The annual meeting of the Academic Council of the Russian Geographical Society was held at the St. Petersburg Headquarters of the RGS.
This year's council meeting was dedicated to the 190th anniversary of the Hydrometeorological Service of Russia, which dates back to the establishment of the Normal Magnetic Meteorological Observatory in St. Petersburg, founded by decree of Emperor Nicholas I in 1834. Currently, the Hydrometeorological Service of Russia is actively involved in ensuring the hydrometeorological safety of the state and the development of sectors of the country's economy.
In his opening remarks, Chairman of the Academic Council, First Vice-President of the RGS, President of the Faculty of Geography of Lomonosov Moscow State University, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolai Kasimov outlined a range of issues for discussion: climate, hydrology, and history.
The Academic Council of the RGS meets annually to discuss the most pressing issues of geography. Photo: Tatiana Nikolaeva/RGS press service
Further, the participants of the Academic Council heard reports.
Vladimir Semenov, Director of the Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about extreme weather events in Russia against the background of a changing climate.
“We see that the weather is changing before our eyes,” said Vladimir Semenov. “But in our work we pay attention primarily to extreme weather events. We are looking for an answer to the question: how are such phenomena related to the ongoing warming?”
Natalia Frolova, Head of the Department of Land Hydrology at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, professor, presented the report "Flow of Russian Rivers in Conditions of Modern and Predicted Climate Changes", in which she considered the issue of changes in water resources of Russian rivers and assessed the significance of such changes.
“Freshets, both during winter periods and in other periods, lead to catastrophic floods and cause significant damage,” Natalia Frolova noted. “But forecasts of changes in such phenomena are favorable for both agriculture and water management.”
Speech by Valentin Smirnov, Director of the Russian State Archive of the Navy, Doctor of Historical Sciences. Photo: Tatiana Nikolaeva/RGS press service
Valentin Smirnov, Director of the Russian State Archive of the Navy, Doctor of Historical Sciences, in his report spoke about the cooperation of Russian sailors and scientists in the exploration of the World Ocean in the 1830-1890s.
“Meteorological observations are of an important state nature, therefore, military sailors, for whom weather forecasts are closely related to their service, with the ability to perform combat missions, have always been very actively involved in this work,” said Valentin Smirnov.
At the end of the event, new thematic publications were presented to the participants of the meeting of the Academic Council. Among them is the medico-geographical atlas "Risk Factors of Oncological Diseases", which identifies regional features of the manifestation of oncological diseases, long-term trends ,and the place of Russia in the context of this problem.
“Having finished this work, we thought that now we are interested not only in the geography of the disease but also in the geography of health. And if the Faculty of Geography supports us, we are ready to make such an atlas," said Svetlana Malkhazova, head of the project, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, Honored Professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University.
“The Atlas of Railways of the Russian Federation” is presented by Igor Rosenberg, Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, Scientific Director of the Russian University of Transport. Photo: Tatiana Nikolaeva/RGS press service
Another publication presented at the Academic Council of the RGS, “The Atlas of Railways of the Russian Federation”, is the result of many years of teamwork between the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University, Russian Railways, and the Russian Geographical Society. On the pages of the atlas, all relevant railways of Russia are collected and 6,000 railway stations are marked. The atlas was presented by Igor Rosenberg, Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, Scientific Director of the Russian University of Transport.
Another pleasant event within the framework of the Academic Council of the RGS was awarding one of its prominent members, Vladimir Razumovsky, a Grand Gold Medal of the Russian Geographical Society.
Vera Kovalevskaya