Vol 73, No 2 (2018)

Important tendencies in development of the world mineral-resources sector at the beginning of the 21st century were an increase in production and consumption of mineral materials differentiated by types of metals and nonmetallic mineral raw materials, by countries and regions, as well as the concentration of the production of mineral raw materials in a small number of countries, and a reduction in industrial reserves of minerals in the world economy, even at the current stage of their extraction. These tendencies should be taken into account in working out a strategy for development of the Russian mineral raw-material base.

This article proposes a biostratigraphic scheme for the Upper Cretaceous of the East European Platform on the basis of the distribution in the sections of three groups of microfossils: foraminifera (both planktonic and benthic), radiolarians, and nannoplankton. Most of the stage and substage boundaries are confirmed by macropaleontological data. The most divided units are those distinguished based on benthic foraminifers and nannoplankton. The diversity of these microfossils and their constant presence allowed us to identify zones and subzones, while it is possible to subdivide only the beds by planktonic foraminifers and radiolarians. The most favorable stages in the development of plankton biota can be considered the Turonian–Coniacian interval when the basins of the East European Platform experienced an intensive influence from warm waters of the Tethys Ocean. The global Campanian cooling is clearly recorded, which affected the taxonomic diversity of all microfossil groups.

The main features of the transformation of organic matter (OM) in the greenschist, amphibolite, and granulite facies of metamorphism are considered based on the example of the Ukrainian crystal shield. The occurrence area and OM content in highly carbonaceous ancient rocks are characterized. The composition of primary sedimentary rocks and the processes of accumulation of biophile elements under the OM transformation are reconstructed.

The data on the geochemistry and geochronology of zircons from wehrlites and clinopyroxenites of the dunite–wehrlite–clinopyroxenite banded complex that lies at the base of the crustal section of the ophiolite complex of the Nurali massif are presented. The obtained U–Pb age of the banded complex of 450 ± 4 Ma differs markedly from the previous age data. According to REE distribution patterns zircons from ultramafic rocks are attributed to the magmatic type and they indicate the age and supposed genetic similarity of the above rocks with lherzolites and dunites from the mantle section of the Nurali massif.

Engineering activities lead to the anthropogenic transformation of engineering–geological conditions in different areas of Russia. A differential estimate has been made for changes in individual components of engineering–geological structures: relief, upper section soils, underground waters, depth of seasonal soil freezing and thawing, and current geological processes. The general integrated evaluation of the anthropogenic transformation of engineering–geological megastructures in Russia has been made on the basis of differential estimates of the components.

Within the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) bandwidth a subsurface materials is considered to be an ideal dielectric, which is not always the case. We have developed the dependence of the reflection coefficient of electromagnetic waves with regard to conductivity, which showed a significant effect of the difference in conductivity on the reflectivity and signal amplitude. This was confirmed by physical modeling. The electrical conductivities of a geological media should be taken into account when solving direct and inverse problems, survey design planning, etc. Ground-penetrating radar can be used to solve the problem of mapping of the halocline or to determine water contamination.

The section structure was characterized according to the lithological and petrophysical studies of the core from the Bazhenov Formation that has been uncovered in the central part of the Tundrin Depression. The productive oil intervals where the reservoirs of the pore and fissure-pore types occur were identified.