Definition of geography. The science that studies the geographic envelope of the Earth. Role in culture. Milestones of development

And ... graphics), a complex of natural and social sciences who study the structure, functioning and evolution of the geographic shell, the interaction and distribution in space of its individual parts - natural and natural-social geosystems and components. Geographical research is carried out in order to scientifically substantiate the territorial organization of society, the distribution of the population and its various types of activities, the efficient use of natural resources, geographical forecasting, the preservation of the human environment, and the creation of the foundations of a strategy for environmentally safe sustainable development of society. The most important subject of geography research is the processes of interaction between man and nature, the patterns of placement and interaction of the components of the geographic environment and their combinations at the local, regional, national (state), continental, oceanic, global levels. The complexity of the object of study led to the differentiation of a single geography into a number of specialized scientific disciplines. Therefore, modern geography is a complex system of sciences in which natural (physico-geographical), social (socio- and economic-geographical), applied geographical sciences and sciences of an integral (boundary) character are distinguished. The term "geography" was introduced by Eratosthenes (3rd century BC).

The structure of geography. Physical geography includes the complex sciences of the geographical shell as a whole - geography (general physical geography), landscape science (regional physical geography), paleogeography (evolutionary geography). In the course of the long development of geography, special scientific disciplines have been formed that study individual components of the geographic envelope - geomorphology, geocryology, climatology and meteorology, hydrology (subdivided into land hydrology, oceanology), glaciology, soil geography, biogeography.

Socio-economic geography includes social geography, economic geography (sometimes called "economic geography"), and political geography. A number of scientists are of the opinion that the term "socio-economic geography" does not fully reflect the content of this section of geographical knowledge, and use the term social geography. Abroad, the term "human geography" is used to refer to the totality of social geographical sciences. In socio-economic geography (the most established term in Russian geography), special scientific disciplines are distinguished: population geography, geo-urban studies, cultural geography, tourism geography, industrial geography, agricultural geography, transport geography, geography of the service sector.

The integral geographic sciences include cartography, regional studies, and historical geography. The development of geography led to the formation of applied geographical sciences and directions - medical geography, recreational geography, military geography, land reclamation geography, etc. They perform a connecting function between geography and other scientific disciplines. The desire to identify general geographical patterns in the development of all or many components of the geographic shell, to create their models led to the formation of theoretical geography.

The unity of geography is due to the natural-historical unity of the object of study, the commonality of the methods used, and subject complementarity in solving territorial complex problems. The fundamental difference between the two branches of geography is in the very essence of natural and social laws and regularities, in different research methodologies.

Geography as a system of sciences was formed not by the convergence of isolated separate geographical sciences, but as a result of the development of the once unified geography and its division into specialized scientific disciplines - according to the objects of study, their combinations, levels of research and degree of generalization, goals and practical needs. Therefore, all geographic sciences, no matter how far they may have diverged from each other, have preserved common features geographical approach: territoriality, complexity, specificity, globality and the general specific language of science - a geographical map. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, characteristic trends in the development of geography emerged: computerization of data collection and processing methods with widespread use mathematical methods(construction of geoinformation systems), ecologization, humanization, sociologization, globalization of geographical sciences.

Geography was formed in close connection with other sciences. As an ideological science, it is closely connected with philosophy and history; in the study of natural components, geographical shells deepened connections with physics, chemistry, geology, biology and philology (through toponymy), and in the study of the sociosphere - with economics, sociology, demography, etc. In turn, geography enriched and enriches related sciences with its theory and methodology ; there is a process of geographicalization of scientific knowledge, which is expressed, in particular, in the emergence of dynamically developing scientific areas at the junctions of geography with other sciences - geoecology, demogeography, ethnic geography, landscape planning, regional economics, etc.

Methods geographical research: general scientific (mathematical, physical, modeling, systemic, historical, 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, spore-pollen analysis, radiocarbon; questioning; sampling, etc.); empirical and theoretical generalization of information (indicative, evaluative, analogues, classifications, etc.); processing and storage of information (including on electronic media).

Widely used in geography: comparative geographical (descriptive), cartographic, evolutionary-historical (paleogeographic), mathematical (geoinformation), physical (geophysical) and geochemical methods. For the formation and development of the comparative method in physical geography much was done by A. Humboldt, K. I. Arsenyev, K. Ritter, P. P. Semenov-Tian-Shansky. The method is based on a geographical description of natural zones, regions, localities, elementary natural territorial complexes, and so on, in which the typical, main and special are distinguished. The most important requirement is the unification of the description. Forms of generalization of the geographical description are the scientific classification of geographical objects and zoning. The cartographic method consists in the use of geographical maps for scientific knowledge, analysis and forecasting of phenomena. It is used to study the patterns of spatial distribution, relationships, dependencies and development of geographical objects. A map is the result of geographical study and at the same time a means of obtaining new geographical knowledge. The evolutionary-historical method, aimed at establishing the laws and patterns of development in time of natural and anthropogenic landscapes, natural and economic systems, settlement systems, and so on, makes it possible to predict the state of geographical objects at fixed points in the future. The evolutionary-historical trend in geography was greatly influenced by the evolutionary theory in biology of C. Darwin, the Russian evolutionary scientists K. F. Rul'e and N. A. Severtsov, and the ideas of actualism of the geologist C. Lyell. An important place within the framework of the historical approach is occupied by the diachronic approach - the study of the history of geographical objects from the moment of their formation to the present, the establishment of their genesis and all stages of development. The origins of mathematical geography, as an independent direction, date back to the times of Thales of Miletus and Eratosthenes. For a long period (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 quantitative and then mathematical methods began in the 1950s and early 1960s. By this time, two large schools of Washington (USA) and Lund (Sweden) universities had been formed, which gave the world leaders in the formal mathematical direction - B. Berry, W. Bunge, W. Tobler, P. Haggett, etc. Based on the use of mathematical and quantitative methods in the 1960s, theoretical geography was formed, which studies the general spatial patterns of the distribution of geographical objects (both natural and public) and the evolution of geosystems. The leading role in the use of mathematical methods historically belongs to the hydrometeorological sciences, which use long series of observations. Mathematical methods (probability theory, one-dimensional and multidimensional statistical, multidimensional parametric and non-parametric, fractal, cluster-, spectral mathematical analyzes, and so on) are being intensively introduced into other geographical sciences. The geochemical method of studying the Earth and its landscapes, with the help of which the distribution, migration processes, and concentrations of chemical elements and their compounds are studied, is being developed within the framework of landscape geochemistry. Conjugate geochemical analysis makes it possible to determine the content of chemical elements in elementary natural geosystems and in the landscape as a whole. The value of the method has increased dramatically due to the problems of environmental pollution. The geochemical method is an integral part of geoecological monitoring.

The physical method is actively used in meteorology, climatology, oceanology, land hydrology, geocryology, etc. Thanks to stationary complex physical and geographical studies, landscape geophysics is being developed, based on the construction of balance models of the matter and energy of natural landscapes, and the study of the transformation of solar energy along food chains.

Basic methods of socio-economic geography: economic zoning; identification of spatial differentiation of economic, social and political phenomena; typification (typology) of countries, regions, settlements and other objects of study; mathematical-statistical (including centrographic method); spatial analysis of the placement of social, economic and political phenomena; study of the processes of socio-economic development of territories.

Essay on the development of science

Geography is one of the oldest sciences. For many centuries, the main content of geography was the discovery and description of new lands. The desire to record individual phenomena on the surface of the Earth led to the formation of regional studies and regional approaches. At the same time, attempts to identify and explain similarities and differences, combine them into similar categories, classify facts, phenomena, natural bodies, peoples, etc., laid the foundations of general, or systemic, geography, led to the formation of the theory of geographical science. Geographical knowledge arose at the early stages of human development. Individual tribes, peoples and states in the process of their development formed their own ideas about the world around them. As contacts between peoples and states developed, geographical knowledge became more and more perfect. The knowledge of peoples about each other was tested and refined due to the expansion of trade relations, as well as during wars of conquest, while mastering the achievements of destroyed civilizations.

The first geographical information is contained in the most ancient written sources left by the peoples of the East. Sufficiently reliable geographical information (the oldest maps and plans, travel information) dates back to the 4th-3rd millennium BC and refers to Babylon, Ancient Egypt and Ancient China (where the properties of the magnetic needle were known, they made maps with wooden clichés).

The ancient Mediterranean civilization is known for fundamental achievements in the field of geography. The initial attempts at a natural-scientific explanation of geographical phenomena belong to the ancient Greek philosophers of the Milesian school, Thales of Miletus and Anaximander. Aristotle introduced the idea of the sphericity of the Earth, laid the foundations for the differentiation of the geographical sciences (meteorology). Eratosthenes quite accurately determined the circumference of the globe, the concepts of "parallels" and "meridians" were introduced (Hipparchus). Ideas latitudinal zonality formulated by Posidonius, who singled out 13 geographical zones (corresponding modern classification). The origins of the comparative geographical method were the ancient Greek scientists Herodotus and Strabo - the founder of evolutionary geography and regional studies, who summarized regional knowledge in 17 volumes; K. Ptolemy in the "Guide to Geography" (8 books) systematized the knowledge of the ancient peoples and laid the foundations for building a map of the Earth. The forerunners of the transformative (reclamation) direction in geography were hydrotechnical works.

Geographical studies of Byzantium are known. Around 535, Hierocles compiled the Synekdem, an inventory of 64 provinces and 912 cities, which served as the basis for many later geographical works. In the 10th century, Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in his essay “On Themes” presented the information available in his time about the regions of Byzantium. The geographical literature of Byzantium also includes descriptions of the travels of merchants (itinerarii) and pilgrims. An anonymous itinerary of the 4th century contains detailed information about the Mediterranean, indicating the distances between ports, goods produced in certain places, etc. Descriptions of travels have been preserved: the merchant Cosmas Indikoplov (about 547, "Christian topography"), where, in addition to general cosmological ideas , there are live observations, reliable information about different countries and peoples of Arabia, Africa, etc.; John Foki (12th century) - to Palestine; Andrei Livadin (14th century) - to Palestine and Egypt; Kanana Laskaris (late 14th - early 15th century) - to Germany, Scandinavia and Iceland. The Byzantines knew how to make geographical maps. A significant role in the development of geography was played by the Arab scientists and encyclopedists Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Biruni, and the travelers Ibn Batutta and Idrisi. The European traveler Marco Polo traveled to China and gave a description of the countries of Central, East and South Asia. The Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin traveled 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 some ancient geographers were translated, this idea began to revive, a large role belongs to the concept of K. Ptolemy about the proximity of the western coasts of Europe and the eastern outskirts of Asia.

The era of the Great Geographical Discoveries expanded the geographical ideas about the world, approved the ideas about its integrity and the unity of the World Ocean. Geography has become one of the most important branches of knowledge. The cartography of this period is characterized by outstanding achievements: the creation of a cylindrical conformal cartographic projection by G. Mercator and the compilation of the Atlas (1595), which shows the real outlines of the continents and coastlines; the appearance of a handwritten atlas - the pinnacle of Russian cartography "The Big Drawing for the Entire State of Moscow", compiled around 1600 (1598?) and refined in 1627. In many copies, its detailed description, “The Book of the Big Drawing,” has been preserved, but the drawing itself has been lost. Along with the continuation of geographical discoveries and the description of the Earth, a theoretical direction is developing. The foundations of physical thinking in geography were laid by B. Varenius in General Geography (1650), where the object of geography was an “amphibious ball”, which can be studied as a whole (now it is general geography) and in separate parts (an analogue of modern regional studies, or local history). ), a chorography was also distinguished, describing large territories, and topography, studying small territories; as well as I. Newton in "The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" (1687).

Geography of the 18th-19th centuries. In the first half of the 18th century, Ch. L. Montesquieu, in his work “On the Spirit of Laws” (1748), developed the ideas of J. Bodin about the determining influence natural conditions, primarily climate, on the state and social structure, life, customs, and the psyche of the population. "The power of climate is the first power in the world" - the formula of geographical determinism of Montesquieu and his followers.

V. N. Tatishchev made a significant contribution to the development of the methodology of geography. 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, studying parts of the country and individual cities. Tatishchev divided geography and "by qualities" - into mathematical (astronomical and geodetic direction), physical and political. Physical geography studies territories "from place to place", natural "contents and disadvantages", with the climate playing the leading role; political geography is interested in the occupations of the population, cities, villages, etc. Tatishchev's classification of geographical sciences is characterized by historicism, attention to natural resources and the economy.

With the opening in Russia of the Geographical Department at the Academy of Sciences (1739), the academy's role in organizing systematic geographical research increased significantly. This was facilitated by the invitation to the country of a number of well-known natural scientists (J. N. Delisle, L. Euler, D. G. Messerschmidt, I. G. Gmelin, and others). The first statistical and geographical description of Russia by I. K. Kirillov “The Blooming State of the All-Russian State” (1727), the first Atlas of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1745) were compiled. 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. On the initiative of Peter I (a significant part of which was implemented after his death), expeditions to Siberia were organized under the leadership of Messerschmidt (1719-27), the Great Northern Expedition to explore the coast of the Northern Arctic Ocean, which included the 1st Kamchatka expedition of V. I. Bering - A. I. Chirikov. Lomonosov's students S. P. Krasheninnikov in "Description of the land of Kamchatka" (1755) and P. I. Rychkov in "Topography of the Orenburg province" (1762) gave classic examples of a comprehensive description of the nature of the regions. The first half of the 18th century stands out for its success in cartography. In 1765, a general survey of "the lands of the entire empire" was announced by a manifesto. The “economic notes” of the General Land Survey contained information on the size of land, land quality, land use patterns, and so on. General land surveying stimulated the development of economic geography.

The generalization of the data of field expeditions led A. Humboldt to develop a comparative method in geography, classification of the Earth's climates, substantiation of latitudinal zonality and vertical zonality. He became an ideologue 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 Russia, in the first half of the 19th century, the differentiation of natural sciences, including geographical sciences, began, there was a demarcation between economic geography (“statistics”) and physical geography, which was developed by physicists and considered as part of physics. In 1832, the first scientific geographical school of the Imperial Military Academy in St. Petersburg was established, where military geography was taught, geographical features territories in terms of the possibility of their use for strategic and tactical purposes. In 1845, the Russian Geographical society. In 1884, D. N. Anuchin created the first department of geography (geography and ethnography) at Moscow University, which served as the basis for the formation of the Anuchin physical and geographical school. The formation of the school of geography at St. Petersburg University is connected with the ideas of V. V. Dokuchaev and A. I. Voeikov.

By the end of the 19th century, a crisis emerged in the sciences of nature in the study of complex systems that were not cognizable by decomposition into elementary parts. In physical geography, one of the first to realize this was V. V. Dokuchaev, who in 1898, relying on his theory of soil as a natural historical body, called for studying “the whole single, integral and inseparable nature, and not fragmentary parts of it.” 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 most important of which are: analysis of the components of nature as a whole; the study of not only natural, but also anthropogenic evolution of nature; research of both natural and natural-economic complexes; natural-historical substantiation of measures for the creation of cultural landscapes. The development of Dokuchaev's ideas by his followers (G. N. Vysotsky, L. S. Berg, G. F. Morozov, A. A. Borzov, R. I. Abolin, L. G. Ramensky) led to the substantiation of the concept of geographical landscape as a functional -genetic unity.

In the second half of the 19th century, the ideas of geographical determinism became widespread, stating that geographical factors play a decisive role in the life of people, the development of peoples and countries. These ideas were adhered to by the largest German geographer K. Ritter. He introduced the term "earth science", came close to the definition of landscape, tried to prove the decisive influence of nature on the destinies of peoples, creating the prerequisites for the formation of geopolitics. L. I. Mechnikov, the author of the fundamental work “Civilization and Great Historical Rivers” (1889), was a prominent representative of determinism. With increasing human impact on the environment, these ideas lose their appeal; now their echoes are preserved in environmentalism. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the concepts of geographical possibilism arose, considering the geographical environment as a beginning that limits and changes people's activities, and the chorological approach of A. Getner, a follower of I. Kant, to geography as a science that studies mainly only the spatial relationships of objects and phenomena on the earth's surface, without delving into the study of the inner essence of these phenomena and their development. At the same time, V. I. Vernadsky substantiated the planetary role of the anthropogenic factor and developed the idea that the transformation of the biosphere under the influence of conscious human activity will lead to the formation of the noosphere.

Domestic geography of the 20th century. The Russian geographical school was formed under the influence of the teachings of V. V. Dokuchaev on natural zones, V. I. Vernadsky on the role of living matter in the formation of the modern nature of the Earth and in its evolutionary-stage development, A. A. Grigoriev on the geographical shell and its dynamic processes , L. S. Berg, N. A. Solntseva about the landscape structure of the earth's nature, N. N. Baransky about the geographical division of labor as a spatial form of social division of labor and the objective nature of the formation of economic regions.

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, ecological justification for the creation of thermal and hydroelectric power plants, and land reclamation, the implementation of which required extensive hydrological research conducted with the participation of hydrologists V. G. Glushkov and E. V. Bliznyak. In the 1920s and 1930s, land hydrology took shape as an independent geographical discipline. In 1929, the Hydrometeorological Service of the USSR was established, which was entrusted with carrying out meteorological and hydrological observations and research, original designs of actinometric instruments were created, and a radiosonde was invented (P. A. Molchanov, 1930). In 1931, work began on compiling the Water Cadastre of the USSR - systematized information on the regime of rivers, lakes, seas, glaciers, groundwater, which at the first stage was led by L.K. Davydov. V. G. Glushkov, B. A. Apollov, M. A. Velikanov, S. D. Muraveisky, B. V. Polyakov, E. V. Bliznyak and others developed the theoretical foundations of the geographical trend in land hydrology. In connection with the active participation of the USSR in the 2nd International Polar Year (1932/33), extensive research was carried out on mountain and polar glaciers under the direction of SV Kalesnik. The tasks were set to create the first national atlas, a million-scale map of the entire territory of the USSR, to develop the Northern Sea Route and expand geographical research in the Arctic. Drifting constantly functioned scientific stations"North Pole", the first of which was headed by I. D. Papanin (34 drifting stations worked in 1937-2006). The capital works of V. V. Shuleikin, N. N. Zubov, and V. Yu. Vize played an important role in shaping the main directions of oceanology. In the 1920s and 1930s, the Academy of Sciences of the USSR organized large complex expeditions to study the country's productive forces. In 1937, the Great Soviet Atlas of the World was published.

In the 1930s, the development of the theoretical foundations of physical geography proceeded in two directions - general geography and landscape studies. A. A. Grigoriev introduced the concepts of the geographic envelope and the physical-geographical process, initiated the introduction of quantitative and geophysical research methods, and the application of heat and water balance methods. The landscape direction was developed by L. S. Berg, S. V. Kalesnik, L. G. Ramensky.

More difficult was the development of socio-economic geography. Important guidelines for its development were indicated in the work of V. I. Lenin "Outline of a plan for scientific and technical work" (1918) and specified in the GOELRO plan. In the 1920s and 30s, 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, M. P. Alampiev, etc.), but the constructive provisions of the sectoral direction were also in demand.

After the Great Patriotic War, a new stage in the development of geography began, characterized by the formation and development of large geographical schools in scientific institutes and universities. By the middle of the 20th century, a modern system geographical sciences. In 1955, the Soviet Antarctic Expedition was organized. In the early 1970s, on the initiative of K.K. Markov, the geography of the ocean began to develop intensively, which resulted in the publication of Geography of the World Ocean in 7 issues. The Physical and Geographical Atlas of the World (1964), the Atlas of the Oceans (vols. 1-3, 1974-80), the Atlas of the Arctic (1985) and others, a series of regional and specialized atlases, were published.

Among the leading domestic geographical schools and directions, we note the following. Physical and geographical regional studies (regional complex physical geography) - N. A. Gvozdetsky, B. F. Dobrynin, Yu. K. Efremov, F. N. Milkov, N. N. Mikhailov, E. M. Murzaev, V. A Nikolaev, M. P. Petrov, V. S. Preobrazhensky, G. D. Richter, and A. M. Ryabchikov. Economic and geographical regional studies - I. V. Komar, S. N. Ryazantsev, Yu. G. Saushkin and others, economic and geographical school - N. N. Baransky, N. N. Kolosovsky, Yu. G. Saushkin, who developed concepts of energy production cycles and territorial production complexes. The academic school of "process science" - A. A. Grigoriev, I. P. Gerasimov, D. L. Armand, in which the geophysical direction occupied a prominent place. In 1956, Grigoriev and M. I. Budyko formulated the periodic law of geographical zoning, which revealed the physical essence of zoning. The paleogeographic trend was developed by I. P. Gerasimov, K. K. Markov, and A. A. Velichko. A school of complex (landscape) geography was formed - A. A. Borzov, L. S. Berg, N. A. Solntsev, A. G. Isachenko, a landscape-geochemical school - B. B. Polynov, A. I. Perelman, M A. Glazovskaya, N. S. Kasimov, landscape-ecological school of the SO Academy of Sciences of the USSR - V. B. Sochava, Voronezh school of anthropogenic landscape science - F. N. Milkov.

In the field of complex physical geography, the creation of the methodological foundations of science has been completed; on the basis of a systematic approach, the concepts of landscape polystructurality, the spatiotemporal organization of geosystems, the hierarchy of states, and the mathematical morphology of the landscape have been developed (A. D. Armand, V. S. Preobrazhensky, N. L. Beruchashvili , V. B. Sochava, A. S. Viktorov, Yu. G. Puzachenko and others). A. Yu. Reteyum proposed the theory of nuclear (nuclear) geosystems. Advances in cartography were largely associated with the development of principles and methods of integrated mapping (K. A. Salishchev, I. P. Zarutskaya, A. G. Isachenko, A. A. Lyuty), the development of remote aerospace methods (V. P. Savinykh , Yu. F. Knizhnikov, V. I. Kravtsova, etc.) and the widespread introduction of personal computers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since the mid-1970s, the national system "Resurs" has been functioning to study natural resources and monitor the environment (land and ocean). The development of thematic mapping is associated with the publication of a series of maps for higher education (more than 40 in total), maps "Alignment surfaces and weathering crust of the USSR", "Geomorphological map of the USSR", "Vegetation map of the European part of the USSR". Space geography arose within the framework of general geography (K. Ya. Kondratiev, B. V. Vinogradov, A. A. Grigoriev). In the 1990s, the formation of geoinformatics took place (A. M. Berlyant, V. S. Tikunov, A. V. Koshkarev).

Along with the development of integral trends in geography, original results have also been obtained in particular geographical sciences. The geomorphological schools of Moscow State University (I. S. Shchukin, A. I. Spiridonov, O. K. Leontiev, G. A. Safyanov), the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (I. P. Gerasimov, Yu. A. Meshcheryakov), St. Petersburg University (Ya. S. Edelshtein).

M. I. Budyko's school of physical climatology played an enormous role in the development of geography and earth sciences. A method for calculating the components of the radiation and heat balances of landscapes has been developed, a physiographic theory of photosynthesis has been proposed, and questions of the role of climate in the evolution of ecosystems have been considered. Advances have been made in the classification of climates (B. P. Alisov), the study of the moisture cycle and circulation of the atmosphere, and fluctuations in humidity (S. P. Khromov, O. A. Drozdov, B. L. Dzerdzeevsky, M. A. Petrosyants, E. S. Rubinshtein, A.V. Shnitnikov), in the construction of mathematical climate models.

Several directions have taken shape in the study of land waters. The hydrological school of the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (M. I. Lvovich and N. N. Dreyer) owns the calculations of 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, whose students and followers solved the problem of spatial and temporal fluctuations in river flow. A direction has been identified associated with the transformation of the runoff of river systems, with anthropogenic changes in the quality of land waters (M. I. Lvovich, S. L. Vendrov, N. I. Koronkevich, I. A. Shiklomanov). In the 1960-1970s, a project was developed for the territorial redistribution of the flow of northern rivers to the Caspian Sea basin and Central Asia, in which considerable attention was paid to the problem of the influence of large reservoirs on the surrounding landscapes and living conditions of the population. Studies of lakes and reservoirs were carried out by L. L. Rossolimo, B. B. Bogoslovsky, N. V. Butorin, V. S. Vuglinsky, K. K. Edelshtein, and others.

The glaciological school was founded and developed by S. V. Kalesnik, M. V. Tronov, G. A. Avsyuk, P. A. Shumsky, and V. M. Kotlyakov. In the 1960-80s, long-term stationary observations were made on the glaciers of the Tien Shan, the Caucasus, the Polar Urals, Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, fundamental results were obtained on their thermal regime, nutritional conditions, balance of matter, speed of movement, and so on. . One of the founders of avalanche science was G. K. Tushinsky and his student M. Ch. Zalikhanov. Geocryolithology has received significant development (M. I. Sumgin, P. A. Shumsky, A. I. Popov, P. F. Shvetsov, P. I. Melnikov, V. P. Melnikov, V. N. Konishchev), practical significance which increased in connection with the construction of the BAM, the development of oil and gas fields in the Arctic and subarctic zones of the country. The Geocryolithological Map of the USSR was published (1985). At the Institute of Permafrost Science of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, a new direction has taken shape - landscape permafrost studies.

The founder of the scientific school of biogeography V. N. Sukachev and his followers A. G. Voronov, A. N. Formozov, N. V. Dylis, A. A. Tishkov laid the foundations of the doctrine of phytocenoses, developed a geographical typology of forests, created the doctrine of biogeocenoses . The biogeographic school of Moscow State University is characterized by achievements in the field of botanical and zoological mapping (A. G. Voronov, D. D. Vyshivkin, and others). Russian biogeographers have priority in generalizing world data on the biological productivity of landscapes, its structure by natural zones, and biomass reserves (N. I. Bazilevich, L. E. Rodin, O. S. Grebenshchikov, A. A. Tishkov).

The geographical direction in soil science and its close connection with other geographical disciplines manifested itself in studies on the genesis, classification of soils and mapping (I. P. Gerasimov, V. A. Kovda, E. N. Ivanova, B. G. Rozanov, N. N. Rozov, V. M. Fridland, V. O. Targulyan, and others), water regime (A. A. Rode, S. V. Zonn), geochemistry (M. A. Glazovskaya, V. O. Targulyan, M. I. Gerasimova) and evolution (I. P. Gerasimov, A. N. Gennadiev, N. S. Chebotareva).

The following areas of research have emerged in the social geographical sciences: general theoretical and methodological (N. N. Baransky, O. A. Konstantinov, V. M. Gokhman, S. B. Lavrov, I. M. Maergoiz, A. A. Mints , V. V. Pokshishevsky, Yu. G. Saushkin, B. N. Semevsky, P. Ya. Baklanov, Yu. A. Gladkiy, Yu. G. Lipets, N. S. Mironenko, A. I. Treivish, B B. Rodoman, A. I. Chistobaev), economic zoning (N. N. Baransky, B. N. Knipovich, N. N. Kolosovsky, T. M. Kalashnikova, V. E. Shuvalov, L. V. Smirnyagin , E. E. Leizerovich), economic and geographical studies of foreign countries (Yu. D. Dmitrievsky, I. A. Vitver, V. V. Volsky, Ya. G. Mashbits, V. A. Pulyarkin, L. V. Smirnyagin ). The most important branch studies: on the geography of industry (A. E. Probst, P. N. Stepanov, A. T. Khrushchev, A. P. Gorkin, V. N. Gorlov), agriculture (A. N. Rakitnikov, V. G. Kryuchkov, T. G. Nefyodova), transport (I. V. Nikolsky, L. I. Vasilevsky, S. A. Tarkhov), geography of population and cities (S. A. Kovalev, G. M. Lappo, V. V. Pokshishevsky, E. N. Pertsik). The growing scale of consumption of natural resources led to the development of a geographical direction in resource use as an integral part of nature management.

I. P. Magidovich, V. I. Magidovich, I. M. Zabelin, V. A. Esakov, N. A. Gvozdetsky, Yu. G. Saushkin, N. G. Fradkin, A. G. Isachenko, V. P. Maksakovskiy, O. A. Alexandrovskaya, V. S. Zhekulin, V. K. Yatsunskiy.

The most important cartographic works of the late 20th century: the atlas "Nature and Resources of the Earth" under the direction of V. M. Kotlyakov, editor-in-chief A. A. Lyuty (vols. 1-2, 1998); Atlas of snow and ice resources of the world, editor-in-chief V. M. Kotlyakov (1997); Ecological Atlas of Russia, editor-in-chief N. S. Kasimov (2002). The results of the work carried out on deep drilling of the ice sheet in the area of the Vostok station in Antarctica have been summed up. Joint Russian-French studies (V. M. Kotlyakov, K. Lorius) made it possible to determine changes in the isotopic composition of atmospheric oxygen extracted from an ice core from data on the deuterium content in ice and to characterize changes in the global climate over the past 420 thousand years. The borehole came close to the subglacial Lake Vostok, theoretically predicted by I. A. Zotikov in the 1960s, indirect information about which was first obtained by A. P. Kapitsa in 1964 during seismic sounding.

Foreign geography of the 20th century. The specifics of the development of geography in the 20th century were determined to a large extent by the traditions of national schools, such as the French school of "human geography" by P. Vidal de la Blache with its stable social orientation; a German school with a tradition of deep theoretical analysis, regional planning and geopolitics; Anglo-American and Swedish schools of theoretical geography and the widespread use of quantitative methods. A. Getner's chorological approach, which was developed in the USA in the works of R. Hartshorne, had a great unifying influence on the development of geography. On this theoretical basis, in the first half of the 20th century, work on zoning was carried out in Great Britain, the USA, and Australia, including land assessment (A. Herbertson, D. Whittlesey, D. Stemp, K. Christian).

Traditional directions were developed - the analysis of the factors of the genesis of spatial differentiation and intercomponent relationships, the development of methods for mapping and zoning. A significant contribution to the study of these problems in Germany was made by 3. Passarge, E. Banse, A. Penk, O. Schlüter, K. Troll, J. Schmithusen; in the USA - K. Sauer, I. Bowman. In France, a school of regional geography was formed (P. Vidal de la Blache, A. Deman - jon, E. de Martonne, J. Beaujeu-Garnier; see Human Geography). Geographical determinism, popular in English-speaking geography of the early 20th century, connected historical and economic processes directly with natural conditions (E. Semple, E. Huntington).

Under the influence of the works of C. Darwin, the ideas of evolution penetrated into geography, primarily into geomorphology (W. M. Davis). 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. Derby). The political events of the 1st half of the 20th century stimulated the development of geopolitical theories, which proceeded from the concept of the state as an organism with the necessary living space (F. Ratzel, R. Kjellen, H. Mackinder).

In the second half of the 20th century, the main efforts of geography were aimed at creating a methodology for spatial analysis using mathematical methods and using aerospace information. The leaders are Anglo-American geographers, mainly in the socio-economic direction (F. Schaeffer, B. Berry, V. Garrison, P. Haggett, V. Bunge, W. Izard). Many saw in this the unifying principle of the private branches of physical and social geography. The peak of the "quantitative revolution" is the 1950s. The central place theory of 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 relationships species diversity wildlife, the area of the island and its remoteness from the mainland (American scientists R. MacArthur, E. Wilson). A systematic approach was introduced, focusing on the concepts feedback between the components of geosystems, hierarchy, self-regulation, sustainability (R. Chorley, B. Kennedy, P. Huggett, R. Bennett, E. Neef). The achievements of the "quantitative revolution" were applied in the study of the processes of relief formation, the circulation of substances in the geographical shell, climate change, the movement of glaciers, and the transformation of landscapes by man. In the 1960s and 70s, the ecologization of geographical research was clearly marked (D. Stoddart, A. Gowdy, G. Haze, I. Simmons, F. Heer). The volume of research on the study of natural disasters and their socio-economic consequences has grown (G. White, R. Chorley, D. Parker). In the 1970-80s, the study of the problem of the hierarchy of natural processes and spatial objects in time came to the fore. Within the framework of social geography, a behavioral approach has been developed that explains the relationship between personal perception of the surrounding world and the spatial behavior of people (J. Wolpert, K. Cox, R. Golledzh). Landscape ecology is being formed - a branch of science close to Russian landscape science. Awareness of global and regional environmental problems required the development of concepts of nature management and nature protection. Centers for landscape-ecological research have developed in the Netherlands (I. Sonnenveld, R. Jongman), Slovakia (M. Ruzicka, L. Miklos), Great Britain (R. Heines-Young, R. Buns), Sweden (M. Ise), Denmark (E. Brandt), France (M. Gordon, A. Dekam), USA (R. O'Neill, R. Foreman, M. Turner, R. Gardner, D. Wins), Israel (3. Naveh), Australia (R. Hobs), Norway (G. Frey), Poland (A. Richling, E. Solon, L. Ryzhkovsky), Germany (H. Laser, O. Bastian). Since 1982, there has been an International Association for Landscape Ecology, the main applied value of which is land use planning, more broadly - landscape planning. Since the 1990s, studies on the perception and aesthetics of the landscape have been popular, especially in France (J. Bertrand, A. Decamps).

The main problems of modern geography. Possessing a huge integration potential, geography brings together different branches of knowledge and research methods to solve critical issues 21st century. At the end of the 20th century, symptoms of an ecological crisis appeared on Earth: drying up and erosional destruction of the territory, deforestation and desertification, depletion of mineral resources, environmental pollution. The anthropogenic contribution to the turnover of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur has become equal to the natural one, and in some places prevails over it. A significant part of the land surface is irreversibly transformed by man. The growing globalization in the world, along with positive trends, increases the gap between the "poor" and "rich" countries, exacerbates the old and gives rise to new global problems of mankind. All this poses new 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 improve human security. existence and quality of life of people. A special role in this approach is played by ecology and the science of nature management, which is being formed at the intersection of physical and socio-economic geography with economics and technology. Ecologization and environmentalization are a characteristic feature of the geography of the early 21st century. Globalization and humanization of geographical, economic and geopolitical thinking were reflected in the formulation of research in three major areas: the preservation of bio-, ethno- and landscape diversity on our planet, anthropogenic climate change.

Scientific organizations and the press. In Russia, geographic research, training of geographers, publication of scientific journals, serial works, monographs are carried out by organizations of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Institute of Geography, Institute of Geography of the Siberian Branch (since 1959), Pacific Institute of Geography of the Far Eastern Branch (since 1971), Institute of the Steppe of the Ural Branch (since 1996), Institute of Water Problems, Institute of Water and Environmental Problems SO (since 1987), Institute of Water and Environmental Problems Far Eastern Branch (since 1986); geographical faculties of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Tver, Tyumen and other universities (more than 30 in total); geographical faculties of pedagogical universities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc. Various areas of scientific, educational and practical geographical activities are coordinated by the Russian Geographical Society with its regional divisions. Leading scientific geographical journals: Izvestiya of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (since 1865), Izvestiya RAN. Geographic series” (since 1951), “Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 5. Geography»; since 1946), "Geography and Natural Resources" (since 1980), "Water Resources" (since 1972), etc.

In foreign countries, universities are the main centers of geographical research and training of geographers. In a number of countries, geographical institutes have been set up as part of the Academy of Sciences. The geographers of most countries 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.

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Lesson topic: Geography is the science of the earth.

Main goals and objectives: to form in 5th grade students an understanding of what geography does, to form an initial interest in this science and a desire to study it.

Lesson plan:

Definition of geography
Subsections of geography
Where do geographers get their information from?

During the classes

1. Definition of geography

As already mentioned, geography is the science of the earth. She comprehensively studies our planet. In Greek, the word "geography" means "description of the earth". Yes, and this word consists of two simple Greek words: "ge" (which means Earth) and "grafo" (which translates as I write).

The development of geography took place in parallel with the development of mankind. Remember, from the very beginning, people believed that the Earth stood on three elephants, which, in turn, were placed on a huge turtle? Then the description of the Earth was different. An ancient man, not having sufficient tools, described what he could see with the naked eye - forests and fields, rivers and lakes, people and their customs. Since it was proved that the Earth is a round planet, the methods of studying it have changed dramatically. Modern geographers will never live without various artificial assistants that allow them, first of all, to overcome significant distances (for example, cars with off-road capability). In addition, they will need binoculars, rangefinders, but also microscopes.

Where will the study of geography begin for you, students of grade 5? Of course, it will be the general geography. You will learn about the peculiarities of the nature of your native land, study what features of the relief are present here, what plants grow and what animals live. Starting next year, you will go further - and now you will find out what a geographical shell is, what it consists of, how it was formed. Surely you will be interested to know what the lithosphere or atmosphere is. Maybe you yourself can guess what the hydrosphere is for and what the biosphere includes. And you will also learn that humanity lives precisely in a geographical shell, and its influence on it is enormous.

So speaking of geography, we will mean a complex of sciences that studies the geographical shell, within which the interaction between nature and man living in society takes place.

2. Subsections of geography

Like any other science that studies phenomena in a complex and system, geography has several subsections, each of which deals with its own separate issues. In total, more than 80 interconnected sciences that relate to geography are known. The most famous and popular among them:

Oceanology is a science that studies the processes that take place in the oceans.
Demography - explores the population of the globe, its qualitative and quantitative composition. It is this science that says that 7.5 billion people currently live on Earth. Unfortunately, demography cannot answer the question of how many people our planet can support.
Engineering geography - within the framework of this science, the soils on which various structures are erected are subject to study. Specialists in these matters make sure that the constructed building, for example, does not slip into the sea due to unstable soils.
Climatology is, as the name implies, and it's very easy, the science of the planet's climate. The main question is whether the greenhouse effect exists or whether it was invented by evil scientists.
Geology - explores the earth's crust, its structure and composition. What if in the place where the construction of a skyscraper is planned, there is a seismically dangerous zone and there is a high probability of earthquakes?
Geomorphology - deals with the study of the relief of the earth's surface.
Medical geography - for it, the issues of the influence of various features of territories on the health status of those people who live there are important.
Cartography is the science of making maps and reading them.

Like biology, the efforts of geography and scientists working in this field are aimed at preserving nature in its original form, as well as economically and carefully using the wealth that it provides us.

All sciences working under the "auspices" of geography belong to one of two classes:

Physical geography - they are dedicated to the study of the surface of our planet.
Socio-economic - in the focus of her attention is the diversity of manifestations of the world in which people live, as well as the economic activities that they conduct.

Practical task:

Divide the above subdivisions of geography between these two classes.

3. Where do geographers get their information from?

Studying geography at the initial stage is not very difficult - there are a lot of geographical maps, dictionaries, textbooks and encyclopedias that tell about geographical achievements of various prescriptions. First of all, you need to learn how to read a geographical map - this skill can also have practical applications, for example, it will help you on a hike or travel.

In addition, watching TV and a computer with an Internet connection in this case is more than welcome - at the moment, many TV channels in the world (for example, the BBC) have their own programs dedicated to geography. Well, you should not forget about books (first of all, textbooks) - they contain the quintessence of the knowledge that is now available to you.

Evaluation: Since there were few practical tasks within the lesson, it is necessary to evaluate students according to the final check of the level of mastering the material. You should ask a few of the questions listed in the “Lesson Outcomes” section to understand how the material was learned.

4. Lesson summary:

During the course, the students learned:

What is geography? What differences in the study of our planet in the past and in the present can you note?
What are the divisions of geography and what does each of them do? What is physical and socio-economic geography?
What is the source of information for studying geography?

Homework:

As part of the creative task, you can advise students:

Supplement the list of divisions of geography - given in paragraph 3 is not final.
Deal with how theoretical studies in the field of geography, they influence the practical activity of a person - for example, they help in construction or medicine.
Find one video on the Internet devoted to geographical issues, watch it and retell in writing what was discussed there in your own words.

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 have been formed about 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 (geoinformation), 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 "amphibious 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.

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 manifested itself 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 appeared: 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 has gone 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, 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 ideas about 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. The 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 conservation. Since 1982 there has been an International Association for Landscape Ecology. The main applied value of landscape ecology lies 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.

History of the Earth

The modern scientific hypothesis of the formation of the Earth and other planets of the solar system is the solar nebula hypothesis, according to which the solar system was formed from a large cloud of interstellar dust and gas. The cloud consisted mainly of hydrogen and helium, which were formed after the Big Bang and heavier elements left behind by supernova explosions. About 4.5 billion years ago, the cloud began to contract, probably due to the impact of a shock wave from a supernova that broke out at a distance of several light years. As the cloud began to contract, its angular momentum, gravity and inertia flattened it into a protoplanetary disk perpendicular to its axis of rotation. After that, the fragments in the protoplanetary disk began to collide under the action of gravity, and, merging, formed the first planetoids.

In the process of accretion, planetoids, dust, gas, and debris left over from the formation of the solar system began to merge into ever larger objects, forming planets. The approximate date of the formation of the Earth is 4.54±0.04 billion years ago. The entire process of planet formation took approximately 10-20 million years.

The moon formed later, approximately 4.527 ± 0.01 billion years ago, although its origin has not yet been precisely established. The main hypothesis says that it was formed by accretion from the material left after the tangential collision of the Earth with an object similar in size to Mars and with a mass of 10% of the Earth (sometimes this object is called "Theia"). This collision released about 100 million times more energy than the one that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. This was enough to evaporate the outer layers of the Earth and melt both bodies. Part of the mantle was thrown into the Earth's orbit, which predicts why the Moon is deprived metallic material, and explains its unusual composition. Under the influence own strength gravity, the ejected material took on a spherical shape and the Moon was formed.

The proto-Earth expanded by accretion, and was hot enough to melt metals and minerals. Iron, as well as siderophile elements geochemically related to it, having a higher density than silicates and aluminosilicates, descended towards the center of the Earth. This led to the separation of the Earth's inner layers into a mantle and a metallic core just 10 million years after the Earth began to form, producing the Earth's layered structure and forming the Earth's magnetic field. The release of gases from the crust and volcanic activity led to the formation of the primary atmosphere. Condensation of water vapor, enhanced by ice brought by comets and asteroids, led to the formation of oceans. The Earth's atmosphere then consisted of light atmophilic elements: hydrogen and helium, but contained much more carbon dioxide than now, and this saved the oceans from freezing, since the luminosity of the Sun then did not exceed 70% of the current level. Approximately 3.5 billion years ago, the Earth's magnetic field formed, which prevented the devastation of the atmosphere by the solar wind.

The surface of the planet has been constantly changing for hundreds of millions of years: continents have appeared and collapsed. They moved across the surface, sometimes gathering into a supercontinent. Around 750 million years ago, the earliest known supercontinent, Rodinia, began to break apart. Later, these parts united into Pannotia (600-540 million years ago), then into the last of the supercontinents - Pangea, which broke up 180 million years ago.

The emergence of life

There are a number of hypotheses for the origin of life on Earth. About 3.5-3.8 billion years ago, the “last universal common ancestor” appeared, from which all other living organisms subsequently descended.

The development of photosynthesis allowed living organisms to use solar energy directly. This led to the oxygenation of the atmosphere, which began about 2500 million years ago, and in the upper layers - to the formation of the ozone layer. The symbiosis of small cells with larger ones led to the development of complex cells - eukaryotes. Approximately 2.1 billion years ago, multicellular organisms appeared that continued to adapt to environmental conditions. By absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation ozone layer life was able to begin the development of the surface of the Earth.

In 1960, the Snowball Earth hypothesis was put forward, stating that between 750 and 580 million years ago, the Earth was completely covered in ice. This hypothesis explains the Cambrian explosion - a sharp increase in the diversity of multicellular life forms about 542 million years ago.

About 1200 million years ago, the first algae appeared, and about 450 million years ago, the first higher plants appeared. Invertebrates appeared in the Ediacaran period, and vertebrates appeared during the Cambrian explosion about 525 million years ago.

There have been five mass extinctions since the Cambrian Explosion. The extinction at the end of the Permian period, which is the most massive in the history of life on Earth, led to the death of more than 90% of living beings on the planet. After the Permian catastrophe, archosaurs became the most common terrestrial vertebrates, from which dinosaurs descended at the end of the Triassic period. They dominated the planet during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. 65 million years ago there was a Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, probably caused by a meteorite fall; it led to the extinction of dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but bypassed many small animals, such as mammals, which were then small insectivorous animals, and birds, an evolutionary branch of the dinosaurs. Over the past 65 million years, a huge variety of mammalian species has evolved, and several million years ago, ape-like animals acquired the ability to walk upright. This enabled the use of tools and promoted communication, which aided in foraging for food and stimulated the need for a large brain. The development of agriculture, and then civilization, in a short time allowed people to influence the Earth like no other form of life, to influence the nature and number of other species.

The last ice age began about 40 million years ago and peaked in the Pleistocene about 3 million years ago. Against the background of long and significant changes in the average temperature of the earth's surface, which may be associated with the period of revolution of the solar system around the center of the Galaxy (about 200 million years), there are also smaller cycles of cooling and warming in amplitude and duration that occur every 40-100 thousand years. , which are clearly self-oscillating in nature, possibly caused by the action of feedback from the reaction of the entire biosphere as a whole, seeking to stabilize the Earth's climate (see the Gaia hypothesis put forward by James Lovelock, as well as the theory of biotic regulation proposed by V. G. Gorshkov).

The last cycle of glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere ended about 10,000 years ago.

Earth structure

According to the theory of tectonic plates, the outer part of the Earth consists of two layers: the lithosphere, which includes the earth's crust, and the hardened upper part of the mantle. Under the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, which makes up the outer part of the mantle. The asthenosphere behaves like an overheated and extremely viscous fluid.

The lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates, and, as it were, floats on the asthenosphere. Plates are rigid segments that move relative to each other. There are three types of their mutual movement: convergence (convergence), divergence (divergence) and shear movements along transform faults. On faults between tectonic plates, earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain building, and the formation of ocean depressions can occur.

A list of the largest tectonic plates with sizes is given in the table on the right. Among the smaller plates, the Hindustanian, Arabian, Caribbean, Nazca and Scotia plates should be noted. The Australian plate actually merged with the Hindustan between 50 and 55 million years ago. Oceanic plates move the fastest; Thus, the Cocos plate moves at a speed of 75 mm per year, and the Pacific plate at a speed of 52-69 mm per year. The lowest speed is at the Eurasian plate - 21 mm per year.

Geographic envelope

The near-surface parts of the planet (the upper part of the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the lower layers of the atmosphere) are generally called the geographical envelope and are studied by geography.

The relief of the Earth is very diverse. About 70.8% of the planet's surface is covered with water (including the continental shelves). The underwater surface is mountainous, includes a system of mid-ocean ridges, as well as underwater volcanoes, oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus and abyssal plains. The remaining 29.2%, not covered by water, includes mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, etc.

During geological periods, the surface of the planet is constantly changing due to tectonic processes and erosion. The relief of tectonic plates is formed under the influence of weathering, which is a consequence of precipitation, temperature fluctuations, and chemical influences. Change the earth's surface and glaciers, coastal erosion, the formation of coral reefs, collisions with large meteorites.

As continental plates move across the planet, the ocean floor sinks under their advancing edges. At the same time, mantle matter rising from the depths creates a divergent boundary at mid-ocean ridges. Together, these two processes lead to a constant renewal of the material of the oceanic plate. Most of the ocean floor is less than 100 million years old. The oldest oceanic crust is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, and its age is approximately 200 million years. For comparison, the age of the oldest fossils found on land reaches about 3 billion years.

Continental plates are composed of low density material such as volcanic granite and andesite. Less common is basalt - a dense volcanic rock that is the main component of the ocean floor. Approximately 75% of the surface of the continents is covered with sedimentary rocks, although these rocks make up approximately 5% earth's crust. The third most common rocks on Earth are metamorphic rocks, formed as a result of the transformation (metamorphism) of sedimentary or igneous rocks under the influence of high pressure, high temperature, or both. The most common silicates on the Earth's surface are quartz, feldspar, amphibole, mica, pyroxene, and olivine; carbonates - calcite (in limestone), aragonite and dolomite.

The pedosphere, the topmost layer of the lithosphere, includes the soil. It is located on the border between the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere. Today, the total area of cultivated land is 13.31% of the land surface, of which only 4.71% is permanently occupied by crops. Approximately 40% of the earth's land area today is used for arable land and pastures, which is approximately 1.3 x 107 km² of arable land and 3.4 x 107 km² of pasture.

Hydrosphere

Hydrosphere (from other Greek Yδωρ - water and σφαῖρα - ball) - the totality of all the water reserves of the Earth.

The presence of liquid water on the surface of the Earth is a unique property that distinguishes our planet from other objects in the solar system. Most of the water is concentrated in the oceans and seas, much less - in river networks, lakes, swamps and underground waters. There are also large reserves of water in the atmosphere, in the form of clouds and water vapor.

Part of the water is in a solid state in the form of glaciers, snow cover and permafrost, making up the cryosphere.

The total mass of water in the World Ocean is approximately 1.35 1018 tons, or about 1/4400 of the total mass of the Earth. The oceans cover an area of about 3.618 108 km2 with an average depth of 3682 m, which makes it possible to calculate the total volume of water in them: 1.332 109 km3. If all this water was evenly distributed over the surface, then a layer would be obtained, more than 2.7 km thick. Of all the water that is on Earth, only 2.5% is fresh, the rest is salty. Most of fresh water, about 68.7%, is currently in glaciers. Liquid water appeared on Earth probably about four billion years ago.

The average salinity of the earth's oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water (35 ‰). Much of this salt was released during volcanic eruptions or extracted from the cooled igneous rocks that formed the ocean floor.

Earth's atmosphere

Atmosphere - the gaseous shell that surrounds the planet Earth; It is composed of nitrogen and oxygen, with trace amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gases. Since its formation, it has changed significantly under the influence of the biosphere. The emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis 2.4-2.5 billion years ago contributed to the development of aerobic organisms, as well as the saturation of the atmosphere with oxygen and the formation of the ozone layer, which protects all living things from harmful ultraviolet rays. The atmosphere determines the weather on the Earth's surface, protects the planet from cosmic rays, and partly from meteorite bombardments. It also regulates the main climate-forming processes: the water cycle in nature, the circulation of air masses, and heat transfer. Atmospheric molecules can capture thermal energy, preventing it from escaping into outer space, thereby raising the temperature of the planet. This phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect. The main greenhouse gases are considered to be water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. Without this thermal insulation effect, the average surface temperature of the Earth would be between minus 18 and minus 23 °C, although in reality it is 14.8 °C, and life would most likely not exist.

The Earth's atmosphere is divided into layers that differ in temperature, density, chemical composition, etc. The total mass of gases that make up the Earth's atmosphere is approximately 5.15 1018 kg. At sea level, the atmosphere exerts a pressure of 1 atm (101.325 kPa) on the Earth's surface. The average air density at the surface is 1.22 g/l, and it rapidly decreases with increasing altitude: for example, at an altitude of 10 km above sea level it is no more than 0.41 g/l, and at an altitude of 100 km it is 10−7 g/l.

The lower part of the atmosphere contains about 80% of its total mass and 99% of all water vapor (1.3-1.5 1013 tons), this layer is called the troposphere. Its thickness varies and depends on the type of climate and seasonal factors: for example, in the polar regions it is about 8-10 km, in the temperate zone up to 10-12 km, and in tropical or equatorial regions it reaches 16-18 km. In this layer of the atmosphere, the temperature drops by an average of 6 ° C for every kilometer as you move up. Above is a transitional layer - the tropopause, which separates the troposphere from the stratosphere. The temperature here is in the range of 190-220 K.

Stratosphere - a layer of the atmosphere, which is located at an altitude of 10-12 to 55 km (depending on weather conditions and time of year). It accounts for no more than 20% of the total mass of the atmosphere. This layer is characterized by a decrease in temperature to a height of ~25 km, followed by an increase at the boundary with the mesosphere to almost 0 °C. This boundary is called the stratopause and is located at an altitude of 47-52 km. The stratosphere contains the highest concentration of ozone in the atmosphere, which protects all living organisms on Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. intense absorption solar radiation the ozone layer and causes a rapid rise in temperature in this part of the atmosphere.

The mesosphere is located at an altitude of 50 to 80 km above the Earth's surface, between the stratosphere and the thermosphere. It is separated from these layers by the mesopause (80-90 km). This is the coldest place on Earth, the temperature here drops to -100 °C. At this temperature, the water contained in the air quickly freezes, forming noctilucent clouds. They can be observed immediately after sunset, but the best visibility is created when it is from 4 to 16 ° below the horizon. Most of the meteorites that enter the earth's atmosphere burn up in the mesosphere. From the surface of the Earth, they are observed as shooting stars. At an altitude of 100 km above sea level, there is a conditional boundary between the earth's atmosphere and space - the Karman line.

In the thermosphere, the temperature quickly rises to 1000 K, this is due to the absorption of short-wave solar radiation in it. This is the longest layer of the atmosphere (80-1000 km). At an altitude of about 800 km, the temperature rise stops, because the air here is very rarefied and weakly absorbs solar radiation.

The ionosphere includes the last two layers. Molecules are ionized here under the action of the solar wind and auroras occur.

The exosphere is the outermost and very rarefied part of the earth's atmosphere. In this layer, particles are able to overcome the second cosmic velocity of the Earth and escape into outer space. This causes a slow but steady process called dissipation (scattering) of the atmosphere. It is mainly particles of light gases that escape into space: hydrogen and helium. Hydrogen molecules, which have the lowest molecular weight, can more easily reach escape velocity and escape into space at a faster rate than other gases. It is believed that the loss of reducing agents, such as hydrogen, was necessary condition for the possibility of sustainable accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere. Therefore, the ability of hydrogen to leave the Earth's atmosphere may have influenced the development of life on the planet. Currently, most of the hydrogen that enters the atmosphere is converted to water without leaving the Earth, and the loss of hydrogen occurs mainly from the destruction of methane in the upper atmosphere.

The chemical composition of the atmosphere

At the surface of the Earth, the air contains up to 78.08% nitrogen (by volume), 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, and about 0.03% carbon dioxide. The remaining components account for no more than 0.1%: these are hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, water vapor, and inert gases. Depending on the season, climate and terrain, the atmosphere may contain dust, particles organic materials, ash, soot, etc. Above 200 km, nitrogen becomes the main component of the atmosphere. At an altitude of 600 km, helium predominates, and from 2000 km - hydrogen ("hydrogen corona").

Weather and climate

The earth's atmosphere has no definite boundaries; it gradually becomes thinner and rarer, passing into outer space. Three quarters of the mass of the atmosphere is contained in the first 11 kilometers from the surface of the planet (the troposphere). Solar energy heats this layer near the surface, causing the air to expand and reduce its density. The heated air then rises and is replaced by colder, denser air. This is how the circulation of the atmosphere arises - a system of closed currents of air masses through the redistribution of thermal energy.

The basis of atmospheric circulation is the trade winds in the equatorial zone (below 30° latitude) and the westerly winds of the temperate zone (in latitudes between 30° and 60°). Sea currents are also important factors in shaping the climate, as is the thermohaline circulation, which distributes thermal energy from equatorial to polar regions.

Water vapor rising from the surface forms clouds in the atmosphere. When atmospheric conditions allow warm, moist air to rise, this water condenses and falls to the surface as rain, snow, or hail. Most of precipitation, which falls on land, ends up in rivers, and eventually returns to the oceans or remains in lakes, and then evaporates again, repeating the cycle. This water cycle in nature is a vital factor for the existence of life on land. The amount of precipitation falling during the year is different, ranging from a few meters to a few millimeters, depending on the geographical location of the region. Atmospheric circulation, topological features of the area and temperature differences determine the average amount of precipitation that falls in each region.

The amount of solar energy reaching the Earth's surface decreases with increasing latitude. At higher latitudes, sunlight hits the surface at a sharper angle than at lower latitudes; and he has to go a longer way in earth's atmosphere. As a result, the average annual air temperature (at sea level) decreases by about 0.4 °C when moving 1 degree on either side of the equator. The earth is divided into climatic zones - natural zones that have an approximately uniform climate. Climate types can be classified according to the temperature regime, the amount of winter and summer precipitation. The most common climate classification system is the Köppen classification, according to which the best criterion for determining the type of climate is what plants grow in a given area under natural conditions. The system includes five main climatic zones (tropical rainforests, deserts, temperate zone, continental climate and polar type), which in turn are divided into more specific subtypes.

Biosphere

The biosphere is a set of parts of the earth's shells (litho-, hydro- and atmosphere), which is inhabited by living organisms, is under their influence and is occupied by the products of their vital activity. The term "biosphere" was first proposed by the Austrian geologist and paleontologist Eduard Suess in 1875. The biosphere is the shell of the Earth inhabited by living organisms and transformed by them. It began to form no earlier than 3.8 billion years ago, when the first organisms began to emerge on our planet. It includes the entire hydrosphere, the upper part of the lithosphere and the lower part of the atmosphere, that is, it inhabits the ecosphere. The biosphere is the totality of all living organisms. It is home to over 3,000,000 species of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms.

The biosphere consists of ecosystems, which include communities of living organisms (biocenosis), their habitats (biotope), systems of connections that exchange matter and energy between them. On land, they are separated mainly by geographical latitude, altitude and differences in precipitation. Terrestrial ecosystems located in the Arctic or Antarctic, at high altitudes or in extremely dry areas, are relatively poor in plants and animals; species diversity peaks in the equatorial rainforests.

Earth's magnetic field

The Earth's magnetic field in the first approximation is a dipole, the poles of which are located near the geographic poles of the planet. The field forms a magnetosphere that deflects solar wind particles. They accumulate in radiation belts - two concentric torus-shaped regions around the Earth. Near the magnetic poles, these particles can “fall out” into the atmosphere and lead to the appearance of auroras. At the equator, the Earth's magnetic field has an induction of 3.05·10-5 T and a magnetic moment of 7.91·1015 T·m3.

According to the "magnetic dynamo" theory, the field is generated in the central region of the Earth, where heat creates the flow of electric current in the liquid metal core. This in turn creates a magnetic field around the Earth. Convection motions in the core are chaotic; magnetic poles drift and periodically change their polarity. This causes reversals in the Earth's magnetic field, which occur, on average, several times every few million years. The last inversion occurred approximately 700,000 years ago.

Magnetosphere - a region of space around the Earth, which is formed when the stream of charged particles of the solar wind deviates from its original trajectory under the influence of a magnetic field. On the side facing the Sun, its bow shock is about 17 km thick and is located at a distance of about 90,000 km from the Earth. On the night side of the planet, the magnetosphere stretches out into a long cylindrical shape.

When high-energy charged particles collide with the Earth's magnetosphere, radiation belts (Van Allen belts) appear. Auroras occur when solar plasma reaches the Earth's atmosphere near the magnetic poles.

Orbit and rotation of the Earth

It takes the Earth an average of 23 hours 56 minutes and 4.091 seconds (a sidereal day) to complete one revolution around its axis. The rotation of the planet from west to east is approximately 15 degrees per hour (1 degree per 4 minutes, 15′ per minute). This is equivalent to the angular diameter of the Sun or Moon every two minutes (the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon are about the same).

The rotation of the Earth is unstable: the speed of its rotation relative to the celestial sphere changes (in April and November, the length of the day differs from the reference ones by 0.001 s), the rotation axis precesses (by 20.1″ per year) and fluctuates (the distance of the instantaneous pole from the average does not exceed 15′ ). On a large time scale, it slows down. The duration of one revolution of the Earth has increased over the past 2000 years by an average of 0.0023 seconds per century (according to observations over the past 250 years, this increase is less - about 0.0014 seconds per 100 years). Due to tidal acceleration, on average, each day is ~29 nanoseconds longer than the previous one.

The period of rotation of the Earth relative to the fixed stars, in the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS), is 86164.098903691 seconds according to UT1 or 23 hours 56 minutes. 4.098903691 p.

The earth revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit at a distance of about 150 million km. average speed 29.765 km/s The speed ranges from 30.27 km/s (at perihelion) to 29.27 km/s (at aphelion). Moving in orbit, the Earth makes a complete revolution in 365.2564 mean solar days (one sidereal year). From Earth, the movement of the Sun relative to the stars is about 1° per day in an easterly direction. The speed of the Earth's orbit is not constant: in July (during the passage of aphelion) it is minimal and is about 60 arc minutes per day, and when passing perihelion in January it is maximum, about 62 minutes per day. The sun and the entire solar system revolve around the center of the Milky Way galaxy in an almost circular orbit at a speed of about 220 km/s. In turn, the Solar System within the Milky Way moves at a speed of about 20 km/s towards a point (apex) located on the border of the constellations Lyra and Hercules, accelerating as the Universe expands.

The Moon revolves with the Earth around a common center of mass every 27.32 days relative to the stars. The time interval between two identical phases of the moon (synodic month) is 29.53059 days. Seen from the north celestial pole, the moon moves around the earth in a counterclockwise direction. In the same direction, the circulation of all the planets around the Sun, and the rotation of the Sun, Earth and Moon around their axis. The axis of rotation of the Earth is deflected from the perpendicular to the plane of its orbit by 23.5 degrees (the direction and angle of inclination of the Earth's axis changes due to precession, and the apparent elevation of the Sun depends on the time of year); the Moon's orbit is tilted 5 degrees relative to the Earth's orbit (without this tilt, there would be one solar and one lunar eclipse each month).

Due to the tilt of the Earth's axis, the height of the Sun above the horizon changes throughout the year. For an observer at northern latitudes in summer, when the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun, daylight hours last longer and the Sun is higher in the sky. This leads to higher average air temperatures. When the North Pole deviates away from the Sun, everything is reversed and the climate becomes colder. Beyond the Arctic Circle at this time there is a polar night, which at the latitude of the Arctic Circle lasts almost two days (the sun does not rise on the day of the winter solstice), reaching half a year at the North Pole.

These changes in climate (due to the tilt of the earth's axis) cause the seasons to change. The four seasons are determined by the solstices - the moments when the earth's axis is maximally tilted towards the Sun or away from the Sun - and the equinoxes. The winter solstice occurs around December 21st, the summer solstice around June 21st, the spring equinox around March 20th, and the autumn equinox around September 23rd. When the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun, the South Pole is tilted away from it. Thus, when it is summer in the northern hemisphere, it is winter in the southern hemisphere, and vice versa (although the months are named the same, that is, for example, February in the northern hemisphere is the last (and coldest) month of winter, and in the southern hemisphere - the last (and warmest ) month of summer).

The tilt angle of the earth's axis is relatively constant for a long time. However, it undergoes minor shifts (known as nutation) at intervals of 18.6 years. There are also long-term fluctuations (about 41,000 years) known as Milankovitch cycles. The orientation of the Earth's axis also changes with time, the duration of the precession period is 25,000 years; this precession is the cause of the difference between the sidereal year and the tropical year. Both of these motions are caused by the changing attraction exerted by the Sun and Moon on the Earth's equatorial bulge. The poles of the Earth move relative to its surface by several meters. This movement of the poles has a variety of cyclical components, which together are called quasi-periodic motion. In addition to the annual components of this movement, there is a 14-month cycle called the Chandler movement of the Earth's poles. The speed of rotation of the Earth is also not constant, which is reflected in the change in the length of the day.

The Earth is currently going through perihelion around January 3rd and aphelion around July 4th. The amount of solar energy reaching the Earth at perihelion is 6.9% more than at aphelion, since the distance from the Earth to the Sun at aphelion is 3.4% greater. This is due to the inverse square law. Since the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun at about the same time that the Earth is closest to the sun, it receives slightly more solar energy during the year than the northern hemisphere. However, this effect is much less significant than the change in total energy due to the tilt of the earth's axis, and, in addition, most of the excess energy is absorbed big amount waters of the southern hemisphere.

For the Earth, the radius of the Hill sphere (the sphere of influence of the earth's gravity) is approximately 1.5 million km. This is the maximum distance at which the influence of the Earth's gravity is greater than the influence of the gravitations of other planets and the Sun.

Observation

The Earth was first photographed from space in 1959 by the Explorer 6. The first person to see the Earth from space was Yuri Gagarin in 1961. The crew of Apollo 8 in 1968 was the first to observe Earth rising from lunar orbit. In 1972, the crew of Apollo 17 took the famous picture of the Earth - "The Blue Marble".

From outer space and from the "outer" planets (located beyond the orbit of the Earth), one can observe the passage of the Earth through phases similar to those of the moon, just as an earthly observer can see the phases of Venus (discovered by Galileo Galilei).

moon

The Moon is a relatively large planet-like satellite with a diameter equal to a quarter of Earth's. It is the largest, in relation to the size of its planet, satellite of the solar system. After the name of the earth's moon, the natural satellites of other planets are also called "moons".

The gravitational attraction between the Earth and the Moon is the cause of the earth's tides. A similar effect on the Moon is manifested in the fact that it constantly faces the Earth with the same side (the period of revolution of the Moon around its axis is equal to the period of its revolution around the Earth; see also tidal acceleration of the Moon). This is called tidal synchronization. During the revolution of the Moon around the Earth, the Sun illuminates various sections satellite surface, which manifests itself in the phenomenon lunar phases: The dark part of the surface is separated from the light part by a terminator.

Due to tidal synchronization, the Moon is moving away from the Earth by about 38 mm per year. In millions of years, this tiny change, as well as an increase in the Earth's day by 23 microseconds per year, will lead to significant changes. So, for example, in the Devonian (about 410 million years ago) there were 400 days in a year, and a day lasted 21.8 hours.

The moon can significantly affect the development of life by changing the climate on the planet. Paleontological findings and computer models show that the tilt of the earth's axis is stabilized by the tidal synchronization of the Earth with the Moon. If the Earth's axis of rotation approached the plane of the ecliptic, then as a result the climate on the planet would become extremely severe. One of the poles would point directly at the Sun, and the other would point in the opposite direction, and as the Earth revolves around the Sun, they would change places. The poles would point directly at the Sun in summer and winter. Planetologists who have studied this situation argue that in this case, all large animals and higher plants would have died out on Earth.

The angular size of the Moon as seen from Earth is very close to the apparent size of the Sun. The angular dimensions (and solid angle) of these two celestial bodies are similar, because although the diameter of the Sun is 400 times larger than the moon, it is 400 times farther from the Earth. Due to this circumstance and the presence of a significant eccentricity of the Moon's orbit, both total and annular eclipses can be observed on Earth.

The most common hypothesis for the origin of the Moon, the giant impact hypothesis, states that the Moon was formed as a result of the collision of the protoplanet Thei (roughly the size of Mars) with the proto-Earth. This, among other things, explains the reasons for the similarities and differences in the composition of the lunar soil and the earth.

At present, the Earth has no other natural satellites other than the Moon, however, there are at least two natural co-orbital satellites - asteroids 3753 Cruitney, 2002 AA29 and many artificial ones.

Asteroids approaching the Earth

The fall of large (several thousand km in diameter) asteroids to the Earth poses a danger of its destruction, however, all similar bodies observed in the modern era are too small for this, and their fall is dangerous only for the biosphere. According to popular hypotheses, such falls could cause several mass extinctions. Asteroids with perihelion distances less than or equal to 1.3 astronomical units that may within the foreseeable future approach Earth by less than or equal to 0.05 AU. i.e., are considered potentially dangerous objects. In total, about 6,200 objects have been registered that pass at a distance of up to 1.3 astronomical units from the Earth. The danger of their fall to the planet is regarded as negligible. According to modern estimates, collisions with such bodies (according to the most pessimistic forecasts) are unlikely to occur more often than once every hundred thousand years.

Geographic Information

Area

Surface: 510.072 million km²
Land: 148.94 million km² (29.1%)
Water: 361.132 million km² (70.9%)

Coastline length: 356,000 km

Use of sushi

Data for 2011

arable land - 10.43%
perennial plantations - 1.15%
other - 88.42%

Irrigated land: 3,096,621.45 km² (as of 2011)

Socio-economic geography

On October 31, 2011, the world's population reached 7 billion people. According to UN estimates, the world's population will reach 7.3 billion in 2013 and 9.2 billion in 2050. The bulk of population growth is expected to come from developing countries. The average population density on land is about 40 people / km2, it varies greatly in different parts of the Earth, and it is highest in Asia. According to forecasts, by 2030 the level of urbanization of the population will reach 60%, while now it is 49% on average in the world.

Role in culture

The Russian word "land" goes back to Praslav. *zemja with the same meaning, which, in turn, continues the Proto-I.e. *dheĝhōm "earth".

In English, Earth is Earth. This word continues Old English eorthe and Middle English erthe. As the name of the planet Earth was first used around 1400. This is the only name of the planet that was not taken from Greco-Roman mythology.

The standard astronomical sign of the Earth is a cross outlined by a circle. This symbol has been used in various cultures for various purposes. Another version of the symbol is a cross on top of a circle (♁), a stylized orb; was used as an early astronomical symbol for the planet Earth.

In many cultures, the Earth is deified. She is associated with a goddess, a mother goddess, called Mother Earth, often depicted as a goddess of fertility.

The Aztecs called the Earth Tonantzin - "our mother". Among the Chinese, this is the goddess Hou-Tu (后土), similar to Greek goddess Earth - Gaia. In Norse mythology, the Earth goddess Jord was the mother of Thor and the daughter of Annar. In ancient Egyptian mythology, unlike many other cultures, the Earth is identified with a man - the god Geb, and the sky with a woman - the goddess Nut.

In many religions, there are myths about the origin of the world, telling about the creation of the Earth by one or more deities.

In many ancient cultures, the Earth was considered flat, so, in the culture of Mesopotamia, the world was represented as a flat disk floating on the surface of the ocean. Assumptions about the spherical shape of the Earth were made by ancient Greek philosophers; This view was held by Pythagoras. In the Middle Ages, most Europeans believed that the Earth was spherical, as witnessed by thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas. Before the advent of space flight, judgments about the spherical shape of the Earth were based on the observation of secondary signs and on the similar shape of other planets.

Technological progress in the second half of the 20th century changed the general perception of the Earth. Before the beginning of space flights, the Earth was often depicted as a green world. Fantast Frank Paul may have been the first to depict a cloudless blue planet (with clearly defined land) on the back of the July issue of Amazing Stories in 1940.

In 1972, the crew of Apollo 17 took the famous photograph of the Earth, called "Blue Marble" (Blue Marble). An image of Earth taken in 1990 by Voyager 1 from a great distance from it prompted Carl Sagan to compare the planet to a pale blue dot (Pale Blue Dot). Also, the Earth was compared to a large spaceship with a life support system that needs to be maintained. The Earth's biosphere has sometimes been described as one large organism.

Ecology

In the last two centuries, a growing environmental movement has been concerned about the growing impact of human activities on the nature of the Earth. The key tasks of this socio-political movement are the protection of natural resources, the elimination of pollution. Conservationists advocate sustainable use of the planet's resources and environmental management. This, in their opinion, can be achieved by making changes in public policy and changing the individual attitude of each person. This is especially true for the large-scale use of non-renewable resources. The need to take into account the impact of production on the environment imposes additional costs, which leads to a conflict between commercial interests and the ideas of environmental movements.

Future of the Earth

The future of the planet is closely connected with the future of the Sun. As a result of the accumulation of “spent” helium in the core of the Sun, the luminosity of the star will begin to slowly increase. It will increase by 10% over the next 1.1 billion years, and as a result, the habitable zone of the solar system will shift beyond the current Earth orbit. According to some climate models, an increase in the amount of solar radiation falling on the Earth's surface will lead to catastrophic consequences, including the possibility of the complete evaporation of all oceans.

An increase in the temperature of the Earth's surface will accelerate the inorganic circulation of CO2, reducing its concentration to a lethal level for plants (10 ppm for C4 photosynthesis) in 500-900 million years. The disappearance of vegetation will lead to a decrease in the oxygen content in the atmosphere and life on Earth will become impossible in a few million years. In another billion years, water from the surface of the planet will completely disappear, and the average surface temperature will reach 70 ° C. Most of the land will become unsuitable for the existence of life, and it must first of all remain in the ocean. But even if the Sun were eternal and unchanging, then the continued internal cooling of the Earth could lead to the loss of most of the atmosphere and oceans (due to reduced volcanic activity). By that time, the only living creatures on Earth will be extremophiles, organisms that can withstand high temperatures and lack of water.

After 3.5 billion years from now, the luminosity of the Sun will increase by 40% compared to the current level. Conditions on the Earth's surface by that time will be similar to the surface conditions of modern Venus: the oceans will completely evaporate and evaporate into space, the surface will become a barren hot desert. This catastrophe will make it impossible for any life forms to exist on Earth. In 7.05 billion years, the solar core will run out of hydrogen. This will cause the Sun to exit the main sequence and enter the red giant stage. The model shows that it will increase in radius to a value equal to about 77.5% of the current radius of the Earth's orbit (0.775 AU), and its luminosity will increase by 2350-2700 times. However, by that time, the Earth's orbit may increase to 1.4 AU. That is, because the attraction of the Sun will weaken due to the fact that it will lose 28-33% of its mass due to the strengthening of the solar wind. However, studies in 2008 show that the Earth may still be absorbed by the Sun due to tidal interactions with its outer shell.

By then, the Earth's surface will be in a molten state as temperatures on Earth reach 1370°C. Earth's atmosphere is likely to be blown into outer space by the strongest solar wind emitted by a red giant. After 10 million years from the time the Sun enters the red giant phase, the temperature in the solar core will reach 100 million K, a helium flash will occur, and a thermonuclear reaction will begin to synthesize carbon and oxygen from helium, the Sun will decrease in a radius of up to 9.5 modern. The stage of "burning helium" (Helium Burning Phase) will last 100-110 million years, after which the rapid expansion of the outer shells of the star will repeat, and it will again become a red giant. Having reached the asymptotic giant branch, the Sun will increase in diameter by 213 times. After 20 million years, a period of unstable pulsations of the surface of the star will begin. This phase of the existence of the Sun will be accompanied by powerful flashes, at times its luminosity will exceed the current level by 5000 times. This will come from the fact that previously unaffected helium residues will enter into a thermonuclear reaction.

After about 75,000 years (according to other sources - 400,000), the Sun will shed its shells, and eventually only its small central core will remain from the red giant - a white dwarf, a small, hot, but very dense object, with a mass of about 54.1% from the original solar. If the Earth can avoid absorption by the outer shells of the Sun during the red giant phase, then it will exist for many more billions (and even trillions) of years, as long as the Universe exists, but the conditions for re-occurrence there will be no life (at least in its current form) on Earth. With the entry of the Sun into the phase of a white dwarf, the surface of the Earth will gradually cool down and plunge into darkness. If we imagine the size of the Sun from the surface of the Earth of the future, then it will look not like a disk, but like a shining dot with angular dimensions around 0°0'9".

A black hole with a mass equal to Earth would have a Schwarzschild radius of 8 mm.

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