RUSSIAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY FACULTY OF GEOGRAPHY, M.V. LOMONOSOV MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY, RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES No. 01 [v. 04] 2011 GEOGRAPHY ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABILITY ggi111.inddi111.indd 1 003.08.20113.08.2011 114:38:054:38:05 EDITORIAL BOARD EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Kasimov Nikolay S. Kotlyakov Vladimir M. Vandermotten Christian M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State Russian Academy of Sciences Université Libre de Bruxelles 01|2011 University, Faculty of Geography Institute of Geography Belgique Russia Russia 2 GES Tikunov Vladimir S. (Secretary-General) Kroonenberg Salomon, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Delft University of Technology Faculty of Geography, Russia. Department of Applied Earth Sciences, Babaev Agadzhan G. The Netherlands Turkmenistan Academy of Sciences, O’Loughlin John Institute of deserts, Turkmenistan University of Colorado at Boulder, Baklanov Petr Ya. Institute of Behavioral Sciences, USA Russian Academy of Sciences, Malkhazova Svetlana M. Pacific Institute of Geography, Russia M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Baume Otfried, Faculty of Geography, Russia Ludwig Maximilians Universitat Munchen, Mamedov Ramiz Institut fur Geographie, Germany Baku State University, Chalkley Brian Faculty of Geography, Azerbaijan University of Plymouth, UK Mironenko Nikolay S. Dmitriev Vasily V. M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Sankt-Petersburg State University, Faculty of Faculty of Geography, Russia. Geography and Geoecology, Russia Palacio-Prieto Jose Dobrolubov Sergey A. National Autonomous University of Mexico, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Institute of Geography, Mexico Faculty of Geography, Russia Palagiano Cosimo, D’yakonov Kirill N. Universita degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Instituto di Geografia, Italy Faculty of Geography, Russia Richling Andrzej Gritsay Olga V. University Warsaw, Faculty of Geography Russian Academy of Sciences, and Regional Studies, Poland Institute of Geography, Russia Rudenko Leonid G. Gunin Petr D. National Ukrainean Academy Russian Academy of Sciences, of Sciences, Institute of Geography Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russia Ukraine Guo Hua Tong Solomina Olga N. Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Russian Academy of Sciences, Gutenev Vladimir V. Institute of Geography, Russia Rosoboronexport, Russia Tishkov Arkady A. Hayder Adnane Russian Academy of Sciences, Association of Tunisian Geographers, Tunisia Institute of Geography, Russia Himiyama Yukio Thorez Pierre Hokkaido University of Education, Université du Havre – UFR “Lettres Institute of Geography, Japan et Sciences Humaines” France Kochurov Boris I. Vargas Rodrigo Barriga Russian Academy of Sciences, Military Geographic Institute, Chile Institute of Geography, Russia Viktorov Alexey S. Kolosov Vladimir A. Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Environmental Geosciences, Institute of Geography, Russia Russia Konečný Milan Zilitinkevich Sergey S. Masaryk University, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Faculty of Science, Czech Republic Finland ggi111.inddi111.indd 2 003.08.20113.08.2011 114:38:114:38:11 CONTENTS GEOGRAPHY Dmitry M. Sonechkin, Bao Yang 01|2011 RECONSTRUCTING PAST TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS: SOME METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS . 4 3 GES Jean Radvanyi LES ATLAS, UN NOUVEL ENGOUEMENT DE L’ÉDITION FRANÇAISE . 12 Natalia E. Chubarova, Alexander Smirnov, Brent N. Holben AEROSOL PROPERTIES IN MOSCOW ACCORDING TO 10 YEARS OF AERONET MEASUREMENTS AT THE METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY OF MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY . 19 Vladimir G. Konovalov DISTRIBUTION OF RIVER RUNOFF AND ITS CLIMATE FACTORS IN AVERAGE AND EXTREME YEARS . 33 ENVIRONMENT Galina N. Ogureeva, Inessa M. Miklayeva, Maxim V. Bocharnikov, Jargalsaichan Luvsandorj SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF DRY STEPPES OF EASTERN MONGOLIA . 46 Raisa G. Gracheva, Tengiz F. Urushadze LANDSLIDES IN A RURAL MOUNTAINOUS REGION: DAMAGING AND RESOURCE-FORMING IMPACTS (SOUTH CAUCASUS, GEORGIA) . 59 Erland G. Kolomyts, Gennady S. Rozenberg, Larisa S. Sharaya CARBON BALANCE OF FOREST ECOSYSTEMS UNDER GLOBAL WARMING: LANDSCAPE-ECOLOGICAL PREDICTIVE MODELING . 69 SUSTAINABILITY Nina N. Alexeeva, Nikolay S. Kasimov, Yuri L. Mazurov, Sven-Erik Österlund, Alla A. Pakina, Andrius Plepys SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF EDUCATION: SWEDISH REALITIES AND RUSSIAN POTENTIAL . 86 NEWS & REVIEWS Viktor I. Kruzhalin TOURISM AND RECREATION: FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED RESEARCH IN RUSSIA . 104 ggi111.inddi111.indd 3 003.08.20113.08.2011 114:38:124:38:12 Dmitry M. Sonechkin1*, Bao Yang2 1* P.P. Shirshov Oceanology Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, and Hydrometeorological Research Center of Russia, Moscow, Russia. Telephone: +7 495 687 53 52 Fax: +7 495 124 59 83 e-mail: [email protected] * Corresponding author 2 Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, GEOGRAPHY 260 Donggang West Road, 730000 Lanzhou, China; 4 RECONSTRUCTING PAST TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS: SOME METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS ABSTRACT But some doubts can be voiced as concern Three aspects essential for the paleoclimatic these reconstruction reliability. reconstructions are considered: calibration of proxy data on an example of tree-ring Every kind of proxies is a thermometer width records as the main source of proxy with an unknown scale. Although these paleoclimatic information; taking into scales are very complex and nonlinear consideration an integral nonstationarity of for certain, the above paleoclimatologists multiscale climatic variations; and use of the calibrated these scales in a simple linear empirical orthogonal function expansion for manner comparing a proxy record used the goal of the past meteorological field for a reconstruction with an instrumental reconstruction. temperature record over a time interval of their overlapping. This interval is short, and KEY WORDS: paleoclimatic reconstruction, so it is quite clear that such calibrations can tree-ring width data, past climate normals, be meaningful for inter-annual and inter- empirical orthogonal functions. decadal temperature variations. Spreading these calibrations onto lower-frequency INTRODUCTION parts of the proxy scales is an inadmissible extrapolation because responses of some During the latest decade several groups proxies to longer-living external (climatic of climatologists tried to reconstruct and environmental) variations can differ from near surface air temperature variations those corresponding to the inter-annual and averaged over the almost whole Northern inter-decadal variations. Hemisphere area for the time period 1000–2000 BP [Wang et al., 1996; Mann A PROBLEM OF THE PROXY DATA et al., 1998; Jones et al., 1998; Mann et al., CALIBRATION ON AN EXAMPLE 1999; Crowley and Lowery, 2000; Briffa OF TREE-RING WIDTH RECORDS et al. 2001; Esper et al., 2002; Cook et al., 2004]. All their reconstructions look Consider some consequences of such to be rather similar with each other. In extrapolation on an example of tree-rings particular, they show the Medieval Warm because it is widely accepted to use tree- Period to be less strong in comparison ring width records as the main source of with the Current Warming. The last IPCC paleoclimatic information. Tree-rings are report mentions this circumstance as an prominent by their annual resolution with evidence of the Current Warming unique. a rather good timing, and tree-ring width ggi111.inddi111.indd 4 003.08.20113.08.2011 114:38:124:38:12 record samples are very numerous and with mature trees. To remove this dependence broad geographic representative. In spite of the so-called tree-ring standardization is these obvious merits, three-ring width proxy used. Any tree-ring standardization inevitable data have some drawbacks. In particular, suppresses responses of trees to longer- some depressive tree growth observed living external variations at least partly. The in many geographic regions during a few known [Briffa, 1992; Visser, 1995] basal-area recent decades [Briffa et al., 1998; Datsenko, increment index (BAI) is a better measure in GEOGRAPHY 2005] seems to be a fingerprint of the afore- comparison with the standardized tree-ring mentioned differentiation between higher- width index. But BAI was used in no recent 5 and lower-frequency parts of the tree-ring paleoclimatic reconstructions because, as a scales. Indeed, the germination of tree seeds rule, there was no reliable information about is a climate (in particular temperature)- the value of the innermost radius of tree-ring sensitive process. A small per cent of seed records (the so-called pith-offset) used, and crops germinates near the northern and because the nature of BAI is nonlinear and upper forest-limits where tree-rings usually difficult to handle. are sampled by dendrochronologists now. Therefore distances between juvenile trees However, it is easy to prove that a new in such a location usually are large, and modified, similar to BAI, index dR(t) • R(t) so other environmental conditions for (where dR(t) is the ring width in the year t, and the tree growth (the sun illumination, soil R(t) is the inner radius of this ring) is a rather nutrition etc.) turn out to be rather favorable good measure of the wood production. because of absence of any between-tree This quasi-linear quantity is robust to the competition. However, one can suppose: geometry of the stem section. Moreover, if climate was much warmer in a past time this quantity seems to be