ИСТИНА

Sea ice can execute direct mechanical, thermal and physical-chemical impact on the coasts and bottom. Among these processes, the most dangerous is ice gouging – mechanical destruction of bottom grounds by sea ice. This process is well known and relatively well described for the Arctic seas. For freezing seas of the temperate climatic zone, in particular, Caspian Sea, this process is specific due to the bottom topography, bottom sediment composition and hydrometeorologic factors. In the last two decades, exploration of carbohydrate reserves was activated within the Northern Caspian Sea region. For the development of underwater pipelines and other objects of oil and gas infrastructure, reliable assessment of the intensity of the ice hummocky formations’ impact on the bottom is necessary. The impact of ice formations on the bottom of the Northern Caspian is attributed to much shallower areas compared with the Arctic seas. Ice gouging forms are difficult to document by standard geophysical investigations for building purposes due to high hydraulic instability of the bottom grounds at the Northern Caspian. As a rule, all traces of the ice impact are eroded by waves by the time of the investigations, usually taking place in summer. Due to this, the factor of ice impact was often ignored during the development and construction of oil and gas transportation infrastructure. Nevertheless, new opportunities of assessment of the ice formations' impact on the sea bottom have appeared due to the development of remote sensing methods. In this way, on satellite imagery of the exposed bottom of the Aral Sea, situated close to the Caspian Sea and experiencing considerable regression, we found numerous ice gouging forms. Studies of these forms will provide insights into the scales and mechanisms of sea ice impact on the bottom of the Caspian.