INFRASTRUCTURE OPERATION IN NORTHERN CITIES: ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS
In the article the ecological and geocryological conditions of the urban environment in Yakutsk, one of the northernmost cities of Russia, are considered, as well as their links with environmental conditions, cryogenic processes and phenomena, the condition and sustainability problems of the urban infrastructure. The authors demonstrate the link between the infrastructure and the dynamics of climate changes. The infrastructure of northern cities substantially differs from the infrastructure of moderate climate areas. The reason for it is in climate differences, soil structure and characteristics and living conditions on the whole. The infrastructure of northern cities operates in complicated natural, geoecological and technical conditions, many of which are usually considered extreme. The buildings and structures in such zone usually have shorter operating life, because they are subject to more severe wear. One of the reasons is deterioration of the bearing capacity due to the increase in soil temperature. The authors offer a number of managing and practical actions in order to improve the operation conditions of such objects and increase their reliability.