2020, Vol. 1-2

ISSN 0204-7209
ISSN 2367-6671 (Online)
PROBLEMS OF GEOGRAPHY
Volume 1-2
Sofia 2020



ANNOTATIONS


Pelo Mihaylov – TO THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE BULGARIAN GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35101/prg-2020.1-2.1

The current article presents all the founding members of the Bulgarian Geographic Society as well as the distribution of the job positions in the first Board of Trustees since 1918. Two documents have been published – a copy of the Founding protocol of the Bulgarian Geographic Society, 1918 and a list of the founding members. Each of the twenty-three founders of the political, cultural, scientific and economic elite of Bulgaria in the past was presented with brief biographical notes. These include the names of one general, two prime ministers, three ministers, four ambassadors, five rectors, six journalists, seven members of the parliament, eight academicians and correspondent-members and total of twelve professors. However, only three of them are professionally involved in geography – Prof. Zheko Radev, Zhecho Chankov and Ivan Pastuhov.

Keywords: Bulgarian Geographic Society, Founding protocol, founding members.



Viliyan Krastev – THE IMAGE OF THE SPACE AS A RESEARCH PROBLEM IN GEOPOLITICS:AN ATTEMPT OF CONSTRUCTIVE CONCEPTUALIZATION

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35101/prg-2020.1-2.2

The article deals with a problem linked to the figurative perception of the geographic space in geopolitics. For the purpose has been tracked the evolution of the geopolitical attitude toward space from objective to subjective with tracing leading role of post-structuralism as a key methodology in the postmodern geopolitics. Affected are the attributes that make up the formation of the geopolitical image of the space: geopolitical identification and identity; geopolitical discourse; archetypes. There is provided a system-representative model of geopolitical image of the space, which testifies to the constructive conceptualization, implied as an idea in the article. The model synthesizes main details, forming the geopolitical vision of the space, which are projected onto its geopolitical image in subordinate dependence. With this model, we defend the idea of launching a constructive algorithm that adequately structures the process of forming a geopolitical image of space. It could meet the contemporary needs to systematize empirical knowledge of the subject in order to obtain more accurate, given the subjectivized results of the matter.

Keywords: relative space, post-structuralism, identity, geopolitical image, critical
geopolitics



Krasimir Asenov – THE ROMA COLONIZATION. BEYOND THE „ECUMENE” – ON THE TRACKS OF THE PROTO-ROMA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35101/prg-2020.1-2.3

It is difficult to study peoples and communities that do not have their own historical memory. It is even more difficult to study ethnic groups whose collective memory only lasts a lifetime. In such cases, it is necessary to study not the communities themselves, but the existing records about them in foreign historical and collective memories. The historiographical literature on the Roma, considered scientific, often represents a subjective interpretation of the historical reality by the gadzho (a term used by the Roma to denote a foreigner, a non-Roma), which undoubtedly forms a field of research saturated with subjective, emotionallycharged and speculative information. With no unified nation and state, no common historical and temporally stable collective memory, roaming the world for more than a millennium, the Roma communities continue to be like an ancient palimpsest, whose top layer seems easy to read, but the layers below continue to hide their secrets. The Roma have no prospect of finding their own ecumene – their promised land; invisible and visible at the same time, people on the periphery who live in their own dimension, with their own moral and philosophical beliefs, often incomprehensible and alien to others, but deeply vital and connected with the original nature of nature and man. They have no narrative of origin and history of their own, no writing, constantly stigmatized and persecuted by the gadzho, instilling fear, disgust and admiration at the same time. The post-Byzantine period of the development of the Roma people is relatively well-studied, however, not sufficiently so as to answer a number of questions concerning the ethno-cultural and social identity of the Roma in the pre-Byzantine period. The study of the origin and development of the Roma ancestors is crucial if we are to answer the questions that still have not received satisfactory answers, such as: why the Roma do not have their own state; why they do not have a common ethno-cultural selfconsciousness and a common cultural memory; why the Roma are so fragmented – with no unified language, culture and religion; why the levels of illiteracy among them are higher than that of the surrounding population, etc. Some of the questions related to the behavioral patterns, as well as the educational and professional attitudes of the Roma, can also find their answers if we study the period (in historical, ethno-cultural, social and geographical aspects) before, during, and after the formation of the Roma ethnic group in Northwest India. The paper proposes a hypothesis that attempts to answer some of these questions. Considering the structure, functions and intra-class relations in the varna and the caste systems in ancient India, some logical conclusions are imposed, which clearly show that the Roma ancestors are part of a large group – ethnically, culturally, socially and anthropologically heterogeneous – which due to unbearable living conditions, began to leave India en masse, in the period between the fifth and the tenth century, in the direction of Central Asia and Europe.

Keywords: Roma, proto-Roma, varna, cast, aryans, adivasi, shudras, sacrosanct



Vanya Vasileva, Dora Kabakchieva – FORMS OF ANTHROPOGENIC TOURIST RESOURCES. TRYING FOR ANOTHER TYPOLOGY

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35101/prg-2020.1-2.4

Anthropogenic tourism resources are an important component of the tourismresource potential of Bulgaria, as well as an important competitive advantage for Bulgarian tourism. These resources have been studied and ranked based on different criteria. At first glance, their division is easy and clear. However, there is no common consensus among Bulgarian researchers on their type differentiation. Often anthropogenic tourist resources are interpreted as synonymous with cultural and historical heritage (and vice versa) and this, although too general and superficial, has some reasons. However, it is necessary to emphasize unequivocally that the two terms are not equivalent. „Anthropogenic resources” refers to a more general concept that includes both cultural and historical heritage resources and those that have been created today by purpose (artificial) and whose content may contain elements of culture and / or history. In this paper, the authors propose their own classification of anthropogenic tourism resources. The application of typology (division based on qualitative attributes) is not only scientifically important, but it is also important to practice to bring clarity and order to the diversity available. Senses are used as the leading criterion, because perception through the senses, awareness and comprehension of an object (or phenomenon) is the determining one for the relations to with it. According to this criterion, anthropogenic tourist resources are divided into tangible and intangible. The tangible ones are inherited, modern and mixed. Archaeological and ethnographic resources are inherited. Modern sports, entertainment and business resources are created. Religious, architectural, commemorative, cultural-institutional and economic resources can be both inherited and modernly created, therefore they are defined as a mixed type. The proposed classification is consistent not only with the resources tangibility and genesis and their peculiarities, but also with their use by the tourists and the importance of these resources for Bulgaria. The classifications developed so far are not bound to give a strictly fixed meaning to the individual terms. This is of particular importance to the authors of this typology. The definition of individual types is a significant contribution to their validation and, accordingly, to their work (identification, tourist evaluation, market positioning, conservation, development, etc.). Therefore, the proposed new categorization of anthropogenic tourism resources is logically accompanied by the designation of each type. The caveat is that it is not possible to put strict boundaries between the types, because very often each of them has characteristics of more than one group, hence different categories are connected not only by their nature, but also in their origin, as well as places of distribution. Most of the intangible anthropogenic tourism resources are only feasible in the presence of specific facilities. Therefore, the two main groups (tangible and intangible) are also highly interconnected and interdependent. The typology thus presented not only satisfies scientific and educational needs, but is also adequately applicable in public practice.

Keywords: typology, cultural and historical heritage, tangible and intangible anthropogenic tourist resources, special events.



Velimira Stoyanova, Tsvetan Kotsev – INDEX MeTo FOR HAZARD ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL POLLUTION OF SOIL IN THE DANUBE LOWLANDS IN BULGARIA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35101/prg-2020.1-2.5

The article presents the index MeTowhich is elaborated to assess the hazardof heavy metal pollution of riverine floodplain soils in the Danube lowlands in Bulgaria. The index MeToincludes the following parameters: degree of heavy metal pollution of river sediment (Ме) and topography (To). Each parameter is characterized by the following elements: weight (W), ranges, and ratings (R). The two variables are weighed against each other to determine its relative importance. The higher weight is given to the indicator ‘degree of heavy metal pollution of river sediment’ followed by the ‘topography’. Their weight coefficients are 2 and 1, respectively. The ranges of the parameters characterize the variety of environmental settings throughout the wetlands for the accumulation of heavy metals in the soils of the floodplain. Ratings (R) from 1 to 4 is assigned to each of the ranges of the individual variables. The degree of pollution of the river sediment is calculated by the index Cd proposed by Backman et al. (1998) as follows: Cd = Σni=1, Cfi = ΣCaiCni – 1, where Cfi is for the contamination factor for the i–th component, Cai is for the analytical value of the i–th component, and Cni is for the threshold value of the i–th component. The target values for sediment used in the consecutive Joint Danube Surveys organized by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River are applied as contaminant thresholds for calculating the index Cd. The ranges of Cd are determined as follows: Cd=0, no pollution; Cd (0, 1], low pollution; Cd (1, 3], moderate pollution; Cd>3, high pollution. The intervals have scores 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The topography is assessed by the major geomorphological forms identified in the lowlands, which are rated as follows: high floodplain, R=1; sandy ridges, R=1; low floodplain, R=2; old river channels, R=3; marshes, R=4. The MeToindex is calculated as the sum of the products of ratings (R) and weights (W) assigned to each of the parameters: MeTo=МеW*MeR+ToW*ToR. The minimum value of the MeToindex is 3 and the maximum is 12. The whole range is divided into six classes: 3 (negligible hazard), 4-5 (very low hazard), 6-7 (low hazard), 8-9 (moderate hazard), 10-11 (high hazard), and 12 (very high hazard).

Keywords: river sediment, topography, risk, vulnerability



Zvezdelina Aydarova, Tsvetan Kotsev, Assen Tchorbadjieff, Emilia Tcherkezova, Velimira Stoyanova – GROUPING OF GROUNDWATER MONITORING POINTS IN RIVER FLOODPLAIN ACCORDING TO THE CONDITIONS FOR ARSENIC CONTAMINATION

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35101/prg-2020.1-2.6

The purpose of this study is to categorise 21 groundwater monitoring points in the mining-affected valley of the Ogosta River in Northwestern Bulgaria according to the conditionsfor arsenic contamination of the alluvial aquifer. The grouping of the sites has been performed based on geochemical and geographical indicators using cluster analysis. Representative monitoring wells have been selected from each group so as to optimise the monitoring program and reduce the related expenditures. An attempt has been made to link the categories of piezometers to the main geomorphological features of the river floodplain and to certain levels of arsenic pollution of groundwater. The revealed patterns can be used for further examination of the link between arsenic dynamics and the geographical settings of the river floodplain. The established relationships are relevant to the environmental settings of a mountainous river of medium size under temperate climate conditions.

Keywords: hierarchical cluster analysis, K-means clustering, groundwater vulnerability, pH, Fe, Mn, the Ogosta River valley



Tsvetan Kotsev, Velimira Stoyanova, Zvezdelina Aidarova, Stefan Genchev – CONCEPT OF ARSENIC MONITORING IN THE SOIL-GROUNDWATER-RIVER WATER SYSTEM IN THE MINING AFFECTED OGOSTA RIVER VALLEY

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35101/prg-2020.1-2.7

The monitoring system in the Ogosta River valley is specifically designed to investigate the dependence of spatial distribution of arsenic in groundwater on the environmental settings of a floodplain which is contaminated with sulphides from mine tailings. The location of 25 piezometers takes into consideration the geomorphological features of the floodplain and the level of arsenic contamination of the soil. A testing ground for studying the impact of high river flow events on arsenic mobilization and migration from the soil to the alluvial aquifer and the river, has been organised in the active floodplain. It combines two piezometers in lower and higher sections of the active floodplain, a set of sensors and suction cups installed in the soil profile, a hydrometric station, as well as a weather station, all equipped with telemetry systems. The organised monitoring system is the basis for turning the Ogosta River valley into a testing area for studying and modelling the arsenic fate in polluted river floodplains.

Keywords: groundwater quality, telemetry systems, monitoring programs, river floodplain, contaminant dynamics



Rumen Penin – HEAVY METALS IN THE SOILS OF THE UPPER KALNITSA RIVER BASIN (THE KERMEN MARSH)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35101/prg-2020.1-2.8

The content of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Mn, Ni, Co, and Cr) in Gleyic vertisols and in Chromic luvisols has been researched on the basis of a conducted geographical survey in the Upper Kalnitsa River Basin (the Kermen Marsh), South East Bulgaria. The research facilitates potential environmental monitoring in the area of newly built Trakia motorway. Soil samples are collected from the landscapes in the marsh area as well as from the surrounding hills. A standard methodology has been applied to the samples and the total content of the researched microelements has been identified in a laboratory with atomic absorption spectrometry . A comparative analysis has been made between the heavy metals content in the soils of the researched area towards the soils in the world, in Europe, in Bulgaria (natural background landscapes and contaminated landscapes), and in the neighboring territory of Starozagorsko Pole (East Upper Thracian Plain) which has similar natural conditions for soil formation. The elements Ni and Co, and to some extent Zn and Mn, are contrasting elements in the radial distribution of microelement in the soil profile. The analysis shows low concentration of heavy metals in the soils at all. That is why it could be reasonably considered as a natural background territory. The researched area is an appropriate territory for future environmental monitoring and antropogenization assessment of the geochemical impact of the Trakia motorway on the landscapes in this part of Bulgaria.

Keywords: heavy metals, geochemistry, soil, vertisols, river basin, environmental monitoring



Viliyan Krastev – ABOUT SOCIAL AND CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY:COMMENTS, REMARKS, MISTAKES.

Critical review of the monographic work of prof. dr. sc. Atanas Dermendjiev “Social and cultural geography.Analysis, contexts , thoughts”

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35101/prg-2020.1-2.9