Revista Geográfica de Chile Terra Australis

Editorial

In an interlinked and constantly changing world, the relevance of geosciences is more important than ever. In this sense, it is important to highlight the multiplicity of specialists and organizations dedicated to the study and analysis of this discipline, which play a crucial role in the understanding of the processes that shape our planet and in the search for sustainable solutions to the challenges we face.

From this perspective, it is transcendental to maintain collaboration between scientists and society's actors involved in both the public and private sectors to address the challenges we face.

This, ideally based on the commitment to share scientific knowledge with the world, which is fundamental for the advancement of society and the improvement of the quality of life of people and the environment that surrounds them. Since, through this, it is possible to have accurate and reliable information for decision making, for the promotion of innovation or for the exchange of ideas or tools that can be useful for those who are even in the most remote places of the planet. And it is under this premise that Terra Australis Magazine is presented as a platform that seeks to bring together specialists who have a real interest in sharing their findings and research as a focus of inspiration for its readers or for those who may find it useful.

In this volume, we share several articles related to the field of earth sciences that we hope will be of interest to the community.

In this sense, Shaohua Liu and co-authors, develop a study that investigates the public perceptions of the rural landscape in China and the importance of these perceptions.

María Francisca Mardones and Gerardo Ubilla, propose a study oriented to the analysis of land use planning and with it, the importance of ecological planning; basing the case study in Curicó, Chile. Likewise, Antonela Volante and Verónica Gil, present a study of environmental diagnosis of the riparian quality of an area in Argentina.

On the other hand, Daniel Valenzuela investigates the impacts of cyclical climatic events faced by northern Chile, proposing strategies to cope with such events. 

Camilo Vial and co-authors propose an analysis of extreme events in Chile and their treatment or management at the national level.

Erik Escalona and coauthors examine the impact of climate change in the southern hemisphere from 1880 to the present.

Edgardo Rojas and co-authors, address a study related to the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing various parameters that could be useful to understand the propagation patterns of future global health events, using the Metropolitan Region in Chile as the study area. Likewise, Manuel Fuenzalida proposes another quantitative analysis proposal during the first wave of the pandemic, with the aim of explaining the spatial distribution of active cases of COVID-19 in the same area in Chile.

Finally, Erik Escalona and co-authors present an investigation that evaluates the economic viability of the extraction of spatial resources by Chile, given its mining extraction capacity.

PEDRO CASTILLO FIGUEROA

Colonel

Director of the Military Geographic Institute and the Chilean Geographical Journal Terra Australis