Environmental and climatic impact of mining and oil-and-gas production in the Caspian region

The article considers the current environmental situation in the Caspian region, characterized by instability caused by a number of anthropogenic factors. The mining and oil-and-gas industries in the region remain among the main driving forces of economic development of the countries in the region, exerting a significant impact on the environment of the Caspian Sea. The specifics of the impact of a particular mine on the environment are determined by the geological and geochemical features of the deposits, and by the equipment and technology in operation. The main areas of the environmental impact of mines are: extraction of mineral resources (fuel and energy resources, non-ferrous and ferrous metals, mining and chemical raw materials, hydromineral resources) and environmental resources (land, water, air, flora, fauna); chemical and thermal pollution of the biosphere; physical impact (acoustic, electromagnetic, radioactive). The scale of extraction of solid minerals from the subsoil depends on the mining technology, which can be either open or underground. Mining operations, depending on the technology, cause significant changes in the environment, such as disturbance of the surface over the mined-out voids and formation of waste and low-grade ore dumps in the area of mining operations. Continuous monitoring of ambient environment and offshore zone is justified. Monitoring of oil pollution of sea surface revealed resistant pollution zones and identified pollution sources intrinsic to different parts of the Caspian Sea. These are: the aquatic areas of the Absheron and Baku Archipelagos; Oil Stones production area; a part of water zone westward of the Cheleken Peninsula, Turkmenistan, southwest coast in the Gilan province, Iran; eastward of the Cape Sefid Rud; northern production areas of the Kashagan and Kalamkas in Kazakhstan.