The article presents information on the structure, material composition, structural and textural features, palynological, macro- and microfaunistic characteristics and formation conditions of different-aged deposits of the platform cover, exposed by the parametric well Klimovichskaya 4P, drilled in the east of Belarus during regional geological exploration work within the framework of the state program “Environmental Protection and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources” (subprogram 1 “Subsoil of Belarus”) for 2021–2025.

The article presents the results of lithological, mineralogical, geochemical and paleontological studies of the platform cover rocks, opened by the Kobrin 1k borehole in the east of the Podlasie-Brest Depression in 2014. The analysis of core study results obtained over the past decade together with Russian and Polish colleagues is carried out. The geological structure of the poorly studied territory is specified and conclusions about the history of its geological development are made. The range of unresolved problems in the stratigraphy of the Late Proterozoic and Cambrian deposits of Belarus is outlined.

The paper presents data on conodonts from the sediments of the Lower Famennian Kuzmichi and Tonezh horizons of the Pripyat Trough. Conodont assemblages with taxa typical for the zones of the Standard Conodont Scale are defined. The conodont assemblage from the sediments of the Kuzmichi horizon corresponds to the Palmatolepis triangularis, Pa. delicatula platys and Pa. minuta minuta zones; and that of the Tonezh horizon sediments corresponds to the Pa. minuta minuta, Pa. crepida crepida and Pa. termini zones [13]. The time of appearance of Icriodus alternatus hemialternatus Drygant 2010, Polygnathus communis larysazimae Drygant 2010, P. delenitor Drygant 1986 has been clarified. Paleogeographic reconstructions based on the biofacies analysis have been performed. Stratigraphic correlations of this part of the section with Volyn-Podolia, the central regions of the East European Platform and the Volgograd-Volga region were carried out.

Coal content of the Lower Visean deposits of the Lower Carboniferous in the Pripyat Trough is considered in the article. The Lower Visean deposits occur fragmentarily within edge parts of synclinal zones and represent the preserved fragments of the buried lake-river paleosystem of the Early Visean age. The main coal occurrences were established in the formations of the Bobrik horizon in the Lelchitsy and Zaozernaya areas, located in the western part of the South-Yelsk and middle part of the North-Yelsk synclinal zones of the trough, respectively. Secondary coal occurrences were noted in the deposits of the Gostov horizon, mainly with reduced sections, located in the edge parts of the synclinal zones. In the Lower Visean formations, coal and carbonaceous clay beds and interlayers form lenses of limited distribution with highly variable structure and thickness. The Gostov-Bobrik coals were formed from the remains of higher plants; according to the degree of metamorphism, they belong to the brown coals of the B3 group.

The results of a materials generalization on the taxonomy, morphology and distribution of reproductive structures fossils of the Azolla fern from the Belarus Late Cenozoic are presented. A description of megaspore complexes of six types is given and varieties in two of them, identified as a result of paleocarpological studies, as well as taxa described from palynological data.

The article provides brief information on the state of knowledge of occurrence conditions, lithological and material composition, paleomagnetism and paleobotanical features of the boundary deposits of the Neogene (the Kholmech horizon of the Upper Pliocene) and the Quaternary (the Dvorets horizon of the Lower Pleistocene) in the stratotypical locality in the southeast of Belarus in the sections of the right bank of the Dnieper between the villages of Dvorets and Kholmech. The main criteria for substantiating the boundary between the systems presented in the published materials are noted, and the tasks of further research are outlined. The figures show a general view of the outcrop near the village of Dvorets and a layout of sections with paleobotanical materials – 17 pits and cuts on the right-bank floodplain of the Dnieper and 7 deep boreholes, 2 of which are on the floodplain and 5 are on the native bank.

Based on a detailed analysis of long-term data of groundwater monitoring in natural conditions (slightly disturbed) and conditions disturbed by exploitation, study of geological and hydrogeological conditions, field work and groundwater inflow testing, and refinement of quantitative characteristics, taking into account development of depression funnel areas and their impact on the state of nearby water bodies in the areas of the Luchezhevichi water intake and the Mikashevichi mining region, forecast maps of groundwater hydrodynamic regime have been developed, recommendations for development of local groundwater monitoring were given, and water protection measures for rational use and protection of groundwater from depletion in the Belarusian part of the Pripyat River basin were developed.

The paper describes the attempt of horizon-by-horizon isotopic (С, О) correlation of the Lower and Middle deposits on the territory of Belarus in geological sections of the following boreholes: the North Polotsk (south-east of the Latvian Saddle), Bykhov (the conjugation zone of the Orsha Depression and Zhlobin Saddle), Korma (Zhlobin Saddle), Privolje (the North Pripyat Shoulder of the Pripyat Trough) and GGK-1 (on the south-western edge of the Voronezh Anteclise). The Vitebsk (Emsian), Adrov and Osveya (Lower Eifelian), Gorodok (Middle Eifelian) and Kostyukovichi (Upper Eifelian) horizons were studied. It is shown that isotopic information may be used for revealing episodes of evaporitization, continental inflow strengthening and weakening, sedimentary basin shallowing, oxidation of dispersed organic matter in sediment, as well as for geological section correlation and estimation of peculiarities of rock post-sedimentary changes. A consistency in behavior between δ13C and δ18О values, on one side, and lithofacies parameters, on the other side, is not usually observed. Thus, isotopic data may in some cases serve as an independent indicator of variations of sediment formation and transformation environment.

The article presents the results of experimental studies geochemical migration of matter in the three-component system “brine – rock – oil”. External factors influencing changes in the macro- and microcomponent composition of brine – oil density, content of oil resins, lithological composition of rocks, mineralization of the initial brine, interaction period. The coefficient (HCO3 + NH4) / SO4 is proposed as a local criterion for assessing the prospects of oil and gas potential.
The results are recommended for studying the conditions of formation of the composition and properties of stratal water, as well as in prospecting and exploration hydrogeochemistry.

The aim of the work is to assess the modern geodynamic activity of fault zones using gas-geochemical indicators. The results of long-term geophysical and gas-geochemical studies of modern geodynamic activity in the territory of the Gomel structural isthmus and the adjacent territory of the Pripyat Trough are summarized. Spatio-temporal anomalies of hydrogen in subsurface gas, helium in groundwater and tropospheric methane are considered as indicators of geodynamic activity. The studies included: an areal survey of hydrogen in subsurface gas and helium in groundwater (groundwater and the first confined aquifers); a study of the temporal dynamics of hydrogen at stationary observation points; a study of spatio-temporal changes in the concentration of tropospheric methane. To study the tropospheric methane field, space imaging data from the Sentinel-5P TROPOMI satellite (2019–2024) were used. As an additional method for detecting methane anomalies, the NDMI spectral index was used (calculated based on Landsat 8–9 and Sentinel-2 satellite images). Based on the work carried out, a set of gas-geochemical indicators of modern geodynamic activity of tectonic structures in the conditions of ancient platforms was proposed, including helium (in groundwater), hydrogen (in subsurface gas) and methane (in the troposphere). The examples presented in the article show that gas-geochemical methods can effectively solve the problems of monitoring geodynamic activity.

The materials on potash horizons have been studied in areas that are spatially significantly remote to the east from the well-studied west and southwest territory of the trough. Parts of the section of the potash-bearing subformation, which in the west of the trough are located at depths corresponding to mine development, are significantly submerged in the eastern part of the Northern and Central structural areas.

The article presents the results of a comprehensive study of the impact of the petrophysical properties of reservoir rocks in the Pripyat Trough on the effectiveness of multi-stage non-stationary cyclic waterflooding (MNSCW) in fields with fractured-pore reservoirs. Using factorial analysis, the main geological-physical factors (porosity, permeability, dissection, oil viscosity, oil saturation, clay content, etc.) determining the geological efficiency of MNSCW technology for extracting residual oil reserves are examined. The results of pilot production tests (PPT) conducted on the SemilukSargaevskoye reservoir of the Zolotukhinskoye field are presented, confirming the effectiveness of MNSCW. The criteria for selecting potential sites for the technology based on factorial analysis data have been refined and expanded.

In the conditions of modern geological and geophysical study of the Pripyat trough, the fact of the direct influence of fault tectonics on the formation of hydrocarbon traps is obvious, regardless of the generally accepted world theories of the origin of oil and their derivatives. This is due to the fact that faults are not only natural arteries for the delivery of hydrocarbons to future traps, but also reliable shields during their final formation. This paper examines the methodological aspects of predicting new oil-prospective traps in the sediments of the inter-salt and upper-sediment complexes of the Central structural and tectonic area using the example of the inter-salt deposits of the Gartsevskoye field.

The article presents the results of comparison of the exploration and development data of the III potash horizon of the Fourth mine field of the Starobinsky potash deposit. The results confirm that the applied methodology of exploration of the deposit gives reliable results, and the existing discrepancies do not have a significant impact on its subsequent development. During the comparison it was found that the increase in the density of the exploration network from the category C1 to A does not lead to a decrease in discrepancies, therefore, there is a doubt in the need to increase the number of wells at the exploration stage after obtaining the reserves of category C1 for such deposits. It follows from the analysis of the causes and magnitude of discrepancies in the counting blocks that the quality of drilling and core yield, rather than the number of wells, has the maximum influence. The conclusions presented in this article are preliminary, as they are based on the comparison of exploration and development data for only one potash horizon within one tectonic block, and need to be confirmed by further studies in other areas and horizons.

The purpose of the work is to consider, using the example of one of the quarries for the extraction of common minerals in the Vitebsk region, the possibilities of using unmanned aerial vehicles to accurately calculate the volumes of extracted earth masses, allowing to optimize the processes of planning and management of natural resources. The sand quarry of the Shalygi-1 deposit, located in the northern part of the Vitebsk region, 0,9 km northwest of the center of the village of Shalygi, 0,5 km south-southeast of the center of the village of Trigubtsy and 14,0 km north of the center of Vitebsk, which has been in operation since 2023, was chosen as a test site for practicing the calculation and survey methodology. The assessment of the volumes of extracted earth masses was carried out using modern software solutions and technologies, which ensured high accuracy and efficiency of the analysis. The work involved the use of vectorization methods (Easy Trace, etc.), photogrammetric analysis (Agisoft Metashape), and geoinformation analysis (QGIS, Axiom), as well as computer modeling based on CAD (Geonics nanoCAD module) and solution programming. The initial data were obtained as a result of automatic aerial photography using a high-resolution camera of the Phantom UAV. As a result of the aerial photography of the quarry, an array of 527 images was obtained in the visible spectrum (RGB) with a resolution of 2.5 cm/pixel. Using the Agisoft Metashape program, an orthophotoplan, model, point cloud, and digital terrain model of the quarry territory were built. In addition, the volumes of earth masses were preliminarily calculated using the model “on the fly”. Then, in the QGIS program, the data on the terrain of the territory was processed and prepared for export to nanoCAD Geonics. The main calculations were carried out on the basis of a specialized module of the Russian analogue of AutoCAD – nanoCAD Geonics. The construction of surfaces was carried out in several ways based on imported point clouds (.las) and contours (.shp). Cartograms of earth masses were constructed by squares (analogous to the manual calculation method). The final calculations were compared with the materials of the traditional ground survey of the subsoil user. The use of unified calculation and positioning methods allows us to say that the difference in the results is due to the higher accuracy of modeling based on unmanned survey data. Thus, based on the quality of the results in combination with a higher level of safety and efficiency, we can say that remote assessment of quantitative parameters of subsoil use is preferable compared to traditional methods.

For the study of geological systems (structures), it is very important to study them not only from the standpoint of their structure and interrelationships, interactions within the structure itself in some time slice, but also from the standpoint of the functioning and change of the system over time. The transformation of natural geological systems is not only a stage of development: the transformation process includes genesis, development, degradation, destruction; the general direction of the transformation is dissipation, an increase in the total entropy of the system. Discrete energy injections into a geological system can cause self-organization processes and a temporary decrease in entropy, but they do not eliminate the general dissipative tendency of system transformation. Self-organization in systems of inert matter is a link in entropic processes and, in general, does not transfer the system to a higher level of organization of matter.