy-Khem, etc.) occur as shifts and rotations of blocks near rift depressions. Large earthquakes of the Western Sayan Ridge and the Academician Obruchev Ridge (Tuvan First and Second earthquakes, Sayan earthquake) are associated with faults transverse to these structures and are the result of the uneven extension of blocks of the Tuva hollow and the Tuva highlands to the north. Stud-ies in the Altai Mountains found that after a long period (about 10 years) of the aftershock process of the Chui earthquake dominating the seismicity, a period of seismic activation of adjacent (60-80 km) and dis-tant (within a radius of approximately 260-280 km) structures occurred. The center of seismic activity shifted from the epicenter of the 2003 Chui earthquake to the epicenter of the 2019 Aigulak earthquake. Experimental work with powerful vibrators has determined the capabilities of a network of seismological stations in vibroseismic monitoring of the Earth's crust.

THE REGIONAL STRATIGRAPHIC CHART FOR THE SILURIAN OF THE WESTERN SAYAN (NEW VERSION)

A new version of the Regional stratigraphic chart for the Silurian of the Western Sayan and explanatory note, compiled in accordance with the Russian Stratigraphic Code, introduce changes, additional and specified data in comparison with the previous (first edition) chart. The Interdepartmental stratigraphic meeting held at Novosibirsk in 1964 approved the old version of the chart and later it was validated by the USSR Interdepartmental Stratigraphic Committee as the official stratigraphic base for all types of the regional geologic activities. Since 1964 meeting, the stages of the Silurian chart were changed. Thus, former stages Llandovery, Wenlock, Ludlow and Pridoli become series. New stages Rhuddanian, Aeronian, Telychian, Sheinwoodian, Homerian, Gorstian and Ludfordian were adopted for the three former series. For the presented stratigraphic chart the new standard Silurian stages were used.

THE REGIONAL STRATIGRAPHIC CHART FOR THE ORDOVICIAN OF THE WESTERN SAYAN (NEW VERSION)

A new version of the Regional stratigraphic chart for the Ordovician of the Western Sayan and explanatory note, compiled in accordance with the Russian Stratigraphic Code 2006, introduce changes, additional and specified data in comparison with the previous (first edition) chart. The Interdepartmental stratigraphic meeting held at Novosibirsk in 1964 approved the old version of the chart and later it was validated by the USSR Interdepartmental Stratigraphic Committee as the official stratigraphic base for all types of the regional geologic activities. Since 1964 meeting, the stages of the Ordovician chart were changed. Thus, instead of the traditional British stages (Tremadocian, Arenigian, Llanvirnian, Llandeilian, Caradocian, Ashgillian) the following units were adopted by the International Stratigraphic Chart – Tremadocian, Floian, Dapingian, Darriwilian, Sandbian, Katian, Hirnantian. Volumes of the lower, middle and upper series were also changed. For the present version of the stratigraphic chart the new standard Ordovician stages were used.