Land Hydrology

Founded in 1943 by Sergei Dmitrievich Muraveysky as the Department of Hydrology and Hydrography, it was renamed in 1953. The department has been headed by the following individuals: S.D. Muraveysky (1943-1950), E.V. Bliznyak (1950-1958), B.P. Orlov (1959-1963), Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences G.P. Kalinin (1963-1975), Professor V.D. Bykov (1975-1982), Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Honored Professor of Moscow University V.N. Mikhailov (1982-1988), Professor V.M. Evstigneev (1988-1995), Professor N.I. Alekseevsky (1995-2015). Since 2015, the department has been headed by Professor, Doctor of Geographical Sciences Natalia Leonidovna Frolova.

Overview

The department was founded in 1943 by Sergei Dmitrievich Muravievsky as the Department of Hydrology and Hydrography, renamed in 1953.

The department was headed by: S.D. Muravievsky (1943-1950), E.V. Bliznyak (1950-1958), B.P. Orlov (1959-1963), Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences G.P. Kalinin (1963-1975), Professor V.D. Bykov (1975-1982), Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Honored Professor of Moscow University V.N. Mikhailov (1982-1988), Professor V.M. Evstigneev (1988-1995), Professor N.I. Alekseevsky (1995-2015).

Since 2015, the department has been headed by Professor, Doctor of Geographic Sciences Natalia Leonidovna Frolova.

The profile of specialists produced includes hydrologists and hydroecologists. Graduates of the department work in organizations and administrative bodies involved in decision-making on the use of water resources, planning and development of water management and water protection measures, hydraulic engineering design and operation of waterways, as well as in institutions responsible for monitoring and operational servicing of the national economy with information on the hydrological and ecological condition of water bodies.

The main educational courses of the department include river hydrology, lake and reservoir hydrology, hydrometry and safety techniques, hydrochemistry, hydraulics with fundamentals of hydromechanics, water engineering surveys, river runoff and hydrological calculations, hydrological forecasts, channel processes, hydrophysics, hydrogeology, water management calculations, water ecology, rational use and protection of water resources.

Research directions include hydrological, hydrochemical, and hydrobiological regimes of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, patterns of channel and estuarine processes, rational use and protection of water resources, and hydroecology.

Perspective research includes the development of river runoff theory, hydroecology, water quality formation, justification of measures to reduce social, economic, and environmental damages, assessment of hydrological constraints for various types of water and land use in water basins, creation of models and software complexes for assessing local, regional, basin, and intra-reservoir hydrological changes, preparation of expert systems and databases to support management decisions in the field of water use.

History

In the summer of 1943, the rector of Moscow State University signed an order to establish the Department of Hydrology and Hydrography. Thus, formally, the history of its existence should be counted from that year. However, there is a tradition to consider the birth year of the department as 1944, when the actual training of students in hydrological specialties began. In that year, the department included professors S.D. Muravievsky, B.A. Apollov, E.V. Bliznyak, B.V. Polyakov, senior lecturer V.D. Bykov, and senior laboratory assistant M.A. Chernogubova. 

From the foundation of the department to the present time, five periods of its development can be distinguished, which you can familiarize yourself with in the corresponding section. In the 1990s, the Faculty of Geography at MSU transitioned to a multi-level system of higher education. It involves the training of bachelors (4 years of study), specialists (5 years), and masters (6 years). Training for higher qualifications is carried out through graduate school. Environmental direction has significantly strengthened in the education of students and graduate students. A graduate of the department now has the qualification of "hydrologist, hydroecologist." The creation of a powerful computer database at the department has ensured a high level of students' proficiency in computer technology. The list of specializations for masters now includes the direction of "information systems in hydrology." Graduates of the Department of Land Hydrology at MSU are armed with a comprehensive set of knowledge, more than in other universities, necessary for solving any scientific and production problems in the field of hydrology and hydroecology. Students of the department, starting from the 2nd-3rd year, are involved in scientific work. This includes not only traditional term papers but also participation in the department's scientific research, student scientific conferences, etc. The most capable students participate in RFBR projects and other projects, in contractual work.

The Krasnovidovo Station

The Krasnovidovo educational and scientific station has been the venue for limnological field practice for hydrology students since 1973. And the Mozhaysk reservoir, on the shore of which the station is located, is also the place where students undergo the rite of initiation into hydrology.

The Educational and Scientific Base «Ozery»

The educational and scientific base «Ozery» is located on the right bank of the Oka River, in the village of Tregubovo. Since 1999, the hydrological practice of the 2nd year has been held here, making the base the most familiar place for all hydrologists. The base was created thanks to the enthusiasm and abilities of Nikolai Ivanovich Alexeevsky and is named after him.

Budget Topic

The state budget research topic of the Department of Land Hydrology for 2021-2025: «Analysis, modeling, and forecasting of changes in hydrological systems, water resources, and water quality on land», supervised by Professor N.L. Frolova. The objective of the study is to assess the current state of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, characteristics of river flow and hydrological regimes of land water bodies, their response to climate change, cryosphere dynamics, and anthropogenic impacts, establishing cause-and-effect relationships; development of research methods, modeling, and forecasting, expansion of the information base, and practical significance of the results. Based on the research results in 2022 (and previous years), 57 publications have been prepared, an author's version (manuscript) of a collective monograph «Branches of River Channels», manuscript of a textbook «River Sediments»; published «Explanatory Terminological and Conceptual Dictionary-Reference Book on River Studies».

The Carbon Balance of Reservoirs

Research on methane emissions from reservoirs has been conducted since 2017 with the support of RusHydro in collaboration with the A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. During the first stage, from 2017 to 2019, scientists from Lomonosov Moscow State University, based on the study of archival data and the use of computational models, assessed the greenhouse gas balance for reservoirs in Russia. From 2021 to 2023, specialists from the Department of Land Hydrology and the A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics conducted thorough observations at nine large reservoirs in different natural-climatic zones of Russia. The objects of the study were the Kolyma, Bureya, Zeyskoye, Boguchany, Sayano-Shushenskoye, Rybinsk, Kuibyshev, Volgograd, and Chirkey reservoirs. Simultaneously, concentrations of greenhouse gases and organic carbon content in the water column were calculated, and bottom sediments were studied to determine carbon sequestration volumes. Measurements were taken at various times throughout the year, allowing for the consideration of seasonal variability in biochemical and hydrological processes in water bodies. Moreover, interannual and seasonal variability of the studied parameters were evaluated using specially developed mathematical models. The research was conducted using methods recommended by the guiding principles of the IPCC, as well as taking into account the Guidelines for Measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Reservoirs of the International Hydropower Association. The results showed that for most of the reservoirs in the Russian Federation, the balance is negative – reservoirs are not a significant source of greenhouse gases; rather, they absorb them.

RSF 24-17-00084

The most important tasks of scientific research in the vast and sparsely populated territories of Siberia and the Russian Far East are directed towards solving such problems as the comprehensive rational use of natural resources, ensuring environmental safety, developing transportation systems, and ensuring the livelihoods of the population. In recent decades, there has been an increase in the extremity of water expenditure and levels, intensification of channel processes, changes in the nature of ice phenomena, turbidity, and water quality. This work is primarily aimed at studying the dynamics of river discharge in the cryolithozone and the mechanisms of its connection with changes in meteorological characteristics, landscape structure of watersheds, and parameters of permafrost. During the project implementation, the multi-year variability of the state of vegetation cover, lake, and river networks, the relationship between the indices of this condition with the main components of the water balance, the state of permafrost, will be studied (for key basins, based on satellite and geocryological observations). This will allow assessing the relationship with the dynamics of vegetation cover and elements of the water balance and water discharge, calculated using satellite observations and the ECOMAG model complex. Understanding the geography, temporal aspects, and scales of the impact of mining activities, thermoerosion on turbidity and sediment discharge of rivers will become important.

Specialties and Training Directions

The department offers training in a multi-level system:

Bachelor's Degree

Duration: 4 years

Field of Study: 05.03.04 – Hydrometeorology

Graduate Degree: Bachelor of Hydrometeorology

Profile: «Hydrology» (both state-funded and contract-based)

Master's Degree

Duration: 2 years (based on bachelor's degree)

Field of Study: 05.04.04 – Hydrometeorology

Graduate Degree: Master of Hydrometeorology

Master's Program: «Hydrology» (both state-funded and contract-based)

Ph.D. Program (Postgraduate Studies)

Full-time and part-time options available, based on master's and specialist degrees

Both state-funded and contract-based options available

Full-time: 3 years, part-time: 4 years

80 Years of the Department: Anniversary 2024

We invite you to join us for the celebratory events taking place on November 21, 2024 (student scientific conference) and November 22, 2024 (general meeting and festive banquet).

Details regarding the venue, schedule, and registration fee will be provided additionally. To stay updated on the upcoming celebration, please subscribe to our Telegram channel: https://t.me/msuhydro. There you will find a lot of interesting information about the life of our department.

If you have photographs from your student years (classes, fieldwork, etc.) related to our department, you can send them to our departmental email: hydromsu@mail.ru.

If you would like to assist in organizing and conducting the anniversary events, please contact Sergey Vladimirovich Platonov (svp5454@mail.ru).

We would also greatly appreciate any sponsorship support!

Please share this letter with your classmates, colleagues, and acquaintances who graduated from the Department of Land Hydrology.

Staff