International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks最新文献

The geodiversity and geoconservation status in Argentina is herein presented considering the geodidactic potential and tourism activity as geosystem services. The Geological Interest Sites (GIS) identified by the geological and mining national survey, the Natural Protected Areas (NPA) supported by the national park administration and the World Heritage Sites (WHS) declared by UNESCO are analysed. The geological periods involved, materials -including minerals, rocks, fossils and soils- and the endogenic and exogenic processes preserved in GIS are highlighted as geodidactic functions. Despite the geodiversity richness, the country does not yet have any Global Geopark. How geodiversity is considered in official descriptions of NPA and their emblems as well as the type of UNESCO's WHS declared in the country is revealed. This analysis demonstrates that Argentinian conservation policies have traditionally been designed on an ecological basis, undervaluing the role of geodiversity for itself while underpinning its supporting geosystem service as habitat for flora and fauna. Only 3 out of the 72 GIS are both NPA and WHS, other 4 are only WHS, 16 are only NPA and 49 are just GIS, which means they are not protected under any national or international conservation category. Geoconservation analyses reveal the urgent need for a federal geoheritage law.

This research aims to spotlight abiotic elements of geodiversity in the Smaquli area and value and use as geoconservation through potential geopark. Smaquli area, situated in the southeastern part of Safen anticline, north of Iraq Kurdistan region, has a rich and diverse geological and geomorphological heritage, making it an interesting area for this study. This study aims to present the geodiversity of the Smaqule site as an opportunity to carry out future sustainable socio-economic activities in the geopark. The study includes fieldwork on the area's stratigraphy, structural geology, and geomorphology. Tectonically, the study area lay within the High Folded Zone of the Unstable Shelf of Iraq and was affected by the collision of Arabia-Eurasia Plates which started before 23–25 Ma in northern Zagros. The exposed rock unit formations in the Smaqule area range in age from Cretaceous to Paleogene. The oldest outcrop rock unit is the Qamchuqa Formation. Stratigraphy of the study area includes Qamchuqa, Bekhme, Shiranish, Tanjero, Kolosh, Gercus, and Pila Spi Formations. The study area is a mountainous area with different heights ranging from valleys to high ridges; this is due to structural controlling topography and differential erosion of the structures in the area and their different lithology of the rocks. Many geomorphological landforms are studied in the area, such as ridges, longitudinal and transverse valleys, Sulfur springs, caves, faults, drainage patterns, Badland, and an elongate lake. These features are very attractive landscapes for tourism and balneotherapy. This study highlights the area's geological significance to add to its known cultural value, local products, and tangible and intangible heritage. The study area is suitable for investment by the national and international tourism, creating employment opportunities for local people, and leading to socio-economic development. The Geosites Assessment Model (GAM) has been applied in this study to quantify the geotourism potential in the four geosites within the study area.

On the 15th of January 2022, a massive hydrovolcanic eruption at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in Tonga (SW Pacific) sent shockwaves in the near-field regime, close to the volcano. The far-field disturbances that encircled the globe were of a slower velocity. The most prominent disturbance was the Lamb wave, with the rest of the disturbances being a variety of gravity waves travelled around the globe and instantly became an international headline story. The eruption generated atmospheric pressure waves recorded multiple times across the globe, triggered a tsunami, and injected highly fragmented pyroclasts up to 55 km into the atmosphere. Enduring several hours, a series of individual large blasts generated an unprecedented lightning “show” recorded by the lightning detection networks, such as Vaisala. Consequences were devastating to the local community and the tsunami was felt across the Pacific and beyond. The impact of the eruption was truly global and comparable to the Krakatau 1883 eruption. A question we pose here is which geoheritage elements were created and preserved after the eruption. First reports confirmed that while fine ash was reported on land about 100 km from the source, most deposits were thin (mm-cm thick). This indicates that it is unlikely that any major section will be preserved, especially in the years following the event given the tropical setting. In addition, most of the ash fell into the Pacific Ocean, leaving no visible mark of this catastrophe. Unfortunately, the proximal region (e.g., the vent site) has also been destroyed, leaving only limited in-situ geoheritage elements likely to be accessible in the future. This poses a problem for human societal memory, as major catastrophic events in the collective memory of a community may only persist for a few decades, even when significant eruptive features may be preserved. Without “visible” geoheritage elements, this time will likely be much shorter. Geocultural elements (oral traditions or cultural activities) are likely to preserve and transmit information within the local communities for a longer period, but their accessibility and decoding may face difficulties in the absence of physically preserved evidence. Therefore, we consider it is important to trace and explore these geocultural elements through a mix of traditional and western approaches of community engaged activities. For example, the Pacific region has experienced several similar large-scale eruptions in historic times, and a few of them resulted in preserved geoheritage elements such as superb sections of the 1452–53 CE Kuwae eruption in Vanuatu. While these sites are locally known, their appearance and their geological context are not evidently and immediately considered as part of a major volcanic system, as they do not fit the common human perception of volcanoes as large conical mountains. Such visual perceptions do not align with the common near-sea level/shallow subaqueous caldera-dominated syst