The paper is devoted to the outstanding Russian scientist Vladimir I. Vernadsky, who is one of the founders of ecology. As a student of V.V. Dokuchaev, he developed his teacher’s ideas of a systematic dynamic approach to the study of nature and introduced a deep scientific ecological content into the concepts of the biosphere and the noösphere. V.I. Vernadsky is the founder of a complex of modern Earth sciences (geochemistry, biogeochemistry, radiology, and hydrogeology) and the creator of many scientific schools. In his scientific work, he covered many research areas, from geology to the study of the role of living matter in geochemical cycles, from soil science to the biosphere, the increasing influence of scientific thought, human activity in the biosphere and its transformation into the noösphere. The importance of agriculture in the biosphere and the noösphere is considered. The biosphere is an area of active life on Earth (troposphere, hydrosphere and part of the lithosphere), the composition, structure and energy of which are mainly due to the activity of living organisms. The noösphere is its thinking shell. Agriculture, whose most important part are grassland ecosystems, is an important component of the biosphere, being a reproducible, autotrophic sustainable resource (energetical, environmental, food and feed). In light of the pressing environmental problems facing the world, environmental education and environmental thinking are a priority for the development of the biosphere, the noösphere and agriculture.

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.

The paper provides a brief analysis of the process of continuous self-organization (evolution) of living matter in the flow of Primary energy. Particular attention is paid to humans (Homo sapiens), who have taken possession of special methods of energy generation, not characteristic of any other species, namely, the transformation of the continuous flow of Primary energy. Energy generation and “scientific thought” have allowed humanity to become, according to V.I. Vernadsky, a “geological force”, to involve significant resources of the planet in the process of its own continuous self-organization and socialization of individuals. The scientific formalization of the processes used to generate energy significantly has accelerated the development of society and has actually become a prerequisite for the scientific and technological revolution. It is shown that they were Russian and, to a greater extent, Soviet scientists who have made a decisive contribution to the fundamental scientific foundations of energy generation, which determines the modern process of self-organization of mankind and people socialization. Reducing the overall efficiency of energy resources below a certain threshold is a dangerous and intractable challenge for the industrial world economies and civilization as a whole, causing conflict situations. An alternative to the apocalyptic scenario of human development, the concept of distributed energy generation based on self-regulation of energy consumption by a single individual is considered. Distributed energy generation, according to the authors, could determine novel socialization phenomena and initiate, according to V.I. Vernadsky’s teaching, the transition of the biosphere into the noösphere.

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.

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.

Brief information is given about several Russian microbiologists--naturalists whose names are found on the pages of V.I. Vernadsky’s diaries. Despite the variety of topics, their works always found hot reaction of V.I. Vernadsky. The knowledge of these materials helps one to understand the evolution of the scientists’ ideas, trends of the development of science.

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.

This article is about the world’s only cabinet-museum of the great world scientist Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky. The museum celebrates its sixtieth anniversary in 2023, the year of the 160th anniversary of the scientist. The museum contains items which accompanied V.I. Vernadsky and his wife Natalia Egorovna (nee Staritskaya) from the moment of their wedding to his last days. There are many photos and portraits of relatives and friends of the Vernadsky family on the walls. Vernadsky’s library had about 7,000 books, some of which are now in the museum. The museum has many books by V.I. Vernadsky himself, published during his lifetime and in recent years. The sphere of interests of the great scientist was huge. The exposition and the library of the museum tell in detail about the creative path of the scientist. Having started as a mineralogist, V.I. Vernadsky created physical (energetical) crystallography, genetic mineralogy. He is the creator of radiogeology. His studies of living matter, comparison of its properties and composition with those of mineral matter allowed the scientist to create a new science –biogeochemistry. In his scientific activity, V.I. Vernadsky paid much attention to the development of his doctrine of the biosphere, the transition of the biosphere into the noösphere. Vernadsky was a significant public and political figure of pre-revolutionary Russia. One can learn about all this from the museum’s exposition and from the story of the curator of the museum.

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.

Having started his biogeochemical studies in 1916, V.I. Vernadsky revealed that the generally accepted opinion about the origin of life from inert matter had no scientific sources. But all data of biology and paleontology indicate that all life comes from life (Francesco Redi’s principle). Vernadsky found convincing evidence of biogenesis in the state of biological space–time, which allowed him to describe the biosphere as a planetary shell, actually forming other geospheres. Vernadsky’s concept of the planetary role of living matter is currently gaining overriding and fundamental importance for all Earth sciences.

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.

This article examines the anthropogenic contribution to the planet’s climate system due to thermal pollution. Despite the quantitative predominance of solar and geothermal energy in the Earth’s heat balance, anthropogenic heat impacts the planet’s most sensitive shell – the biosphere. Thermal pollution in various countries has been assessed based on specific (per unit area) energy consumption, as all energy consumed by humanity is ultimately converted into heat and released into the biosphere. Specific carbon dioxide emissions also serve as an indirect indicator (marker) of thermal pollution, as fossil fuels remain the primary energy source. Calculated correlation coefficients between thermal pollution indicators (specific energy consumption and CO2 emissions) and climate warming in various regions have revealed a low positive correlation between these indicators (0.17–0.13, respectively), which indicates thermal pollution’s contribution to global warming to be still insignificant. Thus, the current contribution of anthropogenic heat to the climate system is primarily regional, which is undoubtedly important to consider in environmental policy to prevent the negative impact of this factor on the functioning of natural ecosystems. This is especially important in the context of global warming, primarily caused by natural factors.

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.

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.

The results of our research conducted at the junction of geology, speleology and archeology are presented. Every cave is considered as an integral part of the enclosing geological system. Representative examples show the nature of the interrelationships of caves with structures of the continental crust of Eurasia, Africa and North America. The research was performed within the framework of the pulsationally expanding Earth model. According to this model, at the Pleistocene–Holocene turn, our planet was bombarded by a stream of asteroids, after which it switched to a pulsed compression mode, with a sharp activation of orogeny at the Holocene beginning. At that time, caves with their Paleolithic–Neolithic cultural layers were deformed. Their deformations are considered as Holocene activation indicators.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

April 9, 2024 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Boris Sergeyevich Sokolov – a prominent Russian scientist, geologist and paleontologist, science oranizer. The article summarizes the main milestones of B. Sokolov’s life and his scientific achievements.

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 article examines the problem of energy efficiency in the chain from the production of fertilizers to their logistics, application, and waste production and disposal based on the huge amount of data accumulated in recent years on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (primarily CO₂ and methane). Carbon dioxide emissions are shown to occur primarily from fuel combustion, as well as from the use of methane and CO₂ as precursors for nitrogen fertilizers. GHG emissions can be considered as a measure of energy efficiency when assessing the life cycle of mineral fertilizers. Relevant examples are given.

The problem of global climate warming and attempts to solve it, including using low-carbon power engineering, are analyzed. The success of solving this problem depends on the degree of understanding of the processes which cause it. As more and more data speak about natural causes of climate fluctuations, and of anthropogenic factors the greatest contribution to the warming is made by thermal pollution rather than the anthropogenic growth of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, low-carbon power, with all its positive qualities, is unable to solve the problem of climate warming.

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.

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 article presents some prerequisites for the formation of a new theory of relations between species groups of mammals, including humans. Key elements of the theory are considered, including the connection between quantum decoherence in complex organic molecules and Jung’s postulates of the collective unconscious, with the extension of the latter to the possibility of explaining the paradox of instincts in higher animals. Data on experimental confirmation of the mechanism of wave function collapse in relation to living organisms are presented.

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”.

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.

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 new three-stage method for assessing the CO₂ balance in plant communities was formulated. The methodology includes not only taking into account the absorption of C-CO₂ during plantation vegetation, but also the processes occuring when using wood. In managed forests, when calculating the carbon balance, it is necessary to take into account the release of CO₂ not only at direct, but also at indirect consumption of technical energy for laying plantations, caring for them, and felling for final use. As a model, the consumption of technical energy in cultivating natural and genetically modified forms of aspen Populus tremula L. was calculated. The large role of indirect expenditure of technical energy in the C-CO₂ balance in forest plantations is shown. The use of a genetically modified clone of aspen significantly increases the productivity of plantations and CO₂ absorption from the atmosphere compared to its natural form. On a long time scale the final amount of CO₂ runoff from the atmosphere depends not only on the area of forests and their productivity, but also on the way of using wood. There is a highly effective way of using forest plantations to regulate the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere, which is currently little paid attention, namely, the so-called substitution effect. Replacing energy-intensive materials (reinforced concrete, plastic, metal, and brick) with wood may be one of the main ways for the positive impact of forests on the CO₂ content in the atmosphere. The use of wood biomass from thinning, wood processing wastes, short-rotation forests for heat and power generation is a great reserve for replacing fossil hydrocarbons. The forest area needs to be expanded to increase wood production to replace energy-intensive building materials and generate biofuels.

The article shows that each period of the evolutionary process of the biosphere formation on Earth corresponds to one form of soil formation, namely: underwater (“hydrozemic”), swampy (“atmozemic”), and terrestrial (“lithozemic”). The ancient swamp soil formation is considered, in addition to biomass deposition, to take part in the formation of the oxygen-containing composition of the planet’s gaseous envelope and the release of organisms from the aquatic environment to land. It has been determined that the process of paludification and swamp soils in the past and at present did and do perform the same biospheric functions and should include the entire genetic profile up to the basal rock in the concept of “peat soil”. On the example of the central part of Western Siberia, the process of paludification in the Holocene period is considered. This process is defined as a single, irreversible, progressive process of conjugated changes in their biotic and abiotic components. This ensures autonomy in the development and preservation of mires as a special type of the biogeocenotic cover of Earth. It is shown that the differences in the mire complexes of different botanico–geographical zones and subzones reveal the chronological boundaries of the transformation of swamp biogeocenoses of eutrophic types into mesotrophic and oligotrophic ones. It has been determined that the process of paludification in the taiga zone of the West Siberian Plain is of aggressive nature and the expected warming is a temporary warm period in the interval of cyclical climate.