UNDERSTANDING THE CRYOLOGICAL TERMINOLOGY - THE STAGE OF CREATING A HOLISTIC IMAGE OF THE EARTH’S CRYOSPHERE
V.P. Melnikov1,2,3, R.Yu. Fedorov1,2
1Earth Cryosphere Institute, Tyumen Scientific Centre, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tyumen, Russia
2Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russia
3Tyumen Industrial University, Tyumen, Russia
Keywords: cryosphere, holism, terminology, science of permafrost, geocryology, cryolithology
Abstract
In the first decades of the 21st century, the need of changing the paradigm of cryology became obvious. This changing is based on two main approaches. One of them is related to transition from considering the cryosphere as a threat for people to its interpretation as one of the key resources for environmental basis and subsistence. The second approach is based on the need to build a holistic image of the Earth’s cryosphere. Considering the Earth’s cryosphere as a complex system, consisting of cold layers of atmosphere, glaciosphere and subterranean permafrost, brings us to the need for analysis of previous terms identifying object areas that study the world of cold. Ideas about the cryosphere and cryology were formulated in 1974. Modern interpretation of the object and the subject of research was the result of many long-term disputes. Currently, the term “geocryology” remains to be used as a synonym for science of permafrost. However, while building a holistic image of the Earth’s cryosphere, it is necessary to take into account the properties and state of the entire object as a whole and create new terms and concepts that can reflect the expanding contexts of studying cryogenic processes, their ontological hierarchy, system connections, etc. In this situation, the philosophy of science is designed to become a kind of source of generation of new images, concepts, and meanings.
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