On the relationship between geography and geology : Past and future

Abstract

Geography and geology are terms derived from the same root. They share the prefix geo, but the other element of the two composite words-logos and graphein-introduces a distinction. Owing to the ever-increasing number of scientists and the advancement of all disciplines, all sciences have become interdisciplinary in their approaches, and this trend will only grow in the future. The old controversy in geosciences-whether geomorphology forms part of geology or geography-offers yet another argument for their relatedness. The issue has even become a subject of wide-ranging internet debate a few years ago. Environmental concerns have brought many well-intentioned people together, but also many sciences and disciplines. Geography and geology have established a strong new bond known as landscape geochemistry, the study of distribution and migration of chemical elements under the influence of landscape determining factors (relief, climate, water, soil and vegetation cover, animal world, human activity). The rapprochement between geography and geology can be seen from yet another example: geomedicine. The term is becoming ever more popular and widely used to denote a combination of medical geography and medical geology, two increasingly overlapping disciplines. At many universities worldwide geology and geography are taught within a single department, which further bolsters the alliance between the two disciplines. The example of Jovan Cvijic (1865- 1927), an eminent Serbian scientist, perfectly shows how a combined geographical and geological approach to natural phenomena can produce results of lasting scientific value.