The article considers the concept of geography in the context of integrity of its natural -ecological and socio-economic elements. The change of the postulates of classical geography on the basis of new (non-linear) thinking and the perception of the new picture of the world and its cognition by means of a new interdisciplinary language is proven to be necessary.
This article is dedicated to territorial administration. The author defines its object and agent, outlines the hierarchical structure, and determines the key problem sets in the system of territorial administration.
The article considers different directions in national and international regional studies. The author analyses the notion of region in the framework of system approach.
The author analyses the theoretical aspects of international (transnational and cross-border) region notion and considers their peculiarities and hierarchy through the example of the Baltic region.
The article analyses the concept of 'special' socio-economic regions, i. e. those characterised by a special position in their relation to the political, economic and legal spaces of the home country and (or) neighbouring countries and, in some cases, by a special geographic position. The author offers two typologies of 'special' regions.
The article examines different sources of chemical energy bound in crystals and minerals and its role in metamorphic
processes and the Earth's crust formation. The author justifies the idea of the key role of the solar energy in the formation and development of crust.
The article presents the results of many years' research (1991-2007) on the chlorophyll and nutrient concentrations, biomass and primary production of phytoplankton in the Curonian Lagoon. The main factors affecting the level of biological production and the trophic status are determined by the comparison of hydrological and chemical indicators. Water temperature is a key environmental factor that regulates the phytoplankton production and abundance in the Curonian Lagoon. The greater seasonal rise in water temperatures in 1990-2000, presumably, a consequence of the climate change, alongside with other factors (freshness, slow water flow) creates conditions for cyanobacterial «hyperblooms». Probably, the 1990-2000 climate warming is the cause of the eutrophication of the Curonian Lagoon, which continues despite significant reduction in external nutrient load.
The article attempts to 'bring together' different approaches to the nature of the El Niño — La Niña phenomenon on the basis of a multicomponent qualitative model. The capability of model is demonstrated by means of meteorological and oceanological conditions forecast in the South Eastern Pacific Ocean. The author emphasises the general impact of these conditions on the biological and fishery productivity in the area where the El Niño — La Niña phenomenon represents the most important element of the present-day climate variability.
The rainfall variations on the European part of Russia over the period of instrumental observations (1901-2005) are considered in comparison to the hemisphere and global rainfall variations. A positive rainfall trend is indicated over the observation period. The most significant increase in precipitation over the European part of Russia was recorded in the second half of the 20th century and amounted to 20.6 mm/10 years.
The article is dedicated to the main principles of the sustainable development concept and the life quality of the population of the Kaliningrad region. The authors outline four sets of objectives crucial for the socio-economic development of the region as well as their key functions.
The article considers the basic methods of sea water quality assessment. The indicators of shell diversity of dominant bivalve molluscs in tidal accumulations are suggested as the most efficient field method.
This article describes the response of hydrobionts to exogenous biologically active substances (BAS) of anthropogenic origin through the example of different taxa ranging from the Infusoria and Spongia to the Crustacea and confirms the harmful effect of anthropogenic pressure at the levels of a single organism and the whole ecosystem.
The Vistula Lagoon of the Baltic Sea is one the most productive water bodies in Europe. The Pregolya River comprises the main part of the Vistula Lagoon's catchment area where the biggest cities and towns of the Kaliningrad Region are situated. The aim of the research is to estimate the nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) flux from the Pregolya River's catchment area into the Vistula Lagoon, which is composed by both point source emissions and diffuse load. The author applies the model of nutrient flux from the Pregolya River catchment area based on FyrisNP Version 3.1, which takes into account the catchment land use, nutrient runoff from point sources and lands of different types, stream characteristics, and precipitation.
This paper makes an attempt to divide the territory of the region according to the degree of groundwater protection. Protection against pollution is provided by the tight sediment layer that prevents the penetration of contaminants from the surface into the aquifer. The author distinguishes areas of insufficient natural protection, potentially dangerous in terms of certain types of chemical and bacterial groundwater pollution.
This article estimates the impact of the natural resources of the Kirov region on the territorial division of labour and the problem of insufficient exploitation of natural resources potential in the framework of interregional and foreign connections.
The administrative territorial division of the Pskov region is considered in historical context. The author distinguishes the stages of formation of the Pskov region as an administrative territorial unit of the Russian Federation and analyses the population dynamics, natural population increase and migrations on the territory of the present-day Pskov region in the 19th-21st centuries. Special attention is drawn to migration control as a factor of the economic development of the region.
The article considers the present situation and perspectives of international cooperation in the field of tourism in the Baltic Sea Regio and the peculiarities of formation of cross-border tourist regions as a variety of territorial recreational system.
This article examines the main stages of territorial administration system development in Eastern Prussia in terms of political, economical and social dynamics.