Academic CentreHead: Associate professor Māris Bērziņš
E-mail: maris.berzins@lu.lv
Adress: UL Academic centre Nature House, Jelgavas street 1, Riga LV-1004
The Department of Geography provides academic geography study programs at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. The department consists of three Chairs.
Head: associate professor Elīna Apsīte-Beriņa
E-mail: elina.apsite-berina@lu.lv
The Department of Human Geography is an academic structural unit of the Geography Department of the Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences of the University of Latvia. The department organises and implements research and study work in the subfield of human geography sciences, ensuring the implementation of bachelor's, masters and doctoral academic study programmes at the LU FGES. Initially the Department of Economic Geography was established in 1944. It was renamed to the Department of Human Geography in 1996. Currently, 11 lecturers and researchers work in the department, while eight doctoral students are working on theses.
Head: professor Agrita Briede
E-mail: agrita.briede@lu.lv
To ensure high-quality studies of natural geography and to develop fundamental and applied research in the natural geography of Latvia in an interdisciplinary and international context, focused on the cooperation of sub-sectors of geography.
The Department of Physical Geography was established at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the University of Latvia in 1920 as the Department of Physical Geography. It is the oldest structural unit of the Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences.
Scientific research directions: Climate and waters, aerobiology, phenology
Head: associate professor Kristaps Lamsters
E-mail: kristaps.lamsters@lu.lv
The Department of Geomorphology and Geomatics was established in 1999 as a structural unit of the Department of Geography. Since its establishment, the scientific activity of the department has been purposefully oriented towards conducting and developing fundamental and applied research in various directions of Quaternary research, geomorphology and geomatics at the interface between natural geography, geology and human geography.
The Department of Geomorphology and Geomatics is the leading academic structural unit in Quaternary research, geomorphology and paleogeography in Latvia.
Directions of scientific research: Quaternary research, geomorphology and paleogeography.
The Department of Geography conducts extensive and diverse research, covering several important directions. It studies the effects of climate and water on the environment, as well as issues of aerobiology and phenology. Research is also carried out in the field of soil and biota, analyzing aspects of soil composition and biological diversity. The department explores landscape and cultural geography, as well as population geography and migration processes. Special attention is paid to the study of population and geographical mobility, territorial management and planning. Research also includes changes in the glacial subglacial, marl, and postglacial environments in a historical perspective, as well as processes of sediment accumulation and relief formation.
The department deals with the spatio-temporal changes of the Holocene natural environment by analyzing the evidence of lake and marsh sediments, and promotes the development of integrated spatial and data analysis methods. Together, these studies contribute to the understanding of the interaction between nature and man, as well as environmental changes over time.
The geography department consists of seven laboratories.
Other units of the department:
Director: Gunta Kalvāne
E-mail: gunta.kalvane@lu.lv
Webpage: www.jgs.lv