#170: Russian Hydrological Grid - The Third thread of a Hidden Weave
Siberia’s Engineered Atmosphere and the Kara Sea Paradox
The concept of DOMEs — Domes of Moisture Emissions — along with the original maps, graphs, and core climatological framing, originates from the work of Stephen M. Kasprzak, with early scientific warnings contributed by Hans Neu.
The term DOMEs was coined by Stephen Kasprzak in his book Arctic Blue Deserts.
The graphs, datasets, and identified feedbacks — from sub-Arctic vapor flows and fog belts to snowpack collapse and nutrient starvation — trace directly back to his investigations.
Whenever you see the word DOMEs, know that it refers to Kasprzak’s terminology. It may be a bit of a mouthful, but it captures a precise and urgent phenomenon. His work is pivotal, and this entire Russian episode — the tipping points, the data patterns, the climatological shifts — is based on his foundational research.Where We've Been, and Where We're Headed
So far, we've explored two critical threads. The first traced how the logic of enclosure, the drive to contain, control, and regulate, became a dominant force in shaping landscapes and climate. The second focused on its physical consequences, especially through hydroengineering: mega-dams, artificial reservoirs, and rigid control of river flows that altered the natural water cycle.
We saw how these structures do more than store water. They reshape climate patterns, disrupt nutrient flows, and lock ecosystems into engineered schedules. Once disturbed, these patterns ripple outward, affecting entire regions and beyond.
From this foundation, we now move into one of the most consequential zones of intervention: the Russian Arctic.
This next thread focuses on Siberia, the subarctic, and the long-standing project to make them warm and wet. We will explore how Soviet dam-building, designed to modify climate, triggered a series of effects still unfolding today. These include thawing permafrost, weakening of Atlantic currents, nutrient depletion in Arctic waters, and the buildup of heat in the atmosphere.
These impacts are not remote or abstract. They are directly connected to food insecurity, polar warming, and the slowing of global ocean circulation.
This is not simply a historical case. It is a lesson. When large-scale water control systems are built, the consequences do not stay local. They stretch across entire continents and seasons, with long-term effects.
We now turn to the Russian hydrological network, not as an isolated experiment, but as a key part of the machinery that is reshaping Earth's climate systems.
Whenever I use the word DOMES, know that it was coined by Stephen Kasprzak in his book Arctic Blue Deserts, this is already mentioned in the first episode. It stands for Domes of Moisture Emissions, which is admittedly a bit of a mouthful, but captures the idea well.