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REGIONAL GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS: FROM ARCTIC LAND TO ARCTIC OCEAN
ArticleName Assessment of ecological risks during the mastering of hydrocarbon deposits of arctic shelf
ArticleAuthor Ivanova V. V., Bulova E. S., Anokhin V. M.
ArticleAuthorData

All-Russia Research Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologiya) (Saint Petersburg, Russia):

Ivanova V. V., Leading Researcher, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, e-mail: v_ivanova@rambler.ru

Bulova E. S., First Category Engineer

Anokhin V. M., Leading Researcher, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences

Abstract

High degree of marine environment vulnerability and extreme climatic conditions of the shelf zone of Arctic seas cause a high risk of accidents and large-scale environmental consequences of the study and development of mineral resources on the continental shelf of Russian Federation. Management of environmental risks in environmental security involves administrative and legal regulation, based on risk assessment and analysis of environmental change forecasts. The geographic information system "Geoecological passport", developed by VNIIOkeangeologiya specialists, is the main part of environmental management system. "Geoecological passport" provides the support to beginning of certification of subsoil use facilities on continental shelf, including the area of industrial impact of the development of offshore oil and gas fields on environmental components and location of high environmental risk areas. Assessment of resistance of marine ecosystems to anthropogenic stress is one of the main tasks of passport designing. Stability of geological environment is based on the quality criteria, which include the following factors (conformably to the shelf):
-assessment of geodynamic stability and development of exogenic geological processes;
-level of bottom water pollution;
-state and features of bottom sediments;
-index of assimilative capacity;
-risk of secondary contamination.
Chemical pollution of geological environment belongs to the major limiting factor of the subsurface resources development on the shelf, along with geodynamic disturbance. The set of sustainability factors of the geological environment of the shelf depends on the level of research. Biosphere, regional and local levels are included in geoecology. Several factors, which determine the resistance of geosystems to chemical contamination, were identified at the regional level. These factors are divided into three main groups: factors of abiotic components stability, factors of biotic components stability and factors of assimilative capacity. It is proposed to carry out the calculation of main factors and conditions, which determine the impact on the shelf ecosystems by Analytic Hierarchy Decision Process. Moreover, the weight value of each factor is calculated considering its variability and degree influence. Geoecological passport has to contain the information about environmental conditions before the technogenic impact and has to reflect the vulnerable elements of ecosystems. In future it will reflect the changes in environmental conditions, on the basis of which, it will be possible to identify the trends in adverse effects and signs of hazards.

keywords Continental shelf, subsoil use, Arctic, dangerous geological processes, ecological risk, ecological management, geoinformation systems
References

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