Ecological Systems and Devices Annotation << Back FEATURES OF HYDROSPHERE DISTURBANCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEEP-LYING ORE DEPOSITS Yu.P. Galchenko, E.D. Yakusheva The regime and balance of the earth’s single water shell play a special role in the formation of the environment. The shell itself has a clearly defi ned structure, reflecting the well – known principle of academician V.I. Vernadsky – the unity of all natural waters. It consists of atmospheric moisture, surface and groundwater, closely interrelated. All man-made changes in the abiotic ecosystems can be divided into reversible, when the original state of an element of the abiota is restored by the objective laws of nature, and irreversible, when this recovery does not occur. If technogenic changes in the overlying rock strata do not affect the water-resistant base of the aquifer, the development of the process of irreversible man-made deflection of the earth’s surface under fixed conditions of feeding and unloading position of groundwater levels, leads to a decrease in the thickness of the aeration zone and the creation of unfavorable conditions for the root layer, followed by degradation of the surface phytocenosis during the development of the field reserves (or its area). As a result of pumping of mine waters there is a technogenic anomaly in the movement of underground water flows, expressed in a change in the position of the velocity vectors of the water flow in the disturbed layers and in the appearance of the effect of technogenic flow of water between the horizons. A major environmental problem is the change in the quality of surface watercourses under the influence of discharge of water involved in the technological cycle of the mining enterprise. Keywords: field development; underground mining; hydrosphere; technogenic impact; structure; qualitative and quantitative changes. DOI: 10.25791/esip.12.2021.1275 Pp. 37-42.