Based on the model of an oceanic island-arc breakup followed by accretion of rear and frontal parts of an arc to a continental margin of North-East Asia, the geodynamic nature of the ophiolites of Kamchatka and South Koryakia has been considered. The suprasubduction zone (SSZ) ophiolites originated in back-arc, fore-arc and intra-arc settings have been distinguished, and ophiolites of an ocean type have been distinguished only in one locality. The models of a SSZ ophiolites origin have been proposed. The emplacement of back-arc ophiolites has been supposed to be a result of the collapse (a closure) of a marginal basin, the emplacement of fore-arc ophiolites has been thought to be caused by their “pushing out” from a fore-arc basin, and the emplacement of the intra-arc basin ophiolites has been ascribed to a piling up of a newly formed basin crust before the beginning of the subduction. The emplacement of the ocean-type ophiolite in the front of the Olyutorsky folded structure has been attributed to a sliding accretion along the strike-slip fault movement related to the change in the motion direction of the Pacific plate 47 Ma ago.

Three stages, namely Middle Devonian (I), Early Late Devonian (II) and Late Late Devonian (III), are distin-guished in the evolution of antiarchs (Placodermi, Antiarchi) in the Middle-Late Devonian of Northern Eurasia. These stages are set by changing the systematic composition, appearance and extinctions of antiarch taxons, as well as the dominance of different antiarch groups in the ichthyocomplexes. The first stage is of Eifelian and Givetian in age and characterized by the development mainly of the asterolepiform antiarchs of the families Pterichthyodidae and Asterolepididae, as also by the primitive bothriolepiform Dianolepididae. Rare bothriolepidids were present in some regions of Northern Eurasia. The second (Frasnian) stage is marked by the bothriolepidid increasing in numbers. The bothriolepidids became widely spread in Northern Eurasia. The third stage is of Famennian in age and described mainly by the bothriolepiforms from the families Bothriolepididae and Tubalepididae. Rare remigolepids were present among asterolepiforms during this stage. The characteristic of the stages is given, and position of their borders is discussed. The most significant changes in taxonomic composition of the antiarch fauna in the Northern Eurasia occurred at (or near) the borders of Givetian and Frasnian, Frasnian and Famennian ages.

Septaria of the Ulyanovsk region are high-quality jewelry and ornamental material. Septaria are associated with lower Cretaceous sediments and are located in the coastal cliffs and the beach area of the Volga river. Septaria consist mainly of calcite — 89 wt. %. Aluminosilicates, quartz, pyrite, ferric oxide, organic matter are present in small amounts. In the streaks of calcite the presence of the microinclusions of graphite, gold, layered aluminosilicates, vernadite, magnetite, and bacteria impregnated with iron oxide, has been established by electron microscopic analysis. Calcite streaks of the septaria have a wide range of colors and textures. The color of calcite is influenced by the admixture of Fe and Mn. The contents of radioactive and carcinogenic elements are close to the background.

The distribution in the geological section of two groups of sedimentary rocks, siliceous and carbonate rocks of different composition — has been examined. Acid-base conditions of external geospheres have been reconstructed in consideration of the peculiar conditions of the formation of rocks of different material composition. The acidic environments have been shown to be such conditions in the Archean period, the alkaline environments — in the Proterozoic, and slightly alkaline — in the Phanerozoic. At the same time, in the Archean the weathering was purely chemical, prebiogenic, which determined the intense removal of iron and silica from the basic igneous rocks that covered the surface of the early Earth. The emergence of cyanobacterial photosynthesizing communities, utilization of carbon dioxide led to the change to alkaline environment, which determined the accumulation of magnesites and dolomites. The diverse biota of the Phanerozoic caused the formation of pH values close to modern. The mechanisms and forms of the deposition of carbonate and siliceous materials changed alongside with the evolution of life.

The new data on the composition of kimberlite indicator minerals (KIM) — pyropes and picroilmenites — of the first kimberlite body T-54-14, opened in 2015 in the Syuldyukar kimberlite field by the geologists of ALROSA PJSC, during the verification of the anomaly T-54-14, have been given. The pyropes of the kimberlite body T-54-14 are rep-resented mainly by the differences of the lherzolite paragenesis, the concentration of pyropes of the diamondiferous dunite-harzburgite paragenesis is low and does not exceed 1,8%. Among the picroilmenites the low-chromium varieties prevail, with the content of magnesium 5—9 wt. % MgO, the low-magnesium high-chromium varieties are absent. The comparison data with KIM of Khatyryk (Syuldyukar field) and Vostochny (Ygyatta field) high-contrast halos, allocated within the Ygyatta diamondiferous region, have been provided. The pyropes from the Khatyryk halo are close in composition to the pyropes of the kimberlite body T-54-14, but show a higher concentration of manganese — 0,5 wt.% MnO. The picroilmenites from the Khatyryk halo are distinguished mainly by the presence of high-chromium high- and low-magnesium varieties. KIM from the Vostochny halo also have differences in the composition in comparison with the KIM of the kimberlite body T-54-14. A higher concentration of wehrlite (10%) and diamondiferous duniteharzburgite (7%) pyropes has been established, pyropes have a lower (0,45 wt.%) concentration of MnO, high-chromium low-magnesium varieties of picroilmenites have been identified. The presence of high-contrast halos of IMK, significant differences in the mineral composition, direct findings the diamonds and pyropes without marks of mechanical wears in the sedimentary Carbon and Permian deposits with low reservoir properties indicate a high pros-pect for the discovery of a industrial diamonds kimberlites in the Ygyatta region.

The gold mineralization of the Kamchatka median massif has been analyzed. It has been shown that within its lim-its, the ore mineralization of low-sulphide gold-quartz and gold-sulfide-quartz formations and also placers, formed on the base of this mineralization are widely developed. A significant role is played also by the ore occurrences of the gold-copper-molybdenum-porphyry formation, prospecting for the discovery of large deposits with complex ores. Gold in the form of associated component is also presented in the ores of the Shanuch deposit and manifestations of the sulfide copper-nickel formation. Three stages of ore formation have been identified: late Cretaceous, Eocene and Miocene. In the late Cretaceous stage mineralization of gold-quartz and gold-sulfide-quartz formation was formed, in the Eocene — sulfide copper-nickel one, and in the Miocene — gold-copper-molybdenum-porphyry one. The pros-pects of gold mineralization of the median massif has been defined.

One of the most effective methods in the geotechnical construction at the urban conditions, which allows providing the stabilization of the rocks and elimination of the ingress of water into the mine workings, in a short time and with minimal damage, is the jet technology (JetGrouting) of fixing of the soils. But with all advantages of JetGrouting technology, its wide application is constrained by the lack of the methodology for choosing the ratio of the fixed space volume to the unfixed, which significantly complicates the appointment of design characteristics of the system «mine working-massif of rocks to be fixed». In this regard, it was necessary to carry out the mathematical modeling of the parameters of this system. Engineering-geological conditions typical for the central part of Moscow have been accepted as initial data. The substantiation of design parameters of the system during the penetration of mining with round section in weak soils by their advanced fixing by a grouting has been presented.

The solution of a three-dimensional problem of geoelectric on a direct current is discussed. The solution of this task is constructed on the basis of global decomposition (GDAM). The algorithm consists in iterative reconstruction of the decision from two basic elements — field of a point source in the layered (background) environment and solution in a local insertion. As a background (normal) model, the horizontally layered environment is used, in one of layers of which the point source of direct current is located. The background environment contains limited inclusion with enough arbitrary distribution of specific electrical resistance. The problem consists in studying of influence of an insertion on the normal field. The work of the algorithm of the solution of a task is illustrated on the example of a homogeneous half-space (the three-layer horizontally layered environment with identical conductivity of layers). The point source is located in the first layer. The second layer contains a homogeneous local body (a rectangular parallelepiped or a finite cylinder). Solutions of tasks of Dirikhle for Laplace’s equation in these bodies are known. For the improving of the accuracy of calculations in a parallelepiped, the little change of an algorithm of calculation of potential was needed. Acceleration of calculations was provided by the calculations of Fourier coefficients with the use of direct discrete sine transformation.On the basis of the algorithms given in the work, the programs of calculation of potential in local insertions are developed and the numerical experiments which allowed presenting graphically calculation results and making assessments of accuracy of calculations, are executed.

The transformation of the environment (EM), its geological components, due to the intensification of technogenesis caused a response in foreign science: it was proposed to name the period of the development of this process as «anthropocene» and officially recognize the term as a subsection of the Holocene era in the framework of the Quarter General Stratigraphic scale (Anthropogen). This recognition implies a planetary representativeness of the process, which is actually absent. There is also no consensus on the time threshold for the start of the estimated period. Various authors date the threshold from 8 thousand years ago (comparable in duration with the Holocene) to the present time. Illustrative examples of the anthropogenic transformations of the EM are presented in Eurasia. Thus, in Western Europe, the intensification of such activities is associated with the beginning of the industrial revolution (the end of the 18th century), which was observed in Russia about 100 years later (the second half of the 19th century). In the South-Eastern Baltic, conflicting changes in the state of the water area, shores and the bottom have been occurring since the end of the 19th century and up to the present. They are mechanical (catastrophic abrasion of the coast, port of Libava), ecological and radiation-hygienic in nature (pollution of the water area, burial at the bottom of the chemical waste of World Wars, emissions of deadly shells and bombs, echoes of the Chernobyl disaster). The reference point for the use and testing of nuclear weapons since 1945 is the fallout of radionuclides in Eurasia. Temporary thresholds and powers of influence are determined by the industrial development of civilizations, which is uneven in time and space. In remote corners of the planet, the term «anthropocene» loses its meaning. An analysis has shown that the term’s ratification within the chronostratigraphic scale is unacceptable.

Vernadsky State Geological Museum of Russian Academy of Sciences is the oldest museum of natural history in Moscow. About 170 years of its history were connected with the Moscow Imperial University, and the formation of museum collections is tightly connected with the names of the outstanding Russian naturalists such as G.I. Fischer von Waldheim, G.E. Shchurovsky, A.P. Pavlova, M.V. Pavlova, V.I. Vernadsky, and their students and followers. Later, the museum was divided in two parts: Geological and Mineralogical cabinets, than they turned to the museums (Mineralogical and Geological-Paleontological museums). From 1930 to 1987 the both museums belonged to the Moscow Geological Prospecting Institute, and its professors and students largely contributed to the collections. In 1987, two museums were combined to the Vernadsky State Geological Museum of RAS (SGM RAS), which now is the largest scientific and educational center in the fields of geology and mining.

The reviewed book is a popular scientific summary of the Mesozoic fauna of the Volga region. Many remains of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and pliosaurs, which are extremely important for understanding the evolution of Mesozoic marine reptiles, were preserved in the rocks left over from the Russian sea. In recent years, many researches were done for their study in Russia, more, than in the previous two centuries. It became apparent that the genera and species of marine reptiles were virtually identical across the planet. The Volga region with its extensive deposits of the Mesozoic sea is one of the most important regions in the world for the study of reptiles and fills several «white spots» in their history. The book also tells about sea crocodiles, sea turtles, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, birds, fish, and various cephalopods. The data on the features of their morphology and lifestyle, geographical and stratigraphic distribution, information about the paleogeographic situation and its changes during the Mesozoic era have been analyzed. Data on the most known and productive locations have been given. The prospects of further research have been considered.