QUATERNARY PALAEOGEOGRAPHY AT THE LVIV UNIVERSITY: MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE XXI CENTURY AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

The Department of Geomorphology and Palaeogeography of the Faculty of Geography at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv employs a group of palaeogeographers (A. Bogucki, O. Tomeniuk, A. Yatsyshyn, R. Dmytruk), which comprehensively studies Quaternary sediments in Western Ukraine and other territories of the country. The thematic focus of palaeogeographic research is very diversified: the study of key sections of Quaternary sediments; conditions of formation and structure of periglacial loess-palaeosol sequences; research of the deposits of the glacial complex; periglacial processes and forms; the role of tectonics in the formation of Quaternary sediments; interdisciplinary research of the Palaeolithic; engineering and geological investigations; geophysical research; mineralogical research; weathering of anhydrite; study of the Holocene stage of the formation of the Dnister River valley; river terraces; lithology of alluvium; study of the Vyshnia River valley; malacological research; research of travertines, history of geography, etc. The selected issues are a priority research topic of the palaeogeographic group of the Department of Geomorphology and Palaeogeography. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the department, an attempt to summarize the scientific achievements of palaeogeographers over the past twenty years, particularly in thematic directions of research, was made. A large amount of new original factual material has been received, a significant number of international and Ukrainian scientific grants have been implemented, ten PhD students have defended their theses and received a PhD degree, more than 500 scientific papers have been published, more than half of which are in European Union languages. Due to the limited scope of this article, the greatest attention among all of the publications is paid to selected monographic works, collections of scientific papers prepared by researchers, papers in the journals from Scopus and Web of Science databases, and some others. It is worth mentioning the close cooperation of palaeogeographers of the Faculty of Geography with researchers from Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, France, Belgium and other countries. Without doubts, there are all the reasons to talk about a progressive palaeogeographic school at the Faculty of Geography, whose work is gaining momentum. Key words: palaeogeography; key sections; loess-palaeosol sequence; Quaternary period; periglacial processes; Palaeolithic.