Background . On the territory of Ukraine, where large-scale hostilities are taking place, industrial production and developed transport infrastructure are concentrated, in particular, every tenth enterprise has an increased (1st or 2nd) hazard class. Arable fields suffered no less damage from shelling and mining, which negatively affects food security in the world. The degree of ecological hazard of the territory where hostilities took place is determined primarily by the level of surface concentrations of pollutants entering the natural environment. Concentrations, as well as the range and area of dispersion of pollutants depend on the parameters of the explosion, the height of the explosion product clouds, and meteorological conditions. Methods . For war-affected areas, mechanisms for assessing the degree of mechanical damage to soils and dust from a gas-dust cloud into the environment were proposed based on methods used at mining enterprises to analyze environmental hazards. Results . The studies were carried out in the field, where ca.1000 craters of various diameters were identified. The main parameters of the explosion were estimated based on the morphological shapes of the craters: the volume of displaced (or destroyed) soil, the mass of aerosol and dust that entered the atmosphere, the width and height of the pile-the scattering of soil from the centre of the explosion. The height of the gas-dust cloud from large explosions was calculated, which is extremely important for modelling the dynamics of solid particles in the cloud and solving problems of regional pollution transportation. A sequential algorithm was developed for assessing the destruction and damage to soils and the release of aerosol and dust into the atmosphere, which is formed during ground explosions. Conclusions . An algorithm for calculating the degree of soil damage and dust ingress into the atmosphere from artillery weapons of various calibers has been proposed. Calculations of the height of the gas-dust cloud from large explosions and the scattering of earth from the craterhave been obtained. The cumulative effect of soil damage and atmospheric pollution bysubstances from explosion products per day, month and year has been estimated. The results of comparing the damage caused to soils and emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere as a result of the war are comparable in scale to the operation of an average quarry in Ukraine for a year. Given the scale of the battle lines environmental pollution would have catastrophic consequences.

The war in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on the environment. Military actions have caused the release of hazardous substances into the environment, such as pollutants and toxic chemicals, that have contaminated the water, soil, and air, posing a threat to both human health and the environment. This has resulted in widespread destruction and contamination of natural habitats and resources and has disrupted wildlife populations and ecosystems. The impacts of military activity on the soils of protected areas are particularly critical, as they are the basis of biotic and landscape diversity and require special management and scientifically based monitoring measures even in peaceful conditions. In this context, this communication paper aims to provide an overview of the impacts of the war on the soils in four Ukrainian protected areas, namely Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve; Desniansko-Starohutskyi National Nature Park; Holosiivskyi National Nature Park, and Hetmanskyi National Nature Park. To address these aspects, this paper combined GIS analysis and secondary data including soil samples obtained during field expeditions, to provide evidence of how ground battles, occupation, terrestrial land mines, and explosions can severely impact the soils. Practical and theoretical implications of the military actions are also discussed.

Salt stress severely limits the growth and yield of wheat in saline-alkali soil. While nanozymes have shown promise in mitigating abiotic stress by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants, their application in alleviating salt stress for wheat is still limited. This study synthesized a highly active nanozyme catalyst known as ZnPB (Zn-modified Prussian blue) to improve the yield and quality of wheat in saline soil. According to the Michaelis-Menten equation, ZnPB demonstrates exceptional peroxidase-like enzymatic activity, thereby mitigating oxidative damage caused by salt stress. Additionally, studies have shown that the ZnPB nanozyme is capable of regulating intracellular Na+ efflux and K+ retention in wheat, resulting in a decrease in proline and soluble protein levels while maintaining the integrity of macromolecules within the cell. Consequently, field experiments demonstrated that the ZnPB nanozyme increased winter wheat yield by 12.15 %, while also significantly enhancing its nutritional quality. This research offers a promising approach to improving the salinity tolerance of wheat, while also providing insights into its practical application.

BackgroundRussia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 ignited the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. Ukrainian government agencies, civil society organizations, and international agencies have gathered an unprecedented amount of data about the impact of war on the environment, which is often the silent victim of war. We review these data and highlight the limitations of international governance for protection of the environment during time of war.MethodsWe performed an integrative review of academic, institutional, and media information resources using the search terms Ukraine, Russia, war, environment, health, human rights, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, ecocide, and war crimes.Main textNearly 500,000 military personnel have been killed or wounded during the war, and more than 30,000 civilians have been killed or injured. Indirect health effects of the war have likely accounted for an even greater amount of civilian morbidity and mortality. The war has displaced more than 11 million people. Russia's military forces have caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure. The war has devastated Ukraine's economy and reduced food and energy security in many countries.The war has caused more than $56.4 billion in damage to the environment. There has been widespread chemical contamination of air, water, and soil, and 30% of Ukraine has been contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance. Landscape destruction, shelling, wildfires, deforestation, and pollution have adversely affected 30% of Ukraine's protected areas. Russia's seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam have posed risks of long-term environmental catastrophe. Most of these environmental impacts threaten human health.Main textNearly 500,000 military personnel have been killed or wounded during the war, and more than 30,000 civilians have been killed or injured. Indirect health effects of the war have likely accounted for an even greater amount of civilian morbidity and mortality. The war has displaced more than 11 million people. Russia's military forces have caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure. The war has devastated Ukraine's economy and reduced food and energy security in many countries.The war has caused more than $56.4 billion in damage to the environment. There has been widespread chemical contamination of air, water, and soil, and 30% of Ukraine has been contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance. Landscape destruction, shelling, wildfires, deforestation, and pollution have adversely affected 30% of Ukraine's protected areas. Russia's seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam have posed risks of long-term environmental catastrophe. Most of these environmental impacts threaten human health.ConclusionIn addition to enormous human costs, Russia's war on Ukraine has had devastating impacts on the natural environment and the built environment. International law mandates that methods of warfare must be implemented with due regard to the protection and preservation of the natural environment. A just and lasting peace necessitates, among other requirements, rebuilding and restoration of Ukraine's natural environment and built environment. The environmental consequences of all wars need to be investigated and more effective measures need to be implemented to protect the environment during war.

Rapid Arctic warming is expected to result in widespread permafrost degradation. However, observations show that site-specific conditions (vegetation and soils) may offset the reaction of permafrost to climate change. This paper summarizes 43 years of interannual seasonal thaw observations from tundra landscapes surrounding the Marre-Sale on the west coast of the Yamal Peninsula, northwest Siberia. This robust dataset includes landscape-specific climate, active layer thickness, soil moisture, and vegetation observations at multiple scales. Long-term trends from these hierarchically scaled observations indicate that drained landscapes exhibit the most pronounced responses to changing climatic conditions, while moist and wet tundra landscapes exhibit decreasing active layer thickness, and river floodplain landscapes do not show changes in the active layer. The slow increase in seasonal thaw depth despite significant warming observed over the last four decades on the Yamal Peninsula can be explained by thickening moss covers and ground surface subsidence as the transient layer (ice-rich upper permafrost soil horizon) thaws and compacts. The uneven proliferation of specific vegetation communities, primarily mosses, is significantly contributing to spatial variability observed in active layer dynamics. Based on these findings, we recommend that regional permafrost assessments employ a mean landscape-scale active layer thickness that weights the proportions of different landscape types.

It is proposed to build a high-speed railway through the China -Mongolia -Russia economic corridor (CMREC) which runs from Beijing to Moscow via Mongolia. However, the frozen ground in this corridor has great impacts on the infrastructure stability, especially under the background of climate warming and permafrost degradation. Based on the Bayesian Network Model (BNM), this study evaluates the suitability for engineering construction in the CMREC, by using 21 factors in five aspects of terrain, climate, ecology, soil, and frozen-ground thermal stability. The results showed that the corridor of Mongolia's Gobi and Inner Mongolia in China is suitable for engineering construction, and the corridor in Amur, Russia near the northern part of Northeast China is also suitable due to cold and stable permafrost overlaying by a thin active layer. However, the corridor near Petropavlovsk in Kazakhstan and Omsk in Russia is not suitable for engineering construction because of low freezing index and ecological vulnerability. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis of influence factors indicates that the thermal stability of frozen ground has the greatest impact on the suitability of engineering construction. These conclusions can provide a reference basis for the future engineering planning, construction and risk assessment.

As one of the best indicators of the periglacial environment, ice-wedge polygons (IWPs) are important for arctic landscapes, hydrology, engineering, and ecosystems. Thus, a better understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics and evolution of IWPs is key to evaluating the hydrothermal state and carbon budgets of the arctic permafrost environment. In this paper, the dynamics of ground surface deformation (GSD) in IWP zones (2018-2019) and their influencing factors over the last 20 years in Saskylakh, northwestern Yakutia, Russia were investigated using the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Google Earth Engine (GEE). The results show an annual ground surface deformation rate (AGSDR) in Saskylakh at -49.73 to 45.97 mm/a during the period from 1 June 2018 to 3 May 2019. All the selected GSD regions indicate that the relationship between GSD and land surface temperature (LST) is positive (upheaving) for regions with larger AGSDR, and negative (subsidence) for regions with lower AGSDR. The most drastic deformation was observed at the Aeroport regions with GSDs rates of -37.06 mm/a at tower and 35.45 mm/a at runway. The GSDs are negatively correlated with the LST of most low-centered polygons (LCPs) and high-centered polygons (HCPs). Specifically, the higher the vegetation cover, the higher the LST and the thicker the active layer. An evident permafrost degradation has been observed in Saskylakh as reflected in higher ground temperatures, lusher vegetation, greater active layer thickness, and fluctuant numbers and areal extents of thermokarst lakes and ponds.

Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF) is the region of intensive economic development. In this regard, it is critical to give an adequate assessment of natural factors that may have a negative impact on the growing technological infrastructure. Rapid climate change effects show a significant influence on this activity, including the railway network development. Hence, the decision-making community requires relevant information on climatic variations that can put at hazard the construction and operation of railway facilities. This paper presents the analysis of climatic changes within the region of Central and Western Russian Arctic in 1980-2021. It was performed using the new electronic Atlas of climatic variations in main hydrometeorological parameters, created for the Russian Railways in 2023. This geoinformatic product includes about 400 digital maps reflecting the variability of seven climatic parameters over more than four decades within the studied region. These parameters are air temperature, total precipitation, wind speed, soil temperature, soil moisture content, air humidity, and snow cover thickness. The analysis of climatic maps and their comparison between selected periods showed spatial and temporal heterogeneity of climatic variations in this region. This justifies the feasibility of further research using additional analytical instruments, such as Hovm & ouml;ller diagrams, time series graphs, etc. The implementation of advanced geoinformatic products in the practice of the Russian Railways will facilitate sustainable development of its infrastructure in rapidly altering climatic conditions.

This is an attempt to predict the potential economic impacts on public infrastructure upon degrading permafrost which is losing its bearing capacity. Climate change-related increases in costs (economic losses or damage) are estimated for several climate futures by 2050 separately for 39 municipalities located in the Russian Arctic permafrost domain. The hypothetical changes in mean annual ground temperature are inferred from air and ground temperature trends and monitoring data, with reference to forecasts of the Climate Center of the Russian Meteorological Service (Roshydromet) and climate change scenarios (representative concentration pathways RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5). The calculations were performed for twelve possible cases with different air ground temperature assumptions, with regard to the difference between the ground and air mean annual temperatures. This difference, or temperature shifts, due to radiation, snow, vegetation, and atmospheric precipitation effects, was estimated either by means of calculations proceeding from possible changes of climate variables or by summation of known values reported from different Arctic areas. The economic losses were evaluated as maximum and minimum values at extreme values of permafrost parameters, separately for each case. The buildings and facilities on permafrost were assumed to have pile foundations with friction piles. The permafrost thaw impact was meant as the loss of the soil capacity to bear the support structures for the infrastructure leading to deformation and failure. The impact was considered significant if the change exceeded the safety margin according to the Russian Building Code. The greatest damage is expected to housing stock and buildings and structures of main economic sectors. The monetary value of the residential infrastructure was estimated using a specially compiled inventory database including address, age, and surface area of 23.900 houses in 39 selected Russian Arctic municipalities over a total area of 44.600 km(2). The estimation of fixed assets stemmed from the assumption that their monetary value is proportional to the gross output in the respective economic sector, which, in its turn, correlates with the payroll total corrected for mean industry coefficients for different regions of Russia. The potential damage may reach up to US$ 132 billion (total) and similar to US$ 15 billion for residential infrastructure alone, which generally agrees with other estimates.

Permafrost is an important component in hydrological processes because changes in runoff over the Arctic drainage basin cannot be well explained by changes in precipitation-related variables. However, current understanding of the influences of permafrost on hydrological dynamics is insufficient. This study investigated historical variations in permafrost conditions and their potential hydrologic effects over the Russian Arctic drainage basin. The results show that soil temperature (at 0.40 m below surface) has increased about 1.4 degrees C over the Ob, 1.5 degrees C over the Yenisei, and 1.8 degrees C over the Lena River basin from 1936 through 2013, possibly resulted in a significant thawing of permafrost. Rapid active layer changes have occurred since the 1970s. The volume of the active layer increased by 28, 142, and 228 km(3) over the Ob, Yenisei, and Lena basins, respectively, since the 1970s. Melting ground ice caused by deepening active layer may be a limited contribution to annual runoff. Runoff during freeze season (October-April) showed significant positive correlations (p 0.05) in the Ob basin. These results imply that, in basins with high permafrost coverage, a deeper active layer increased soil water storage capacity and perhaps contribute to an increase in winter runoff.