1. General Trends in the Geographical Sciences

In this chapter, major geographical issues examined in 307 SCI/SSCI mainstream journals in the geographical sciences are identified to describe general trends in the geographical sciences in the past 30 years, both at home and abroad. The geographical sciences play an increasingly important role in solving global and regional hot issues such as global change, globalization and sustainability. Research into geographical processes is deepened as well as integrated, with field observation and experimentation contributing greatly to research on physical geographical processes and mechanisms. The geographical sciences as a discipline are now improving their ability to simulate and predict the future evolution of the earth surface and environment, assisting with the development of ways of mitigating and adapting to environmental change. Adaptation, vulnerability, uncertainty and resilience have become new frontiers in global change studies. In addition, the development situation of geography education in three developed countries has been analysed based on questionnaire and internet data.