Conceptual-nomenclative system applied for description of the morphology and structure of the Earth's surface relief is implicitly based on the basic concepts of its steps, zonality, and stratification. Steps are one of the main morphologic characteristics of relief and exist at the every level of its organization. The concept of zonality helps to describe the main features of relief structure, which are manifested by altitude alternation of complexes of morphologically similar forms. Stratification of relief has mostly temporal sense and characterizes the sequences of different age landform complexes and stages of their development.

Arid geomorphology - a scientific direction proposed and developed by the author. The region of investigation in this field - sublatitudinal Afro-Asian arid belt, which has geographical (temperate zone of the north-eastern quarter sphere), tectonic (Mediterranean Alpine belt), morphostructural (platforms, young platforms, microplates), landscape-climatic (deserts, semideserts, steppes), geomorphologic (large plains), and historic-civilization (centers of the main ancient civilizations) unity. Arid plain relief is the subject of investigation; the end of the Late Pleistocene, Holocene, and contemporaneity constitute its time limits. The objectives of arid geomorphology are learning the eolean geomorphic systems - the relief of adjacent deflation and accumulation plains developing in unity, reconstruction of relief evolution in the arid plain regions, and using certain geomorphologic situations and scenarios of evolution for forecasting their possible recurrence in the future.

In the process of historic-genetic reconstruction of relief, it is expedient to consider the landforms as three- dimensional geologic objects with the conformai structural and substantial content. At the first stage of reconstruction, the lifetime and signs (positive, negative) of landforms as areas of denudation and accumulation are evaluated. At the second stage, the age estimation is fulfilled with the use of all available information of the genetic types and ranks of landforms, as well as the composition and the age of structural-substantial complexes. At the third stage, it is necessary to reconstruct the general evolution and the sequence of the landforms conversion alongside the analysis of their ancestral features and possible changes in the morphological and genetic characteristics. The absolute dating of the geomorphologic objects is performed only after determining their genotypes and ranks. The absolute (physical) time of forming the most ancient conformal geological complexes serves here as a principal criterion. The term "morphological age" characterizes the stage of the form development and indicates the time of the last phase of active morphogenesis - the phase when landforms have taken the shape close to the current one.

The protective harbour constructions have an essential impact on morpholithodynamics of the adjacent area of coastal zone. Being artificial capes, port piers make for secondary breaking up of coastal line and, as a consequence, reduce the longitudinal proportion of deposit transport in coastal zone and increase the transverse one.

The mean annual volumes of land-loss (15500 tons) and gully erosion (1450 tons) in the Elovka river catch basin during the period 1937-2008 were calculated. In these years, the intensity of erosion-accumulation processes changed periodically. Alterations in the land-use played the main role in the dynamics of out-wash, breaking accumulation of delivium and proluvium. Seasonal and annual differences in the amount and intensity of precipitation had additional effect on the rates of erosion-accumulative processes.

Erosion and abrasion play the main role in the relief formation and sedimentation in the basin of Novosibirsk Reservoir. These processes caused important changes of morphometric characteristics of the basin. For instance, the average thickness of accreted sediments has reached 0.94 m, the Reservoir total capacity has reduced by 1.02 km³, its average and maximum depth and water area have diminished notably, but average and maximum width have increased. The shoreline length, the number and area of island have changed too. The character of these changes is similar to changes in other reservoirs of this type.

The digital modeling includes: 1) digitizing of the paper-based environmental map (i. e. scanning and vectorization of each list of the map); 2) transformation of the obtained seamless layer in order to fit it with the elements of the Moscow digital base map, made by Mosgorgeotrest (scale 1:10 000); 3) vector data verification. The resulting vector polygon data layer (modeled in AcrInfo, ESRI, Inc., USA) consists of more than 3 000 polygons with attributes corresponding to the map legend. The map legend shows: 1) genetic types of relief and landforms; 2) hazardous engineering-geological processes which have already happened or may happen soon. The scale of the created digital environmental map is 1:50 000. An additional component of the digital eco-geomorphologic model of Moscow is detailed digital elevation model (DEM). 3D Analyst (ArcGIS) was used to visualize DEM in 3D-pictures, to extract simple derivatives (hypsometry, slope and aspect, plan and profile curvature, roughness). These data allowed us to create some geomorphic maps of the test site - the territory of Moscow protected area "Vorobyovy Gory". Statistical analysis of the geomorphic data distribution was fulfilled. The quality of the model not only provides the acquiring knowledge of the urban agglomeration and fulfilling the complex of its eco-geo- morphological estimations, but also helps the solution of urban planning and management.

During the period 1798-2010 braided channel formed two times in one and the same part of the main delta branch near the Astrakhan' City. Braid bars within this zone developed into vegetated and relatively stabilized islands. Main causes of substantial decrease of bedload sediments mobility were lower discharge in the main branch as a result of significant flow interception by secondary branches and local widening of the main channel. First braiding zone existed for about 90 years. The second (recurrent) braiding began to form in 1910-1914. The socalled Gorodskoy Island still exists today. Main reasons for prolonged existence of the braided channel are human activities, namely water discharge and sediment transport regulation by the Volgograd Reservoir dam and dredging in the main channel arms around the island.

New bathymetric map of the western part of the Japan Sea has been compiled on the basis of marine geophysical survey data. The description of the main morphological structures is given and the dominant role of extensional processes in the sea floor structure formation is shown. The secondary processes are the subsidence of the North Korean Plateau, volcanic activity, and sedimentation in the Neogene.

Mechanisms of the three types of low hill landscape (LH) are described. LH of watersheds is forming by exhumation processes, which wash out the crust of weathering on the planation surfaces and denude the inequalities of paleo relief. Karst, deflation, sheet wash and pediments formation are important parts of this process. Formation of slope LH is well described in literature. Streamside LH rises due to water erosion under the conditions of little basis changes. Prismatic shape of the hills is its characteristic feature. Selective denudation of heterogeneous substrate complicates all three relief types.

Total area of ancient (Late Cenozoic) mud-volcanic landforms of the South Levant amounts 482 km². There are 71 isolated fields larger than 0.1 km² on the geologic maps. Mud-volcanic landforms of Israel occupy 124 km², of Jordan - 358 km². Minimal estimate of the total volume of mud volcanic rocks comprises 14.46 km². Different field of the Mottled Zone rocks are represented (depending on their value) by single volcanoes or by close or joint ones.

In the northeastern Stavropol Highland erosion network depth and density were much higher at the Middle/Late Pleistocene (MP/LP) boundary than at present. During the Valdai (Vistulian) cold epoch of the LP, erosion network was filled with slope and alluvial deposits. Probable incision in the Late Glacial interrupted the infilling tendency, but the erosion network rejuvenation had much smaller scales compared to the preceding erosion dissection. Therefore, the upper reaches of the erosion network at the MP/LP boundary were almost buried and transformed into hollow systems by the beginning of the Holocene, while in lower reaches thick LP deposits make wide valley bottoms. In the Holocene, sedimentation processes proceeded both in hollows and in small valleys, but their rates decreased considerably. Land cultivation started in the region in the middle XIXth century. During the last 150 years, sedimentation in valley and hollow bottoms continued to prevail over erosion. This shows that artificial lowering of landscape sustainability by land cultivation has not led to incision along the modern and ancient erosion network. The probable explanation is that modern climate is not so favorable for erosion as it was at the MP/ LP boundary and in the Late Glacial.

Geomorphological heritage of A.P. Dedkov

Present paper states review on book "Сhannel processes and alluvial placers formation"

Ekaterina Fedorovna Zorina passed away on her 78 year of .

Vladimir Il’ich Moszherin passed away on her 62 year of .

Mikhail Petrovich Zhidkov passed away.