HYDROLOGICAL RESEARCHES OF THE NORTH CAUCASUS IN THE 19th CENTURY

Abstract

Hydrological researches of the North Caucasus are an important section related to the study of the nature of the region. The paper mainly considers the period of research associated with the systematic study of poorly studied territories of the North Caucasus (19th century–early 20th century). Hydrological studies during this period were closely related to geological studies of the region. Significant contributions to the study of groundwater in the region were made by F.P. Gaas (1811), A.P. Nelyubin (1825), F. Konrad (1831), A. Pershin (1835), G. Abikh (1852–1874, 1886), F.A. Batalin (1861), S.A. Smirnov (1864–1895), G. Struve (1868), F. Koshkul (1871) and others. Abikh was one of the first to provide a hydrogeological description of the Caucasian Mineral Waters and several mineral springs in Dagestan. Based on his research, he presented a classification of mineral waters by chemical composition. He also scientifically substantiated the genetic link between the region’s mineral and thermal springs and disjunctive tectonic faults. Information about the mineral waters was reflected in the notes of the Russian Balneological Society in 1868, which mentioned several mineral springs in North Ossetia. The works of V.I. Meller, D.M. Denisov, and others on the mineral resources of the Caucasus in 1889 and 1900 also provide information about the region's mineral springs. Industrial oil production in the North Caucasus began in the late 19th century, and the associated waters of oil and gas fields were primarily studied. From 1901 to 1917, the Geological Committee organized systematic studies of the geology and hydrogeology of the North Caucasus. During this period, more detailed hydrological studies of the North Caucasus were conducted, which generalized the hydrology of the North Caucasus.