Ventspils apkārtnes apdzīvojums 17.–18. gadsimtā

The article deals with questions relating to the settlement in the area of Ventspils. Attention is gi-ven to environmental factors that could have had a greater or lesser influence on the settlement structure. The stream bank erosion along the River Venta had a relatively small impact on populated areas, while the wind erosion (sand deposition) caused the individual farms as well as villages to be abandoned. The Great Plague epidemic of 1710 was particularly devastating in the Ventspils area, during which about 40% of farms disappeared and most of them were not restored until the end of the 18th century. Final abandon-ment of farms, their renovation or addition of the former farmland to the land of the manor caused chan-ges in the population structure.

BASIC LAWS AND LOCAL FEATURES OF DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED RIVERBEDS (results of monitoring observations)

The article describes the results of monitoring of stream-bank erosion on small and medium-sized rivers of Central Russia - the wide-bottomed Kerzhents and Sherna and the narrow-bottomed embedded Tarusa. It was found that horizontal channel deformations generally occur according to the expected patterns: erosion of concave banks of bends, alluvium of their convex banks, curvature and then straightening. However, both on medium and small rivers, local non-fluvial factors interfere with this process, disrupting the interaction of the flow and the valley floor, bringing elements of unpredictability to typical channel deformations. This is especially noticeable on embedded rivers that lack a wide floodplain - a natural buffer that protects the channel from the effects of slope and other processes occurring on the slopes and in the near-valley parts of the watersheds.

Sustainable development and reconstruction of the architectural ensemble in Kirzhach, depending on the natural processes on its territory

The architectural ensemble of the convent, which has been developing since the XV century in the city of Kirzhach in the center of the European part of Russia, is under the influence of processes in soils and water bodies on its territory. Ignorance of builders of the past centuries about processes repeatedly led to accidents of constructions. Preserved ancient buildings have deformation marks in bearing structures. They are caused by the slow horizontal movement of soils towards the valley side of the river Kirzhach, which stands from the deformed, but not destroyed by the process cathedral on tens of meters. The process of horizontal movement of soils to the river is stimulated by lateral erosion – stream bank erosion by river. In the result of geo-ecological research, on the plan of the ensemble territory were identified areas, which are to different extents exposed to dangerous for constructions natural processes. The measures on protection of existing constructions of the ensemble from dangerous natural and technology-induced processes are recommended, the design of foundations of new constructions capable to protect the top constructions of buildings from harmful influences of geological environment is submitted.