Preview

Bulletin of Science and Research Center of Construction

Advanced search

Fundamentals of the development of geotechnical and environmental monitoring of the Coastal zone and the water area of the Northern Sea route

https://doi.org/10.37538/2224-9494-2026-2(49)-105-122

EDN: IURBNV

Abstract

Introduction. The article is devoted to monitoring the condition of permafrost soils in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Intensive development of the Arctic combined with climate change leads to permafrost degradation and reduced stability of structures in the region. High rates of temperature drop in the air and soil of the coastal zone and the water area of the Northern Sea Route are indicated.

Aim. Analysis of the state of the permafrost monitoring system and proposals for the creation of a system of geotechnical and environmental monitoring of the coastal zone and the water area of the Northern Sea Route.

Materials and methods. The article presents the main aspects of geotechnical monitoring: assessment, control and forecast of the thermal condition of permafrost soils and assessment of the bearing capacity of foundations of engineering structures.

Results. There is an unsystematic approach to monitoring frozen soils, despite the existing regulatory framework and technical support. The necessity of creating a comprehensive system of state monitoring is indicated.

Conclusions. The necessity of background monitoring of the ecological and climatic consequences of the degradation of terrestrial and underwater permafrost is substantiated. Recommendations are given on monitoring in key areas of ground permafrost, including the coastal Arctic zone and underwater permafrost in the coastal zone and in the waters of the Northern Sea route.

About the Authors

A. G. Alekseev
Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (National Research University)
Russian Federation

Andrey G. Alekseev, Dr. Sci. (Engineering), Associate Professor, Professor 

Yaroslavskoye Shosse, 26, Moscow, 129337 



V. G. Kryuchkov
JSC Research Center of Construction
Russian Federation

Vitaly G. Kryuchkov, Dr. Sci. (Economy), Academician of the REA, General Director 

2nd Institutskaya str., 6, Moscow, 109428 



M. N. Zheleznyak
Melnikov Permafrost Institute SB RAS
Russian Federation

Mikhail N. Zheleznyak, Dr. Sci. (Geology and Mineralogy), Corresponding Member of the RAS, Academician of the Academy of Sciences (Republic Sakha (Yakutia)), Director

Merzlotnaya str., 36, Yakutsk, 677010 



L. I. Lobkovsky
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of Russian Academy of Sciences ; Sirius University of Science and Technology ; Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Federation

Leopold I. Lobkovsky, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Sci. (Physical and Mathematical), Professor P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology

Nakhimovsky Prospekt, 36, Moscow, 117997 

Olimpiyskiy Prospekt, 1, Federal Territory of Sirius, 354349 

Profsoyuznaya st., 84/32, Moscow, 117997



I. P. Semiletov
V.I. Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute Far Eastern Branch Russian Academy of Sciences ; National Research Tomsk State University ; Institute of Ecology, Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation

Igor P. Semiletov, Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Sci. of (Geography)

Baltiyskaya str., 43, Primorsky Krai, Vladivostok, 690041

Lenina street, 36, Tomsk, 634050 

Pokrovskii street, Moscow, 109028 



References

1. Vasiliev A.V., Drozdov A.G. Gravis et al. Permafrost degradation in the Western Russian Arctic. Environmental Research Letters, 2020; 15(4). pp. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab6f12 EDN: ESYZUG

2. Melnikov V.P., Osipov V.I., Brushkov A.V. et al. Adaptation of Arctic and Subarctic infrastructure to changes in permafrost soil temperature. Earth’s Cryosphere, 2021; XXV (6):3–15. DOI: 10.15372/KZ20210601 EDN: HEVLIU

3. Conclusion of the RAS: Draft Federal Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding the Creation of a State System for Monitoring Permafrost Soils” / Vice-President of the RAS V.N. Parmon (23.07.2021). Novosibirsk: SB RAS, 2021.

4. Pavlov A.V. Monitoring of the Cryolithozone. Novosibirsk: Geo, 2008.

5. Alekseev A.G. Geotechnical Monitoring of Permafrost Soils. Moscow: ASV, 2019. 111 p. ISBN: 978-5-4323-0331-8 EDN: VVDBNX

6. Brushkov A.V., Alekseev A.G., Drozdov D.S., et al. Permafrost Monitoring. Moscow: Academichesky Proekt, 2024. 468 p. ISBN: 978-5-8291-4278-0 EDN: YAWPIQ

7. Melnikov V.P., Brushkov A.V., Fedorov R.Yu. Toward a Holistic Image of the Cryosphere. Arctic: Ecology and Economy, 2021; 11(4):519–528. DOI: 10.25283/2223-4594-2021-4-519-528 EDN: JSCDWF

8. Ginsburg G.D., Soloviev V.A. Submarine Gas Hydrates. St. Petersburg: VNIIOkeangeologiya, 1994. 194 p.

9. Makagon Y.F., Holditch S.A., Makagon T.Y. Natural Gas Hydrates – a Potential Energy Source for the 21st Century. J. Petr. Sci. Eng., 2007; 56:14–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2005.10.009

10. Shakhova N.E., Sergienko V.I., Semiletov I.P. Contribution of the East Siberian Shelf to the Modern Methane Cycle. Vestnik RAS, 2009;79(6):507–518. EDN: KMLVQJ

11. Shakhova N., Semiletov I., Leifer I., et al. Geochemical and geophysical evidence of methane release from the inner East Siberian Shelf. Journal Geophys. Res, 2010a, 115, DOI: 10.1029/2009JC005602 EDN: TIIZAX

12. ACIA, 2004. Impacts of a Warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. ACIA Overview report. Cambridge University Press.

13. Vasiliev A.A., Gravis A.G., Gubarkov A.A., et al. Permafrost degradation: results of long-term geocryological monitoring in the western sector of the Russian Arctic. Earth’s Cryosphere, 2020; XXIV (2):15–30. DOI: 10.21782/KZ1560-7496-2020-2(15-30) EDN: HROYGC

14. Biskaborn B.K., Smith S.L., Noetz L.J. et al. Permafrost is warming at a global scale. Nature Communications, 2019; 10(1):264. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08240-4 EDN: HTZKKV

15. Melnikov V.P., Osipov V.I., Brushkov A.V., et al. Climate warming and permafrost thaw in the Russian Arctic: potential economic impacts on public infrastructure by 2050. Natural Hazards, 2022; (112):231– 251. DOI: 10.1007/s11069-021-05179-6 EDN: ZPYQET

16. Streletskiy D.A., Suter L., Shiklomanov N.I., et al. Assessment of climate change impacts on buildings, structures and infrastructure in the Russian regions on permafrost. Environmental Research Letters, 2019; 14(2):025003. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aaf5e6 EDN: AHATIK

17. Suter L., Streletskiy D., Shiklomanov N. Assessment of the cost of climate change impacts on critical infrastructure in the circumpolar Arctic. Polar Geography, 2019; (42):267–286. DOI: 10.1080/1088937X.2019.1686082 EDN: PXPBBS

18. Badina S., Pankratov A. Assessment of the impacts of climate change on the Russian Arctic economy (including the energy industry). Energies, 2022; 15(8). DOI: 10.3390/en15082849 EDN: NNRCTK

19. United Nation. Goals. 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation. URL: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9.

20. Medvedkov A.A. Geoecological factors of the resilience of Arctic cities in the permafrost zone: theoretical approaches to study. Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Geographical Series, 2021; 85(5):726–739. DOI: 10.31857/S2587556621050071 EDN: OGQMWR

21. Khrustalev L.N. Temperature regime of permafrost soils in built-up areas. Moscow: Nauka, 1971. 167 p.

22. Semiletov I., Shakhova N., Romanovsky V. Methane Climate Forcing and Methane Observations in the Siberian Arctic Land-Shelf System. World Resource Review, 2004; 16(4):503–541.

23. Shakhova N.E., Nikol’skii D.Yu., Semiletov I.P. On the current state of subsea permafrost on the East Siberian shelf: testing modeling results with in-situ measurement data. Doklady Akademii Nauk, 2009; 429(6):541–544. EDN: KYGOCN

24. Shakhova N., Semiletov I., Gustafsson O., et al. Current rates and mechanisms of subsea permafrost degradation in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. Nature Communications, 2017; (8):15872. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15872 EDN: XNDEBA

25. Shakhova N., Semiletov I., Leifer I., et al. Ebullition and storm-induced methane release from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. Nature Geoscience, 2014; 7(1):64–70, 2014. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo2007 EDN: SKLLGN

26. Koshurnikov A.V., Tumskoy V.E., Shakhov, N.E., et al. The first ever application of electromagnetic sounding for mapping the submarine permafrost table on the Laptev Sea. Dokl. Earth Sci, 2016; 469:860–863. DOI: 10.1134/S1028334X16080110 EDN: XFIKAN

27. Alekseev D.A., Koshurnikov A.V., Gunar A., et al. Time-Domain Electromagnetics for Subsea Permafrost Mapping in the Arctic: The Synthetic Response Analyzes and Uncertainty Estimates from Numerical Modeling Data. Geosciences, 2023; 13:144. DOI: 10.3390/geosciences13050144 EDN: FCPMCS

28. Zimov S.A., Semiletov I.P., Daviodov S.P., et al. Wintertime CO2 Emission from Soils of Northeastern Siberia. Arctic, 1993; 46(3):197–204. DOI: 10.14430/arctic1344 EDN: VUTHXT

29. Semiletov I.P. Destruction of the coastal permafrost ground as an important factor in biogeochemistry of the Arctic Shelf waters, Trans. Doklady Russian Acad. Sci, 1999; 368:679–682. EDN: MQDSJL

30. Semiletov I.P., Shakhova N.E., Sergienko V.I., et al. On Carbon Transport and Fate in the East Siberian Arctic Land-Shelf-Atmosphere System. Environment Research Letters, 2012; (7). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/015201 EDN: ARLKHH

31. Semiletov I., Pipko I., Gustafsson Ö., et al., Extreme acidification in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf driven by a permafrost-released carbon translocation and seawater freshening. Nature Geoscience, 2016; 9:361–365. DOI: 10.1038/NGEO2695 EDN: UOXOKP

32. Semiletov I.P., Pipko I.I., Shakhova N.E., et al. Carbon transport by the Lena River from its headwaters to the Arctic Ocean, with emphasis on fluvial input of terrestrial particulate organic carbon vs. carbon transport by coastal erosion. Biogeosciences, 2011; 8(9):2407–2426. DOI: 10.5194/bg-8-2407-2011 EDN: JVIOMM

33. Semiletov I.P., Pipko I.I., Repina I.A., Shakhova N. Carbonate dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes across the atmosphere-ice-water interfaces in the Arctic Ocean Pacific sector of the Arctic. Journal of Marine Systems, 2007; 66(1-4):204–226. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2006.05.012 EDN: LKMQTB

34. Natali S.M., Holdren J.P., Rogers B.M., MacDonald E. Permafrost carbon feedbacks threaten global climate goals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2021; 118(21). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100163118 EDN: FEMEWR

35. Soloviev V.A. Forecast of the distribution of the relic subaqueous permafrost zone (using the East Arctic seas as an example). Cryolithozone of the Arctic shelf. Publishing House of the Permafrost Institute of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Yakutsk, 1981, pp. 28–38.

36. Shakhova N., Semiletov I., Sergienko V., et al. The East Siberian Arctic Shelf: towards further assessment of permafrost-related methane fluxes and role of sea ice. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, 2015; 373:20140451. DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2014.0451 EDN: UZYQRR

37. Shakhova N.E., Semiletov I.P. Methane Hydrate Feedbacks, In: Martin Sommerkorn & Susan Joy Hassol, eds., Arctic Climate Feedbacks: Global Implications, Published by WWF International Arctic Program August, 2009; 81–92. ISBN: 978-2-88085-305-1

38. Shakhova N., Semiletov I., Salyuk A., et al. Extensive Methane Venting to the Atmosphere from Sediments of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. Science, 2010; 327(5970):1246–1250. DOI: 10.1126/science.1182221 EDN: MXGVPH

39. Chernykh D., Yusupov V., Salomatin A., et al. Sonar Estimation of Methane Bubble Flux from Thawing Subsea Permafrost: A Case Study from the Laptev Sea Shelf. Geosciences, 2020; 10(10):411. DOI: 10.3390/geosciences10100411 EDN: SQLOLB

40. Chuvilin E., Ekimova V., Bukhanov B., Grebenkin, S., Shakhova N., Semiletov I. Role of Salt Migration in Destabilization of Intra Permafrost Hydrates in the Arctic Shelf: Experimental Modeling. Geosciences, 2019; 9:188. DOI: 10.3390/geosciences9040188 EDN: EEEMKL

41. Yusupov V., Semiletov I. Understanding the processes associated with the formation and decomposition of gas hydrates on the Arctic shelf. Fuel, 2025; 388:134472. DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2025.134472 EDN: TMWDYY

42. Semiletov I.P., Shakhova N.E. Greenhouse Gas Balance and Climate Change: The Role of Permafrost Degradation in the Arctic. Bulletin of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2024, no. 4, pp. 5–43. DOI: 10.31857/S0869769824040015


Review

For citations:


Alekseev A.G., Kryuchkov V.G., Zheleznyak M.N., Lobkovsky L.I., Semiletov I.P. Fundamentals of the development of geotechnical and environmental monitoring of the Coastal zone and the water area of the Northern Sea route. Bulletin of Science and Research Center of Construction. 2026;49(2):105-122. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.37538/2224-9494-2026-2(49)-105-122. EDN: IURBNV

Views: 195

JATS XML


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 2224-9494 (Print)
ISSN 2782-3938 (Online)