Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is a leading scholarly-research institution in Ukraine dealing with nature-geographical, socio-geographical and cartographic research and investigation.
It was founded in 1964 as Sector, since 1991 as Institute; although geographical studies were conducted in the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine since 1918.
Directions of Scientific Research
- Development of theory and methodology of Geography
- Examination of general trend of nature development, forecasting of changes of its components
- Study of the state of modern and ancient landscapes
- Study of the geographical aspects of Nature-Society interaction and its consequences of regional and local scale
- Cartographic studies of peculiarities of landscape changes, territorial organization of economy, population location and consequences of Nature-Society interaction
- Development of geographical foundations of sustainable economic, social and ecological development of Ukrainian regions
Main research results
METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS AND METHODS OF GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH:
- Methodological content of synergetic, fractal, eco-evolutional, noosphere approaches to the study of landscapes is worked out. Specific traits of post-non-classical stage of landscape studies development are defined.
- Polycentric model of landscape studies concept of research of geoecological problems of Ukraine is developed.
- Methodology of landscape radioecology is substantiated, basic principles of GIS-technologies use in the research of modern state and evolution of radioactively polluted landscapes.
- Theoretical and methodological foundations of paleogeographical science and its constituent parts – paleo-landscape studies, paleoclimatology, paleopedology, paleogemorphology, paleobiogeography, paleoecology – are worked out.
- Theoretical and methodological foundations of step-by-step neotectonic and morphostructural - neotectonic analysis are worked out.
- Scientific principles of geomorphological analysis and mapping are worked out.
- Conceptual foundations and principles of three-factor geomorphological analysis of natural and natural-anthropogenic geomorphosystems are substantiated.
- Theoretical and methodical foundations of geographical cartography are substantiated.
- Theoretical and methodical foundations of the creation of the National Atlas of Ukraine are worked out.
- Concept of a multipurpose GIS is worked out.
- Conceptual foundations of ecogeographical mapping and methodic of ecogeographical maps creation are developed.
- Methodic of economical geographic modeling of the process of Ukraine’s transition to sustainable development is worked out.
- Theories of territorial organization of production and production-territorial complex formation are worked out; typification of production-territorial complexes is elaborated.
- Theoretical and methodical foundations of economical geographic study of mineral resources are substantiated.
- Theoretical and methodical foundations of territorial structure of production and population settlement are developed.
- Theoretical and methodical foundations of human geography study of regional development of Ukraine are substantiated
SPATIO-TEMPORAL CHANGES OF NATURAL GEOSYSTEMS AND THEIR COMPONENTS:
- Main regularities of nature as a basis for forecasting of changes of territorial and water environment of Ukraine are discovered.
- Selection of paleostages of late-Cainozoic nature development on Ukrainian territory is proved; main regularities of landscapes and their components evolution are detected.
- Stratigraphic schemes of Pliocene and Pleistocene that are adopted by URMSK to use in the process of geological survey of Ukrainian territory are developed.
- Space and time correlation of paleogeographic conditions of Quaternary is proved.
- Regularities of landscape structure and landscape diversity of Ukrainian territory are found out and mapped.
- New physiographic and geomorphological regionalization of Ukrainian territory are created.
- Peculiarities of modern condition and regularities of evolution of radioactively polluted landscapes are discovered.
- General regularities of development of relief of Ukrainian territory in Mesozoic – Cenozoic are found out.
- Spatial and time regularities of newest geodynamics and their influence over Ukrainian relief are detected; selection of different neogeodynamic zones, regimes and settings, that defined the peculiarities of late-Cenozoic geomorphogenesis of Ukrainian territory is substantiated for the first time.
- General problems of paleogeomorphology and trends of development of Earth’s relief in Phanerozoic are determined.
- Regularities of modern dynamics of Ukraine’s relief with the consideration of multifactorialness and nonlinearity of relief-creating processes are discovered for the first time.
- First in Ukraine correlation scheme of geomorphological and non-tectonic events is created.
GENERAL GEOGRAPHIC RESEARCH:
- Constructive-geographic foundations of rational nature management in Ukraine are developed
- Geocomplexology is substantiated as a new general geographic scientific field of research. It is understood as the theory that studies complexes and territorial systems.
- Geographical foundations of the concept of sustainable economic, social and ecological development of Ukraine are worked out.
- National Atlas of Ukraine is created.
SPATIO-TEMPORAL ORGANIZATION OF SOCIETY:
- Specific traits of territorial organization of production within the structure of regional industrial complex are discovered (Kyiv-Dnipro river Region is taken as an example).
- Essence of interdependence between territorial settlement systems and production is discovered. Functional typification of city settlements of Ukraine is created.
- Territorial structure of agroindustrial complexes of Ukraine is detected and its main elements are analyzed; specific traits of formation of horticultural and animal husbandry agroindustrial complexes are detected. Regional agroindustrial complexes are analyzed and directions of improvement of their territorial organization are substantiated.
- Socio-economic state of the regions, polluted in the consequence of Chornobyl Accident is determined, conceptual and methodical aspects of socio-economic development of Ukrainian territories with heightened pollution levels; demographic trends rooted in Chornobyl Accident are analyzed, changes in population settlement structure are detected.
- Human geographic typification of Ukrainian regions is conducted; priority functional and branch links of their economic development are detected; strategic directions of Ukrainian regional development under conditions of transition to market economy are substantiated.
SPATIO-TEMPORAL ORGANIZATION OF NATURE-SOCIETY INTERACTION:
- The main principle of further development of Society is substantiated – that is its economical, social and ecological equilibrium with Nature’s performance, which is based on some basic parities. The main ones are the following:
- equilibrium between integral natural resources potential and developing production structures.
- equilibrium of ecological capacity of natural landscapes with the consideration of their ability to regenerate the natural characteristics and technogenic influence over them.
- The most important ways of ecological network formation in different landscape zones in order to improve the nature reserve fund system and to ensure the operational capability of nature corridors and buffer zones through restoration of natural conditions of anthropogenically transformed landscape complexes is proved.
- Anthropogenic changes of landscapes of the zone affected by Chernobyl atomic power plant are detected; the use of landscape science approach to the problems of rehabilitation of contaminated lands is proved.
- The economic geographical foundations of ecological safety of Ukraine are worked out; environmental priorities in the framework of implementation of Ukrainian regional policy are defined.
The Institute coordinates geographic research in Ukraine; publishes ‘Ukrainian Geographical Journal’. Institute of Geography invites interested organizations to joint research of pointed out scientific problems. The Institute offers for sale monographs, brochures, maps, methods of thematic maps creation.
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