The article presents the results of a study on deep-water sedimentary systems in the Black Sea, which formed during the Late Cenozoic under the influence of river runoff. Based on the analysis of regional seismic CDP profiles (from the «Geology Without Borders» programme) and bathymetric data (GEBCO, EMODnet, materials from FSUE SRC «Yuzhmorgeologiya»), three types of sedimentary systems associated with the distal parts of the avandeltas of major rivers have been identified and mapped in the continental slope zone and the deep-sea part of the basin. It is shown that the diversity of sedimentary systems reflects the complex interplay between continental processes (river runoff, erosion, sediment transport) and marine processes (sea level, seafloor topography, hydrodynamics). The obtained results allow for the reconstruction of palaeogeographic settings of the Late Cenozoic and the prediction of sediment body distribution in the deep-sea areas of the basin.

Three versions of the stratigraphic scheme of the Quaternary system for the General Stratigraphic Scale of Russia are presented, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The problem of correlation of marine and continental formations is analyzed.

The formations of the Malokuibasovskaya volcanic series (the Novoivanovskaya strata and the Shumilinskaya suite) developed in the Magnitogorsk zone of the East-Magnitogorsk paleoisland arc are described. They are belong to the island-arc shoshonite series, which is very typical of “mature” island arcs has been established, or rather, the “riftogenic” (high titanic) type of shoshonites. Their differences from the “normal” island arc magmatites of the shoshonite series are demonstrated. The data obtained make it possible to significantly refine the understanding of the Magnitogorsk-Mugodzhar paleoisland arcs system geodynamics formation.

An assessment of the average long-term groundwater recharge in the southwestern part of the Crimean plain within the Alma artesian basin was carried out on the basis of geohydrological modeling of the processes of its formation under modern climatic conditions and various forecast scenarios for their changes at the end of the 21st century. For modeling, global climate models of the CMIP5 family were used under the extreme scenario SSP5-8.5, adapted to the climatic conditions of the study area. Based on the modelled maps of average long-term groundwater recharge under current and most contrasting expected climatic conditions, it is shown that, despite the predicted decrease in the moisture index, a significant recharge reduction in the considerated region is possible only under the most extreme “dry” climate scenario.

Forecasting the oil and gas potential of the Siberian Platform’s productive horizons is challenging due to its long and complex geologic evolution. This task requires not only identifying the most favorable depositional settings and analyzing how primary factors influence rock porosity and permeability but also, crucially, finding preserved reservoir sections that have undergone minimal post-depositional alteration. This study examines the Botuobinsky Horizon of the Srednebotuobinskoye field, demonstrating that initial high reservoir properties—formed under active hydrodynamics of coastal slope and sandy littoral environments—were significantly altered by secondary processes. Integrated petrographic, SEM, granulometric, and petrophysical analyses reveal that the most substantial degradation resulted from salinization, quartz regeneration, and dolomitization, particularly affecting coarse-grained and well-sorted lithologies. The findings enable identification of zones with minimal postsedimentary alteration and refine predictive criteria for high-quality reservoirs within complex ancient platform sequences.

To predict the petroleum potential of a given object (petroleum basin or region), a geological and geochemical approach is used. This approach takes into account the properties of the source rocks, specifically their organic matter, its potential and content. The content and characteristics of organic matter directly influence the amount of hydrocarbon fluids expected in a given basin (according to the sedimentary-migration theory of oil and gas origin). This article examines methods for reconstructing the initial generation potential and concentrations of organic matter in source rocks when the researcher does not have immature samples. The most commonly used approaches in the Russian organic geochemistry community are presented. Source rocks examples are used to demonstrate whether there is a significant difference in the results obtained by different methods.

The article is devoted to study of the composition, properties and generation potential of organic matter of oil shale deposits in the Volga basin. The results showed that the organic matter is mainly represented by macerals of the liptinite group, the maturity is low (protocatagenesis), and the deposits have an “excellent” (maximum) oil and gas generation potential. Variations in the composition of organic matter and mineral components are noted for different oil shale deposits.

The key problems in experimental modeling of natural-like technologies for geochemical remediation based on artificial geochemical barriers were discussed. The features and difficulties of experimental modeling of the processes of solid phases precipitation–dissolution, sorption–desorption, complex formation, and isotope exchange, which can be used in the creation of artificial geochemical barriers, were considered, and methods for overcoming the arising difficulties were outlined.

The geological data of the Dyappe gold deposit allow us to estimate the potential resources of antimony. According to the feasibility study approved in 2019, the only main component is gold. In the middle of the last century, antimony was mined on an industrial scale from surface mines and tunnels at the deposit. Antimony at the deposit is represented by antimony nuggets in quartz veins up to 30 cm in size. Exploration methods were analyzed, the possibility of further exploration for antimony was assessed, and it was shown why industrial antimony deposits could not be delineated using current exploration scheme. As a result of the analysis, antimony resources were estimated at 250 tons.

The article addresses a pressing issue in modern hydrogeochemical research — the low reliability of results in determining the chemical composition and salinity of formation waters, which often arises due to technical or methodological errors. These inaccuracies subsequently lead to highly uncertain saturation forecasts when poor-quality data are used for geophysical log interpretation. In this work, a new step-by-step geochemical control algorithm (GCA) is proposed for filtering datasets of formation waters composition from the Achimov Formation in the northern part of Western Siberia. The proposed algorithm consists of several consecutive stages — verification of electroneutrality, determination of water type according to Sulin’s classification, and control of hydrochemical parameters. As a result of passing these stages, a filtered and conditionally valid dataset is obtained. Based on the GCA of the analyzed formation-water chemistry data, it was found that only 8.1 % of 242 samples can be considered reliable and suitable for further interpretation. These samples most closely reflect the true composition of the Achimov Formation waters and can be used as reference data. The application of GCA has proven effective in screening out invalid analyses and obtaining accurate values for formation water composition and salinity, which in turn increases the reliability of geophysical forecasts. Possible solutions to improve data quality are also proposed, including methodological adjustments and modernization of laboratory analytical equipment.

This study presents a detailed petrographic characterization of the speleothem from Vorontsovskaya Cave (Krasnodar Region, Russia) and proposes a model for its formation. Incremental chronology indicates that flowstone growth began more than 82 ka. Scanning electron microscopy reveals accessory minerals, including magnetic phases, supporting its suitability for paleomagnetic investigation. However, because these minerals occur predominantly within pore spaces between calcite crystals, they may have been reoriented by percolating fluids; this potential post-depositional reorientation should be considered when interpreting the paleomagnetic data.

In recent years, the presence of alkali lamprophyre dikes and their transitional types, as well as calcare ousalkali lamprophyres, has been identified in the mining and ore regions of Western Uzbekistan, the latter being associated with diabases, diorite porphyrites, moncodiorite porphyrites, tonalite, granodiorite, granite porphyrites, and others. The study of which is of particular interest in magmatic petrology, on the one hand, shows the upper age limit of the ore-magmatic system, and on the other hand, shows a certain (genetic) role in the formation of gold ore deposits in the association of platinoids, rare metals, and rare earth minerals. One of the objects of research is the Zirabulak granitoid pluton and its boundaries, where dikes of monchikites, campto-spessartites, and spessartites, etc., are localized. Results were obtained on the material composition of lamprophyre dams and conclusions were drawn about their genetic types, generation levels, and geodynamic nature.

During two expeditions of the international scientific and educational program “Training-through-Research,” TTR-21 and TTR-23, conducted on the research vessel “Akademik Boris Petrov” in 2022 and 2024 with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, new data were obtained on Quaternary section in the northern Kara Sea. Evident ice marginal landforms of Late Weichselian (Sartanian) ice-sheet were recorded. Using data from a combination of geophysical methods, including acoustic profiling and ultra-high-resolution and high-resolution seismic survey with the common depth point technique, as well as multibeam echo sounding data, a seismic stratigraphic analysis was carried out for sections obtained on the “Kasania” area. The distribution and morphology of elongated moraine ridges of glacier retreat in the Central Kara Trough and on the adjacent southern slope of the Central Kara Rise were identified and analyzed. It is concluded that a ice dome existed on the Central Kara Rise during the Late Weichselian (Sartanian) time, either as an isolated glacier or part of a larger Eurasian ice sheet.

The study provides the first results of U-Pb dating of detrital zircons from sandstones of the Egilknyveem suite, which underlies the Tytylveem volcanic depression of a post-collisional nature. The U-Pb age of the youngest population of detrital zircons is 140.7±2.2 Ma. Young zircon populations (190–130 Ma) from the Late Jurassic through Early Cretaceous sandstones are likely related to the activity of the supra-subduction magmatic belt of the southern margin of the Chukotka microcontinent.

This paper presents the physical and experimental justification for the existence of gravitational-seismic KaY waves discovered by the author. It is shown that the KaY wave represents a secondary converging phase of the earthquake preparation process that occurs after resonant energy divergence. The paper provides responses to the criticism by N.V. Koronovsky, V.S. Zakharov, and A.A. Naimark published in the article “Short-Term Earthquake Prediction: Reality, Scientific Perspective or Phantom Project?” Experimental confirmations (Italy, Nepal, Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, Argentina–Chile) are presented, confirming the deterministic phase of energy convergence and the possibility of short-term earthquake prediction.

This paper provides a response to the critical review by A.P. Yagodin of the article [Koronovsky et al., 2019]. 

This is a scientific review of an article in journal Moscow University Geol. Bull. (2025. No. 3). 

This is the author’s response to the comment in journal Moscow University Geol. Bull. (2025. No. 3) .