Alexander Khaustov

Research and Innovation

RUDN Scientists

Alexander Khaustov

Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy

Professor, department of Applied Ecology

“To understand water means to understand the universe, all the wonders of nature and life itself” (Masaru Emoto)

+7 (495) 787-38-03 ext.: 3413

khaustov-ap@rudn.ru

Contact a scientist

Scientific interests:

nature management environmental safety hydrogeology geoecology hydrogeochemistry multidimensional modeling oil and gas industry supertoxicants, ecological rationing

1966

Entered the Faculty of Geography of the Irkutsk State University (ISU); in 1970 moved to the Faculty of Geophysics of the Far Eastern State University.

1970-1979

Worked at the Institute of the Earth's Crust of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences (senior laboratory assistant, engineer, senior engineer, junior researcher).

1972

Graduated from the Faculty of Geophysics of the Far Eastern State University with a degree in Hydrologic Engineering (specialist’s degree).

1974-1977

A postgraduate student at the Institute of the Earth's Crust of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences (a degree in Hydrogeology).

1978

Defended a PhD thesis on the topic "Spatio-temporal patterns of the formation of the groundwater flow of the South-West Trans-Baikal"; awarded a degree of PhD in Geology and Mineralogy.

1979-1994

Employee of the Irkutsk State University (senior lecturer, associate professor, head of the department).

1988

Defended a doctorate thesis on the topic "Multidimensional models of the formation of natural groundwater resources of mountain-folding regions"; awarded a degree of Doctor of Geology and Mineralogy.

1989

The Department of Environmental Protection was established and headed at the ISU – one of the first departments of ecology in the USSR. Head of research and educational projects on the study and protection of water resources (USSR, Mongolia, China, USA, GDR).

1993

Medal of the Chinese Geological University (PRC) for the development of scientific cooperation.

1994

Honorary Professor of the University of Chengdu (PRC) for the contribution to the development of cooperation between the University of Chengdu and Irkutsk State University.

1994 – present

Professor of the Department of Industrial Ecology and Life Safety (since 2005 – the Department of Applied Ecology) of the RUDN University. Leader and participant of projects on environmental safety in the oil and gas industry, environmental rationing, environmental management, environmental education.

1995 – present

Academician of the Russian Ecological Academy.

1996

Awarded the Josef Khrabak Medal (Pribram Scientific Mining Society, Czech Republic) for the contribution to the development of joint research.

2009

Winner of the National Environmental Award for the implementation of the project "Formation of Professional Ecological Culture through Virtual Immersion in the Professional Environment".

2010

Winner of the National Environmental Award EcoWorld for the implementation of the project "Virtual Training Complex for Environmental Safety". Winner of the Moscow Government Environmental Protection Award for the implementation of the project "Educational Complex for HSE-Management with Elements of Virtual Immersion in the Professional Environment." Received a first-degree diploma of the All-Russian competition for the best methodological development on environmental issues, nomination "Ecological Culture and Ethics".

2010 – present

Member of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS).

2011 – present

Member of the International Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). Expert of the Federal Register of Experts of the Scientific-Technical Sphere of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia.

2013

Honored Worker of Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

2013 – present

Expert of the Russian Science Foundation (RSF).

2014

Winner of the V.I. Vernadsky National Environmental Award for the development of a multi-level educational complex for ecological rationing.

2015

Honored Worker of Higher School of the Russian Federation.

2016 – present

Expert of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).

Teaching activities

1. Developer of bachelor’s degree programs recommended by the Educational and Methodological Board of universities in the field of study "Ecology and Nature Management":

Rationing and the reduction of environmental pollution;
Environmental protection

2. Author of the first Russian textbook "Rationing and the reduction of environmental pollution" (Khaustov A.P., Redina M.M., 2014), which is used in more than 90 universities in Russia and awarded a sign "The Choice of Universities of Russia 2015" of Yurayt Publishing House.

3. Gives undergraduate students (special fields “Ecology and Nature Management” and “Energy and Resource-saving Processes in Chemical Technology, Petro-chemistry and Biotechnology”) courses of lectures in:

Fundamentals of nature management;
Rationing and the reduction of environmental pollution;
Environmental protection

4. Gives postgraduate students (“Expertise of Ecological Safety of Nature Management" and "Economics of Nature Management") a course of lectures in:

Ecological rationing

5. Gives PhD students a course of lectures in “Sustainability of Natural Systems"

6. Developer of the educational complex for HSE-management (management of labor protection, industrial and environmental safety) for master's degree programmes, awarded the National Environmental Award (2009), the National EcoWorld Award (2010), the First Prize of the Moscow Government in the field of Environmental Protection (2010).

Science

Conducts research on environmental safety in the oil and gas industry (prevention and elimination of oil pollution of the environment, ecological-economic assessments, rationing of hydrocarbon pollution).
Based on assessments of the entropy of processes in the environment, patterns of behavior of super-toxic compounds (polycyclic hydrocarbons) on geochemical barriers are developed. This will allow developing effective programs of measures for the rehabilitation of contaminated areas.
Ecological-hydrogeological studies are related to the rationing of impacts on the underground hydrosphere, the assessment of the genesis of the chemical composition and therapeutic effects of mineral waters. The application of research results will contribute to the effective and careful use of water resources.
Based on research results, 2 author's certificates for electronic databases were received, more than 470 research papers were published, including 14 monographs, 20 textbooks and manuals

Areas of expertise

Synergetics of processes of the formation of geochemical barriers.
Ecological-hydrogeological research.
Protection of water resources.
Natural resources management and environmental management.
Mathematical modeling in hydrogeology, petroleum geology and environmental protection.
Environmental safety in the oil and gas industry.

Khaustov A.P., Redina M.M. Geochemical markers based on concentration ratios of PAH in oils and oil-polluted areas // Geochemistry International. 2017. Т. 55. № 1. С. 98-107.

The paper presents data on the possibility of using the proportions of concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as indicators of the pollution sources with oil hydrocarbons. Approaches are suggested to estimate the efficiency of these indicator ratios, and the efficiency of the currently used ratios is evaluated. Multivariate data analysis is applied to demonstrate how the ratios depend on the degree of transformation of the petroleum products. The data presented in the paper are utilized to more accurately determine the indicator ratios of oil-bearing samples with regard for the contamination age.

Khaustov A. et al. IT for the Remediation of the Geological Environment Poluted with the Petroleum Products: Experience of the Kazakh-Belarus Russian Joint Project //SPE Annual Caspian Technical Conference & Exhibition. – Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2015. doi:10.2118/177355-MS

The objective of the poject is to create an expert system on rehabilitation of the geological environment polluted with petroleum products for the territories of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus. Despite some specificity of the pollution (prevalence of certain sources) in all three countries, oil pollution is one of the most problematic. Thanks to the contacts between scientific teams is formed unified methodological basis for the development of the architecture of an expert system, filling its blocks, selecting optimal prediction models of pollution and effective methods of remediation. Analyzed the existing models and software systems on migration of oil and petroleum products; estimated the possibility of their use in an expert system. Estimated losses of petroleum products during handling on model objects. In the following steps are carried out "assembly" of blocks of the expert system and its testing with potential users – decision makers in elimination of accidents and rehabilitation of the geological environment, representatives of environmental agencies, enterprises and other polluters. Currently identified the problems of modeling of hydrocarbon pollution of the geological environment: underestimation of the detailed component composition and transformation processes of hydrocarbons, excessive simplification of their migration patterns; underestimation of self-organization processes in contaminated geological environment; insufficient accuracy of methods of chemical analysis of environmental pollution (such as extraction); fragmentation and the lack of justification for the content of oil products standards in soils. Formed architecture of the expert system. We select the models of pollution of geological environment for the territories of the participating countries, taking into account specificity of their areas (landscape features) and specific sources of pollution – model objects. The project creates an effective information base to solve the problem by reducing the time for the development of management decisions, the optimal use of information for modeling and forecasting of contamination of the geological environment. Provides a higher environmental and economic performance of works on the rehabilitation of the geological environment.

Khaustov A., Redina M. Transformation of Petroleum Products in the Geological Environment Accompanying Changes in Their Bitumen Status// Water Resources, 2014, Vol. 41, No. 7, pp. 854–864.

The main problems in geoenvironmental estimation of petroleum product transformations are analyzed with their bitumen status taken into account. A four-zone model is proposed to describe the distribution of oil products, taking into account their transformations in geological environments. A nonequilibrium system of water-rock-petroleum product (as pollutants) interaction is substantiated with the identification of two genetic branches (abiogenic and biogenic), which form the final results of pollution. Formation mechanisms of vertical and horizontal zonalities at environmental petroleum pollution of geological environment are described. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are considered as priority components of pollution.

Lushchenkova E. O., Khaustov A. P. Factors of distribution of pollutants in the atmosphere over polar regions (A case study for Yamburg settlement) //Russian Meteorology and Hydrology. – 2014. – Т. 39. – №. 8. – С. 528-533.

Analyzed is the influence of weather conditions on the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere over Yamburg settlement using the data of automatic monitoring in 2006–2008. Used is the technique of the division of a total sample into representative periods depending on the meteorological potential of the atmosphere. It is demonstrated that the distribution of admixtures is affected by different factors and the importance of the latter varies considerably in representative periods and in different years. However, the main factor of impact is temperature regardless of the division of the year into periods.

Khaustov A.P., Redina M.M. European Experience in Environmental Regulations for Groundwater Use// Water Resources, 2010, Vol. 37, No. 6, pp. 854–861.

European experience in the groundwater use regulations is considered using the case of FRG, where such regulations are based on quality standards and quantitative characteristics of impact on groundwater and surface water and landscape features. Basic documents verified in the water use management system in EU are used.

Khaustov A.P., Grabar'A.V., Lomonosov I.S. and Wang Yanxin. Geochemical and Isotopic Indicators of Hydrodynamic Systems in Crystalline Rock Mass// Water Resources, 2002, Vol. 29, No. 1, Pp. 33-42.

The regularities of groundwater movement in crystalline rock masses are considered. Multidimensional techniques are used to treat the hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical data collected in sites with different conditions of groundwater formation. Sets of informative indicators are chosen for the decomposition of hydrogeological systems. Approaches to assessing the information content of empiric data are proposed.

Yanxin Wang, Khaustov Alexander P. Geochemical and isotopic imprints of hydrodynamic environments of fissure waters in crystalline rocks// Chinese Science Bulletin, May 1997,Volume 42, Issue 9, pp 756–761

IN recent years, world-wide researches in relation to geologic disposal of nuclear wastes, ore-forming process modelling and ultradeep geologic drilling have been carried out in areas of crystalline rocks, and, as a result, basic theories concerning the origin, physical-chemical properties and minerogenetic role of geofluids in crystalline rocks have been greatly At the same time, hydraulics of fissured rock masses is a matter of major concern in solving practical problems related to civil and industrial construction projects. Up till now, hydrochemical and isotopic data have seldom been used in hydraulic modelling of fissured rock masses. Our study in the Baikal Rift Zone (Russia) and in the Shanxi Rift System (China), however, indicates that these data contain important information about the hydrodynamic characteristics of fissure waters.

Khaustov, A., Korobova, O., Redina, M. Geochemical barriers and living matter of the aquatic systems of Kerch Peninsula //International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying Geology and Mining Ecology Management, SGEMVolume 18, Issue 3.1, 2018, Pages 343-350

The aquatic systems of Kerch peninsula are unique groundwater manifestations situated on the area with a low technogenic pressure. Thereby these are very interesting object for the study of processes of the migration and accumulation of the geochemical markers (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs) as the background areas. The study is devoted to the assessment of the processes on the geochemical barriers (GCB) – self-organizing components of geochemical systems, where the activation of physical and chemical processes takes place, leading to the transformation of atomic-molecular structures and associations of individual chemical elements under the action of active media. The intensity of nonequilibrium processes is estimated using the entropy increment ΔS, enthalpy ΔH, and Gibbs energy ΔG of the geochemical system. The specificity of a study is the involvement of the assessments of the processes with the participation of the living matter. This should allow to build a theoretical model of GCB from the point of view of synergistic processes and to evaluate the functional significance of GCB in relation to geochemical markers. The study allowed to receive the series of migration and accumulation of PAHs for all the components of the aquatic system. Applying the listed methods we give a quantitative assessment of the energy of migration and accumulation processes of PAHs. It allows to understand the dynamics of processes in the water – soil – plant system and to identify the optimal "indicator" objects, priority for environmental monitoring. The estimates of the PAHs migration capabilities clearly indicate a variety of structural connections between the components of the dissipative hydrogeochemical system formed by point sources-the outflows of groundwater. The diversity depends on the initial chemical composition of the waters and the impulsive nature of the outflows. The inclusion of "living matter" into the geochemical system model as a dissipative structure and active component significantly changes our understanding of nonequilibrium geochemical systems at all levels of their organization.

Khaustov, A., Korobova, O., Redina, M., Kakovkina, A., Kudashova, Y. Soil air quality in the urban ecosystems: Environmental monitoring of the campus of the rudn-university // International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying Geology and Mining Ecology Management, SGEMVolume 18, Issue 5.2, 2018, Pages 869-874

Environmental monitoring systems in the cities existing in modern cities allow to control the state of natural (technogenic-natural) systems according to their programs. But it is not possible to receive an information for some special locations despite their significance – this is a case of the RUDN-University campus. For these purposes an initiative group organized a special monitoring project for the campus. One part of these monitoring program is a control of the soil air quality. This is a one of the most representative parts of the urban ecosystem reflecting all the pollution processes on the territory. For sampling and chemical analyses has been used the standard methods. Total has been gathered the samples from 33 points on the campus area. The samples has been analyzed using the gaz analyser GANK-4 (certified). The results of the measurements obtained were compared: with the maximum permissible concentrations, with background concentrations, with the results of measurements carried out in March 2017. According to the obtained data, the soil absorption coefficient of the pollutants was calculated from air, this coefficient was plotted in the program Surfer 9.0. Assessment of the state of soils according to the coefficient of absorption allows us to conclude that on the territory of the RUDN-University campus a satisfactory state of soils is observed in the forest park area. In the rest of the territory, the soil is practically not able to process or poorly process pollutants emitted by road transport. Hence it can be concluded that motor transport intensively affects the condition of the soil. It is already necessary to develop and begin remediation measures to maintain the greening of the campus. Estimating seasonal changes in pollutant concentrations in the soil on the territory of the RUDN-University campus, it can be said that the state of soils in the zones of maximum impact of vehicles during the summer period has improved, and in the soils of the forest park zone, conversely, the changes from the spring have been negative, pollutant concentrations in the soil have increased.

Khaustov, A., Korobova, O., Redina, M., Mamadzhanov, R., Silaeva, P. Ecological-economic assessment of the technogenic pressure on the social significant territory: Case study of the RUDN-university campus // International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying Geology and Mining Ecology Management, SGEMVolume 18, Issue 5.3, 2018, Pages 273-278

Since 2016 in the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN-University) is carried out a project on the environmental monitoring of campus. We consider the campus as a social significant territory: currently, the “population” (staff and students) is over 8,000 but the technogenic pressure is constantly increasing from year to the year because of transport activity. At the moment, the information about acoustic pressure, soil, snow and air pollution has been gathered and processed. It allows to develop the scheme of zoning of the campus. For this purposes, has been applied the methods of ecologic-economical assessments. Consequences of the technogenic impacts are different types of destructions in the natural systems that can be described as environmental damages. Using this approach, we can show more clear the scale of the destructions. It is possible to use monetary evaluations of the damages and to justify the “environmental comfort” zones and “dangerous zones” in campus. We apply the standard approaches to the assessment of damage, state approved in Russia to measure the damage caused by soils and air pollution as well as damage for the human health because of noise level. Monetary values of damage has been processed using the multivariate statistical methods. Application of the ecological-economic assessments allowed to create the zonation scheme for the campus territory Monitoring of the campus allowed to sample the initial information for the ecological-economic assessments. Processing of these data was a base for the identification of the structure of the technogenic pressure on the territory and for the elaboration of the probably necessary sets of measures for the maintenance of the environmental comfort on the social significant territory – RUDN-University campus.

Khaustov, A.P.Email Author, Redina, M.M. Indicator Ratios of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Geoenvironmental Studies of Natural and Technogenic Objects // Water ResourcesVolume 44, Issue 7, 1 December 2017, Pages 903-913

The role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in geoenvironmental studies is demonstrated. Indicator ratios used to identify PAH origin are considered. Their reliability is assessed for natural and technogenic objects, taking into account their stability in the environment and the specific natural conditions. The most accurate indicators are determined for identifying combustion products of domestic and medicinal wastes.

Khaustov, A., Redina, M. Hydrocarbon markers of the geochemical barriers // International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying Geology and Mining Ecology Management, SGEMVolume 17, Issue 51, 2017, Pages 575-582

Geochemical barriers are the special type of natural systems boundaries. They prevent the penetration of some of substances and are open for the migration of others. For the inorganic substances, especially for the metal ions the barriers are studied enough completely: the models of barriers are developed, the penetration and accumulation kinetic is assessed. But for the organic compounds the role of the geochemical barriers is practically not studied. Especially important are such assessments from the point of view of migration and accumulation analyses of supertoxic compounds. Assessed the role of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) as most sensitive markers of the geochemical barriers. For the first time for organic substances of this group, estimated the rate of penetration through geochemical barriers and accumulations in media. The relative chemical stability of PAHs and their toxicity make them a priority object for the geochemical studies. In the presented study analyzed the ability of PAHs to migration through different kinds of boundaries in the aquatic systems: boundaries-divisions and boundaries-barriers at the contact of ices, water, snow, bottom sediments; boundaries in the system with an active technogenic pressure in the Aojan river catchment area (China, leather industry region); boundaries in the “background” region (PAHs migration in the system “soil – plants”, “water – bottom sediments”). Analyzed the conditions of accumulation, of the PAHs penetration activity through the geochemical boundaries. The use of the modern multivariate methods allows us to identify the identity of the migration and accumulation processes in different environments and different geographic conditions. PAHs are an effective marker of geochemical boundaries. All of the PAH compounds are more or less subject to transformation, the maximum of which is achieved on the boundaries-divisions. Even within relatively homogeneous phases due to phase transitions, an active selectively transformation of the PAHs ensemble takes place. Phase transitions, both in heterogeneous media and at the boundaries-divisions occur more intensively than in homogeneous media. The involvement of organic substances (even at the level of phenomenological models) radically changes the understanding of the interrelations between the components in the geochemical system. Extremely active (change of concentrations tens to thousands of times) the accumulation of PAHs occurs in a system involving living matter. Its introduction into the general scheme of the aquatic systems elements (even at the phenomenological level) changes fundamentally our ideas about the functional significance of the biota in the structure of the matter flows in the aquatic ecosystems.