Scientific and Methodological Aspects of the Cartographic Visualization of Data on the State of Atmos-pheric Air

Introduction. The wide variety of information sources on the state of atmospheric air along with the diversity of the information types, approaches to its collection and cartographic representation, as well as the high demand for such data lead to the accumulation of cartographic materials which, varying in the degrees of representativeness, reflect the state of atmospheric air. The relevance of the information used and the approach to its cartographic visualization directly affects the quality of the information provided and the effectiveness of administrative and managerial decisions made on the basis of this type of information. The study is aimed at the formation of the scientific and methodological apparatus for the cartographic visualization of the integrated monitoring of the state of atmospheric air. Objects and methods. To achieve the research objectives, the study involved the collection, systematization, mathematical processing, analysis, and cartographic visualization of data on the state of atmospheric air on the territories of different levels including the Russian Federation, its Federal Districts (the Volga Federal District and the Ural Federal District) and constituent entities (the Udmurt Republic and the Republic of Bashkortostan), and the city of Izhevsk. The research work used the data of the state accounting of sources of atmospheric air pollution in the Russian Federation, state monitoring materials, as well as the data obtained during field studies and mathematical modeling. Results. Within the framework of this study, the time structure of activities aimed at creating the maps of the state of atmospheric air, as well as the criteria and factors of the representativeness of cartographic materials have been defined. The time structure of the map creation process includes the following stages: the design phase, the technological and the reflective ones. The following criteria for the representativeness of the source data and the resulting cartographic material have been formulated: the criterion of sufficient validity, the criterion of intersubjectivity, and the criterion of convergence. The representativeness of data used in creating maps of the state of atmospheric air is largely determined by the following factors: the scale, the mathematical and statistical approaches utilized to process the initial data, and the primary integration degree. Conclusion. The use of the defined scientific and methodological apparatus will create opportunities for the formation of a new cluster of maps of the state of atmospheric air. These maps will be characterized by a high degree of reliability and representativeness.