IEMELIANOV V.O., NASIEDKIN YE.І., KUKOVSKA T.S., MOKIENKO A.V. Effects of military actions on marine and coastal geoecosystems of the Northwestern Black Sea and the adjacent shelf

https://doi.org/10.15407/gpimo2025.02.003

V.O. Iemelianov, NAS Corresp. Member, Dr. Sci. (Geol. & Mineral.), Prof., Chief Researcher
e-mail: volodyasea1990@gmail.com
ORCID 0000-0002-8972-0754

Ye.І. Nasiedkin, PhD (Geol.), Senior Researcher
e-mail:nasedevg@ukr.net
ORCID 0000-0003-2633-9291

T.S. Kukovska, PhD (Geol. & Mineral.), Senior Research Scientist
e-mail: t.kukovska@gmail.com
ORCID 0000-0001-7532-8885

A.V. Mokienko, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Senior Researcher
e-mail: mokienkoav56@gmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0002-4491-001Х

SSI MariGeoEcoCenter NAS Ukraine
55 b, st. Oles Honchar, Kyiv, 01054, Ukraine

EFFECTS OF MILITARY ACTIONS ON MARINE AND COASTAL GEOECOSYSTEMS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN BLACK SEA REGION AND THE ADJACENT BLACK SEA SHELF

The article examines various aspects of the effects of large-scale military aggression by the Russian Federation on marine and coastal geoecosystems of the Northwestern Black Sea region and the adjacent Black Sea shelf. The main mechanisms of negative military impacts include the destruction of energy, economic, municipal, and social infrastructure, in particular the deterioration of drinking water quality due to the input of toxicants, heavy metals, perchlorates, explosive compounds, and organic contaminants; an increased risk of infectious and sanitary-epidemiological threats caused by the disruption of water supply and water treatment systems; toxic impacts on food resources, including fish and seafood capable of bioaccumulating pollutants; risks to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems associated with aerosols generated by explosions and combustion processes; and the effects of acoustic and psychological stressors that enhance the socio-environmental vulnerability of the population.

The consequences of these impacts are shown to be long-term in their nature. Contaminants tend to accumulate primarily within the geological environment of the geological-ecological subsystems of the geoecosystems of the Northwestern Black Sea region and the adjacent shelf, altering biogeochemical cycles and generating secondary waves of toxic loading. Elevated noise levels associated with military activities lead to the displacement and mortality of marine mammals, particularly dolphins. The combined contamination of the atmospheric, aquatic, and geological environments of the geoecosystems and their respective subsystems, together with the destruction of coastal and marine social, economic, and environmental protection infrastructure, creates significant risks to the health of coastal populations. These risks are markedly intensified in areas characterized by high permanent population density, forced migration flows, dependence on local water resources, and insufficient healthcare infrastructure.

Key factors of long-term degradation of the geoecosystems of the Northwestern Black Sea region and the adjacent Black Sea shelf as a result of the war may include the accumulation of contaminants in the geological environment of the geological-ecological subsystem; the loss of reproduction and spawning areas of valuable biotic species and the degradation of habitats; changes in solid sediment transport pathways and lithodynamic disturbances; risks associated with sunken vessels and munitions that have become incorporated into the marine geological-ecological subsystem; and the limited availability of data required for effective monitoring, resource management, and sustainable functioning of geoecosystems.

The applied significance of the obtained results is substantiated, and practical recommendations for their implementation in environmental monitoring and coastal geoecosystem management are provided.

Keywords: Black Sea shelf, geoecological monitoring, geological-ecological subsystem, lithodynamic disturbances, marine geoecosystems, sediment contamination, sunken vessels and munitions.

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