It also produces the spectacular landscapes we visit on holiday and the
countryside we see ... Physical geography: a landscape appreciation. Seventh
Edition,.
Why is geodiversity important? References in: •http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/geodiversity/important.aspx
Geodiversity is all around us. It provides the raw materials for building, the fuel we put in our cars and the soils in which our crops grow. It also produces the spectacular landscapes we visit on holiday and the countryside we see every day.
Landscape and sense of place •Geodiversity plays a major role in defining the landscapes. It is the diversity of England’s geology and natural processes that has produced the wide range of landforms and soil types. These influence land use, the distribution and nature of habitats and the character and location of our cities and towns. •The cultural influence of geodiversity on people is extremely strong. The location of many of our cities is influenced by the distribution of mineral resources, especially coal, and many people feel strong cultural ties with their industrial past. •Building stones give character to many of our cities, towns and villages, for example the red desert sandstones in Chester and the Carboniferous Limestone in Bakewell.
What is Geodiversity? References in: • Murray Gray (2004). Geodiversity: Valuing and Conserving Abiotic Nature. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. •Tom L. McKnight , Darrel Hess (2002). Physical geography: a landscape appreciation. Seventh Edition, Prentice Hall, Inc. •http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ •http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodiversity
Geodiversity is the variety of earth materials, forms and processes that constitute and shape the Earth, either the whole or a specific part of it. Relevant materials include mineral, rocks, sedimets, fossils, soils and water. Forms may comprise folds, faults, landforms and other expressions of morphology or relations between units of earth material. Any natural process that continues to act upon, maintain or modify either material or form (for example tectonics, sediment transport, pedogenesis) represents another aspect of geodiversity. However geodiversity is not normally defined to include the likes of landscaping, concrete or other significant human influence. Geodiversity is neither homogeneously distributed nor studied across the planet. The identification of geodiversity hotspots (eg. the islands of Great Britain and Tasmania) may be indicative not simply of the distribution of geodiversity but also of the status of geoconservation initiatives. In this regard it is worth noting that the biodiversity of an ecosystem stems at least in part from its underlying geology.
Rocks: rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids (like opal, which have the appearance of a mineral but lack any definite internal structure)
Percentage of rocks in the Earth crust
SEDIMENTS: A. Sediments are loose Earth materials such as sand that accumulate on the land surface, in river and lakebeds, and on the ocean floor. B. The sediments are the result of various processes of rock-weathering A. Erosion and transport of sediments from the site of weathering are caused by one or more of the following agents: gravity, wind, water, or ice. There are three basic types of sediment:
1. rock fragments, or clastic sediments; 2. mineral deposits, or chemical sediments; 3. rock fragments and organic matter, or organic sediments. Sedimentation is a general term for the processes of erosion, transport, and deposition.
Water
Water
Wind
Ice
Gravity
Soils and Pedogenesis The loose top layer of the Earth's surface, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter (humus), and capable of retaining water, providing nutrients for plants, and supporting a wide range of biotic communities. Soil is formed (PEDOGENESIS) by a combination of depositional, chemical, and biological processes and plays an important role in the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrologic cycles. Soil types vary widely from one region to another, depending on the type of bedrock they overlie and the climate in which they form. In wet and humid regions, for example, soils tend to be thicker than they do in dry regions
Soil profile scheme
Podzolic soil
Calcic soil
FOLDS: an undulation or wave in the stratified rocks of the Earth's crust. Stratified rocks were originally formed from sediments that were deposited in flat, horizontal sheets, although in some places the strata are no longer horizontal but have warped. The warping may be so gentle that the inclination of the strata is barely perceptible, or it may be so pronounced that the strata of the two flanks are essentially parallel or nearly flat. Folds vary widely in size; the tops of large folds are commonly eroded away on the Earth's surface.
FAULTS: is a fracture in the rocks of the Earth's crust, where compressional or tensional forces cause the rocks on the opposite sides of the fracture to be displaced relative to each other. Faults range in length from a few inches to hundreds of miles, and displacement may also range from less than an inch to hundreds of miles along the fracture surface (the fault plane). Most, if not all, earthquakes are caused by rapid movement along faults. Faults are common throughout the world. A wellknown example is the San Andrea Fault near the western coast of the U.S. The total movement along this fault during the last few million years appears to have been several miles.
Faults system
LANDFORMS All the physical, recognizable, naturally formed features of land, having a characteristic shape; includes major forms such as a plain, mountain, or plateau, and minor forms such as a hill, valley, or alluvial fan.
Processes and landforms Reference in: •Murray Gray (2004). Geodiversity: Valuing and Conserving Abiotic Nature. John Wiley & Sons Ltd •Ashley D. Cody. Geodiversity of geothermal fields in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Doc Rewsearch & Development Series 281, •Volcanic and Tectonic Processes and Landforms. Chapter 14, In : http://academic.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/0495555061_137454.pdf
Igneous forms Landforms resulting from igneous processes may be related to eruptions of extrusive igneous rock material or emplacements of intrusive igneous rock. Volcanism refers to the extrusion of rock matter from Earth’s subsurface to the exterior and the creation of surface terrain features as a result. Volcanoes are mountains or hills that form in this way. Plutonism refers to igneous processes that occur below Earth’s surface including the cooling of magma to form intrusive igneous rocks and rock masses. Some masses of intrusive igneous rock are eventually exposed at Earth’s surface where they comprise landforms of distinctive shapes and properties.
Volcanic eruptions
Eruptions can vary greatly in their size and character, and the volcanic landforms that result are extremely diverse. Explosive eruptions violently blast pieces of molten and solid rock into the air, whereas molten rock pours less violently onto the surface as flowing streams of lava in effusive eruptions. Variations in eruptive style and in the landforms produced by volcanism result mainly from temperature and chemical differences in the magma that feeds the eruption.
Photos in : http://gregvaughn.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Hawaii-Volcanoes-NationalPark/G0000gmqz8M0jkQc/I00003M9HvEGVI4E
The eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, which destroyed Pompeii, is an example of an episodic process. It is often difficult for humans to fully comprehend the potential danger from Earth processes that operate with bursts of intense activity, separated by years, decades, centuries, or even millennia of relative quiescence. (b) A plaster cast shows a victim who attempted to cover his face from hot gases and the volcanic ash that buried Pompeii.
Shield Volcanoes When numerous successive basaltic lava flows occur in a given region they can eventually pile up into the shape of a large mountain, called a shield volcano, which resembles a giant knight’s shield resting on Earth’s
References in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mauna_Kea_from_Mauna_Loa_Observatory,_Hawaii__20100913.jpg
Cinder Cones The smallest type of volcano, typically only a couple of hundred meters high, is known as a cinder cone.
Lassen Volcanic National Park, California. References in: http://academic.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/0495555061_137454.pdf
Composite Cones A third kind of volcano, a composite cone, results when formative eruptions are sometimes effusive and sometimes explosive.
Oregon’s Mount Hood References in: http://academic.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/0495555061_137454.pdf
Plug Domes Where extremely viscous silica-rich magma has pushed up into the vent of a volcanic cone without flowing beyond it, it creates a plug dome.
R.P. Hoblitt/USGS Volcano Hazards Program
Plug dome volcanoes extrude stiff silica-rich lava and have steep slopes. Lassen Peak, located in northern California, is a plug dome and the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. The lava plugs are the darker areas protruding from the volcanic peak. Lassen was last active between 1914 and 1921. References in: http://academic.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/0495555061_137454.pdf
Why are plug dome volcanoes considered dangerous?
Great pressures can build up creating the potential for extremely violent explosive eruptions, including pyroclastic flows.
In 1903 Mount Pelée, a plug dome on the French West Indies island of Martinique, caused the deaths in a single blast of all but one person from a town of 30,000.
References in: http://academic.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/0495555061_137454.pdf
Calderas Occasionally, the eruption of a volcano expels so much material and relieves so much pressure within the magma chamber that only a large and deep depression remains in the area that previously contained the volcano’s summit. A large depression made in this way is termed a caldera.
Crater Lake, Oregon, is the best-known caldera in North America..
References in: http://academic.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/0495555061_137454.pdf
Processes and landforms •References in: http://scholar.google.it/scholar?q=slope+processes+and+landforms&hl=it&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart •http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomorphology • Panizza Mario (2007). Geomorfologia, Pitagora Editrice Bologna, Italy •Tom L. McKnight , Darrel Hess (2002). Physical geography: a landscape appreciation. Seventh Edition, Prentice Hall, Inc.
Hillslope Environemntal The most important processes that act on and below the surface of a hillslope, affecting the regolith and bedrock are:
Slopewash and Mass-movement, .
Slopewash Rainwater may produce important geomorphological effects whether by raindrop impact or by surface runoff Slopewash is discontinuous in time and depends on the intensity and duration of the rainfall.
SPLASH EROSION is a direct mechanical effect produced by raindrops
SHEET EROSION (SE): is the areal effect of runoff or diffuse runoff
SE
RE
RILL EROSION (RE) : the initial concentration of runoff or embryonic channelling.
GULLY EROSION: concentreted runoff
Badlands - Calanchi
Mass-wasting By mass-wasting is meant the chaotic transport of rock masses or detritus down a slope under the direct influence of gravity. CLASSIFICATION (After Scharpe, 1938, modified) SLOW FLOW, RAPID FLOW, LANDSLIDE
SLOW FLOW
Creep: slow movement along the slope of soil or debris, usually imperceptible except through repeated observations
Solifluction: the slow movement of detrital masses or saturated rock.
RAPID FLOW
Earth flow: the movement of saturated soil on gentle slopes
Mud flow: the movement slow or fast of clayey and marly sediment along drainage lines or channels
Debris flow: the movement, from slow to rapid, of detrital material from fine to coarse which is saturated with water along drainage lines or channels.
Cancia Alta Villanova
Cancia Bassa
Cancia
Rain-gauge station Ultrasonic echometer Traffic light Borehole
Courtesy: CNR-IRPI Padua, Italy
Landslides Reference: Varnes D. J.: Slope movement types and processes. In: Schuster R. L. & Krizek R. J. Ed., Landslides, analysis and control. Transportation Research Board Sp. Rep. No. 176, Nat. Acad. oi Sciences, pp. 11–33, 1978. M.Panizza (2007). Geomorfologia. Pitagora Editrice Bologna. Italy,
Fall
Rotational slide
Topple
Traslational slide
Flow
Lateral spreading
Lanforms and processes References in : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomorphology Photos from Google Earth
Fluvial Environemntal Fluvial is used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them.
Fluvial processes comprise the motion of sediment and erosion or deposition (geology) on the river bed
Fluvial patterns
Anastomosing river
Straight river
Braided rivers
Meandering rivers
Rivers are also capable of eroding into rock and creating new sediment, and landforms depending on the regional topography and underlying geology Probable delta in a crater to the NE of Holden Crater, as seen by Mars Global Surveyor
canyon Nile delta
Oxbow lake
Floodplain
Terraces
Lanforms and processes References in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomorphology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolian_landform
Aeolian Environemntal Aeolian processes pertain to the activity of winds and more specifically, to their ability to shape the surface of the Earth. Winds may erode, transport, and deposit materials, and are effective agents in regions with sparse vegetation and a large supply of unconsolidated sediment. Although water and mass flow tend to mobilize more material than wind in most environments, aeolian processes are important in arid environments such as deserts.
Wind Landforms
Yardang
Yardang
The desert pavement Barkana dune
Merzouga dunes in the Erg Chebbi
Landforms and processes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomorphology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier M. Panizza (2007) . Geomorfologia, Pitagora Editrice Bologna, Italy Photos from Google Earth
Glacial and Periglacial Environment Glaciers, while geographically restricted, are effective agents of landscape change. The gradual movement of ice down a valley causes abrasion and plucking of the underlying rock. Abrasion produces fine sediment, termed glacial flour. The debris left behind by a receding glacier at its front and margins is termed moraine. Glacial erosion is responsible for U-shaped valleys, as opposed to the V-shaped valleys of fluvial origin. The way glacial processes interact with other landscape elements, particularly hillslope and fluvial processes, is an important aspect of Plio-Pleistocene landscape evolution and its sedimentary record in many high mountain environments. Environments that have been relatively recently glaciated may still show elevated landscape change rates compared to those that have never been glaciated.
Maximum extension of Pleistocene glaciations in Europe
Moreux Crater moraines and kettle holes, as seen by HiRISE
Cryoclastic physical processes Processes of mechanical breakdown of rock due to the expansion of water freezing within it. The products of this process are termed cryoclastic. The production of cryoclastic material is proportional to the number of freeze-thaw cycles.
Detrital slope
Niches and steps produced by snow accumulation
Rock glacier: Detrital mass which m oves slowly downvalley under its own weight in fluid fashion generally due toi the presence of interstitial ice
pingo and palsa
Geomorphosites: definition and mapping References Emmanuel Reynard & Mario Panizza (2005) . Geomorphosites: definition, assessment and mapping , http://geomorphologie.revues.org/index337.html
Geomorphosites are geomorphological landforms that have acquired a scientific, cultural/historical, aesthetic and/or social/economic value due to human perception or exploitation (Panizza, 2001). They can be single geomorphological objects or wider landscapes and may be modified, damaged, and even destroyed by the impacts of human activities. The value of geomorphosites is poorly known to the public and to scientists from other disciplines. There is therefore a need to heighten the public profile of geomorphosites, to develop new methods to assess their scientific, cultural, aesthetic and social/economic value, and finally to protect them within a legal framework. In order to achieve the goal of assessing and protecting geomorphosites, the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) formed a Working Group for the period 2001–2005 which focused on four main concerns : (1) geomorphosite definition, (2) assessment methodology, (3) mapping methods, and (4) site protection. The most important lesson gained from the assessment issue is that it is necessary to select clear criteria that allow the various components of a geomorphosite to be evaluated. Scholars from the universities of Cantabria, Valladolid, Modena, and Lausanne have developed several different methods
Researchers from the universities of Pavia and Modena created a key method that can be used for digital mapping (GIS) and linked to a database of geomorphosite parameters. The issue of protection raised the need to address the vulnerability of geomorphosites. Vulnerability arises because geomorphosites are often multifunctional sites, i.e. frequented by a range of users with diverse and sometimes conflicting interests. In order to mitigate vulnerability, four types of action are proposed : (1) improve assessment methods so as to more objectively select the sites of elevated interest; (2) improve education of non-geomorphologists in order to increase their sensitivity to the geomorphological value of the territory ; (3) promote management structures such as geoparks ; and finally, (4) improve the legal basis for protection, which can be enforced either through property rights or using public policy. Experience was shared during workshops and international conferences in Modena (workshop, 2002), Cagliari (workshop, 2003), MexicoCity (IAG Regional Conference on Geomorphology, 2003), Florence (32nd International Geological Congress, 2004), and Zaragoza (6th International Conference on Geomorphology, 2005). A 2005 issue of Géomorphologie: relief, processus, environnement presents six contributions that provide an overview of the working group’s activities.
Nickolas C. Zouros, Mytilene. Geomorphosite assessment and management in protected areas of Greece Case study of the Lesvos island – coastal geomorphosites http://www.lesvosmuseum.gr/cms_files/dynamic//c45881/file/43_el_GR.pdf
Structural sketch-map showing the three orogenic belts of the Hellenic Orogen and their extension to the Minor Asia region. Cimmerian continental fragments and ophiolotic sutures after Mountrakis 1986 and 2006.
DE WAELE J., DI GREGORIO F., MELIS M.T., EL WARTITI M. Landscape units, Geomorphosites and Geodiversity of the Ifrane-Azrou region (Middle Atlas, Morocco) Mem. Descr. Carta Geol. d’It. LXXXVII (2009), pp. 63-76 figg. 7 - tabb. 2
http://www.isprambiente.gov.it/site/_files/pubblicazioni/PeriodiciTecnici/Memorie/MemorieLXXXVII/memd es_87_de_waele.pdf
Example of the sheet file, in French, used in the field for the cataloguing of the Geomorphosites.
Extract of the map of Landscape Units and Geomorphosites of the Ifrane-Azrou region. The represented area is the basaltic plateau of Azrou, one of the landscape units with the highest geodiversity.
Landscape systems and units of the Azrou-Ifrane area and their main characteristics.
Geosites, geomorphosites and geological landscapes of the Azrou-Ifrane area.
The itinerary map with the proposal of six thematic itineraries (left upper corner). In this miniature map all geomorphosites (circled numbers), the landscape units (in black italic letters) and the main roads are also summarised.
Laura Comanescu, Alexandru Nedelea and Robert Dobre Evaluation of geomorphosites in Vistea Valley (Fagaras Mountains-Carpathians, Romania) (2011) International Journal of the Physical Sciences Vol. 6(5), pp. 1161 -1168, 4 March, 2011 http://www.academicjournals.org/ijps/PDF/pdf2011/4Mar/Comanescu%20et%20al.pdf
The geographical position of the Fagaras Massif within Romania’s territory
Steps made in studying the geomorphosites
Criteria for geomorphosite evaluation (Pralong, 2005; Reynard et al., 2007; Coratza and Giusti, 2005) modified.
The evaluation of the geomorphosites
Geomorphological map of Vistea valley
The geographical location of geomorphosites in Vistea valley
The global value of geomorphosites
