RESEARCH OF THE CLIMATE OF THE NORTH CAUCASUS

(based on materials from the 19th–early 20th centuries)

Abstract

Current understanding of the natural environment of the North Caucasus is the result of centuries of extensive observation. Expeditions of the 18th century made a significant contribution to the study of the climate of the North Caucasus. Information on the climate of the North Caucasus began to be actively covered in the notes and reports of the Caucasian Section of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society in the 19th century (in the characteristics of the climate of individual regions of the Caucasian Mineral Waters, in works devoted to atmospheric precipitation in the regions of the Ciscaucasia, etc. [1, 2]. In the 19th century, measures were proposed to improve and preserve nature, to establish numerous meteorological stations to observe the weather and prevent possible natural anomalies. A significant contribution to the study of the climate of the North Caucasus and the Caucasus as a whole was made by the first Russian climatologist A.I. Voeikov (1842–1916). The founder of scientific soil science V.V. Dokuchaev (1846–1903) in his works on the soils of the Caucasus, he provides information on the climatic features relevant to the North Caucasus. Based on 20 years of observations at the end of the 19th century, an atlas of precipitation distribution in the river basins of European Russia by month and year was prepared, based on the results of 20 years of observations (A.A. Tillo, 1839–1899). The study of the climate of the North Caucasus before and during the 19th century was primarily descriptive and partly generalizing. However, the available observational results laid the foundation for a comprehensive study of the climate. The Caucasian Section of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society made an important contribution to climate research, providing the scientific community with the opportunity to become acquainted with pioneering research on the climate of the North Caucasus.