Landscape Geochemistry and Soil Geography

The Department of Landscape Geochemistry and Soil Geography was created in 1946 at the Faculty of Geography of Lomonosov Moscow State University. Initially, the department was called the "Department of Soil Geography and Cartography". Its founder was Innokenty Petrovich Gerasimov, at that time he was a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, later an academician and the director of the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In the 1970s, due to the development of a new scientific direction - Landscape Geochemistry, the department began to be called the “Department of Landscape Geochemistry and Soil Geography”. From 1959 to 1987 the department was headed by Maria Alfredovna Glazovskaya, an outstanding geographer, soil scientist, and geochemist.

The scientists who made a significant contribution to the development of modern environmental science - A.I. Perelman, Yu.A. Liverovsky and V.N. Florovskaya - worked here. Recently, the department has 40 employees, including 4 professors, 4 associate professors, 2 leading researchers, and 10 senior researchers. It includes several laboratories (a laboratory of landscape geochemistry, a laboratory of carbonaceous substances in the biosphere, a laboratory of environmental safety, and a laboratory of soil-geochemical research) and is developing a landscape-geochemical and soil-geographical scientific school. Since 1987, the department has been headed by Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences N.S. Kasimov.

The scientific investigations conducted by the department have been focused on a wide range of problems related to landscape geochemistry and soil geography. These studies have made a fundamental contribution to the development of the foundations of science and at the same time, they were a response to current practical needs. Currently, the department is actively developing the following areas of scientific research: theory and methodology of landscape geochemistry and soil geography; landscape-geochemical and soil zoning and mapping; spatial and temporal modeling of migration and accumulation of priority pollutants including heavy metals, oil, petroleum products, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; ecogeochemistry of landscapes; genesis, evolution, and forecast of soil conditions; technogenic soil formation and soil reclamation.

About 50 students are studying at the department. In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of students choosing to study at the department. This increase is due to the development of new courses and training of specialists in current areas of science and practice.

The results of scientific research conducted at the department are fully used in the educational process. They are incorporated into the development of lecture courses, during field excursions, and the preparation of coursework and PhD theses. Taking into account the environmental focus of most ongoing scientific researches and the profile of specialist training, students are trained in the field “Geoecology” with specializations in “Environmental Geochemistry”.

The geography of student field studies is very wide. After the 2^nd year, students during field excursions become familiar with the zonality of soils and geochemical landscapes of the Russian Plain as well as with the landscapes and soil characteristics of mountainous areas (key areas are protected areas and anthropogenically modified landscapes of the Arkhangelsk, Tula, Kursk, Voronezh and Belgorod regions, the Crimean mountains, the Caucasus). After the 3^rd year of bachelor’s studies and the 1st year of a master's degree studies, the students have practical training in various regions of Russia, starting from the western territories - the Kaliningrad region, and ending with the eastern borders - the Far East and Kamchatka. The students of the department receive a broad geographic education combined with specialized training in environmental geochemistry and soil chemistry. After graduating from the university, they deal with the problems of environmental and geochemical analysis, assessments of the impact of oil, heavy metals, and other pollutants on the environment, and inventory and assessment of soil resources.

The department participates in international activities - joint scientific projects, training undergraduate and graduate students from foreign countries, international conferences, symposiums, and working groups. It also cooperates with international organizations such as UNEP, UNESCO, and FAO. The partners of international cooperation are universities and research centers in the USA, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, China, and India, as well as the CIS countries/

Main directions of fundamental scientific research

• Development of the theory and methodology of landscape geochemistry and soil geography;

• Soil and landscape-geochemical zoning and mapping.

• Spatiotemporal patterns of migration and transformation of heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other priority pollutants in natural and anthropogenic landscapes.

• Genesis, evolution, and forecast of soil conditions.

• Technogenic soil formation and soil reclamation.

Main directions of applied research

• Experimental studies of the behavior of pollutants in environmental objects.

• Instrumental compositional analysis of the environmental compartments: soils, vegetation, water, and air.

• Analysis and interpretation of geochemical data using statistical and cartographic methods to assess the pollution of landscapes and their components;

• Assessment of geochemical transformation of landscapes and their components (soils, plant communities, microbial communities) under various types of technogenic loads.

• Environmental and geochemical assessment of the state of soils and vegetation in urban and agricultural landscapes;

• GIS modeling of environmental changes under anthropogenic impact.

• Development of proposals for regulating the impact of pollutants on components of geosystems. Determination of the maximum permissible loads of pollutants on geosystems.

• Development of normative and methodological documents for assessing the degree of transformation of geosystems and their components.

• Development of methods for reclamation of technogenically transformed soils.

• Environmental and geochemical impact assessment (EIA) of industrial and transport facilities on urban soils and vegetation.

• Environmental impact assessments during the development of oil and gas fields and the construction of oil pipelines.

• Independent environmental arbitration of hazard assessments related to landscape pollution with heavy metals, PAHs, and other pollutants.

• Small-scale soil-geochemical forecasting and assessment mapping.

Department Staff