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 continues the author’s series of publications on global Holocene activation. The research was carried out on the interface between geology and meteoritics within the context of the Earth pulsating expansion model, whereby the Earth began to evolve in a compression mode in the late Pleistocene. At the Pleistocene – Holocene boundary, the Earth was subjected to a massive pummeling of large asteroids and changed its orbit, moving closer to the Sun. From this time on, the compression increased sharply, crustal processes intensified causing an upsurge of continental orogeny, and global transgression intensified. Astroblemes are considered as constituents of the host geological systems. They are indicators of the onset of the Holocene activation. Evidence is presented of most of the known astroblemes being formed at the Pleistocene – Holocene boundary by a single stream of asteroids. Using astroblemes in South Africa and Eurasia as examples, their relationships were studied with Holocene orogenic systems – with their tectonics, volcanism, fluid dynamics, and drainage network. The global Holocene activation is shown to significantly change the natural environment, thereby triggering an unprecedented explosion in the development of human civilization.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.