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Name which of the geographical sciences studies: the processes occurring in the oceans; the population of the earth; processes taking place. Geography

Name which of the geographical sciences studies: the processes occurring in the oceans; the population of the earth; processes taking place. Geography

23.09.2019

Question 1. What is relief?

The relief is a set of irregularities of the earth's surface - hills, mountains, valleys, depressions.

Question 2. What is called the World Ocean?

The world ocean is the water shell of the Earth, the ocean divides the land into continents. The world ocean consists of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans.

Question 3. What are rocks?

Rocks are minerals that form the organic matter of the earth's surface. They can be hard, soft, loose.

Question 4. What are the two main divisions of geography?

In geography, there are two main sections: physical geography and socio-economic geography.

Question 5. What science studies the nature of the earth's surface?

Physical geography studies the nature of the earth's surface. For certain parts of nature, there are their own sciences, for example, geomorphology studies relief, climate - climatology, distribution and distribution of living organisms - biogeography.

Question 6. What does economic geography study?

Economic geography studies the diversity of the human world and its economy.

Question 7. Name which of the geographical sciences studies: the processes occurring in the oceans; the population of the earth; processes occurring in the soils on which structures are being built; climates of the globe; composition and structure of the earth's crust; relief of the earth's surface; the influence of the characteristics of the territory on the state of health of the population.

Oceanology is a science that studies the processes occurring in the oceans. Demography is the study of the world's population. The processes occurring in the soils on which structures are built - engineering geography. Climates of the globe - climatology. The composition and structure of the earth's crust - geology. The relief of the earth's surface - geomorphology. The influence of the characteristics of the territory on the state of health of the population - medical geography.

Question 8. Indicate which of the geographical sciences discussed in the paragraph (see Fig. 12) are classified as physical geography, and which - as socio-economic.

Physical geography includes: geomorphology, climatology, biogeography, geology, oceanography.

Socio-economic geography includes: engineering, medical, military, historical, political geography, demography, cartography.

Question 9. What interesting things can you learn by studying geography?

You will learn how explorers and travelers discovered and studied new lands and the peoples inhabiting them, how the Universe works and what place the Earth occupies in the solar system, how the earth's surface is depicted on a terrain plan and a geographical map, how our planet arose and arranged.

Question 10. Why is the number of geographical sciences constantly increasing?

Because there is a process of fragmentation of large sciences into smaller ones, specializing in specific activities. This is done in order to more thoroughly study certain aspects.

Question 11. How is modern geography related to other sciences? Give examples.

Modern geography is connected with many sciences. For example, with biology, biogeography studies the distribution of living organisms on the planet and thanks to this, biologists will find out where a certain type of animal lives. With the help of climatology, weather forecasters can make weather forecasts.

Question 12. Give examples of geographical objects in your area that are the object of study: a) physical geography; b) socio-economic geography.

A) Forests, mountains, hills, rivers, lakes.

B) Cities, towns, villages, factories, distribution of population density.

To learn to distinguish Austria from Australia, north from south, dune from dune - you should learn geography well. You will find the definition of the word and its meaning in this article. In addition, you will learn what one of the oldest sciences studies, and what are its main features.

What is geography: definition and meaning of the term

Geography is the oldest of the existing scientific disciplines. Its foundations were laid back in the Hellenistic era. In the sphere of her interests - the seas and oceans, mountains and plains, as well as society. More precisely, the features of human interaction with the environment.

The definition of the concept of "geography" is impossible without the interpretation of the word itself. It is of ancient Greek origin and is translated as "description of the earth". The term consists of two Greek words: “geo” (earth) and “grapho” (I write, describe).

In the third century BC (when geography was born as a science), this term was quite consistent with the essence. Ancient Greek thinkers were really engaged in "description of the earth", without going too far into the intricacies of natural processes and phenomena. However, the current definition of geography cannot be reduced to such a narrow interpretation.

What is science doing at the present stage? To answer this question, you need to understand what geography is. You will find the definition of this scientific discipline later in our article.

Early history of geographical science

So, as we have already figured out, the term "geography" was coined by the ancient Greeks. They also created the first detailed maps of the area. Actually, the foundations of this science were laid precisely in the Hellenic era. Later, the center of its development gradually moved to the Arab world. Islamic geographers not only explored and mapped a lot of new lands, but also made many important innovative discoveries.

The Chinese civilization also greatly contributed to the development of geographical science. Particularly instrumental. It was the Chinese who developed such a useful thing as a compass, which is actively used in the 21st century.

The most famous representatives of the early period in the history of geographical science:

Eratosthenes ("father of geography").
Claudius Ptolemy.
Strabo.
Muhammad al-Idrisi.
Ibn Battuta.

The development of geography in the XVI-XX centuries

During the era of the European Renaissance, the vast empirical heritage accumulated by geographers of previous generations and cultures was systematized and rethought. The so-called period of the Great Geographical Discoveries set completely new tasks and goals for the "science of land description", and a fresh and genuine interest in the profession of a geographer arose in society.

In the 18th century, this science began to be studied at universities as a separate discipline. In the first half of the 19th century, Alexander Humboldt and Karl Ritter laid the foundation for modern academic geography as we know it today. Today, thanks to satellite technologies and the latest geographic information systems, geography is entering a completely new stage in its development.

Scientists who have made a significant contribution to the development of European geographical science:

Gerhard Mercator.
Alexander von Humboldt.
Carl Ritter.
Walter Crystaller.
Vasily Dokuchaev.

Definition of geography as a science

“A linear representation of the entire known part of the Earth, with everything that is located on it - bays, large cities, peoples, significant rivers.” This definition of geography was given by Claudius Ptolemy in the second century. Thanks to this science, as the famous ancient Greek astronomer said, we get a unique opportunity to "view the entire Earth in one picture."

At the beginning of the 19th century, the German geographer Karl Ritter proposed replacing "geography" with the term "geography". By the way, it was he who first divided geography into two independent branches: physical and social (political). “The territory influences the inhabitants, and the inhabitants influence the territory” - Ritter expressed this fair thought back in 1804.

Another German scientist Hermann Wagner gave the following definition of geography: it is the science of the power of space, which is manifested in local differences in its material filling. Wagner was quite close in his scientific views to Karl Ritter.

An interesting definition of geography was given by the famous Soviet soil scientist Arseniy Yarilov. According to him, this is the science that should orient a person within the limits of the dwelling allotted to him by nature.

There are many other interesting interpretations of this scientific discipline. To summarize all of the above, a modern definition should be given: geography is a science that studies the so-called geographical shell of the Earth, in all its natural and socio-economic diversity. We will go into more detail about what this is in the next section.

The geographic area is...

Under the geographical shell is meant the shell of the planet Earth, consisting of four structural layers:

Troposphere.
Earth's crust.
Hydrospheres.
Biosphere.

At the same time, all these "spheres" are in close interaction, intersecting and penetrating each other. The essence of the concept of the geographic shell of the Earth was first described in 1910 by the Russian scientist P. I. Brounov.

Within the geographic envelope, there is a constant and continuous process of movement of matter and energy. Thus, water from rivers and lakes constantly enters the lower layers of the atmosphere, as well as into the earth's crust (through cracks and pores). In turn, gases and solid particles from the troposphere enter the water bodies.

The boundaries of the geographic envelope are not clearly defined. Most often, its lower line is drawn along the sole of the earth's crust, the upper one - at an altitude of 20-25 kilometers. Thus, the average thickness of the geographic envelope of the Earth is approximately 30 km. Compared to the parameters of our planet, this is minuscule. But it is precisely this thin "film" that is precisely the main object of study for geographical science.

Structure of geographical science

Modern geography is a complex and very voluminous science, which includes dozens of particular disciplines. As a rule, it is divided into two large blocks - physical and social (or socio-economic). The first studies the general patterns of development and existence of the geographic shell and its individual parts, and the second deals with the study of the processes of interaction between society and the natural environment.

Among the physical and geographical disciplines, the following stand out:

Geodesy.
Geomorphology.
Hydrology.
Oceanology.
Landscape science.
Soil science.
Paleogeography.
Climatology.
Glaciology, etc.

Among the socio-geographical sciences, it is customary to single out the following disciplines:

Demography.
Economical geography.
Geopolitics.
Geography of culture.
medical geography.
Geourbanistics.
Political geography.
Country studies, etc.

The main problems and discussions of modern geography

Oddly enough, the question “what is geography?” remains one of the most complex and controversial among representatives of this science. What geography should study, what goals it should set for itself - these problems still cannot be solved by the minds of the present generation of geographers.

In addition, theoretical geography is trying today to solve a number of other pressing problems. The most important ones include the following:

The problem of the loss of interest in geography in society.
The problem of "withering away" of such purely practical disciplines as land reclamation, land management, soil science.
The problem of the general classification of geographical science.
Definition of a number of key concepts: "geographical envelope", "landscape", "geosystem", etc.

Recently, such a fresh direction as "constructive geography" is gaining popularity. First of all, due to the strategic nature of their research. This discipline can transform traditionally descriptive and theoretical geography into a practical and useful one.

Finally

Geography is one of the oldest sciences. It originated in the 3rd century BC. Today, geography is an independent scientific branch that is engaged in a deep and comprehensive study of the geographic envelope of the Earth, from processes in the thickness of the earth's crust to human production activities.

The process of development of geography, one of the oldest sciences, is long and complex.

In the early stages of the development of geography, it was a single descriptive science. The first researchers - geographers were engaged in the description of the Earth. They described everything they saw in a foreign country: nature - relief, climate, vegetation, animals - they described the economy, customs, customs, the life of people, the state system. Few generalizations of a theoretical nature were made, only elements of a theory were born. Gradually, however, geography turned into a theoretical science, i.e. studying processes and phenomena, the laws of nature, the location and development of the economy, etc.

As soon as geography moved from describing phenomena to studying and understanding them, it was divided into two main branches - physical and economic geography. In each of these branches, two directions were formed. In physical geography, this is general physical geography and regional studies, in economics, economic and social geography of the world and economic and geographical regional studies.

From a descriptive, descriptive-cognitive science, it gradually turned into an experimental-transformative, constructive science.

In geography, as in other sciences, a complex objective process of their differentiation - the process of highlighting sections, specialized narrower industries, sub-sectors, exercises, theories, etc.

Thus, the study of GO components is carried out by private (component) physical and geographical sciences, which at one time separated from the once unified physical geography. These include geology (science of the geological structure and history of geological development), geomorphology (science of relief), climatology (climate science), oceanology (science of the ocean), land hydrology (the science of land waters), soil science (soil science), biogeography (the science of the patterns of distribution and combination of biocenoses and the organisms that form them), paleogeography (studying the history of the formation of natural complexes), and many others. Many of the special sciences, in turn, are divided into child sciences. A kind of "tree of sciences" is being formed.

It has already been noted that if physical geography is a natural science, then economic geography belongs to the social sciences, since it studies the structure and location of production, the conditions and characteristics of its development in various countries and regions. The economic activity of people, the location of production depend on natural conditions and at the same time have a significant impact on them. In turn, economic geography is also divided into many special sciences: the geography of industry, agriculture, population, geography of cities, transport, etc.

Along with the processes of differentiation, there are also processes objectively integration scientific research - combining individual sections, industries, sub-sectors, teachings, theories, etc. into one whole. Both seemingly opposite and mutually exclusive processes are associated with the requirements of social practice, with the specialization and concentration of production, with the improvement of scientific research methods, with scientific and technical progress, and occur at different levels of science development. Thus, differentiation and integration in science are two sides of a single process of cognition.

And if the process of differentiation goes spontaneously, then the processes of integration need organization and support, international recognition. For integration processes, including deep interscientific generalizations, strong, widely educated scientists are needed. In the process of integration, interdisciplinary "boundary" directions arise, usually distinguished by the freshness of conclusions, brightness, and practical significance. They find expression, for example, in the creation of synthetic maps (water management, medical-geographical, etc.).

In the light of what has been said, the ideas of forming a unified geography on the basis of modern achievements in physical and economic geography are progressive. For example, economic geography cannot do without the use of the results of physical-geographic research. It "should be based on the patterns of development of natural complexes of different scales, studied by physical geography." The connection of physical-geographical research with economic geography gives them a certain purposefulness and practical significance.

Methods of geographical research. The general scientific philosophical method is the method of materialistic dialectics, according to which all natural objects and processes are not considered as once created and frozen formations, but are considered in their dialectical development. From the Universe to a drop of water in nature, everything lives, everything develops.

In addition, geography has its own specific methods - instrumental observations, field studies, methods of comparisons and generalizations, cartographic, remote using aerial photography and space observations, mathematical (quantitative) methods, modeling methods. A special place in the study of nature and society is occupied by systems theory.

Systems theory appeared in the 1930s. For the first time, its foundations were formulated by the American scientist Bertalanffy and related mainly to mathematics. In recent decades, it has become a general scientific method in the study of complex objects and interactions. "A system is a complex of elements that interact." Many natural complexes have long been studied as systems, which is reflected even in the names, in the terminology (river, hydrographic system, monsoon circulation system, current system, economic, financial system, etc.). Natural systems exist both in the organic and inorganic world, they can be simple (“predator-prey”, “stream-ravine”) and complex (“nature-population-economy system”). The elements of the system and the system with the environment are united by direct and feedback links, they are stable, many of them are self-regulating, self-developing. Natural material systems have an exchange of matter and energy, being mostly open. Closed systems are created mainly in the laboratory.

The characteristics of the system include the integrity of the object, the processing of information in and about it, the specific behavior of the object, expressed by the concept of the mission of existence or function, its specific structure (structure) and the mission of existence (function), the need to control the object, the properties of development and self-development, the openness of the system , due to which it is capable of self-improvement, hierarchical structure, the relationship of the whole and parts, the systemic quality of the object, etc. The system is something more than a simple sum of the elements of which it consists. The new quality of the sum of elements is generated by their mutual coordination in the system and interaction with the environment.

There are three main groups of system definitions. The first group includes definitions in which the system appears as a complex of objects, processes and phenomena that takes place in reality, regardless of the observer. The task of the latter is to find a way to isolate the system from its environment, to analyze the system in order to identify the mechanism of its functioning and to implement a control action on the system.

The second group of definitions is related to an attempt to coordinate between the concepts of system and model. In this case, the goal of the researcher is to implement an abstract mapping of the object of reality with its inherent properties and relationships into a model. Modeling processes using mathematical calculations is one of the main modern methods for studying those processes and phenomena that a person cannot observe due to their complexity associated with temporal or spatial scales, or for other reasons.

The third class of definitions is a compromise between the first two. A system is an artificially created complex of elements and interconnections between them, designed to solve a certain organizational, economic, technical, etc. problem. tasks.

Any system includes the concepts of "elements", "relationships", "connection", "whole", "integrity". As part of a whole, it belongs to a larger system. As a whole, it has autonomy, independence, connectedness, internal isolation from the environment. The environment is formed by those objects with which the system in the surrounding world is connected, and some through this connection influence it.

In the light of systems theory, GO, the biosphere is considered as the most complex system of a high order, a supersystem that combines living and inert matter, consisting of many systems of lower ranks. GO as a supersystem is characterized by geological, biological and social forms of matter motion. Each system is a part of another system of a higher order, and in turn consists of systems of lower levels of organization. The elements of systems and their connections can be described mathematically, therefore, they are amenable to modeling, especially with the help of a computer, which makes it possible to develop theory of nature research. Research using methods of systems theory is a qualitatively new level of study of natural-territorial and socio-economic complexes.

The system approach is now used in the study of both statics and dynamics of natural complexes (geosystems).

Its modern tasks of geography are determined by the urgent need for the active intervention of science in questions of the impact of society on nature. The rational use of nature, restoration, protection, purposeful transformation require an understanding of its complexity, knowledge of the structure, patterns of development of natural complexes, and the forecast of their possible changes.

At the intersection of geography with related sciences, new scientific areas are emerging, the number of which is growing rapidly. This, for example, scientific local history, regional studies, historical geography, geographical resource science, medical, military, engineering geography, geography of recreation and tourism and many others.

Geography and geoecology. The consequences of the interaction between society and the environment are global and have led to a change in the human environment up to a threat to its existence as a species, where two processes are most dangerous: environmental pollution and resource depletion. The resolution of the overdue contradictions between the established nature of production and nature, generated by the consumer attitude towards the latter, is possible on the basis of constant monitoring of the environment, scientific analysis of the cause-and-effect relationships of the negative phenomena taking place. The complexity of natural-anthropogenic systems requires scientific justification for choosing optimal solutions for the prevention, elimination and restoration of disturbances and natural hazardous properties in the biosphere, for determining directions for rational environmental management in specific regions and areas. The effectiveness of the environmental quality and nature management system is the main condition for the safety of the environment for human life, health and well-being.

All of the listed areas of research and action are inherently the subject of geography, because only geography studies the human environment - GO. However, the problems that have arisen are also environmental. Ecology - a complex of sciences that investigate various aspects of the relationship of living organisms and environmental conditions. Although ecology originally emerged as a biological science, there has now been a significant expansion of the scope of the term, it is often used not in its original meaning. Ecology as a science studies the relationship of organisms and their populations with their environment. But it cannot cope with the task of studying aspects of the interaction of human society with the environment, because this is a completely different type of relationship, in which the environment itself changes dramatically. And here you can not do without geography. Therefore, a new scientific direction arose - geoecology.

Geoecology - geographical ecology, a scientific discipline, a scientific direction at the intersection of geography and ecology, studying the laws of interaction of the Earth's geospheres, taking into account human activities.

A special direction in modern scientific research is also the fundamentals rational nature management – designed to develop scientific approaches to the use of various types of natural resources and natural conditions, to substantiate the necessary environmental restrictions for sustainable development.

Sustainable development - such a development of society, in which the conditions of human life improve, and the impact on the environment remains within the economic capacity of the biosphere, so that the natural basis for the functioning of mankind is not destroyed. With sustainable development, needs are met without prejudice to future generations. In accordance with this, the concept of sustainable development implies the development of the region through self-organization with a framework external support that prevents the possibility of its transition to a state of irreversible degradation of the environment.

One of the tasks of geoecology is the formation noospheric thinking , expressing the idea of forming a person with a new type of thinking, capable of environmentally expedient activities through the training of erudite specialists with high intellectual, moral and spiritual potential, who have deep scientific knowledge about the structure of the world, about global, regional and local environmental problems and their sources, about the foundations of sustainable development, possessing the skills and abilities of practical actions in managing the quality of the environment and nature management in the field of their professional activities.

constructive geography, or constructive direction in geography , aims to develop a purposeful design of the geographical environment, constructive approaches to managing its quality, optimizing the interaction of society with the environment .

Geographic Forecasting - part of a broader forecasting (development of socio-economic forecasts) is a new necessary stage in the development of geography. It is based on the use of mathematical modeling and prediction of probable scenarios for the development of individual processes in their interaction.

Geography is a way of knowing the world around us. Primitive man, in order to survive, had to be well oriented in the world around him: first of all, to know it well (for example, where hunting grounds are, where edible plants are, etc.) and be able to use this knowledge. Already in the Stone Age, the predecessors of modern maps were created - drawings on the walls of cave dwellings (see the article ""), schematically showing the territory surrounding a person's dwelling.

Geography as a science

In fact, geography as a science begins with “travel literature”: getting into other, unfamiliar places, a smart observer recorded everything unusual for himself: how the people of this country look, what they wear, what kind of political system they have, what plants and animals are in this country. country and much more. These were the beginnings of country studies, when the country as a whole is described, “from geology to ideology”, and exactly what distinguishes this country from all the others is mentioned.

The famous Russian geographer Nikolai Baransky formulated this feature of science as follows: “What is everywhere (as), in geography, should not be anywhere.” In other words, it is not necessary to write that in a given country there is air, soil, vegetation - it is everywhere; it is necessary to pay attention to how the air of this country (for example, its climate) is unique, how it differs from neighboring countries.

Starting with country studies, geography developed further along the line of an in-depth study of individual components of nature, more precisely, earthly shells: (sciences such as climatology and meteorology began to study it), hydrospheres (land hydrology and oceanology), (geomorphology - the science of relief), biosphere ( biogeography), pedosphere (soil geography). But in general, the interaction of various components of nature in each particular area is studied by landscape science. Similarly, an in-depth study of certain aspects of the life of society went on: the economy as a whole was studied by economic geography, its individual branches - by the corresponding sciences: the geography of industry, agriculture, trade, and so on; people's lives - population geography; political life - political geography.

But this study of the territory "by sections" did not give a consolidated picture of each country or area. Regarding the situation when the territory is described only “by industry”, Baransky said: imagine that the writer decided to portray the characters of his novel in the following way: first he described what each of them was wearing, then what they were all wearing, then what physique, what hair color each one has, then character traits, and so on. As a result, everything seems to be described, but there is no holistic view of each person. Therefore, after the “component-by-component” characteristics of the territory, it is necessary to give the characteristics “by region”.

"Geography" - in literal translation - "description of the earth", which still remains its main task. But the natural course of development of each science is the following: description - explanation - prediction - control. The sciences that study inanimate nature passed through these stages most quickly. The open laws of mechanics, for example, make it possible to successfully control motion; knowledge of the laws of physics allows you to create new materials and so on. In dealing with more complex objects, the problems of controlling biological processes have only recently begun to be solved.

Object of study of geography

The object of study of geography - the earth's surface with all its natural and social content - is even more complex and, most importantly, heterogeneous: physical processes take place here (for example, the cycle in nature), chemical (migration of various in the earth's crust), biological (development of plant communities), economic (functioning of the national economy), demographic (), social (interaction of various social groups and others), political (struggle for power between different parties and movements), socio-psychological (formation of public opinion, different attitudes of people to the processes taking place in society) and many others (including those that we do not yet know).

In any part of the territory - in every village, city, district - all these processes intertwine, interact (often in the most unexpected way) and together create their own unique picture of the "life of the territory" - more precisely, the life of society in the specific conditions of this territory.

The task of geography

The task of geography is to identify the specifics of the interaction of all these heterogeneous processes in each territory, to summarize the available materials and create a vivid, memorable image of the place - that is, to solve the problem of describing the territory first (and partially - explaining the processes taking place on it).

Much more difficult is the task of geographical forecasting: what kind of future (or what options for the future) is possible for this territory. Often it is necessary to limit oneself to identifying restrictions for development: for example, in such and such an area it is impossible to build enterprises even with small emissions of harmful substances, since their dispersion in the atmosphere is extremely slow; or else: it is not worth creating a recreation zone here (from the Latin “recreatio” - literally “recovery” of human strength and health), since it is far from the place of residence of potential vacationers.

The task of managing geographic objects is even more difficult. Is it possible, for example, to contain the growth of large cities? Or - to populate the deserted rural areas? Society (including Russian society) very often exaggerated its ability to influence such processes. As it turned out later (after great efforts and funds had already been expended), there are internal patterns in the development of processes (however, they are still poorly understood), and it is by no means always possible to change anything by external efforts (and sometimes these efforts give the opposite result). expected). Some of these patterns will be discussed in this book.

So, geography, ideally, should help society to solve certain specific problems - that is, to perform applied tasks. But there are also tasks of a different kind - related to the formation of the "image of the country" for all members of society, for the entire population.

Geography of Russia

Any person should have in his head a correct idea of what country, region, city, village he lives in. Without this, true patriotism is impossible - love for one's Fatherland.

“I love and know. I know and love. And the more fully I love, the better I know, ”the geographer Yuri Konstantinovich Efremov used these words as an epigraph to his excellent book“ The Nature of My Country ”.

Knowledge of geography is of particular importance for Russia - a country whose history is inseparable from its geography. According to historian Vasily Klyuchevsky, "the history of Russia is the history of a country that is being colonized." Another side of the significance of geography in Russia was well shown by Pushkin in his play Boris Godunov. It contains a scene in which Tsar Boris visits his son Fyodor and finds him drawing a geographical map:

King: And you, my son, what are you doing? What's this?

Fedor: Drawing of the Moscow; our kingdom

From end to end. You see: here is Moscow,

Here is Novgorod, here is Astrakhan. Here is the sea

Here are the dense forests of Perm,

But Siberia.

King: What is this?

Is there a pattern here?

Fedor: This is the Volga.

King: How good! Here is the sweet fruit of learning!

How can you see from the clouds

The whole kingdom suddenly: borders, cities, rivers.

Learn my son: science cuts

We experience fast-flowing life -

Someday and soon maybe

All areas that you are now

Depicted so cunningly on paper

Everything will be at your fingertips.

Learn, my son, and easier and clearer

Sovereign labor you will comprehend.

Pushkin, through the mouth of Tsar Boris, here very accurately expressed how geography can help a statesman: “to survey the whole kingdom suddenly” (that is, simultaneously) in order to better understand it.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (who, among other things, was in charge of the Geographical Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences) seems to have said of geography that it "throws the whole universe into a single view of vastness."

Traditionally, it served the needs of the Russian state, which, starting at least from the 14th century, was continuously “colonized”, expanding its territory. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, some geographers even criticized the Russian Geographical Society for being fond of studying foreign territories (to the detriment of studying Russia proper - primarily those that Russia could “have views”, if not for the purpose of joining, then to increase their influence in them). Now, when the six-century era of the expansion of the territory of Russia is already behind us, the tasks of geography are also changing: we all need to know better the inner, “deep” Russia, on which the main efforts of the state will be directed and on which our future will eventually depend.

Geography(from Greek. geo and grapho - I write), science (a system of natural and social sciences) that studies the structure, functioning and evolution, interaction and distribution in space-time of its individual parts - natural and natural-social geosystems and components, in order to scientifically substantiate the territorial organization of society, location of the population and production, efficient use of natural resources, geographic. forecast, preservation of the human environment, creation of the foundations of a strategy for an environmentally safe sustainable (balanced) development of society.

System of geographical sciences

Modern geography is a system of sciences in which natural (physical-geographical), social (socio-geographical and economic-geographical) sciences, applied geographical sciences and sciences of an integral nature are distinguished.

Physical geography includes complex sciences about the geographical shell as a whole - geography (general physical geography), landscape science (regional physical geography), paleogeography (evolutionary geography). In the process of the long development of geography, private sciences were formed on the components of the geographical shell - topography, geomorphology, geocryology, climatology and meteorology, hydrology (subdivided into land hydrology, oceanology), glaciology, soil geography, biogeography.

Socio-economic geography includes complex sciences - social geography and economic geography, geography of the world economy, regional socio-economic geography, political geography. Private sciences: geography of industry, geography of agriculture, geography of transport, geography of population, geography of the service sector, behavioral geography, etc.

The integral geographic sciences include cartography, regional studies, historical geography, ocean geography. The development of geography led to the formation of applied geographical sciences - medical geography, recreational geography, military geography, land reclamation geography, etc. They perform a connecting function between geography and other scientific disciplines. The unity of geography is due to the natural-historical unity of the object of study; the commonality of the methods used; substantive complementarity in solving territorial problems. The fundamental difference between the two branches of geography is in the essence of natural and social laws and patterns. The language of geographical science includes a map, concepts and terms, facts, figures, dates, geographical names; geographical representations (images).

What do geographic research methods include?

general scientific (mathematical, historical, ecological, modeling, system, etc.);
specific scientific (geochemical, geophysical, paleogeographic, technical and economic, economic and statistical, sociological, etc.);
working methods and methods for obtaining information (field observations, remote, including aerospace;
laboratory, for example, physical and chemical analysis of a substance, spore-pollen analysis, questioning; samples, etc.);
empirical and theoretical generalization of information (indicative, evaluative, analogues, classifications, etc.);
storage and processing of information (including on electronic media).

Academician K.K. Markov identified end-to-end methods (directions) in geography: comparative geographical (descriptive), cartographic, evolutionary-historical (paleogeographic), mathematical (geoinformational), geophysical and geochemical. The origins of the comparative geographical method were the ancient Greek scientists Herodotus and Strabo. Much has been done by A. Humboldt for the formation and development of the comparative method in physical geography. The term cartography appeared in the Renaissance, but the cartographic method is organically connected with the birth of geography. The development of the method is associated with the names of G. Mercator, S.U. Remezova, A.A. Tillo, Yu.M. Shokalsky, K.A. Salishcheva, A.M. Berlyant.

The purpose of the evolutionary-historical (paleogeographic) direction is to establish the patterns of development of natural and anthropogenic landscapes. The paleogeographic direction was developed by I.P. Gerasimov, K.K. Markov, A.A. Velichko, P.A. Kaplin.

The origins of mathematical geography date back to the times of Thales of Miletus and Eratosthenes. Until the beginning of the 20th century, this concept was invested with a different meaning than today. The area of interest of mathematical geography as part of physical geography included the study of the shape and size of the Earth, the systematization of information about its movement, and the solution of astronomical and geodetic problems. The development of modern mathematical methods began in the 1950s and 1960s. in the USSR, USA, Sweden. The introduction of mathematical methods in geography (probability theory, one-dimensional and multidimensional statistical, multidimensional parametric and non-parametric, fractal, cluster, spectral mathematical analysis, etc.) is associated with the names of D.L. Armand, L.N. Vasilyeva, A.S. Viktorova, Yu.G. Puzachenko, S.N. Serbenyuk, Yu.G. Simonova and others.

The geochemical method of studying landscapes, which makes it possible to study the distribution, migration processes, and concentrations of chemical elements and their compounds, was implemented within the framework of landscape geochemistry and originated in the 1930s and 1940s. The main principles were formulated by Academician B.B. Polynov and his students - M.A. Glazovskaya, A.I. Perelman and developed by V.V. Dobrovolsky, S. Kasimov, V.A. Snytko and others.

The formation and development of the geophysical method is associated with the names of A.I. Voeikova, A.A. Grigorieva, M.I. Budyko. (D.L. Armand, N.L. Beruchashvli, K.N. Dyakonov) has been developing since the 60s of the 20th century. thanks to stationary complex physical and geographical research. The essence of the method is the construction of balance models of the matter and energy of natural landscapes, the study of the transformation of solar energy along food chains.

Milestones of development

Reliable geographical. information has come down to us from 4-3 millennium BC. and refer to Babylon, Egypt and Ancient China. An isolated focus of a highly developed civilization was formed in the northeast of China. The geographical outlook of the Chinese was quite wide: from the Japanese Islands to modern Vietnam and the Tibetan Plateau. The Chinese knew the properties of a magnetic needle, they made cards from wooden clichés.

The ancient Mediterranean civilization is characterized by fundamental achievements in geography. The initial attempts at a natural-scientific explanation of geographical phenomena belong to the ancient Greek philosophers of the Milesian and Ionian schools - Thales of Miletus and Anaximander. Aristotle introduced the idea of the sphericity of the Earth and laid the foundations for the differentiation of the geographical sciences. Eratosthenes quite accurately determined the circumference of the globe, formulated the concepts of "parallels" and "meridians", introduced the term "Geography". The ideas of latitudinal zonality were formulated by Posidonius, who singled out 13 geographical zones (corresponding to the modern classification). The ancestor of evolutionary geography and regional studies is Strabo, who summarized regional knowledge in geography in 17 volumes; K. Ptolemy in the "Guide to Geography" laid the foundation for building a map of the Earth. The creation of a transformative (reclamation) direction in geography is associated with the construction of canals, roads, water pipelines, etc.

In the Middle Ages, the Arab scientists and encyclopedists Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Biruni, and the travelers Ibn Batutta and Idrisi played a significant role in the development of geography. The great European traveler was Marco Polo. The Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin walked the Caspian, Black and Arabian seas, having reached the shores of India, he described the nature, life and life of the population of this country. In the Middle Ages, the idea of the sphericity of the Earth was rejected. In the 15th century, when the works of ancient geographers were translated, this idea began to revive.

The era of the Great Geographical Discoveries expanded the horizons of scientific thinking and approved the idea of the integrity of the world and the unity of the oceans. Cartography is characterized by two outstanding achievements: the creation of a cylindrical conformal projection, a handwritten atlas - the pinnacle of Russian cartography "The Big Drawing of the whole state of Moscow", ca. 1600) (1598?) and revised in 1627, and the compilation of the Mercator map, which shows the real outlines of the continents and coastlines. The foundations of physical thinking in geography were laid by B. Varenius in "General Geography" (1650), where the object of geography was an "amphibian ball", which can be studied as a whole (now it is general geography) and in separate parts (analogous to modern regional studies or local history) ; he divided geography into chorography, which describes large territories, and topography, which studies small territories; as well as I. Newton in "The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" (1687).

A significant contribution to the development of the methodology of geography was made by V.N. Tatishchev. In his work “On Geography in General and on Russian Geography”, he divided geography into: universal, or general, covering the Earth or its large parts; special, or private, describing different countries; topography, or predescription, illuminating parts of the country and individual cities. Tatishchev also divided geography “according to qualities” into mathematical (astronomical and geodetic direction), physical and political. He assigned to physical geography the study of the territory “from place to place”, natural “contents and disadvantages”, and the leading role was assigned to the climate; political geography studied the occupations of the population, cities, villages, etc.

M.V. Lomonosov in the middle of the 18th century. was the first to express the idea of the role of the time factor in the development of nature and introduced the term "economic geography" into science. With the opening of the Geographical Department in 1739, the role of the Academy of Sciences in organizing the systematic geographical study of Russia increased significantly. At the end of the 18th century Under Catherine II, a General Survey of Russia was carried out, the “Economic Notes” of which contained information on the size of land, the quality of land, the nature of land use, etc. The General Survey stimulated the development of economic geography.

The generalization of the data of field expeditions led the German naturalist A. Humboldt to the development of a comparative method in geography, classification of the Earth's climates, substantiation of latitudinal zonality and vertical zonality; he became the ideologist of an integrated approach in geography, set before physical geography the task of studying the general laws and the relationship of terrestrial phenomena, primarily between animate and inanimate nature. In 1845, through the efforts of F.P. Litke, K.I. Arsenyeva, K.M. Baer, F.P. Wrangel, V.I. Dahl, I.F. Kruzenshtern and others, the Imperial Russian Geographical Society was formed in St. Petersburg. In 1884 at Moscow University D.N. Anuchin created the first department of geography (department of geography and ethnography) and founded the school of complex physical geography. The formation of the geographical school at St. Petersburg University is connected with the ideas of V.V. Dokuchaev and A.I. Voeikov.

In 1898 V.V. Dokuchaev expressed the idea of the need to oppose the “geography spreading in all directions” with a new science of the interaction and relationship of animate and inanimate nature. In the work “Our steppes before and now” (1892), Dokuchaev outlined the main ideas and principles of landscape science as an integral geographical science. The development of Dokuchaev's ideas by his followers (G.N. Vysotsky, L.S. Berg, G.F. Morozov, A.A. Borzov, L.G. Ramensky) led to the substantiation of the concept of a geographical landscape as a functional-genetic unity.

In the 2nd half of the 19th century. the ideas of geographical determinism, which asserted that geographical factors play a decisive role in the life of people, the development of peoples and countries, were widely adopted. A prominent representative of the trend was L.I. Mechnikov, author of the fundamental work Civilization and Great Historical Rivers (1889). The development of geography at the end of the 19th, beginning. 20th century associated with the names of K. Ritter, P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, A.I. Voeikova, D.N. Anuchina, Vidal de la Blacha, V.V. Dokuchaeva, V.M. Davis, L.S. Berg.

The development of geography in the 20th century. was determined to a large extent by the traditions of national schools, such as the French school of “geography of man” Vidal de la Blache, the Russian geographical school, later Soviet, was formed under the influence of the teachings of V.V. Dokuchaev about natural areas, V.I. Vernadsky about the role of living matter in the formation of the modern biosphere of the Earth and its evolutionary-stage development, A.A. Grigoriev about and its dynamic processes, L.S. Berg, L.G. Ramensky, S.V. Kalesnik, N.A. Solntsev about the landscape structure of terrestrial nature, N.N. Baransky about the geographical (spatial) division of labor.

The Soviet period in the development of geography had a huge impact on world geographical and environmental science. The Plan for the Electrification of Russia (GOELRO) assigned geographers the tasks of studying natural resources, scientific justification for the creation of thermal and hydroelectric power plants, and land reclamation. Particular attention is paid to the development of the Northern Sea Route and the expansion of geographical research in the Arctic. Drifting scientific stations of the joint venture functioned constantly, the first of which was headed by I.D. Papanin in 1937. In the 1920s and 1930s, the USSR Academy of Sciences organized large complex expeditions to study the country's productive forces. In 1937 the Great Soviet Atlas of the World was published.

More difficult was the development of socio-economic geography. In the 20-30s of the 20th century. there was a heated discussion between representatives of the sectoral-statistical and district (regional-complex) directions. The development of economic geography went in the second direction (N.N. Baransky, N.N. Kolosovsky), but the constructive provisions of the sectoral direction were in demand. After the Great Patriotic War, a new stage in the development of geography began. It is characterized by the formation and development of large geographical schools in academic institutions, state universities and pedagogical institutes. By the middle of the 20th century the modern system of geographical sciences took shape, leading geographical schools were created. Among them is the school of physical and geographical regional studies (regional complex physical geography) - N.A. Gvozdetsky, N.I. Mikhailov, F.N. Milkov, E.M. Murzaev; economic and geographical country studies - I.V. Komar, Yu.G. Saushkin and others; district economic and geographical school N.N. Baransky - N.N. Kolosovsky - I.A. Witwer; academic geophysical school A.A. Grigorieva - I.P. Gerasimov - D.L. Armand; complex (landscape) geography - A.A. Borzova - L.S Berga - N.A. Solntseva - A.G. Isachenko; landscape-geochemical school B.B. Polynova - A.I. Perelman - M.A. Glazovskaya - N.S. Kasimov; academic landscape-ecological school of Siberian geographers - V.B. Sochavy - V.A. Snytko; Voronezh - in anthropogenic landscape science - F.N. Milkova - V.I. Fedotov.

Along with the development of integral trends in geography, fundamental results have been obtained in particular geographical sciences. Geomorphological schools of Moscow State University I.S. Shchukin, marine geomorphology O.K. Leontiev, IG RAS I.P. Gerasimov - Yu.A. Meshcheryakov, St. Petersburg University Ya.S. Edelstein. A huge role in the development of geography was played by the school of physical climatology M.I. Budyko. Progress has been made in the classification of climates (B.P. Alisov), the study of moisture circulation and circulation of the atmosphere, and fluctuations in humidity (O.A. Drozdov, M.A. Petrosyants, S.P. Khromov). Mathematical climate models were built (M.I. Budyko, A.V. Kislov). Even in the prewar years, V.G. Glushkov, M.A. Velikanov, S.D. Muraveisky, and others developed the theoretical foundations of the geographical trend in hydrology. The hydrological school of the Institute of Geology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (M.I. Lvovich) calculated the components of the water balance of individual continents and the globe as a whole. The problems of global hydrology were developed by G.P. Kalinin. Fundamental results in the field of channel processes and sediment runoff were obtained by N.I. Makkaveev, R.S. Chalov, N.I. Alekseevsky. The direction associated with the transformation of the runoff of river systems, with anthropogenic changes in the quality of land waters, was clearly indicated (M.I. Lvovich). Studies of lakes and reservoirs were carried out by L.L. Rossolimo, B.B. Bogoslovsky, S.L. Vendrov, V.M. Shirokov, K.K. Edelstein and others. The glaciological school was founded and developed by S.V. Kalesnik, M.V. Tronov, G.A. Avsyukom, P.A. Shumsky, V.M. Kotlyakov. One of the founders of avalanche science was G.K. Tushinsky and his students M.Ch. Zalikhanov, V.M. Kotlyakov. In the Soviet period, cryolithology was significantly developed (A.I. Popov, P.I. Melnikov, V.P. Melnikov, .N. Konishchev).

The founder of the school of biogeography V.N. Sukachev and his followers A.G. Voronov, A.N. Formozov, A.A. Tishkov laid the foundations of the doctrine of biogeocenoses, developed a typology of forests. The geographical direction in soil science was manifested in studies on the genesis, classification of soils and their mapping (I.P. Gerasimov, E.N. Ivanova, N.N. Rozov, V.O. Targulyan, etc.), their water regime (A. A. Rode, S.V. Zonn), geochemistry (M.A. Glazovskaya, V.O. Targulyan) and soil evolution (I.P. Gerasimov, A.N. Gennadiev, A.L. Aleksandrovsky).

The socio-geographic direction included: theoretical and methodological (N.N. Baransky, S.B. Lavrov, I.M. Maergoiz, A.A. Mints, V.V. Pokshishevsky, Yu.G. Saushkin, P.Ya. Baklanov, Yu.N. Gladky, N.S. Mironenko); regional, including economic and geographical studies of foreign countries (Yu.D. Dmitrievsky, Ya.G. Mashbits, G.V. Sdasyuk) and sectoral. The most important of them are studies on the geography of industry (A.E. Probst, P.N. Stepanov, A.T. Khrushchev), the geography of agriculture (A.N. Rakitnikov, V.G. Kryuchkov), transport (I.V. Nikolsky), geography of the service sector (S.A. Kovalev, A.I. Alekseev), geography of the population and cities (S.A. Kovalev, G.M. Lappo, V.V. Pokshishevsky). The growing scale of consumption of natural resources led to the development of a geographical direction in resource use. Theoretical and regional studies were carried out by A.A. Mints, I.V. Komar (the concept of resource cycles), E.P. Romanova.

At the turn of the century, new trends in the development of geography emerged: computerization of data collection and processing methods with the widespread use of mathematical methods, the creation of geographic information systems, greening, humanization and humanization, sociologization, globalization of thinking. In the USSR and Russia, geography has become one of the basic environmental sciences. Ecological-geographical methods underlie impact assessments. All this poses challenges for geography: the study of the dynamics of natural, socio-economic and geopolitical processes, the forecasting of global and regional socio-economic and political situations, the development of recommendations for environmental protection, the optimal design and functioning of natural and technical systems in order to increase the safety of human existence , quality of life of people, sustainable development of society, economy.

The state of geography abroad

Foreign geography in the 20th century went from the classical task of describing the earth's surface, nature, economy and population to the search for geographical patterns and laws. A great unifying influence on the development of geography was exerted by the chorological concept of the German scientist A. Gettner, who saw the task of geography in identifying "terrestrial spaces by their differences and spatial relationships." The horological concept was developed in the USA in the works of R. Hartshorne. On this theoretical basis in the first half of the 20th century. in Great Britain, the USA, Australia, work on zoning of the territory has been widely developed. Significant contributions to the development of theoretical problems were made in Germany by Z. Passarge, A. Penk, O. Schlüter, K. Troll, and J. Schmithusen; in the USA - K. Sauer, I. Bowman. Schools of regional and cultural geography were formed in France (P. Vidal de la Blache, E. Marton, J. Beau-Garnier). Geographical determinism, popular in English-speaking geography of the early 20th century, directly derived historical and economic processes from natural conditions (E. Huntington).

In biogeography, the idea of change in time became guiding after the work of F. Clements. Schools of historical geography were formed in the USA (K. Sauer) and Great Britain (H. Darby). K. Sauer laid the foundations of human ecology and saw the basis for the unity of geographical science in the study of nature and man. Political events of the first half of the 20th century. stimulated the development of geopolitical theories, which proceeded from the concept of the state as an organism with the living space it needs (F. Ratzel, R. Kjellen, H. Mackinder).

In the second half of the 20th century the main efforts were directed to the creation of an apparatus for spatial analysis. A theory of central places by V. Kristaller and A. Lesh developed, which made it possible to explain the hierarchy and spatial arrangement of settlements. In geomorphology, the work of R. Horton and A. Strahler laid the foundation for the quantitative morphology of river basins. The theory of island biogeography explained the quantitative ratio of the species diversity of wildlife from the area of the island and its remoteness from the mainland (R. MacArthur, E. Wilson). A systematic approach, self-regulation, sustainability was introduced (R. Chorley, B. Kennedy, R. Huggett, R. Bennett, E. Neef). In the 1970s and 1980s, the study of the problem of the hierarchy of processes in time and spatial objects came to the fore. Within the framework of social geography, behavioral geography (behaviorism) was developed - D. Wolpert, K. Cox, R. Golledzh). Since the 90s, studies on the perception and aesthetics of the landscape have been popular, especially in France (J. Bertrand, A. Decamps). In the 1960s and 1970s, the ecologization of geographical research began to take shape (D. Stoddart, G. Haze, I. Simmons, F. Heer). In the 1970s and 1980s, landscape ecology was formed. Awareness of global and regional environmental problems required the development of concepts of nature management and nature protection. Since 1982 there has been an International Association for Landscape Ecology. The main applied value of landscape ecology is in land use planning, more broadly - in landscape planning, Institute of Geography SB RAS, Pacific Institute of Geography FEB RAS, Institute of Steppe Ural Branch RAS, Institute of Water Problems RAS, Institute of Water and Environmental Problems SB RA, Institute of Water and Environmental problems of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, geographical faculties and faculties of geography and geoecology of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Tver, Tyumen and other universities (in total, more than 30 universities train geographers); geographical faculties of pedagogical universities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc. Leading scientific geographical journals - Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences, geographical series, Bulletin of Moscow University, ser. 5. Geography, Geography and natural resources, Water resources, Proceedings of the Russian Geographical Society, Geomorphology, Meteorology and hydrology, etc.

Various areas of scientific, educational and practical geographical activities are coordinated by the Russian Geographical Society with its regional centers and departments.

Geographers of the world are united in the International Geographical Union, which convenes international geographical congresses every four years. The international activity of cartographers is directed by the International Cartographic Association. In Russia, the international activities of geographers are coordinated by the National Committee of Russian Geographers.