ИСТИНА

The distribution of the tundra in Europe is rather limited. It is represented on the north-east coast and the arctic islands. We have explored the central part of Kolguev island. It’s composed by quaternary marine and glacial sediments. Generally, the relief of the island is plane, but locally may be highly drained by erosion net. Different cryogenic processes are highly presented and lead to formation of patterned ground and thermokarst relief. In summers of 2018, 2019 a number of aerial surveys were made in different landscapes by drone. Based on the taken aerial photos detailed maps were made and analyzed. The maps show that 1) soil cover pattern is more simple on steeper slopes; 2) the most regular structures are observed on gentle, convex slopes; 3) soil cover pattern is not regular at the meso-level on flat surfaces where the direction of runoff is not pronounced, and a large share of the soil-landscape is occupied by soil complexes (palsa and earth hummocks).