The article, based on materials from the Moscow State University Archives, examines the activities of the Botanical Garden of Moscow University during the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945). Using a systematic approach, the article traces changes in the main parameters of the Botanical Garden’s structural and functional organization under the influence of adverse external factors. It is shown how, in the context of the crisis caused by the war, which led to a shortage of resources for scientific activities, the areas of research and educational work were transformed, and the composition and structure of the Botanical Garden’s plant collections, as well as the number and organizational structure of its scientific and auxiliary staff, changed. Special attention is paid to the personality of K.I. Meyer, who headed the Botanical Garden in 1940–1948.

The article is devoted to the activities of the famous zoogeographer and ornithologist M.A. Menzbier as rector of Moscow University, which he headed during the revolutionary upheavals of 1917–1918. It considers the rector’s attempts to lead the university while remaining faithful to the principles of academicism in the conditions of destruction and breakdown of all public life.

The article traces milestones of the formation and development of sciadography in the Botanical Garden of Moscow University in the 19–20th centuries in the aspect of the history of science. In accordance with the logic of the development of scientific know­ledge, taxonomic ideas about the Umbelliferae were transformed as research methods improved. Studying of the Umbelliferae became a specialty of the Botanical Garden of Moscow University. The evolution of approaches to the construction of the system of this family of angiosperms is considered: from G.F. Hoffmann’s artificial system (early 19th century), based on comparative morphological data, to B.M. Kozo-Polyansky’s natural system (early 20th century), based on the principles of evolutionary morphology, and further, to phylogenetic systematics based on modern research methods and quantitative methods of data processing. This approach was developed by V.N. Tikhomirov and M.G. Pimenov, their colleagues and students (since the 1970s). January 2025 marks the 265th anniversary of the birth of G.F. Hoffmann (1760–1826) and the 135th anniversary of the birth of B.M. Kozo-Polyansky (1890–1957).

The gallery of artistic portraits of outstanding Russian and foreign naturalists, consisting of sculptures and paintings, occupies an important place in the exposition of the Earth Science Museum at Moscow State University. The 270th anniversary of the Moscow State University named after Lomonosov and 75th anniversary of its Earth Science Museum is an occasion to turn to the activities of scientists directly related to Moscow University. The portraits of paleontologists of the 19th – first half of the 20th century, which were at the beginning of the science of fossil organisms at Moscow University, are shown in the museum halls. They have contributed to the development of this science, as well as museology at the university, and laid the foundation for modern research and teaching paleontological courses. Among them are the learners of Johann Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim (1771–1853) – Charles Roulier (1814–1858) and Grigory E. Shchurovsky (1803–1884), Vladimir O. Kovalevsky (1842–1883), Aleksei Petrovich (1854–1929) and Maria Vasilievna (1854–1938) Pavlovs, and Aleksei Alekseevich Borisyak (1872–1944). Brief biographical information of the scientists is provided. Their contribution to the development and organization of paleontological research at Moscow University is shown.

The article presents an analysis of the exhibition activities of the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University as an important component of scientific and educational work, significantly expanding educational and outreach activities. In accordance with the development of science and the socio-political situation in our country and the world, the topics of exhibitions, places and methods of their holding changed. At the same time, they reflected the current aspects of the 270-year history of Moscow University as if in a mirror.

The article presents the main stages of the scientific path of Ivan A. Heim (Bernhard Andreas von Heim, 1758–1821), a representative of the German academic society, who moved to Russia in 1779 and held the position of the rector of Moscow University from 1808 to 1819. I.A. Heim’s scientific heritage in the field of linguistics, geography and statistics is considered. The great merits of I.A. Heim in the organization of evacuation of Moscow University during the Patriotic War of 1812 and its subsequent restoration are shown.

Vinogradsky’s columns are known as a model of a microbial community for experiments in laboratory conditions. The article proposes a system of integrated use of Vinogradsky’s columns in the space of the Earth Science Museum as: a) a visual dynamic “living exhibit”, b) an interactive platform of the Youth Museum, and a mobile cluster for exhibitions and the Science Festival, c) a natural educational and methodological tool, and d) a laboratory naturalistic experimental setup. Making a series of Vinogradsky’s columns from different locations of the initial pedo-soil matrix of various compositions allows for a successful combination of scientific, experimental, educational, and demonstration-interactive tasks in the space of a natural science university museum. In the Earth Science Museum at Moscow State University (Hall 21 – East European Plain), a series of Vinogradsky’s columns has been developed, based initially on the materials of bottom sediments samples of pond reservoirs, selected by a team of novice nature explorers (students of Moscow State University and schoolchildren) as part of the project “Youth Museum” of Moscow State University. Two-year monitoring has allowed to obtain new data on the development of microbial communities and to arrange an original cluster in the hall and to present a series of columns at the All-Russian Science Festival.

The open-air exhibition “Glaciers from the Arctic to Moscow” aims to present the interdisciplinary issues of complex cosmoglobal aspects and mechanisms of interaction between the geospheres, which are the product of climate change spanning the entire history of the planet and continuously affecting ecosystems. The exhibition is organized at the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University in collaboration with the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University as a cluster of the Youth Museum. A synthetic version of the distribution of glacial covers in the territory of the East European Plain and a version of the most commonly accepted scale of glaciations and interglaciations of the Quaternary period with the main astrochronological reference points have been specially developed and designed to be easily understood by a wide range of visitors to the exhibition. Special attention is paid to Milanković’s cycles, and original information stands have been created to reflect their work. The natural basis of the exhibition is formed by a group of different-sized erratic boulders, arranged according to the reconstructed location of the rocks that form them in their parent locations, modeling the “glacier route” on the East European Plain. By analyzing the “travel notes” in the form of systems of characteristic grooves and “tan crusts,” as well as the composition of the rocks, together with each visitor, it is possible to reconstruct the path of a particular boulder, and, with the help of information boards, to try to understand the scenario of the glacier’s development, the history of the region, and the planet as a whole. The created exhibition can be positioned as a universal conceptual and design solution for the space of a university science museum.

The article provides scientific and artistic descriptions of the paintings composing the triptych “Transformation of the River Network of the Russian Plain”, namely: G.E. Satel’s “Moscow Canal” and M.A. Suzdaltsev’s “At the Construction of the Volga Hydroelectric Power Station named after V.I. Lenin” and “Tsimlyansk Reservoir (Sea)”. The creative path of the artists G.E. Satel and M.A. Suzdaltsev, the background to the creation of their joint triptych, the interaction of the acting director of the Museum Yu.K. Yefremov with these artists applying for the commission, and his opinion of the resulting paintings are considered. The connection between the triptych paintings and the natural science exposition of the hall is shown. Comparisons are made with the paintings “Ob” by I.V. Titkov and “Yenisei” by Ya.D. Romas.

The article lists the meteorite samples having supplemented the collection of the Earth Science Museum over the past few years. A brief description of the meteorites, the search and find history are given. Some meteorite expeditions of the staff of the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University are briefly described.

The article presents a retrospective analysis of the development of educational and enlightenment activities in the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University named after Lomonosov from the moment of its foundation to the present. The following trends are highlighted: expansion of the forms and methods of museum pedagogy over time, introduction of interactive methods in the practice of the educational and enlightenment activities, work with various age visitor groups (from younger pupils and students to adults), as well as the use of digital methods in the educational process.

Expedition work is an important aspect of the activities of any natural science university museum, starting directly from its formation as a scientific, educational and enlightening center. As the museum structure develops, the role of such expeditions is transformed, acquiring the character of an evolutionarily necessary structural and functional mechanism. In the 75-year history of the Earth Science Museum of MSU, three main stages of expeditionary activity are distinguished. The first one is associated with the formation of the Museum in the 1950–60s and reflects, as the main task, the formation of an array of naturalia (natural objects), as well as photographic materials and works of art, which formed the basis of the exposition and collection base. The second stage is marked by targeted expeditions for specific local exhibition and research tasks, involving field collection of natural facts. At the third stage in the 21st century, the functional spectrum of the Museum’s expeditionary activities is expanding: field work, in addition to the traditional mechanism of new acquisitions, becomes an arena for positioning the Museum for the general public outside its classical space, an interactive cluster of education and popularization of science, involving various social groups in the area of the expedition’s work in museum co-creation. The Museum’s expeditions are widely reflected in popular science films and books, at “Science Festivals”, in the media space and blogosphere. These innovations have been testing in recent years in the mode of the scientific and educational expedition “Floating Universities Flotilla” in the Volga region, which has become an important resource for the implementation of the concept of a mobile network museum, as well as the formation of a youth museum as a promising interdisciplinary project of the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University.

The article provides a brief analysis of the 75-year history of the formation of scientific directions and research in the Scientific and Educational Museum of Earth Science of Moscow State University named after Lomonosov. The importance of maintaining and developing interdisciplinary research in the educational and outreaching process is substantiated.

Scientific and artistic descriptions of three paintings by Vladimir F. Stozharov (1926–1973) are given, namely: “Kazakh small hills”, “Peneplain of Central Kazakhstan”, and “Geologists in Kazakhstan”. The pictures were painted in 1955 following Stozharov’s creative trip to Central Kazakhstan in the summer of 1954 specifically for the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University, which was being formed at that time. They have become part of the landscape painting gallery, but are almost unknown to a wide range of specialists. Being part of Stozharov’s “Virgin land cycle,” these three canvases are united by a single theme, namely, the landscapes of the Kazakh small hills. The article also examines Stozharov’s life path and the geography of his creative trips. Without pretending to provide an exhaustive analysis of the artist’s work, the authors focus on Stozharov’s “Virgin lands cycle.”

The life and work of Professor Igor L. Vasilyev (1940–2019) is an illustrative example of the versatility of a? university geologist. As a native of Tambov City and a graduate from the renowned Saratov Higher Geological School during its peak (1950s–1960s), Professor Vasilyev spent the majority of his life working in Transbaikalia (Buryatia), researching Paleozoic and Proterozoic deposits in areas of hydrothermal ore genesis. Here, he put forward an original interdisciplinary concept of coevolution of synchronously developing volcanic systems and reef structures in the coastal zone of a marine basin with an output to ore formation. He worked as a researcher, a practical geologist, a teacher, and an organizer of the scientific and educational process. In the 1990s, after returning to his native Tambov City, Professor I.L. Vasilyev taught the course of engineering geology at The Technical University and actively engaged in museum work, organizing field trips and creating a set of educational collections, followed by the initial museum exhibition in the format of a geological cabinet. Currently, the museum cluster he established is being developed within the scientific and educational center “Coevolution of Geospheres Museum” of Tambov State Technical University.

In December 2025, it will be 200 years since the beginning of the thirty-year reign of Russian Emperor Nicholas I. This period was marked by many events that had a significant impact on the historical development of the country, including the fields of science, education and culture. The article provides a description and characterization of the University Charter (1835); features of the formation and activities of university museums are examined. A comparative characterization of museums focused on natural sciences, technology, and the humanities is presented. Methods of acquiring museum collections through expedition collections, purchases, and donations are discussed. The main forms of university museum activities, namely, research, educational, and outreach, are reflected. The most significant university museums of this period are identified.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serve as hubs for the redistribution of biogenic element flows, since they generate three output streams (liquid, solid and gaseous), where the proportional content of biogenic elements depends on the wastewater treatment technology. The circular economy principles require accounting for these flows to develop a strategy for utilizing biogenic elements to meet the needs of the growing urban population. Identifying sewerage basins within a river basin serves as a tool for calculating these flows. The maximum possible amount of biogenic elements (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) redirected by treatment plants to local water bodies, to the atmosphere, and to sewage sludge is estimated for each sewerage basin. Such calculations enable an assessment of the maximum biogenic load downstream of the treatment plant discharge point (in the event of a plant shutdown) and the design of potential technological chains for utilizing sewage sludge. The author proposes to use a GIS-based method to identify sewerage basins within a river basin. This approach allows for the calculation of maximum biogenic element flows based on the population within each sewerage basin, providing insights into the environmental load on each individual basin and the entire river basin as a whole. Additionally, this method identifies zones with the highest load on watercourses within the river basin and assesses the risks of watercourse pollution due to urban development and the emergence of new residential areas. The article presents a methodology for identifying sewerage basins within the Moscow River basin, calculating the population within their boundaries, and estimating the daily load of two indicators, namely: total nitrogen and phosphate phosphorus. Using geoinformation tools, a map of sewerage basins was plotted, identifying areas within the Moscow River basin with the highest and lowest coverage of wastewater treatment plants.

A popular science film “Brotherhood of Scientific Creativity. Floating University named after Vladimir Vernadsky” was shot to the 160^th anniversary of the birth of Academician V.I. Vernadsky. Work on the film was carried out during 2022–2023 as part of the activities of the scientific and educational expedition «Floating Universities Flotilla» (the field work regions being the Middle and Lower Volga river, Don river, Caspian sea). It includes the original projects “Academician Vernadsky’s Floating University” and “Floating mobile-network museum center”. The concept of the project basically provides for interdisciplinary research on a wide range of problems of the interaction of geospheres and the evolution of geoecosystems, which is being implemented by creative teams of scientists from various fields and students with the active involvement of the local population in interactive museum practices. According to the main message of the film, it is in such an environment of “scientific creativity”, in the format of field natural sciences, that the development of the ideological heritage of V.I. Vernadsky on the principles of the “Priyutinsky Brotherhood” and maturation of the “new Vernadskies” from novice researchers. The original system of scenario and producer’s decisions included the contrast of images «academician–student», a series of episodes of actual field research (the study of geological sections, the phenomenon of lithophagy, natural and anthropogenic objects) with the implicit inclusion of the “young Vernadsky” in the process (the character is an actor) and subsequent the culminating meeting of the “two Vernadskies” (montage) against the background of the Volga river – a symbolic handover of the baton of “scientific creativity” to a new generation.

In the northwestern part of the Saratov Volga region, an unusually large (more than
4 m) for the region erratic boulder of an irregularly rounded polygonal shape was found, composed of Shoksha quartzite with sandstone and gravelstone interlayers. Its locality was investigated by a special expedition, the sample was removed from the parent substrate, moved more than 220 km and installed on the territory of the Saratov State Technical University named after Yu.A. Gagarin. The experience of exhibiting it on the university campus showed the effectiveness of implanting the object into the system of landscape design of the territory, turning it into one of the symbols of the university and an element of cultural space, as well as the rationality of positioning it as an original museum exhibit in the format of the Natural History Museum of the SSTU. Today, the specimen is a key element of the “ice age micropark” being developed in the open air and is thematically associated with a part of the exposition of the central hall of the Museum of Natural History of the SSTU, reflecting the Quaternary stage of the development of nature and man. In addition to excursion activities, the exhibit is used to deliver field lectures and conduct specially designed practical classes on the «foundations of geology», «historical geology», «Earth science», and other disciplines. All accompanying materials collected by the expedition are arranged in the form of a special collection of the museum’s scientific funds. Assessment of the object from the standpoint of geo-heritage allows us to propose giving it the status of a natural monument of local importance.

May of 2026 marks the 150th anniversary of the outstanding biologist and geo­grapher, theorist and historian of science, Academician, Moscow University graduate Leo S. Berg (1876–1950), who became famous during his life as the greatest ichthyologist in our country. He published numerous papers with descriptions of single fish species, as well as general monographs on the ichthyofauna of our country and its regions. He also focused on fishing, domestic aquaculture and zoogeographical zoning by ichthyofauna. The article discusses L.S. Berg’s research on palaeontology, which began during his expeditions to the Aral Sea in 1899–1906. He studied the Meso-Cenozoic deposits of the Aral coastline and their fossil fauna. Since the 1930s, Leo Berg continued his palaeoichthyological research, studying in detail the Late Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic actinopterygian and other fishes. He described a number of fossil taxa of ichthyofauna and critically revised the system of fossil agnathans and fishes. The article provides brief biographical information of L.S. Berg, one of the classics of world ichthyology in the 20th century.

For the first time in the research literature, the paper highlights the cooperation of the outstanding Russian investigators G.N. Potanin (1835–1920) and V.I. Vernadsky (1863–1945). The basis of interaction between these scientists was determined by the fact that both of them were students of Natural Department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Imperial St. Petersburg University. They carried the knowledge and interest in research gained at the university throughout their lives. Based on authentic sources, the authors revealed the role of A.A. Inostrantsev (1843–1919) as the organizer and ruler of the geological cabinet (museum) at St. Petersburg University, where G.N. Potanin acquired the necessary knowledge for his scientific expeditions to Central Asia in 1874. Under the influence of Dr. Inostrantsev, Potanin realized the importance of museums in geology and other branches. Besides, he supported V.V. Dokuchaev (1846–1903) in conducting soil science research in Russia. The paper emphasizes the participation of the university student Vladimir Vernadsky in Prof. Dokuchaev’s expeditions and in the preparation of a soil exposition at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889. Following in the footsteps of his teachers and mentors, V.I. Vernadsky joined the museum science, became the curator of the Mineralogical Museum in Alma Mater, and then, some years later, in the Imperial Moscow University.

Immediate communication between V.I. Vernadsky and G.N. Potanin occurred in the 1890s – 1900s, when they participated in discussions on ideological and political reorganization of Russia, pondered on the problems of regional self-government in the country. As a brief conclusion from this publication, the authors postulate free thought and scientific creativity, which related to Vernadsky and Potanin, as relevant ideas of our days.

The article tells about the life and scientific achievements of this scientist. The major stages of S.S. Neustruev’s work are given: a theorist of soil science from Dokuchaev’s school, a famous geologist and one of the most talented physical geographers. His unique capacities for synthesis, a special ceaseless role of soil-geographical, cadastral and geological researches conducted by him are shown. S.S. Neustruev’s scientific views about the joint development of geomorphology and soil, their interconnections have developed approaches to develop regional Russian and global soil classifications and to study ecological and biosphere soil functions. New facts of his life and scientific activity are presented. He was a Russian soil scientist, geographer, naturalist, graduate from Moscow University, researcher of Central Asia, the South-East of the Russian Plain, and the Volga region. Being professor of the Geographical Institute in Petrograd (1918), he headed the first department of soil geography in Russia. He was the first to introduce the term “serozem” and establish the serozem type of soil formation in deserts and semi-deserts, and developed a classification of soils for a number of regions of Central Asia. He was Head of the Commission on Soil Genesis of the First All-Union Congress of Soil Scientists; Participant of the 1st International Congress of Soil Scientists in the USA (1927); Corresponding member of the Agricultural Academy (Czech Republic).

The article reviews the activities of the famous botanist Mikhail I. Golenkin (1864–1941) as an organizer of Russian science. Honored Professor of Moscow University (1916), Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1929), M.I. Golenkin headed the Department of Plant Morphology and Systematics for many years (1904–1918; in 1918–1929 – Department of Plant Morphology and Systematics of higher plants) of Moscow University and its Botanical Garden (1902–1930), at the same time (1922–1931) he was director of the Research Institute of Botany of the Association of Research Institutes at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. Professor Golenkin was an honorary member of the Russian Botanical Society and the Moscow Society of Naturalists (since 1921), Vice–president of the MSN (1930–1932). 2024 marks the 160th anniversary of Prof. M. I. Golenkin’s birth.

A temporary exhibition “Crimea in the works of naturalists, artists and writers” was opened in the Earth Science Museum of MSU at June 10, 2024. The exhibition is located in the so called “Naturalist’s Cabinet” (the main building of MSU, 24th floor). Its subject reflects some directions of the scientific and cultural developing of Crimea from the 18th century up to modern time. Most attention is payed to the scientists and graduates of Moscow University.

Based on the bio-bibliographic essays by Konstantin I. Meyer (1881–1965), head of the Chair of Morphology and Systematics of Higher Plants (1929–1931 and 1938–1963) and director of the Botanical Garden of Moscow University (1940–1948), the article traces the formation evolution of the Moscow School of Plant Morphologists, founded by Ivan N. Gorozhankin, who headed the Chair of Plant Morphology and Systematics (1875–1904) and the Botanical Garden of Moscow University (1874–1902). The diversification of scientific issues in line with the comparative morphological research direction developed by this scientific school in Russian botany is shown on the basis of the works of Gorozhankin’s most famous students. 2024 marks the 120th anniversary of the death of I.N. Gorozhankin (1848–1904) and the 160th anniversary of the birth of Mikhail I. Golenkin (1864–1941), his successor at the chair and in the Botanical Garden.

2024 marks the 140th anniversary of the beginning of the expeditions of the laboratory of the Botanical Garden of Moscow University under the supervision of Professor Ivan Nikolaevich Gorozhankin to study the Central Russian flora. The historical and scientific context of the studies of this traditional object for the Botanical Garden of Moscow University during the 18th – early 21st centuries is traced. It is shown how the long-term targeted field research by the staff of the laboratory of the Botanical Garden has contributed to a methodologically unified approach to the organization of the program for studying the flora of the Oka River basin allowed not only to expand the territorial coverage, going beyond the purely Moscow region, but also to significant contribute to the development of an important scientific problem, namely, the cognition of the phenomenon of the Oka River flora. Gorozhankin’s principle of systemic research of regional flora was successfully implemented at the end of the 20th century by scientists of the Botanical Garden of Moscow University in the study of the flora of Central Russia.

Maria P. Nagibina (née Tsybulskaya) (1878–1943) was a Russian botanist, teacher, local historian, public figure, science organizer and popularizer. She was one of the first women in Russia who received higher education. She was the organizer of the first in our country scientific biological station of MSNS (Moscow Society of Natural Scientists) (1919–1925, v. Staroe Pershino). Being an employee of the Botanical Garden of Moscow University (1904–1917 and 1926–1943), she was engaged in plant growing, selection of domestic varieties of ornamental plants; she organized their collections and exhibitions.

To mark the 160^th anniversary of V.I. Vernadsky's birth, Lomonosov Moscow State University has organized an exhibition based on the theme of “living matter”, which to a greater or lesser extent permeates all the geospheres of our planet, provides many mechanisms of interaction between the geospheres and links between the planet and the cosmos. Natural exhibits demonstrate peculiarities of the geochemical transformation of individual organisms and their communities during the transition from the biosphere to the lithosphere, the diversity of biocosmic bodies in the history of our planet, the possibilities of modern sciences in reconstructing geobiosystems of the past. The structure of the exhibition includes a number of special blocks containing original exhibits and information, namely: “Scientist’s Cabinet” with information about the life path, scientific directions and some students and followers of Academician V.I. Vernadsky (connected to him through Moscow University). The cluster “Co-evolution of the Biosphere and Lithosphere” with disclosure of the mechanisms of transition of living matter and integral ecosystems into the “stone record” of the Earth, the structure of the pedosphere in a broad sense, the diversity of biogeoprocesses and their products in the history of the Earth, the formation of “archives of nature” in the geospheres, the functioning of geobiodynamically active zones on the example of the East European Platform; the cluster “University’s Lukomorye”, reflecting peculiarities of coastal geo-ecosystems for the general public (on the example of the Paleocene of the Volga region). Most of the exhibits of the exhibition have been obtained during the scientific and educational expedition “Flotilla of Floating Universities” (2015–2022) from the Volga region, the Caspian Sea, the Don region and the Urals and are considered in the future as the basis for the development of a model polygon of the “MSU Youth Museum”.

An exhibition of photographs from the collection of Dmitry Nikolayevich Anuchin, organized jointly with the Earth Science Museum of Lomonosov Moscow State University, has opened in the Maritime Exhibition Center of the Museum of the World Ocean in Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad region. Dmitry Nikolayevich Anuchin (1843–1923) was a famous Russian anthropologist, ethnographer, archaeologist, geographer, and museologist. D.N. Anuchin was active in spreading geographical knowledge and creating a Russian university geography school, and educated a great number of students. Dmitry Nikolayevich was at the origin of the creation of the Geographical Museum of Moscow University, which he headed for more than 20 years. The exhibition shows about 70 prints of photographs of the Russian North of the late 19th–early 20th centuries from D.N. Anuchin’s photo collection. A significant part of the collection (more than 3.5 thousand units) is now stored in the funds of the Earth Science Museum of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The role of scientific mentorship is analyzed using the example of the relationship between outstanding Russian scientists N.V. Timofeyev-Ressovsky (1900–1981) and A.N. Tyuryukanov (1931–2001). The relationship between these remarkable individuals, though very different in origin, character, and habits, quickly evolved from teacher–student into genuine friendship and scientific collaboration. Two decades of fruitful interaction between them lent impetus to the development of new scientific fields, namely, radiation biogeocenology, biospheric studies (biospherology), and fundamental soil science. Their dedication to science and their attitude toward young people enabled future generations of scientists to grow and develop within the Russian school of natural science.

September 2025 marked the 110th anniversary of the birth of Academician, soil scientist and ecologist Gleb V. Dobrovol’sky. His research was not limited to the natural sciences. A significant part of his activity was scientific and educational work within the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences for the Study and Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage. From 1998 to 2013, he served as co-chair of the Council and led its natural heritage research. During this period, soil scientists were actively involved in the Council's work: seminars and conferences were organized, articles and monographs were published, and dissertations on soils and society were defended. But most importantly, it supported the research of scientists in line with the principles of natural-cultural synthesis. The approaches pioneered by G.V. Dobrovolsky further advanced the field of soils and society. This article examines the main areas of work of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences and its major achievements.

The article is devoted to the history of V.I. Zubov’s Museum of Geology and Minero­logy, the prerequisites for its foundation, and the main stages of its creation, development, and collection formation. The article analyzes the museum’s exhibition policy and research activities, trends in museum science, the structure of the collections reflecting regional geological features, current issues and prospects for updating exhibition spaces, digitalization of the collections, and integration of museum experience into educational programs.

Professor N.E. Zhukovsky placed strong emphasis on visual clarity in writing and explaining his scientific works, repeatedly addressing the importance of geometric representation in theoretical mechanics. Drawing on archival materials from the Museum of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the authors demonstrate that the “Russian Method of Craft Training” was built on the accumulated theoretical scientific foundation of the mid 19th century, gradually enriched by systematic collections of tools and teaching aids for each subject, and further developed through the practical work of students and their teachers. Examples of mechanisms created by Professor N.E. Zhukovsky can be found in the writings of his students and followers, in the works of Soviet scientists, and in museums of foreign universities–all of which hold high cultural value as part of our society’s scientific and pedagogical heritage. Through the case study of creating the museum replica “Hess’ Loxodromic Pendulum” based on Zhukovsky’s calculations, the article illustrates the substantial cultural potential embedded in the papers and designs of the Russian scholar. It shows how much inspiration and new scientific ideas contemporary educators and students can still draw from the now classic works of Professor Zhukovsky and his disciples. The reader will become acquainted with the principles of this scholar’s scientific and pedagogical activity—vivid examples of genuine scientific dedication by a scholar and patriot of our country.

The article examines the collaboration between the Earth Science Museum and professors from the Faculty of Biology and the Faculty of Soil Science at Lomonosov Moscow State University (Faculty of Biology and Soil Science until 1973) from the museum’s founding to the present day. In the early 1950s, university professors collaborated with the museum staff to create biology-themed exhibits at the Museum. In particular, they helped preparing the exhibits on the 26th floor (Marine Hall) and the 25th floor (Natural Zonation). A brief overview of the current course offerings in biological disciplines at the Earth Science Museum is presented, including courses for students from the Faculty of Biology, the Faculty of Geology, and the Faculty of Philology at Moscow State University. The disciplines covered include “Ecology”, “Marine Communities and Ecosystems”, “Ecology with Fundamentals of Biogeography”, and “Modern Natural Sciences”. The museum’s exhibition serves as a unique educational environment for such classes, particularly when incorporating modern pedagogical approaches such as the flipped classroom model. The article presents the collaborative work of the Museum’s staff and students from the Faculty of Biology within the framework of the MSU’s Development Program “Development of the Foundations for the Establishing, Operating, and Advancing a Comprehensive University-based Scientific and Educational Youth Museum Using the Example of Lomonosov Moscow State University.” It also highlights the creation of a unique interdisciplinary open-air exhibition at the MSU Botanical Garden on Leninskie gory named “From the Arctic to Moscow: The Path of Glaciers”.

Our previous publication in “Life on the Earth” [7] was concerned with neuroactive substances in the capacity of new-generation pollutants exemplified by neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine and biogenic amines. At low concentrations, these substances exert a growth-promoting effect on microalgae. The present work deals with the mode of action of extremely low concentrations (“trace amounts”) of neurotransmitters that comprises their antioxidant effects and the influence on the dynamics and rhythms of microalgal cultures’ development, i.e. on the succession of their age-related stages. Such neurotransmitters that can enter natural ecosystems with the wastewater of food, drug, and cosmetic industry, can be grouped into (1) substances that increase the unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) content in microalgal membranes, elevate the photosynthetic pigment concentration in the cells, and prolong the “youth” of microalgal cultures; and (2) substances that decrease the UFA content, reduce the photosynthetic pigment concentration, and, accordingly, accelerate the “aging” of microalgal cultures.

The article examines the applicability and functioning of artificial soils, whose creation is based both on research into modeling moisture and salt transfer in soils and on the development of nature-like biogeochemical technologies for recreating natural biogeochemical cyclicity. Two main technological approaches for constructing artificial soils are demonstrated, namely: modeling soil processes and applying the modeling results to technologies for creating functional horizons of artificial soils. It is noted that artificial soils are essentially biophysical models, our consideration of which allows for the design of such soils for a wide variety of functional uses.

This study establishes the authorship of the geological term “eluvium” and traces its evolution in geological and soil sciences. It confirms the priority of H. Trautschold (1817–1902) as the original author of this term, supported by analysis of his works from the 1870s. The term was first introduced by him in 1872. The article demonstrates that the modern interpretation of the term “eluvium” shows a high degree of correlation with H. Trautschold’s classical definition. The development of the concept of eluvium and ideas about eluvial processes is traced through the works of prominent Russian soil scientists – N.M. Sibirtsev, V.V. Dokuchaev, V.I. Vernadsky, B.B. Polynov, V.R. Williams, and N.P. Remezov. V.V. Dokuchaev systematized the concept of eluvium into a coherent framework: definition of eluvium → eluvial processes → stages and phases of eluvial rock transformations. He emphasized that “although these products are sometimes altered beyond recognition of the parent rock which they originated from, a genetic connection between them always persists.” Particular significance lies in the incorporation of the biogeochemical aspect into the concept of eluvium through the works of N.P. Remezov, who established biological accumulation of elements exceeding their removal during eluvial processes. This allowed eluvium formation to be viewed not as a purely abiotic process but as a phenomenon involving living organisms. The article reveals the historical continuity of scientific ideas in the hypothesis of the origin of the Russian Plain: H. Trautschold → V.V. Dokuchaev → B.B. Polynov → V.A. Kovda. H. Trautschold was the first to propose that the Russian Plain formed from deposits lying on top, which were influenced for millennia by atmospheric precipitation, initiating the concept of eluvial origin of plains. This idea was later reflected in the works of V.V. Dokuchaev and B.B. Polynov, and subsequently in V.A. Kovda’s hypothesis regarding the fluvioglacial origin of the Russian Plain. Our analysis confirms that the term “eluvium” is a fundamental concept uniting geology, geomorphology, geochemistry, and soil science, and its evolution reflects the advancement of understanding regarding the genesis of surface deposits and soils.

Based on our previously performed calculations of the intensity of Earth’ irradiation at the top of the atmosphere with high spatial and temporal resolution, it has been confirmed that the sea level rise over at least the last 130,000 years (during the Eemian / Mikulino interglacial and the late Pleistocene – Holocene) is associated with warm phases of climate precession. Based on our calculations of summer/winter irradiation intensity extremes during climate precession phases in the Northern Hemisphere, the formation dates of dropstones (Heinrich layers ) have been refined. These dropstones are correlated with climate precession extremes and are recorded in ocean sediments during both interglacial and glacial periods. Sea level evolution and ocean sedimentation over the past 130,000 years are primarily determined by glacioeustatic fluctuations associated with temperature changes, which are primarily controlled by variations in the intensity of Northern Hemisphere irradiation within the climatic precession cycle. At the same time, the weak presence of a precessional cycle is noted in the benthic δ18 O stack of the orbitally tuned LR04 scheme/model, which currently forms the basis of geochronology and climatostratigraphy of Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The beginning of the next warm phase of climate precession is expected around 5,500 years AD. This phase will peak around 11.5 kyr AD, when the next significant sea level rise is expected.

A comprehensive study of the territory using a number of methods has allowed us to build a geodynamic and geokinematic models of the northwestern part of the East European Platform. Their interpretation allows us to assess the geodynamic environment of the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant, as well as the overall geokinematic environment of the studied territory.

The paper traces in stages the key trends and events in the history of the complex of scientific and educational areas which originated and developed in the Saratov Volga region largely due to the activities of V.I. Vernadsky’s students and followers. On the example of the most outstanding personalities, the influence of such personalities on features of the evolutionary dynamics of specific organizations, the city and the region is shown. Such an analysis allows us to see interregional interactions from a new perspective, the role of the region for the country, as well as to propose original scientific and educational projects for further study and popularization of V.I. Vernadsky’s heritage.

At the end of the 1960s a movement began for the preservation of Earth's biosphere — the common home for humanity and the receptacle of all life on Earth. This movement united the scientific communities of various countries for many years. 20 years later, at the International Symposium “Biosphere and Humanity. History and Modernity” the development and promotion of the ideas of Academician V.I. Vernadsky, the founder of the Earth’s Biosphere doctrine, were summed up.

The paper is devoted to the influence of outstanding Russian scientists Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev and Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev on the formation of the views of their brilliant student Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky, his formation as a great Russian thinker and naturalist on a planetary scale, as well as their further creative interaction.

The paper provides a review of the existing common education in Russia in the context of V.I. Vernadsky’s ideas of the noösphere. An analysis was made of the compliance of the content of educational standards and exemplary educational programs for the common education school with V.I. Vernadsky’s main ideas of the noösphere.

The paper considers the use of two pedagogical approaches, person-centered and systemic-structural, in the development and implementation of two thematic museum classes dedicated to V.I. Vernadsky’s life and scientific activities. These classes, namely, “From the soil to the biosphere” and “V.I. Vernadsky’s life and scientific activity”, were developed at the Earth Science Museum of the Lomonosov Moscow State University and aimed at in-depth acquaintance of schoolchildren with the teaching about the biosphere. The paper presents methodological materials for the classes: a description of the stages of the lessons and tasks for independent work (a crossword and a quest). Our analysis of the second lesson’s approbation showed that the schoolchildren were unanimous in their opinion: the organization of an independent search for answers to the posed questions and the leading role of the museum teacher allowed them to better accepting complex concepts and understanding the relationship of various scientific directions.

At present, it is possible to identify a number of new directions for the development of biogeochemical research, at the junction of fundamental and applied studies. A novel field of research is being formed, namely, engineering biogeochemistry, within the framework of which innovative biogeochemical technologies and technological processes based on modeling and management of ecosystematic biogeochemical cycles are being developed. The application of these innovative technologies for the restoration of disturbed and polluted impact ecosystems, in particular, polar ecosystems in the zones of operation of gas-producing enterprises, is considered. Technological examples of calculations of geoecological risks, as well as microbial contamination risks are given. A pool of the developed biogeochemical technologies and their connection with other innovative technologies within the framework of gas-producing companies is shown.

Based on V.I. Vernadsky’s teaching of the biosphere and modern scientific data, an attempt was made to analyze the mechanisms of the dynamics of modern global processes using the example of climate changes. Possible causes of the warming, both natural and anthropogenic, observed in the last century are considered. It is shown that it is the increase in temperature that causes the increase in the concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, and not vice versa, as follows from the greenhouse effect hypothesis. This seems to be the main cause for the low effectiveness of any international efforts to stabilize the climate. The course of natural processes, as well as the evolution of the biosphere as a whole, has an unstable, cyclical nature, running according to its own laws. Particular attention is paid to V.I. Vernadsky’s doctrine of the biosphere, his views on the role of reason and scientific research in solving problems inevitably arisen in the course of evolution on Earth, caused by the rapidly developing, from a historical standpoint, humanity. Scientific research is a reliable defender of both the interests of mankind and the biosphere as a whole. This was V.I. Vernadsky’s basis of his positive outlook on the future of our civilization and the biosphere.

A number of interactive visitor interaction mechanisms are proposed within the format of a natural science university museum. A pilot project, tested at the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University, provides the opportunity to immerse its visitors into the main exhibition using simple VR technologies, including 3D filming of the search and recovery of future museum objects during expeditions. The content of the new exhibition, in particular, consists of appropriately processed episodes of popular science films shot by the “Floating Universities Flotilla” expedition along the Volga, Don, and Caspian regions. In addition to the regional connection to the hall’s theme, links to specific exhibits and locations are provided; video segments are dedicated to the history of the search and selection of a particular exhibit (or their series) located in the hall, as well as the specifics of the location and research area of the expedition. Thus, visitors have the opportunity to participate in a virtual field trip, whose product, in the form of exhibits, is displayed in a specific museum hall. In addition to the permanent, stationary virtual cluster, a mobile version of the project presentation has been developed, which was tested at the 2024 All-Russian Science Festival at Moscow State University. To this end, the Earth Science Museum’s portable pavilion was equipped with virtual glasses, which allow festival visitors to “go on an expedition” along the routes of the “Floating Universities Flotilla,” “visit” the find sites, participate in the discovery and recovery process, and load them onto a research vessel. The virtual project’s creators—winners of the All-Russian "Youth and Museum" competition—served as guides and companions on the virtual field route. In 2025, as part of the “Floating Universities Flotilla” scientific and educational expedition, 360° video production was conducted along a predetermined route plan through natural sites to select potential museum exhibits.

The article demonstrates the important role of animalistic painting in environmental education and enlightenment in natural science museums, in particular, the Scientific and Educational Earth Science Museum at Moscow State University. Particular attention is paid to those artists whose works in the animalistic genre are presented in the museums which they collaborated with (N.V. Pinegin, V.A. Vatagin, K.K. Flerov, A.N. Komarov, V.A. Gorbatov, D.Ya. Cherkes, M.A. Birshtein, L.I. Naroditsky, I.A. Popov, M.I. Sidorov, S.P. Rychagov, V.A. Arlashin, D.N. Domogatsky, A.N. Bazel'tsev). The article identifies paintings in the animalistic genre exhibited in the “Natural Zonality” section of the Earth Science Museum at Moscow State University, provides scientific and artistic descriptions, and demonstrates the relationship with natural exhibits. Based on this analysis, proposals for modernizing the exhibition were formulated.

Main areas of work of the group of collections of the Earth Science Museum of MSU are reflected in the article from its inception to the present: the history of foundation, the composition of collections and the main areas of activity for acquisition, study, storage and accounting of collections. Features of the collection work in natural history museums are considered.

Here is a brief overview of the author’s lecture series — an additional general education program “Mineralogical Journey into the Depths of the Earth and Back” dedicated to minerals characterizing the main layers of the Earth, namely: the crust, the upper and lower mantle, and the core. The Program provides a general understanding of the Earth’s structure and minerals, their main properties, and natural formation processes. It covers key minerals of the Earth’s crust such as quartz, gemstones like ruby, sapphire, emerald, etc., as well as mantle minerals, including diamond. Information on the application of these minerals in technology and the jewelry industry is also presented. During the preparation and conduction of the online course, the author implemented an individualized approach, which helps enhancing the learners’ understanding and increase their satisfaction. This course was developed by the author and piloted at the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University named after Lomonosov. To facilitate the absorption of a large amount of information, the series is divided into four sessions and clearly structured within each one. The online format enables the lecturer to interact fully with the audience at any time convenient for the participants.

The article analyzes a collection of minerals and rocks compiled in 1911 in Yekaterinburg city in the mineralogical workshop of the Commission for the Dissemination of Natural Science Knowledge of the Ural Society of Natural Science Lovers, stored in the Museum of Scientific Heritage (Ulan-Ude city). It includes both material (stone samples) and written sources (handwritten and printed). It contains information on the history of science, education and museum work in our country in the first decades of the 20th century. The collection was compiled according to J.D. Dana’s mineralogical systematics, typical for museum practice of that period. Its geography covers mainly the Southern Urals, but individual samples were collected in other regions of the Russian Empire.
The collection box contains its catalog, as well as scraps of the newspaper “Russkoye Slovo” and a fragment of a note of 1911, confirming the dating of the collection. The autograph on the catalogue belongs to Nadezhda O. Sharakshinova, a famous folklorist, through whose family the collection came to Buryatia. A second autograph was presumably left by the Yekaterinburg merchant Pyotr I. Yarinsky (~1868–?).
The educational mineral collections of the Ural Society of Natural Science Lovers were in demand by educational institutions across the country in the first decades of the 20th century. This activity is presented in sufficient detail in archival documents and research works. However, very few such educational aids have survived in museum collections. For the Museum of Scientific Heritage, the collection is an opportunity to expand the mineral diversity and geography of its collection; a document that stands out for its historical, scientific and memorial value.

The constantly extending list of humankind-produced environmentally toxic compounds currently includes pharmacological preparations. Among them, of potential relevance are neurotransmitters including such biogenic amines as norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and histamine, as well as acetylcholine. These neurotransmitters were tested in the present work using such model organisms as the green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris Beijer, Scenedesmus quadricauda (Turp.) Breb. К-1149, and Haematococcus lacustris (= pluvialis) strains IPPAS H-239 and BM-1, as well as the cyanobacterium Limnospira platensis IPPAS B-256. It was established that all tested neurotransmitters significantly stimulate the growth of the cultures of microalgae at sufficiently low (micromolar) concentrations. In light of the results of this work, uncontrollable microalgal growth seems to be possible under the influence of trace amounts of neurotransmitters in natural and artificial water bodies, which might cause their eutrophication. All tested substances influenced the photosynthetic pigment content at micromolar (or submicromolar) concentrations, acetylcholine being a quasi-universal promoter of their biosynthesis that presumably stimulates the photosynthetic activity of the microalgae. The effects of the other tested substances varied depending on the microalgal species involved but predominantly resulted in promoting photosynthetic pigment biosynthesis. A biotechnological project aimed at stimulating the microalgal biomass yield by supplementing microalgal cultures with neurotransmitters seems to hold promise for producing drugs, food additives, or biofuel.

Distribution features of cadmium, lead, partly Ag, Bi, In, Hg and Tl in suspended solids are considered. Studies were made on the Oka River in the area of the Prioksko-Terrasny Natural Biosphere Reserve on a river section remote from the zone of formation of the technogenic scattering stream, in the period 1983–2018. To assess the general trend of changes in the concentration of the elements over the period of the experiment, it was proposed to consider the results on their prevalence in the composition of suspended matter obtained in the intermediate hydrological phase of the river between the spring flood and the summer midden. This is the main feature and essence of our proposed approach in order to eliminate the influence of significant seasonal changes in the macro- and micro-component composition of suspensions. It is shown that the 35-year time interval can be divided into two periods, namely: the first one is characterized by a decrease in the concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Pb), while the second one is characterized by the absence of any trend, relatively weak fluctuations in values. The direction of changes in the concentration of elements in the first period correlates with the literature data on the dynamics of a decrease in the intake of anthropogenic wastewater into surface waters in recent decades and with the results of our assessment of the decrease in river water pollution upstream from the experimental area.

The article presents a comparative analysis of the development of the system of protected natural areas (PNA) in China and our country. PNA in China began to form in the middle of the 20th century following the example of the USSR, that is, with the creation of nature reserves with a strict protection regime. In the late 1960s, China saw a suspension in the development of the PNA system and even its partial reorganization, which was also typical for our country a decade earlier. Since the end of the 20th century and to the present, both in Russia and China, the PNA system has been actively developing – the number of protected areas is increasing and they are being restructured in accordance with the categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The article considers the origins, nature and results of influence exerted by the famous Russian female mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891) on her contemporary – Professor Nikolai Zhukovsky (1847–1921), who was an outstanding scientist in the field of mechanics and went down in history as the «father of Russian aviation». The circumstances of Professor Zhukovsky’s acquaintance with Sofia Kovalevskaya are analyzed. Based on the results of the content analysis of the epistolary heritage of S. Kovalevskaya and N. Zhukovsky, a conclusion was made about the absence of regular communication between these scientists through correspondence, despite N. Zhukovsky’s interest in the issues previously studied by S. Kovalevskaya. N. Zhukovsky’s contribution to the solution of the problem of motion of a heavy rigid body around a fixed point is analyzed, his original method used in his works on this subject is revealed. Few examples are given of N. Zhukovsky’s interest in solving other issues related to S. Kovalevskaya’s scientific interests. This article was prepared for the 175th anniversary of Sofia Kovalevskaya’s birth. Sources stored in the archival funds of the Scientific Memorial Museum of Professor Zhukovsky were used.

The article analyzes the history of the periodicals “Earth Science” and “Life of the Earth” as an important direction in the development of Russian geographical thought, which has led to the emergence of a number of prominent scholars in the fields of Russian academic geography, anthropology, ethnography, and beyond. In the longer than 130-year history of Russian-language geoscientific periodicals, these publications can be positioned as key ones. In their development, a number of stages are distinguished separately and synchronously in time, each being determined by the complex action of a number of factors (peculiarities of the situation in the country, restructuring of scientific societies in Russia, and biographical features of some outstanding scientists). The new data and original archival documents revealed during our research are valuable not only in terms of scientific novelty, but also as material for the development of scientific and educational museum and library activities.

Of fundamental and priority applied importance are new scientific and practical results obtained at the V.R. Williams Federal Research Center of Forage Production & Agroecology for the study of natural food resources in Russia, based on modern knowledge, materials and technologies. For all 11 natural and economic regions of Russia (Northern, Northwestern, Volga-Vyatka, Central, Central Chernozem, Volga, North Caucasian, Ural, West Siberian, East Siberian, and Far Eastern), agro-landscape and ecological zoning of land and forage ecosystems has been developed. The following materials were obtained for each area: a map M 1:2,500,000, a legend, a database on land, a database on forage lands, a database on negative processes, a classification of forage lands, a classification of deer pastures (where available), recommendations for forage production and environmental management in agriculture. The research used the Map of the Soil and Ecological Zoning of Russia from the Faculty of Soil Science of Lomonosov Moscow State University, as well as other numerous sources. When creating and developing new highly productive and resistant plant varieties and nature-like technologies based on zoning, science and industry will be able to use local natural and climatic resources with the greatest efficiency and minimize the development of negative processes.

This study investigates the metal-bearing potential of Upper Jurassic (Tithonian stage) combustible shales from the Kashpir deposit (Volga Basin) using linear geochemical spectra methodology. Samples from mine workings and natural outcrops were analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (ED-XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results reveal elevated concentrations of Ca (27.5–38.6%) and Fe (20.3–24.3%), indicative of a carbonate-clay composition with pyrite inclusions, characteristic of reducing sedimentation conditions. Excesses over the Clarke values were revealed for Ba, Co, Sr, Ni, and Mo, confirming the industrial potential of these shales as a source of rare and non-ferrous metals. The authors have developed a novel analytical approach based on reference concentrations (maximum and minimum values), enabling assessment of metal enrichment without identifying a dominant ore-forming element–particularly valuable for multi-element systems. The observed differences between mine and surface samples are attributed to post-sedimentary processes (leaching and oxidation). Our findings demonstrate a consistent lithological-geochemical shale type and highlight prospects for their comprehensive exploitation.

The astronomical theory of climate changes (oscillations), created more than 100 years ago by the Serbian mathematician Milutin Milanković, in its current form does not explain global fluctuations of the natural environment in the Late Pleistocene, and therefore requires further refinement and development. And this theory has been modernized. Our revision is based on the results of calculations of the Earth’s insolation, performed with a high spatiotemporal resolution. The irradiation of the entire Northern Hemisphere was taken as the basis for determining the causes of the glaciations in Late Pleistocene. Variations in incoming solar radiation, calculated within the astronomical theory of climate, were supplemented by calculations of variations in the characteristics of radiative heat transfer. Based on the improved astronomical theory, the causes of global climate changes in the Late Pleistocene were found. The effect of dividing seasonal irradiation by phases of annual irradiation of the hemispheres was determined, and on this basis 7 warm and 9 cold solar epochs are distinguished in the solar climate of the Late Pleistocene. It has been determined that the glacial epochs in the Late Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia are associated with periods of positive average anomaly of winter meridional heat and moisture transfer and negative average anomaly of summer irradiation intensity in the Northern Hemisphere. Also, positive average anomalies of radiative heat transfer from the summer Southern Hemisphere to the winter Northern Hemisphere, as well as negative average anomalies of insolation seasonality in the Northern Hemisphere, correspond to glacial periods in the Late Pleistocene.

Interglacial epochs are associated with periods of positive average anomalies of summer radiation intensity and negative average anomalies of winter meridional transfer, and interhemispheric transfer of heat and moisture from the summer Southern Hemisphere to the winter Northern Hemisphere. Also, interglacial periods in the Late Pleistocene correspond to negative average anomalies of radiative heat transfer from the summer Southern Hemisphere to the winter Northern Hemisphere, as well as positive average anomalies of insolation seasonality in the Northern Hemisphere. The difference in the intensity of summer irradiation of warm and cold climate epochs in 100-thousand-year cycles averages 4.91 W/m2 (or 1.151% of the average Late Pleistocene value of summer irradiation intensity for the Northern Hemisphere). Therefore, the change of paleoclimatic epochs is associated mainly with the dynamics of the characteristics of summer radiation, and with the winter transfer of radiative heat and moisture determined by astronomical factors.

May of 2025 marks the 180th anniversary of the Siberian researcher, geologist and geo­grapher Jan Stanislaw Franciszek Czerski (1845–1892). However, he worked not only in the field of geology and geography. An important part in Czerski’s researches was works on paleontology and zoology; he is also known as an archaeologist. In 1871–1879, Czerski worked at the museum of the Siberian (Eastern Siberian) Branch of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society in Irkutsk. He studied, catalogued and significantly expanded the zoological and paleontological collections of the museum. The article provides brief information from Jan Czerski’s life. His main works on the study of modern and quaternary Siberian mammals, which laid the foundation for further research in this area, are analyzed. Czerski’s paleontological research ranks him among the outstanding palaeontologists of the second half of the 19th century.

80 years ago, two biologists in the USSR, simultaneously and independently, began researching the mechanisms of hormone production by nerve cells, i.e., the processes of neurosecretion. These were L.B. Levinson from Moscow State University, who was engaged in cytochemical studies of neurosecretion in insects and amphibians, and N.L. Gerbilsky from Leningrad State University (LSU), who studied the structure of two parts of the fish brain (hypothalamus and pituitary gland), and the functions of their hormones (neurohormones) to regulate the processes of vital activity of the body and its adaptation to changing environmental conditions. This fundamental research area worked alongside major foreign scientific schools of neuroendocrinology, E. and B. Sharer, R. Collin, R. Gauppa, B. Hanstra, G. Russi, and M. Mosinger. The work was also of applied importance, in particular, under the leadership of N.L. Gerbilsky, the role of hypothalamic and pituitary hormones in migration and spawning processes in bony and sturgeon fish, who were threatened with extinction due to the start of the construction of hydroelectric power plants in the 1920–1930s. This scientific field has revealed the relationship between the morphofunctional organization of the nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems in animals and ecological features of their species and was called “ecological histophysiology”. The result of N.L. Gerbilsky’s research was the development of a technique for obtaining hormones produced in the fish brain and then injecting them to other individuals to stimulate their reproductive processes in the practice of fish farming. The purpose of this article is to show the contribution of N.L. Gerbilsky and his students to the development of biotechnical methods for managing migration behavior and spawning in bony and sturgeon fish species.

The international situation affects a wide variety of aspects of our life, including museum exhibitions. The closer the ties between countries, the more relevant exhibits can be seen in the display cases. Of the BRICS member countries, China is best represented at the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University. There are numerous and diverse samples of rocks and minerals, fossils, soil monoliths and herbaria. Joint geological work is also reflected in the collections of rocks and ores from Iran and India. Until now, the museum has been maintaining only private relations with the rest of the BRICS member countries, thanks to which it has collections of butterflies, herbaria and individual samples of rocks and minerals. Nevertheless, the museum features the most distinctive exhibits from most of these countries.

During ten field seasons, in the format of the scientific and educational expedition “Flotilla of Floating Universities”, whose concept is based on the synthesis of science and art, many researches and educational, volunteer and publishing projects and events have been implemented in the Volga region, the Caspian region, the Don region and the Urals. The research areas of the tenth field season in 2024 (Samara–Saratov Volga region) focused on: a) stratigraphic and astrochronological analysis of sections of Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments, b) studying the role of living matter in the evolution of geoecosystems with special attention to biosimilar bodies (paleosoils, hardgrounds), c) analyzing the distribution of cosmic matter in natural environments in the zone of the “Saratov meteor shower” in 1918, and d) the history of the Great academic expeditions in the 18th century (the Volga routes of I.I. Lepekhin, P.S. Pallas, and I.P. Falk). The key scientific and educational projects were a field meeting of the RAS Commission for the Study of the Heritage of Outstanding Scientists (V.I. Vernadsky section) and a field session of the Moscow Society of Naturalists (MOIP) on the Volsk–Saratov section of the expedition’s main route.

According to the results of our calculation, the appearance probability of the simplest replicator (life) has been obtained for some finite volume of the Universe, taking into account different initial conditions and the simplest replicator of different complexity. The results exceed by almost 1000 orders of magnitude similar calculations published in the specialized literature. The main specificity of this study is the idea of the simplest replicator as a configuration of individual RNA strands (ribozymes) formed due to panspermia. A conclusion about the uneven distribution of life over the Universe is drawn.

In this paper, we discuss questions of the common origin of the disciplines of soil science and landscape geochemistry. Their closeness lies in their common objects of study — soils and landscapes — and a common methodological approach based on systemic analysis, the evolutionary-historical principle, and the priority of the scientific approach in solving practical problems, as laid down by V.V. Dokuchaev. The prominent naturalists A.E. Fersman and V.I. Vernadsky emphasized the genetic connection and mutual enrichment of these sciences through theoretical concepts and experimental data. When considering common problems of these two disciplines, particular importance is given to the biological cycle as a fundamental law governing the functioning of ecosystems. In the classification of soils and soil-geochemical catenae, their position within the system of geographic landscapes is especially significant. Currently, priority issues include anthropogenic impacts and environmental monitoring, which involve studies of element migration over the biosphere, as well as efforts towards mathematical modeling.

December 29, 2024 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of Russia's largest cultural and educational environmental organization, the All-Russian Nature Conservation Society (ARNCS). The article discusses the main stages of the crea­tion, formation and development of ARNCS and its main achievements.

The position of the nasal sacs and nostrils, as well as some features of the brain structure in antiarchs (placoderm fishes) are analyzed, based mainly on the examples of Bothriolepis and Asterolepis. A new possible reconstruction of the olfactory system and brain in antiarchs is proposed. The paired nasal sacs are closely located to the anterior wall of the telencephalon; tracti olfactorii are absent; telencephalon is situated anterior to the diencephalon, as it was reconstructed for other placoderms; and the epiphysis process is elongated. The mesencephalon, cerebellum and medula oblongata, bearing the fossa romboidea, are placed posterior to the diencephalon in the otico-occipital part of the endocranium.

The article presents an analysis of the results of the All-Russian competition of creative projects “Youth and Museum” organized by the Earth Science Museum of Lomonosov Moscow State University and the V.I. Vernadsky Non-Governmental Ecological Founda­tion within the framework of the MSU Development Program in 2024. Our methodology for holding such competition events, its content and results are described. The results of a survey of the visitors of the All-Russian Festival “Science 0+” on the works of the compe­tition winners are presented. Recommendations are given for organizing and holding of competitions aimed at attracting young people to the study of natural science topics through the museum sphere. The possibility of using competitions to stimulate interest in museum activities and the further development of a modern museum is discussed.

Statistical characteristics of changes in the intensity of annual and seasonal irradiation at the upper boundary of the atmosphere of 5-degree latitude zones of the Arctic region in the Late Pleistocene were obtained. No relationship was found between the intensity of annual and seasonal irradiation of 5-degree latitude zones and the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit, but a positive noticeable relationship was found between the intensity of summer irradiation and a negative relationship between the intensity of winter irradiation and a change in the tilt of the axis and the longitude of the perihelion. The maximum range of variations in winter irradiation intensity in the Arctic with geographic latitude in the Late Pleistocene noticeably (by 10,211 W/ m2) decreases, while the maximum range of variations in summer irradiation intensity with geographic latitude slightly (by 4.3 W/m2) increases. The correlation coefficient of summer irradiation intensity and perihelion longitude in the Late Pleistocene decreases with geographic latitude, and increases with the tilt of the rotation axis. The modulus of the correlation coefficient of winter irradiation intensity with perihelion longitude decreases, and increases with the tilt of the rotation axis. The maximum range of changes in the intensity of annual and seasonal irradiation of 5-degree latitudinal zones by 1–2 orders of magnitude in the Late Pleistocene exceeds the maximum variations in the δ18 O isotope-oxygen analysis of benthic foraminifera, which shows the groundlessness of using its values to solve problems of Late Pleistocene geochronology and climatostratigraphy.

In development of fundamental ideas of the MSU professors V.I. Vernadsky, V.A. Kov­da and M.A. Glazovskaya in the field of the biosphere and its biogeochemical organization, the use of biogeochemical standards for parameterization of the technogenic impact on various ecosystems is proposed. To assess these standards quantitatively, the application of the critical loads methodology is shown. Algorithms to calculate the values of critical loads are proposed, in particular, for acid-forming and eutrophicating sulfur and nitrogen compounds emitted during the operation of various industries, including the oil and gas one. Using the example of the impact zone of the Central Asia–Center main gas pipeline planned for reconstruction, the maps of critical loads are presented and an assessment of the environmental risk in the coastal zone of the Caspian Sea is given.

In the year of the 150^th anniversary of the famous Russian scientist Vladimir A. Barykin (1874–1939), an attempt is made to reconstruct the initial period of his scientific activity. Based on the documents from the State Archive of the Russian Federation and published sources, the pre-revolutionary stage in the life and work of V.A. Barykin is considered. The professional path of the scientist, his first scientific research, as well as participation in the Russian-Japanese and World War I are recreated. And although the flourishing of his scientific and organizational activities took place in the 1920s and 1930s, the pre-revolutionary period of his life was extremely busy with expeditions and research, becoming significant for the formation of a professional scientist and the definition of those research areas that he would develop later. The fruitful scientific activity of the scientist was interrupted in 1938, when he was arrested, and in 1939 he was shot during the repressions. Despite the rehabilitation of V.A. Barykin in 1955, no detailed publications about his life and scientific activity have appeared. This article attempts to fill in this research gap and honor the memory of the prominent Russian scientist in his jubilee year.

The article tells about the creation of a museum at the Institute of Developmental Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in a virtual format and about plans to open a permanent exhibition in a hall. The history of the Institute and the contribution of its outstanding employees are briefly considered.

The article examines the ethnographic collection of the Chaunsky Local History Museum, located in the town of Pevek, Chukotka autonomous district. The author, relying on the methodology of the Russian Ethnographic Museum and scientific literature, provides a classification of objects of applied art, everyday life and ethnography of northern peoples, gives a brief description of their things, describes the technologies of their manufacture. The formation of the ethnographic collection began with the receipt of items from a folk museum. The ethnographic collection of the museum consists of unique items of traditional Chukchi culture in the amount of 456 storage units. The geography of the places of receiving ethnographic items is concentrated in the vicinity of the Chaunsky district. Some ethnographic topics are represented by decorative and applied items and works of bone carving art. In general, the collection reflects the culture of primary production of the Chukchi, their livelihood methods, and reveals socio-normative relations of the northern peoples. However, the collection does not have enough items for a complete reconstruction of ethnographic topics; no traditional culture of the ethnic groups living in the region is represented; no history of collection is presented; and the names of the collectors require clarification. Based on the results of the study, the composition of the collection is analyzed, problematic issues of acquisition and attribution are revealed, and recommendations for promising areas of work of the museum with ethnographic items are given.

Scientific museums in the Russian Federation, in accordance with current legislation, are switching to the collection management standard developed for the Ministry of Culture. The absolute priority of preserving museum items is a serious obstacle to the implementation of the standard, which greatly limits the possibility of their scientific examination, which is contrary to the interests of scientists. The examination of museum items, like any other use, including exhibiting, inevitably has a negative impact on their preservation. At the same time, the examination serves to increase the value of any item, its relevance for modern culture.

The methodology of scientists’ work with collections began to form in the period of antiquity. In our country, tools for processing, describing, systematizing and storing collections were formed in the 18th–19th centuries, namely in scientific museums, museums of the Academy of Sciences. Museums in the Russian Empire were part of the scientific organization system. However, after the Soviet reforms in the 1930s, museum and scientific activities were radically separated. As a result, the research function of museums under the Ministry of Culture is poorly implemented, which is enshrined in current regulatory documents.

Scientific museums, due to their subordination to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, have scientific research as their target indicators, which determines their priority over traditional museum indicators (storage and replenishment of funds, exhibits and attracting visitors). Attempts to combine the interests of examining and preserving collections have been discussed for several decades. This problem is especially evident in relation to natural science collections and museums, most of which are under the scientific department. Its solution requires the development of a methodology for handling museum collections and amendments to regulatory documentation.

This article continues the series of publications on the indicators of Holocene activation. Using the examples of the Volga and Amur rivers with their tributaries and the Razdolnaya River, the interaction of the river network with the Holocene orogenic system of the Alpine–Himalayan and Pacific mobile belts of Eurasia was studied. The river network is conformal to their orogenic system. Examples of the control of river valleys by shear systems of active faults are given. The influence of the rivers on the formation of erosional relief was studied. It is shown that loose sediments of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic rifts thrown up in the Holocene are actively destroyed by the river network, with a shear of up to many hundreds of meters. The rises on the riftogen framing and their internal rises, composed of strong pre-Mesozoic rocks, are weakly eroded. Many of them have a contrasting, nonequilibrium relief. The study was conducted within the framework of the pulsatingly expanding Earth model developed by the author.

Nuclear power plants are sources of a large amount of electrical energy. Therefore, ensuring their safety is a priority for the successful development of nuclear energy engineering. When studying the relief using structural and geomorphological analysis, alignment surfaces and weak zones were revealed, some of which have been transferred to the rank of low-amplitude faults. These faults and the surfaces of the foundation and relief make the framework of a 3D model created using the Roxar RMS 2013 software. The model is given a certain geodynamic setting. As a result, parameters were obtained to make it possible to determine that the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant is located in an unsafe area from the viewpoint of neogeodynamics, unlike the Kursk and Smolensk ones. The geodynamic conditions within a radius of 150 km around the plants are also interpreted using modeling, and the kinematics of faults are described.

The aim of our study was to carry out a detailed stratigraphic dissection of sections of the western territories of Kazakhstan using the remains of ichthyosaurs. Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous ichthyosaurs were studied. Their collecting was carried out in the period of 2016–2023 from sections in the western Kazakhstan (the villages of Pogodayevo and Shchuchkino in the West Kazakhstan region, the village of Tushybek, Mangystau region (Central Mangyshlak Peninsula)) and the Middle Volga region (the village of Gorodishchi, Ulyanovsk region).

The article characterizes the reference sections of the Western region of the Republic of Kazakhstan with a description of the found remains of ichthyosaurs of the genera Kazakhstanosaurus, Nannopterygius, and Platypterygius. It has been established that fragments of their skeletons are found in the Upper Jurassic sediments of the sections near the villages of Pogodayevo and Shchuchkino in the West Kazakhstan territory, and in the village of Gorodishchi in the Ulyanovsk region, as well as in the sediments of the Lower Cretaceous of the Mangystau region. The species diversity of the genus Nannopterygius is noted.

Our study of the Upper Jurassic sections nearv. Pogodayevo, Shchuchkino and Gorodishchi, and the Lower Cretaceous section of nearv. Tushybek showed that the comparison of the identified Ichthyosaur genera with the Mesozoic scale complexes allowed accurate determination of the age of local stratons and the position of their boundaries.

For many decades, two main watercourses in the town of Volsk (Saratov region) have been serving the transit function of sewage effluents to the Volgograd reservoir. Sampling of bottom sediments was carried out along the length of the Verkhnyaya and Nizhnyaya Malykovka watercourses in order to analyze the specificity of the chemical composition of alluvial formations under technogenic impact conditions. The fraction of technogenic particles (plastics, coal, paint, synthetic fibers, etc.) was 4–20%. In terms of chemical composition, alluvium is represented by silicites with varying degrees of clay content., Bottom sediments are characterized as clay silicites, with the maximum content of heavy metals and organic matter (based on the value of loss on ignition) in the areas where wastewater enters the watercourses. The most typical contamination is with zinc, lead, and barium. The overall level of technogenic pollution of bottom sediments is high and can be named considerable in the upper reaches of the Nizhnyaya Malykovka watercourse only. In order to improve the ecological status of the watercourses, a set of measures is needed, including reconstruction and the creation of new infrastructure facilities of the urban environment.

Features of the prevalence of Cd and Pb dissolved forms in the water of sections of the Oka river and other rivers of the Russian Plain are considered. The influence of anthropogenic wastewater (industrial, municipal and agricultural) containing heavy metals is clearly manifested only in certain sections of the rivers of central Russia (Oka River, Volga River, and Moscow River) against the background of natural landscape and geochemical processes. An attempt is made to develop approaches to assessing the degree of anthropogenic influence on the water composition of various river sections, including those remote from pollution zones. An ecological and geochemical lead–cadmium indicator is proposed, which makes it possible to assess the anthropogenic impact and divide river sections into 3 categories (strong, medium and weak pollution, respectively). The river sections with low anthropogenic pollution have high values of this indicator corresponding to waters with the background (or close to background) concentration. A decrease in the indicator values means an increase in the role of anthropogenic effluents in the water composition, and estimates of the average concentrations of elements are technogenically dependent.

Brief information about the author’s course dedicated to crystal growth is provided. The education program gives general information of the mechanisms of crystal growth, the main growing methods, crystal formation in nature and under home conditions. Issues of the origin of the first group gemstones, the specifics of their formation in the laboratory, methods of treatment and application are considered. A large amount of information is given, that’s why the course is divided into four sections and clearly structured within each of them. This helps to make it easier to perceive. Online course design allows the lecturer to effectively interact with the audience.

The article presents the results of our seismic measurements carried out in the Earth Science Museum on the 32nd floor of the main building of MSU in 2020-2024, during which it was possible to record the period of natural vibrations of the main building, to assess its “health”, and to consider it as a tool for detecting the responses of distant earthquakes.

New data on potential fields are presented, compared with previous ideas about the regional structure and rift genesis of the Yenisei-Khatanga regional depression basement. Our 2D modeling based on geophysical data confirms the results of previous works regarding the identification of two types of the basement, and is consistent with the gravity-geodynamic concept of the formation of the Yenisei-Khatanga regional trough and the tectonic structures that complicate it, such as the Rassokhinsky and Balakhna megaridges. Also, as a result of our study of potential fields, the presence of a large volume of magmatic masses of ultrabasic and basic composition in the axial part of the Yenisei-Khatanga regional trough, Permian-Triassic age, was established, which confirms the rift mode of the region's development.

The coastal image is widely manifested in various aspects of human activity, which is expressed in terms of aesthetic perception, cognition and preservation of natural and cultural heritage. “White Coast” is the figurative name of a wide strip of the right bank of the Volga River from the village of Zolotoye to Mount Durman in the southern part of the Saratov region, a unique natural and historical landscape. Such a perception of the landscape is primarily due to the predominance of upper Cretaceous and Paleocene sediments in the section (primarily the Turonian-Coniacian rhythmic strata composed of light carbonate rocks), exposed throughout the entire length of the Volga coastal ledge. The accumulation of significant geological, paleontological, archaeological and other objects in this area makes it possible to consider the territory as an interdisciplinary scientific and educational polygon, as well as an effective geoecotouristic cluster.

Brief information about the author’s course dedicated to the world of gemstones is provided. Data of first-order gemstones (diamond, emerald, sapphire, ruby, alexandrite and pearl) are given. The questions of the discovery history of these gemstones, their classification, properties, formation in nature, methods of synthesis, methods of refining, as well as estimation systems are considered. Due to a large amount of information, the course is divided into four sections and clearly structured in each of them. This helps to make it easier to perceive. Online course design allows the lecturer to effectively interact with the audience.

The article discusses various forms of local history activities to be implemented in the interaction of natural science museums and secondary schools. The practical experience of employees of the Earth Science Museum of Lomonosov Moscow State University in the field of local history is described, namely: conducting a professional development program (Summer School), thematic classes with students, and consultations on the creation of educational expositions in school museums. A thematic plan of the section “Nature of the Native land” in a school museum is given. The prerequisites for successful cooperation between natural science museums and secondary schools in the joint implementation of local history activities are substantiated.

New data on the placoderm fish Plourdosteus livonicus (Eastman, 1896) from the Lower Frasnian deposits of the Mikhaylovsky Mine in the Kursk Region is described. These remains are currently housed at the Earth Science Museum of Lomonosov Moscow State University. The medio-dorsal plate from this locality allows reconstructing its form and proportion, as also early unknown anterior division of the bone. Only small fragments of medio-dorsal plates were formerly described and figured for P. livonicus from this and other localities in European Russia. So, the new data from the Mikhaylovsky Mine adds to the morphology information of this species. The medio-dorsals are of diagnostic significance and distinguish in the plourdosteids. The specimen from the Earth Science Museum’s collection is compared with the medio-dorsal plates of other Frasnian Plourdosteus species from the East-European platform.

The key principle of the Arctic development should be nature-saving nature management. The agro-landscape-ecological zoning of the Far North fodder ecosystems developed at the V.R. Williams Federal Research Centre for Forage Production and Agroecology is aimed at this very goal. About 90 % of Murmansk District is occupied by reindeer pastures, in some places disturbed as a result of their irrational use by reindeer herders, mining, construction, and transport; the ecological state of the territory is tense. In Yamal District, reindeer pastures occupy 65 % of the area; the ecological state of the ecosystems is tense or even critical in some places. The area of lichen tundras has decreased by 3,5–4 times, total fodder reserves in lichen-moss tundras, in those areas where they are still preserved, have decreased by 3–10 times. The total reserves of green grass fodder and shrubs has decreased by 1.5–2 and 2–8 times, respectively. Desertification of highlands (bare sands occupied about 6 %) and waterlogging of lowland areas is going on. Technogenic impact on tundra ecosystems disturbs soil and vegetation cover, hydrological regime. Waterlogging of lowlands due to thermoerosion is starting. It is necessary to find compromises between economy, ecology, social and national interests.

The thermal evolution of the permafrost in the sedimentary section of the Tyumen superdeep SG-6 well has been numerically reconstructed using the ICE2020 software package, which is part of the GALO flat basin modeling system. The thermal evolution of the sedimentary strata in the last 3.5 My is considered as the final stage of the basin modeling, whose formation began with continental rifting in the Late Permian. Abrupt climate changes in the late Pliocene–Holocene led to a decrease in the rock temperature by 15–20°C in the upper 1–1.5 km of the SG-6 sedimentary section. The maximum thickness of the permafrost in the study area was about 711 m, reached 2.6 Mya. The maximum thickness of the permafrost for the last ice age (23–18 thous and years ago) was 412 m, reached about 14.5 thousand years ago. According to our modeling, the modern base of the permafrost is at the depth of 311 m and is degrading with the rate about 13 m/1000 y. The results of our calculations with a database of climatic data limited to the last 50 and 100 thousand years differ markedly from the modeling results with the complete database for the last 3.5 My.

The exposition of the department "Natural Zones" in the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University (25th floor, halls Nos 18–20) presents 15 full-scale exhibits of dry 3D fragments of biogeocenoses, namely: spotted tundra; forest tundra; swamps: flat-hummocky tundra, oligotrophic upland and mesotrophic lowland sedge; spruce-green grass; grass-grass and tipchak-grass steppes; subtropical mountain forest; alpine meadows; semi-deserts; deserts – clay, wormwood-solyanka and ilak belosaksaulnik on ridge sands; and savannas. These exhibits demonstrate the interaction of the main natural components characteristic of the respective climatic conditions (soils, flora, and fauna). The article gives a description of the animal species represented in the exposition based on a visual examination of zoological exhibits and a study of their nomenclature and taxonomic changes.

The article talks about the important role played by the rectilinear-directing mechanism in the history of world science and technology. Using the example of pantograph, an early mathematical instrument, we will trace the development of this design, unique in its simplicity, over time and show rare examples of these devices from the collection of the Museum of Bauman Moscow State Technical University. The widespread use of pantographs dates back to the 18th–19th centuries, which allows us to reveal the relationship between natural sciences (the body of knowledge about the Earth, natural objects, phenomena and processes) and engineering, purely technical disciplines, using the example of the use of these scientific instruments in the activities of naturalists and scientists and inventors. Until recently, in mechanical engineering, the use of pantograph mechanisms made it possible to solve the problems of producing parts with complex shaped surfaces on copying machines without the use of CNC systems. Nowadays, copying machines with pantographs continue to be produced, but rather for hobbies, leisure, and artistic processing of materials. The authors’ choice of the topic is dictated by the infrequent mention of such tools and mechanisms in modern Russian publications and sources.

The article analyzes approaches to the development and conduct of excursions for students of the early twentieth century and provides recommendations already expressed a hundred years ago for guides and teachers. It was then that two main approaches were distinguished, namely: orientation to listeners (excursionists) and the guide’s detailed knowledge of the museum’s objects. Currently, the preparation of excursions to both the Natural science museum and the botanical garden is almost the same and includes the same stages: from choosing a topic to developing a detailed plan. But botanical garden excursions differ from museum ones, as they have a seasonal nature and depends on the flowering period of the plants. However, all excursions (in a museum or in a botanical garden) perform the same functions, namely: informational, cultural, educational and leisure, although in terms of the degree of impact on human feelings, undoubtedly, botanical garden excursions differ significantly from museum excursions.

The article describes two groups of facies most widely represented in the collections of Lower Frasnian invertebrates of the Main Devonian Field in the Mining Museum (hardgrounds and pelecypod banks). The presence of three types of hardgrounds has been established, differing in the nature of the original bottom and the time of exposure of each hardground, and hence structural and textural features of rocks and systematic composition of oryctocenoses. The first type is crinoidal limestone with an extensive complex of sclerobionts and traces of bioerosion by Trypanites Mägdefrau, an uneven surface and a visually almost complete absence of impregnation. In hardgrounds of this type, three generations of sclerobionts are distinguished, namely: abiogenic substrates (first), incrustators of the remains of organisms of the first generation (second), and bioerosion organisms (third). The second type is micritic limestone with a smooth glass-type surface, a small complex of sclerobionts and traces of bioerosion by Trypanites Mägdefrau. The third type is pelecypod limestones with an uneven surface, isolated sclerobionts, numerous traces of bioerosion by Trypanites Mägdefrau and strong ferruginous impregnation. For the most widespread hardgrounds of the first type, the presence of specific taphofacies has been established, characterized by good preservation of organic remains of the first generation, an almost complete absence of organic remains of the second generation, and a complete absence of bioerodible organisms. The appearance of such taphofacies is due to the short exposure time of the hardground and the beginning of a rapid process of new accumulation immediately after the appearance of the first organisms of the second generation. The presence of such taphofacies emphasizes the importance of distinguishing taphofacies in certain paleofacies and certain types of oryctocenoses. In the oryctocenoses of pelecypod shells, three morphological and ethological types of cornulitids have been established. The most representative settlements of cornulithids were characteristic of calcareous clay soils with small areas of compacted bottom.

The article presents the results of studies of a number of sections of Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) deposits in the Saratov Right Bank region (settlements Krasnyi Oktyabr’, Doktorovka, Kurdyum and Shirokoe), confined to the Yelshano-Kurdyum uplift. Oryctocenosis combines autochthonous (ichnofossils), subautochthonous (bivalves and gastropods) and allochthonous (ammonites, wood fragments) elements. Sedimentological and mineralogical indicators (ripple marks, desiccation cracks, wedge-shaped structures, cross-bedding, glauconite, and calcite veinlets), as well as fossil remains and features of their taphonomy, allow us to diagnose the coastal ecosystem of the epicontinental sea basin. In the ecosystem format, we see a variety of physico-geographical situations: areas of the bottom which are periodically actively bioturbated and hydrodynamically transformed into mature hardground; zones of active hydrodynamics with the formation of cross-bedding; and zones of subaerial surfaces with the possible development of stick soils. Reconstruction of the paleoecosystem is complicated by the presence of a number of natural facts that have not been unambiguously interpreted, images of which are given in the article. The studied sections are of interest from the standpoint of geoheritage. Selected natural facts are actively involved in the development of a number of geoscientific university museums.

The old hypothesis by Academician V.I. Vernadsky of the biosphere being a geological force to build the surface and immediate interior of our planet is indirectly supported based on statistical data. According to occurrence data on findings of all known animal specimens and according to some characteristics of the tectonic activity of the Earth, the presence of several previously unknown cycles shortening from cycle to cycle (approx. By a factor of 1.51) over about a billion years, is substantiated. This leads to an idea of a cause-and-effect relationship between these two different categories of cycles. The influence of tectonics on biota, to one degree or another, has long been known. However, due to the mentioned cycles being rather accelerated, it is difficult to imagine that such strong acceleration in the tectonic cycles could arise due to some intra-tectonic causes, whereas the accelerated nature of biotic evolution due to some intrabiotic causes is quite possible. So, a conclusion arises of the mentioned contracting tectonic cycles being modulated by biota. Possible mechanisms of such influence are hypothesized, their clarification requiring additional research. This conclusion is revolutionary for geology and reveals biotic evolution’s previously unknown role as an active creator of global tectonic (cyclic) processes at a new, quantitative level, which is also revolutionary for evolutionary biology. But, regardless of these conclusions, the mentioned decreasing cyclicity is of interest itself, for the first time (statistically) speaking about the accelerated nature of evolution over such vast time periods.

The public perception of global natural processes in the climate change context plays an important role in modern political decision-making; and the country’s future depends on the younger generation. This survey was aimed at revealing public attitude to changes in global natural processes among the participants and organizers of the Thirteenth All-Russia Competition of children’s environmental projects “Man on Earth”. An online questionnaire “Biospheric processes, their understanding and consideration in your own research and environmental activities” was offered for completion in February–March 2023. We received 1173 voluntarily completed questionnaires from the respondents aged 6 to 60 and older. More than 70 % of respondents consider human activity to be the cause of global climate changes, with the majority of respondents having a negative attitude to climate warming. However, be there a possibility of climate management, the majority of respondents would like climate warning at a local level. With age, the number of those wishing for climate stabilization (return to the climatic norm) increases. Approximately 50 % of the respondents consider that global natural processes directly affect the status of the environment. At the same time, only 10 % attribute the unfavorable state of the environment to global factors. People aged over 60 are most concerned about global environmental problems.

The results of our phenological observations of flowering rhythms of 37 herbaceous and 21 woody plants from the collections of the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University in 2019 are presented for three phases, namely, the beginning, peak and the end of flowering. The average timing of the “peak flowering” phase onset for the period of 2009–2019 was calculated, and it has turned out that the vast majority of the studied plants bloomed in 2019 earlier than usually. To assess the effect of summary active temperatures (SAT) on plant development, their sums were calculated by months (according to the data of MSU Meteorological Observatory) with thresholds of 0°С, 5°С, and 10°С in comparison with their average values. Our comparison of the data obtained has shown a direct effect of SAT on the timing of the onset of flowering phenophases, and also confirmed the importance of not only the sum of positive temperatures, but also the sum of temperatures exceeding the threshold of 10°C for flowering of the primary flowers. For a significant advance in the average timing of flowering, such plants need to receive an excess of heat about a month before flowering. An increased amount of active temperatures even immediately before and during flowering has a beneficial effect on the timing of flowering. At the same time, SAT values above 10°C are important.

The article considers an ecology course in relation to the most optimal approach for primary school children–on the example of various ecosystems of the world with consideration of individual examples of adaptation genesis and evolution of wildlife. The authors used the following teaching techniques and methods: avoiding the teacher’s adaptive speech, forming the skill of hypothesizing, and laying the foundations of biological drawing. All this helps us to make a better transition from theoretical educational programs to the practical acquaintance of children with the biodiversity of natural communities. This course can be used within the framework of museum pedagogy and on educational platforms, which can be the natural landscapes of protected areas of regional significance (nature reserves and preserves, natural monuments).

As part of MSU’s Strategic Development Programme, the Youth Museum initiative is currently under development as a mobile-network project. The project consists of a system of interacting nodes, comprising a central site on the MSU campus and a network of regional subdivisions. The proposal suggests the use of mobile field museum exhibitions as an effective mechanism of interaction. In recent years, the aforementioned system was experimentally tested within the “Flotilla of Floating Universities” scientific and educational expedition. This project comprises a set of interrelated research, educational, training, artistic, and other projects. The direct and active involvement of students and schoolchildren led to the development of creative methods for the traveling exhibitions «Ancient Lukomorye» and «Living Matter in Geospheres», as well as to the methods of joint empirical and information gathering for the development of central and regional «Youth Museum» clusters. Materials were collected to create pilot versions of exhibitions, educational collections and the launch of interactive platforms at Tambov State Technical University: «Cretaceous Beach» («Palaeoecological Sandbox»), «Page of the Stone Chronicle» («Dissecting Table of a Beginner Palaeoecologist»), and others. These exhibitions are designed to ensure that they can be used effectively in educational and outreach activities on a wide range of topics. Students and schoolchildren will have the opportunity to conduct small-scale individual and collaborative research projects of varying levels of complexity using the platform format.

This article continues a series of publications devoted to the photographs from the collection made up by D.N. Anuchin at the turn of the 20th century. Nowadays the collection is stored in the MSU Earth Science Museum. Finland at the end of the 19th century is in focus this time, namely Helsingfors (Helsinki) and the Imatra Rapids. The photographs were taken by Daniel Nyblin (1856-1923), one of the most significant photographers in the history of Finland, “the father of the Finnish photographic art.” His works are considered to be of great artistic and historical value. Old photographs serve as an introduction to Finland at the end of the 19th century, including its wildlife, history and culture. Yet, Daniel Nyblin is little known in Russia. This article is to bridge the gap. The article also covers the contribution of D.N. Anuchin in the study of both Finno-Ugric peoples and Finland. This issue has not been addressed in Russian scientific literature.

The ecological status of the city of Moscow was assessed using two test kits, namely, a display based on luminescent bacteria and a lichen photobiont indicator. The toxicity of tree bark in lichen ecotops was estimated by a biotest method. Changes in the cell diameters of lichen photobionts were evaluated. Evidence has been obtained of a permanent detrimental effect of chronic contamination on the specific community of the lichen test system used and possible recent contamination by the use of our bacterial luminescence test system.

The groundlessness of the Paris Agreement (2015) is proven, which asserts the culpability of carbon energy in the sharp increase of the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. The carbon energy’s share of this gas in the atmosphere is shown not to exceed 1 %. The influence of the Earth's albedo and the energy used by mankind on the increase in atmospheric temperature is compared. The thermal “pollution” of the atmosphere from carbon energy is shown to be much less than that from hydrogen, solar or wind energy. The absence of a deserving alternative to carbon energy is proven. Processes affecting the state of the atmosphere and its corresponding climate are analyzed on the basis of general laws of the evolution of nonequilibrium thermodynamic systems. The causes of the alternation of glacial and interglacial periods with different time durations in the history of the Earth are explained. The transitions between these periods are shown to proceed through chaotically changing states and demonstrate hysteresis. It is noted that the currently observed chaotic climate change corresponds to chaotic transitions of any nonequilibrium thermodynamic system from one quasi-stationary state to another.

The paleoclimate evolution curve of the South Kara Sea basin over the past 250 Myr, which is necessary for numerical reconstruction of its thermal history, was plotted using data from a large number of works devoted to studying of the paleoclimate of the Arctic sector of the West Siberian Basin. For the period from 260 to 65 Mya, the construction of the paleoclimate curve was based on a series of paleotectonic reconstructions of the studied area. The reconstruction of the climatic history of the Cenozoic was based on a detailed study of climate variations in Eurasia over the past 65 Myr. The history of sharp climate fluctuations in the last 3.5 Myr was based on information from a large number of works devoted to studying of the regional paleoclimate in the Pliocene-Quaternary. Studies published in the literature speak in favor of the limited size of the glacial covers formed within the South Kara basin. This makes it possible to neglect the effect of the porosity of sedimentary rocks from the glacial cover load in comparison with the similar effect of the load of sediments removed by erosion in the Miocene. Any correction to the paleoclimatic data due to the thermal influence of the ice sheet with its limited thickness should not exceed the error in determining the data themselves. Peculiarities in the change in temperature and the salinity of pore waters with depth determine the existence of various forms of permafrost in the shelf areas of the Arctic seas.

The prevalence of the ecological approach over the historical and partly natural-historical ones in the exposition and exhibition activities of museums may have negative consequences in the perception of the population. In domestic museums, the theme of the history of environmental protection, public environmental organizations, especially youth ones, is poorly represented. Among them are nature protection squads (NPS) and their whole movement, which was most active in the 1970–1980s. Most of their archives have been lost. Therefore, the exhibition at the Voronezh Regional Local History Museum “Youth on guard of nature”, dedicated to the 50^th anniversary of NPS in Voronezh State University, can be considered unique.

From March 24 to June 5, 2023, the Voronezh Regional Local History Museum for the first time among domestic museums demonstrated an exhibition dedicated to the activities of a student public environmental organization in the 1970s–1990s. The article substantiates the uniqueness of this exhibition and the relevance of such museum expositions. It tells about its multitasking and creative solution of a number of issues of the exposition. Questions are raised about the proportionality between the ecological and historical approaches (including the history of ecological aspects of culture) in museum expositions.

The concept of biogeocenoses as structural units of the biosphere is reflected in the exposition of the department “Natural Zones” (Halls No. 18–20 on the 25^th floor) of the Moscow State University Museum of Earth Science: the interaction of the main natural components characteristic of the corresponding climatic conditions – soils, flora and fauna – is succinctly demonstrated. There are 15 full-scale exhibits of dry volumetric fragments of biogeocenoses: spotted tundra; forest tundra; swamps: flat-hummocky tundra, oligotrophic upland and mesotrophic lowland sedge; spruce-green grass; grass-grass and tipchak-grass steppes; subtropical mountain forest; alpine meadows; semi–deserts; deserts – clay, wormwood-solyanka and ilak belosaksaulnik on ridge sands; and savannas as well.

A scheme of formation of the sedimentary blanket of the South Kara basin is considered, which can further be used for numerical reconstruction of its thermal history. The scheme is based on our analysis of the literature information on the structure and geological history of the Barents-Kara region. This information included an interpreted seismic profile crossing the studied area, drilling data from four wells located along the profile (the University, Rusanov, Leningrad and Kharasavey ones), measurements of the heat flow and deep temperatures in the basin. The proposed scheme considers the formation of the basin as a series of sedimentation stages with various combinations of clay shales, siltstones and sandstones and sedimentation in the Cretaceous and Paleogene with their subsequent erosion in the Miocene. The erosion amplitude is estimated by the observed change in the porosity of sedimentary rocks with depth. The initial heat flow in such a model should correspond to the flow of modern axial zones of continental rifting or be lower for the areas remote from the corresponding segments of the Late Permian-Early Triassic continental rifting system.

The article proposes an alternative method for evacuating large osteological objects of scientific and expositional value from hard-to-reach areas on a sea coast. On the example of a 1.2-ton skull of the largest toothed whale Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, found during the first season (2019) of the integrated long-term expedition «Eastern Bastion – Kuril Ridge» on the Urup Island (Kuril Islands), the process of evacuation and delivery of the object to the Zvenigorod biological station of Moscow State University is considered step by step. Difficulties and nuances arisen during the evacuation activities are described in detail, the knowledge of which can help in organizing such events.

The article is devoted to children’s pencil drawings, which are stored in the museum of the village of Markovo (Chukotka Peninsula). In the 1890s, these pictures were drawn by the pupils of the church parish school of this village and conveyed some events took place in the life of the rural inhabitants. The children took part in the traditional household and reflected what they saw in their drawings. The drawings did not become museum documents at once; they were kept in private archives before. In the 1990s, the drawings were transferred to the rural museum. Each one was named according to the depicted subject. For example, “Training the reindeer in sledge driving and riding”, “Reindeer racing", “The end of migration". Eleven drawings are preserved. The aim of the paper is to analyze the drawings and explain the ethnographic information therein. The author systematized the drawings by themes: “The traditional method of the reindeer herder’s economy”, “The traditional hunting for wild deer”. In the drawings, each character performs some kind of action. Men are depicted in the process of controlling a deer, firing a gun, driving a boat, or while hunting. Women are depicted in their traditional clothes – fur overalls. In the drawings, women carry water in buckets, control a deer and walk with children. One woman is depicted riding a deer as a racer. Children are drawn shorter than adults. The pupils tried to depict features of the structure of animals. In the drawings, the raindeer have branchy antlers and thick wool under their necks. Details of the images reflect ethnographic information about the methods of managing domestic raindeer, traditional transport and clothing. The interaction among different cultures is depicted in the pictures as well. Today, these drawings are a unique heritage because they convey historical events and ethnographic information.

The article draws attention to the relevance of studying the history of museological thought in Russia. The author notes the prospects of the biographical method of research, which makes it possible to trace the continuity of views, the motives for making certain decisions, and to build priorities more precisely. The ideas expressed in the recently published book "From the history of museological thought in Russia: the 20th century" are being developed. The paper analyses the biographies, contributions to the museum theory, and features of the creative path of several well-known domestic museum specialists such as M. Novorussky, N. Trotskaya, M. Farmakovsky, and L. Rakov. A more accurate representation of their role in the formation of museological knowledge, as well as noting common features of museologists of the 20th century, can be made possible by new publi-cations of sources appeared in the 2000s, mostly of personal origin.

Vladimir Vernadsky’s scientific and philosophical legacy still holds much value for the present-day world. It is largely concerned with the potential importance of two decentralized structures which can efficiently function on our planet. These are (i) the biosphere, construed as an integral entity, and (ii) the noösphere, a planet-wide human brains-based “film”. A fascinating mystery is the mechanism of the biosphere’s coordination and stable operation; important evidence has recently been presented concerning the probable regulatory role of the biosphere-wide field of signal molecules (ecomones) which include many neurotransmitters. As for the currently developing noösphere, humankind still has to invent strategies of conscious managing its activities. It is suggested that the functioning of the decentralized global noöspheric network should be subject to regulation by social chaperones. This term refers to network structures which subtly guide and promote the activities of other decentralized network structures in society.