Thematic atlas mapping — three stages of development

Summary

The available opening and closing sections compare three comprehensive world atlases produced in the USSR and Russia: the Great Soviet World Atlas (1937, 1940), the Physical-Geographical Atlas of the World (1964), and Nature and Resources of the Earth (1998). They discuss changes in production, scientific concepts, thematic coverage, and map legends. I. P. Gerasimov did not participate directly in compiling the first atlas, but used its soil maps to develop soil-geographical theory. He directed the scientific design and organization of the second and conceived the third, assembling its team; the latter was completed under A. A. Lyuty. The authors identify successive emphases on synthesizing knowledge of the natural environment, organizing interconnected physical maps through the concept of zonality, and representing resources, environmental problems, and information for scenarios and forecasts. Vegetation and soil mapping shifted from traditional general-purpose maps toward maps of specific properties and processes and predictive assessments. Soil-map examples address secondary salinization risk, potential resistance to anthropogenic acidification, and contamination risks from toxic trace elements. Legends evolved from unranked textual lists to multilevel hierarchies and then to tables and matrices linking multiple indicators. The authors interpret these changes as developments in scientific paradigms and cartographic models within soil and biotic mapping. Although geographic information technologies expanded data-processing capacity, interpretation continued to depend on scientific judgment and expert assessment.