Dolgaya Spit — a Unique Natural Object of the Sea of Azov

The article describes the nature and history of the Dolgaya Spit, as well as the results of the expedition organized by the Russian Geographical Society in June—July 2021. Aerial photography of the Dolgaya Spit has been carried out; morphometric parameters of the coastal shafts that form the accumulative body of the spit have been measured. The field of currents and the thermohaline structure of waters have been studied in the marine water area of the Dolgaya Spit. The structure of various parts of the Dolgaya Spit, as well as the composition of modern and fossil (from cores and coastal sediments) mollusks have been studied; shell material for the radiocarbon-determination of the absolute age of coastal shafts has been sampled. Bird observations revealed that plastic garbage is the leading factor affecting the state of bird populations, including rare species. Archaeological finds on the islands of the Dolgaya Spit have shown the possibility of their transfer by currents from the destroyed monuments of the indigenous coast. Numerous landfills in wild camping areas have been identified; the erosion and scouring of the landfills of the 1950s and 1960s has been recorded.

Dolgaya Spit, Sea of Azov, paleogeography, ecosystem, Russian Geographical Society