Based on the analysis of published sources, topographic maps, and satellite images, new data were obtained on the hydrological regime, morphology, size and dynamics of river deltas in the lakes inthe mountains of southern Russia and Mongolia. For high mountain lakes (Baikal, Issyk-Kul, Son-Kul, Chatyr-Kul, Sevan, lakes of Mongolia), most small rivers form alluvial fans with numerous channels. Large rivers flowing into the valley bays form multi-arm lobed padded deltas (Issyk-Kul Lake). Less common are blocked estuaries, deltas filling estuarine lagoons and prograding deltas on the open coasts (Lake Baikal, some lakes of Mongolia). The most studied are the river deltas flowing into Lake Baikal and Issyk-Kul. During the Pleistocene, River Selenga formed three alluvial fans with a total area of 1.8 thousand km 2 : 1) the Middle Pleistocene fan at 12–13 m above the level of Lake Baikal (457 m a.s.l.); 2) the Late Pleistocene fan at 8–12 m, and 3) the Holocene fan at 0.5–2 m. Over the past 78 thousand years, the Selenga River has prograded its delta by about 20 km into the lake. For the period 1980–2013 no delta growth has been observed.

Lake Issyk-Kuls level fluctuations had a strong influence on the formation of the hydrographic network of the Issyk-Kul basin and on the dynamics of river mouths. Deep regression at the end of the Upper Pleistocene led to a lake area reduction by 2000 km², incision of the rivers of the Issyk-Kul basin into lacustrine shelf deposits and the development of erosive river valleys along the entire perimeter of the lake, preserved to date in the form of flooded underwater valleys. In the recent epoch, most of the rivers of the Issyk-Kul basin have cut through mouth estuaries and over the past 150 years have formed various morphodynamic types of deltas (from the open-coast alluvial fans to multi-branch deltas filling ingression gulfs). One to three km elongation of the high-discharge rivers occurred during this period. The increase in the area of river deltas over the past 30 years (the total effect of the decrease of the lake level and accumulation of alluvium) ranged from 0.01 to 0.07 km². Several large rivers of Russia (Upper Angara, Selenga) and Mongolia (Teysin-Gol, KobdoGol) have delta areas from 200 to 500 km², the remaining deltas do not exceed 50 km². The current progradaion rate of most lake deltas over the past 30 years is very low due to an extremely insignificant load of suspended sediment, with the exception of some large rivers.

Global environmental and climate changes, continued anthropogenic impacts on environment, affect the runoff of rivers, their water regime and sediment load – the main factors of river channel processes. As a result, river channels transform in response to changes. The most sensitive to driving factors are alluvial and braided rivers. The changes include the complication of braided patterns, the replacement of one morphodynamic type by others; the increase in number of islands in channels due to the overgrowth of mid-bars; the dispersion of water flow and, as a result, the decrease in sediment transport capacity of rivers. Braided patterns start to form on bends, the processes of meanders straightening are activated, cut-off bends are formed. Transformation of braided channel is the result of their natural evolution and development under stable conditions due to the self-development of braided channels themselves, as well as the direct human impacts on river channels and channel processes. The paper presents the argument for both, natural environmental and climate changes, as well as anthropogenic impacts on the braided channels transformation and formation of new braided patterns. They are followed by an increase in manifestations of dangerous channel processes and affect the utilization of river resources. They must be taken into account when developing water management projects, use of rivers as waterways, constructing communications, etc.

The article presents the results of applying spectral analysis (the method of two-dimensional Fourier transformation) for the study of the deep-water relief of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Due to the difficult research conditions in the World Ocean, a significant part of the work, primarily at the exploratory stage, is carried out using remote sensing techniques, including using a variety of prognostic maps based on morphometric characteristics of the bottom surface. The new method appying spectral analysis of the deep-sea relief to predict the localization of the sulphides using the Student’s t-test, was developed by authors. Using the bathymetric data of ten ore fields in the studied region, we identified the criteria for the spectral deformation components of the bottom surface as prospecting signs for sulphide deposits. As a result of the research, a number of perspective local areas connected to geologic structures, where hydrothermal ore formation is possible, were identified. A prognostic map has been created for prospecting deep-sea polymetallic sulphides in the southern part of the Russian exploration area.

Various sedimentary archives at the Karelian coast of the White Sea (Kindo Peninsula, White Sea Biological Station area) as the paleoseismic fault trenches filling, marine terraces sections and buried shell lenses have been studied. The results were obtained by applying the paleoseismological approach in course of detailed field studies with the identification of characteristic morphological, structural and dynamic features of ancient earthquakes. The lithostratigraphic study of depositional sequence was verified by radiocarbon, diatom, plant macrofossil analysis of peat and the degree of its decomposition and loss-of-ignition analyzes. It was established that the earthquake that generated the seismic fault trench system occurred in the Late Glacial or Early Holocene with the formation of a seismic underwater fracture, and the trench “opened” because of the subsequent lifting of the bottom, erosion and removal of fragmented rocks in the wave-breaking zone shortly before filling it with Holocene sediments. Sediments that filled the paleoseismic trench accumulated over the period from 9 ka BP to the present, with a break for passage through the coastal zone. They demonstrate a successive change from marine sedimentary environment (gray silt with Hiatella arctica shells, dated back to 9 ka BP) to coastal-marine (sand with clasts), then again to an isolated, gradually desalinated lagoon-type sea gulf (mica silt dated back to 3 ka BP), and ultimately – swamp overgrown with spruce forest (woody peat dated back to 2 ka BP). The structure of the upper part of the section could be caused by a) a weak rise in sea level in the Late Holocene, or b) a weak lowering of the block of the earth’s crust with a seismic trench located on it.

New data were obtained on specific features of subfossil malacofauna taphocoenosis formation in the Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea and on the changes of sedimentation environment under the conditions of rising coast. The traces of strong seismicity in the Late Galcial epoch and postglacial time were discovered. Therefore, a comprehensive approach to the study of seismogenic forms combined with a full range of age-related markers of various paleogeographic events proved to be very productive.

Atlas of the cultural and natural heritage of Dagestan is a comprehensive cartographic work, which displays objects of archeology, history, ethnography, socio-economic sphere and nature, cultural, historical and natural heritage. The development of the Atlas is based on previously acquired experience in creating the Geographic and other atlases of Dagestan and involves the use of a number of methodological innovations, one of which is the use of typical contour maps with different physical and geographical outlines of coastal territories in specific historical eras. We are talking primarily about the coastline of the Caspian Sea, which has noticeably changed in the historical timescale. This approach allows to map the main historical milestones of the interaction of resettlement systems and households of the inhabitants of the Mountain Country with a very dynamic natural environment of this region. So, archaeological maps revealing the sites of pre-historic humans within the modern borders of the Republic of Dagestan include the lines of the Caspian coast in the ancient periods of sea transgressions and regressions. The atlas includes maps showing information on the dynamics and evolution of the Caspian coast for different historical eras as a result of sea level fluctuations and the variability of the Dagestan hydrographic network and the dynamics of the Terek delta and the mouth of Sulak. The history of the Caspian Sea level fluctuations was reconstructed starting from the regressive phase of sea level stand during pre-Bakinian time, when sufficiently reliable geological and geomorphological data were available to estimate, the amplitude and age of level changes. The Bakinian transgression, which consisted of two stages: Early Bakinian and Late Bakinian took place in the beginning of the Brunnes Era. Even more data is available for reconstruction of Early and Late Khazarian, and subsequent transgressions and regressions of the Caspian Sea, the boundaries of which are reflected on the map of the Paleolithic Era. The Atlas is divided into two parts, the first is represented by historical and cultural maps, the second – by the maps on natural and economic heritage of the Mountain Country. The introductory section includes basic maps on physical geography, the modern administrative-territorial division of Dagestan and its position in the North Caucasus Federal District. In total and in accordance with the work plan, the Atlas includes 100 major maps and more than 30 inset maps. A total of about 50 scientists and practitioners with different scientific profiles from the Dagestan Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences institutes, Makhachkala universities, and Lomonosov Moscow State University took part in this work.

The article discusses the origin of runoff channels in the Keltma hollow (Keltma spillway), which is a through valley between the Vychegda and Kama basins. The research conducted using field (GPR survey, cores drilling, radiocarbon, spore-pollen analysis) and remote sensing (interpretation of satellite images, calculation of topographic wetness index) methods that made possible to determine the time and speculate on the causes of their formation. The location of runoff channels on the Kalininian (Early Weichselian, MIS 4–5) lake terrace surface and their traces on the surface of the Kama first terrace limits their age to a period of no more than Ostashkov (Late Weichselian, MIS 2) epoch. The same is indicated by the location of these formations hypsometrically above the South Keltma, Timsher and Pilva valley systems, the formation of which falls on the period after the completion of the LGM 18–13 ka. The probability of relict landforms formation under the periglacial conditions of the Ostashkov stage is indirectly confirmed by the results of pollen studies from the in-fill of the largest channel – the so called Large Terrace Hollow. Scour formation in the aeolian plume body is proposed as the most likely model for the runoff channels formation in the Keltma hollow. The aeolian sand plume served as a dam of a reservoir filled with icedammed waters from the Vychegda basin.

An autonomous Imeretian canyon system has been distinguished, including Nekrasovsky, Chernomorets, Tsimlyansky and Imeretinsky canyons with their numerous tributary channels connecting at a depth of 600 m into a single canyon and separated from neighboring canyon systems by underwater ridges extending to depths of up to 1 km. According to its lithodynamic connection with the coastal zone, the distinguished system is assigned to the lateral type. The main morphometric indicators of erosion hollows included in the Imeretian system are given. The intensity of the morpholithodynamic processes is dependent on the remoteness of the upper canyons from the coast, including the possibility of coarse clastic material transport into the Tsimlyansky and Imeretian canyons. A characteristic feature of the Imeretian Canyon, in contrast to the Novy and Konstantinovsky canyons, was that the adjacent ridge continues as an extend of the tip of coastal cape (Imeretian Cape) down to the depth of 400 m. By the presence of erosion hollows located west of the Imeretian Cape, it can be assumed that the Imeretian system of canyons was formed as a result of erosion activity along the coastal flow directed from the mouth of the river Mzymta towards the river Psou.

The article contains a historical review on the geomorphologic zoning in Russia, which has been developing in our country for more than 100 years. Original and effective approaches to both complex and particular geomorphological zoning, both typological, regional, and individual, have been proposed, differing both in area of coverage and in research objectives. The issues of particular regionalization, depending on the tasks set, turned out to be better developed and conceptually justified. In matters of integrated regionalization, especially over the past 40 years, a certain lag has formed. Various methodological approaches and principles of geomorphologic zoning had been analyzed for their achievements and shortcomings. The evolutionary progressive character and continuity in the development of approaches to the geomorphologic zoning of Russia, the need for their further improvement are noted. It is recommended to use geomorphological zoning as a tool for both knowledge and economic use of the territory, management of the Russian economy.

The vast geomorphological heritage of the outstanding German scientist Albrecht Penck mainly related to general geomorphology, the geomorphology of mountains, climatology, hydrology and hypsometric maps, has so far been insufficiently known by Soviet/Russian geomorphologists. His fundamental studies are related to the last twenty years of the 19^th and the first quarter of the 20^th century. He was engaged in fieldwork in Europe–mainly in the Alps and the Danube basin, the mountains of Spain, North Morocco, and also in Canada, Australia, China, Japan and some other countries, and created the first classification of climates. Together with Eduard Bruckner, he was co-author of a concept of ancient glaciation; they were the first to identify the four ice ages of the European Pleistocene (Gunz, Mindel, Riss, Würm). Albrecht Penck enriched geomorphology with the concept of “summit level of denudation”. He was convinced that the heights of the snow- and forest-line were responsible for mountain heights, the rate of denudation and therefore, determine the height of the summit level of denudation (gipfelflur) for each climate. Later, he moved away from these ideas and introduced the term “summit surface” poining to the constant eleveation of the summit levels without explaining the phenomenon per se. Academician Konstantin Markov spoke of Albrecht Penck as one of the prominent geomorphologists with rich scientific heritage and as “Nestor the Chronicler of foreign geomorphology”. For a long time Penck was a Director of the Institute and Museum of Oceanography in Berlin and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He was well-known in the academic circles of Russia, some of his works were published in Russian; he regularly visited Russia and was elected honorary member of the Moscow Society of Naturalists, Russia’s oldest society of nature explorers set up in 1805. In 1859, von Humboldt-Ritter Stiftung (the Humboldt-Ritter Foundation) was set up in Germany and actively functioned after their deaths. After Pencks death died in 1945 the foundation was transformed to Humboldt-Ritter-Penck Foundation, and has been active up to now days.