The origin of the Parallel Roads of Glen Roy: a review of 19th Century research

This paper summarises the 19th Century research conducted in the Lochaber area and which sought to answer the enigma of the Parallel Roads of Glen Roy. This should be seen as an introduction to the main theories that were developed by a number of scientists, including Darwin, Agassiz and Jamieson. They considered the landforms to be a product of either lacustrine, marine or glaciolacustrine processes, the latter of which proposed by Jamieson, became the accepted explanation by the end of the century.     

Geotourism,geoconservation, and geodiversity along the belt and road: A case study of Dunhuang UNESCO Global Geopark in China

Dunhuang UNESCO Global Geopark (DHGG) is rich in geoheritage and contains scientific value for studying the sedimentation environments and paleoclimates of Western China. The Geopark is also notable for its aesthetic, cultural, artistic, and recreational value for tourism development. Since geographer Sven Hedin’s discovery of a yardang landform around Lop Nur in 1903, the area has been heavily studied. After the site was designated a National Geopark, geoconservation and geotourism began to rapidly develop and problems associated with these changes emerged. This study characterizes some of DHGG’s typical geoheritage, existing geoconservation, launched geotourism, and also describes some of the area’s challenges. In addition, the opportunities and challenges of DHGG arising from the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (B&R) are discussed. To benefit the sustainable development of DHGG, it is prudent to continue promoting geodiversity, geoconservation, and geotourism by making use of the advantages brought by the B&R.     

A new varve thickness record from Allt Bhraic Achaidh Fan,middle Glen Roy,Lochaber: implications for understanding the Loch Lomond Stadial glaciolacustrine varve sedimentation trends

Glen Roy, Lochaber is a key UK site for understanding Late Devensian environmental change, as it contains an annually-resolved glaciolacustrine varve record. This paper develops our understanding of varve sedimentation within Glen Roy through the examination of a new varve sequence located in a more proximal position on the Allt Bhraic Achaidh Fan, one of a series of major fans within the valley. This new varve record consists of c. 203 annual layers, much fewer years than at other sites in the Lochaber area probably due to five significant hiatuses within the record. Varve sediment characteristics and thickness are comparable to, but not statistically correlated with, other varve series that were used to construct a consolidated varve record for the area, the Lochaber Master Varve Chronology. Sedimentological characteristics, analysed by thin section micromorphology, suggest that varve thickness changes within the basin are controlled mainly by distance from the valley sides rather than the position of the ice margin during the Loch Lomond Readvance, as previously proposed.     

Geomorphology and sedimentology of the Caol Lairig valley,Scottish Highlands: evidence for local glacier margin advance and retreat during the Loch Lomond Stadial

A sedimentological investigation of new sections of Loch Lomond Stadial (LLS) age deposits is presented from Caol Lairig valley, located adjacent to Glen Roy, Lochaber, Scottish Highlands. The ice lobes in Caol Lairig and Glen Roy blocked local fluvial drainage systems forming lakes that cut shorelines, the ‘Parallel Roads of Glen Roy’ (Agassiz, 1840; Jamieson, 1863, 1892). Within Caol Lairig sediment sequences of proximal, distal and deltaic glaciolacustrine sediments and a subglacial till are reported. The till was deposited during ice advance into the valley and the different glaciolacustrine facies formed in the gap between the head of Caol Lairig and the receding ice margin. When the sediments are related to the shoreline and glacial geomorphological evidence, phases of ice advance and ice retreat and the concomitant changes in lake levels are identified. Initially ice retreat in Glen Roy and Caol Lairig was synchronous but after the fall to 325 m the ice in Glen Roy retreated more quickly than in Caol Lairig. Differences in the ice thickness and the lake water depth in Glen Roy and Caol Lairig may have lead to preferential calving of the Glen Roy ice margin hastening ice retreat.     

Stratigraphy of a Lateglacial lake basin sediment sequence at Turret Bank,upper Glen Roy,Lochaber: implications for the age of the Turret Fan

New lithostratigraphical, pollen-stratigraphical and tephrostratigraphical data are presented for a sediment sequence at Turret Bank, a site that lies close to the confluence of the River Turret with the River Roy in Lochaber, the western Scottish Highlands. The site is also adjacent to the inner margin of a major gravel fan, the Glen Turret Fan, the age of which has been debated and has a crucial bearing on the overall sequence of events in Glen Roy, especially concerning the maximum limit of Loch Lomond Readvance (Younger Dryas) ice. Several lines of evidence point to the sediment sequence at Turret Bank having been wholly deposited during the Loch Lomond Stadial-early Holocene transition: (i) the pollen sequence is typical for this transitional period; (ii) varved deposits preserved in the sequence bear a strong resemblance to mid-Stadial varves in a regional master varve scheme for Glen Roy and vicinity (the Lochaber Master Varve Chronology); and (iii) an early Holocene tephra – the Askja-S Tephra – is preserved within the sequence. Some limitations with the new data are considered, but it is concluded that the coherent integration of lithostratigraphic, geomorphological, pollen-stratigraphical and tephrostratigraphical data point to the likelihood that Loch Lomond Readvance ice extended to the inner margin of the Glen Turret Fan, and that the fan was probably constructed by glacial meltwaters at this time.     

Dynamic landscape changes in Glen Roy and vicinity,west Highland Scotland,during the Younger Dryas and early Holocene: a synthesis

This paper introduces a special issue devoted to the sequence of events in and around Glen Roy during the Loch Lomond or Younger Dryas Stadial, the short but important cold period dated to between ∼12,900 and 11,700 years ago, during which glaciers last expanded to occupy the Scottish Highlands, and during the subsequent transition to warmer conditions at the start of the Holocene. The Glen Roy area is internationally famous for the ‘Parallel Roads’, pre-eminent examples of ice-dammed lake shorelines which were formed during the stadial. What makes these shorelines unique, however, is their role as distinctive time markers, allowing the order of formation of landforms and sediments to be construed with unprecedented detail. Varved lake sediments preserved within Glen Roy and nearby Loch Laggan provide a precise timescale – the Lochaber Master Varve Chronology (LMVC) – for establishing the rates and timing of some of the events. This introductory paper first sets the geological context for those new to this topic, with a digest of key advances in understanding made between the nineteenth century and the publication of the LMVC in 2010. It then summarises the evidence and ideas that have emerged from new research investigations reported in this special issue for the first time, and which shine new light on the subject. Two final sections synthesise the new data and consider future prospects for further refinement of the precise sequence and timing of events. A major conclusion to emerge from this new body of work is that the ice-dammed lakes, and the glaciers that impounded them, persisted in the area until around 11,700 to perhaps 11,600 years ago. This conflicts with recently promoted suggestions that the last glaciers in Scotland were already in a state of considerable decline by ∼12,500 years ago.     

The gravel fans of upper Glen Roy,Lochaber, Scotland: their importance for understanding glacial,proglacial and glaciolacustrine dynamics during the Younger Dryas cold period in an Atlantic margin setting

Over the past 200 years significant research effort has gone into explaining the origin of the obvious former shorelines in Glen Roy (the so-called “Parallel Roads”). The large gravel deposit at the mouth of Glen Turret has attracted similar interest, but a solution to its origin and age remains contested: the same applies to the associated gravel fans in upper Glen Roy. This paper presents the results of systematic mapping and instrumental levelling of these features and new evidence from two previously unrecorded gravel fans in the nearby Allt Chonnal valley. Interpretation of altitudinal and lithofacies data indicates that all the fans (including the one at the mouth of Glen Turret) were deposited in a series of ice-dammed lakes during the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas). The largest gravel fans were deposited in the shallow lake heads of the 260 m, 325 m and 350 m lakes in upper Glen Roy, infilling these areas to the extent that deposition was in part subaerial. The absence of foreset bedding from the deposits is explained by the relatively shallow depth of lake waters, which inhibited development of classic Gilbert-type deltas and encouraged Hjulström-type fans. The previous assumption that gravel deposition into the 325 m and 350 m lakes was relatively limited is shown to be erroneous. The Allt Chonnal gravel fans, deposited into these lakes, have an estimated combined volume of 6,000,000 m³ deposited in about 200 years. Significant gravel deposition into these former lakes continued at least until glaciers started to retreat in Glen Roy. When glacier retreat began, gravel deposition was reduced by over 85%. This research also concludes that the glacier which deposited the Turret fan emanated from Glen Gloy, supplied not only by ice from the south but also from ice that spilled into Glen Gloy from the adjacent Great Glen. The Loch Lomond Stadial (LLS) ice cap mapped in the Monadhliath Mountains was connected to the west Highland ice cap, which at the time filled the Great Glen. Regional equilibrium line altitude (ELA) estimates, based solely on the Monadhliath LLS ice cap evidence, may therefore be altitudinally too high.     

首位中国国家地质公园诞生回顾与展望

石林喀斯特国际意义的科学价值发现源自时间、空间、演化相融合的地球科学综合考察评价路径,这就发现了"山石冠天下、风情醉游人"石林名胜的科学价值,也提供了石林地质公园可持续利用管理的基础.石林地质公园是集喀斯特地质、地貌、水文水资源、土壤、生物、人群聚落与文化习俗于一体的完整地理区,具有建成可持续发展示范区的科学价值、美学...     

Geosite of a steep lava spatter cone of the 1256 AD, Al Madinah eruption, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

UNESCO promotes geoconservation through various programs intended to establish an inventory of geologically and geomorphologically significant features worldwide that can serve as an important database to understand the Earth’s global geoheritage. An ultimate goal of such projects globally is to establish geoparks that represent an integrated network of knowledge transfer opportunities, based on a specific array of geological and geomorphological sites able to graphically demonstrate how the Earth works to the general public. In these complex geoconservation and geoeducational programs, the identification of significant geological and geomorphological features is very important. These are commonly referred to as ‘geosites’ or ‘geomorphosites’, depending on whether the feature or processes the site demonstrates is more geological or geomorphological, respectively. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an extraordinary place due to its arid climate and therefore perfect exposures of rock formations. The Kingdom is also home to extensive volcanic fields, named “harrats” in Arabic, referring particularly to the black, basaltic lava fields that dominate the desert landscape. Current efforts to increase awareness of the importance of these volcanic fields in the geological landscape of Arabia culminated in the first proposal to incorporate the superbly exposed volcanic features into an integrated geoconservation and geoeducation program that will hopefully lead to the development of a geopark named, “The Harrat Al Madinah Volcanic Geopark” [1]. Here we describe one of the extraordinary features of the proposed Harrat Al Madinah Volcanic Geopark, namely a steep lava spatter cone formed during a historical eruption in 1256 AD.     

The value of English geoconservation sites in understanding historical collections of lower and middle palaeolithic artefacts

Lower and Middle Paleolithic archaeological sites in England risk falling through the cracks between different types of heritage conservation, since they lack recognisable structures; these sites have often benefitted from protection under geoconservation, particularly through selection as Geological Conservation Review sites, and subsequent designation as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The geoconservation of key sites, particularly in the formative years of British geoconservation, has allowed combined geological and archaeological reinvestigation. This is of particular benefit to understanding Lower and Middle Paleolithic artefact assemblages, which were often collected in the later 19th–earlier 20th century and consequently lacked both detailed spatial or stratigraphic provenance and contextual geological information. As such, the ‘fine grained’ data which could be gleaned from such artefact collections was limited. Here we review the benefit of geoconservation in allowing the contextualisation of historical archaeological collections, focussing on six key English sites where geological and archaeological reinvestigation has led to important archaeological findings. In particular, the emerging evidence of chronological patterning in Lower and Middle Paleolithic artefacts makes the preservation of such deposits valuable to Quaternary science in general.     

The varve-related ice-dammed lake events in Glen Roy and vicinity: a new interpretation

This paper presents a new interpretation of the sequence of events in Glen Roy and vicinity during the Loch Lomond Stadial that can be inferred from a detailed varve record constructed by Palmer et al. (2010). 300 years of Younger Dryas glacier advance in the Scottish Highlands are recorded by very thin varves formed in an ice-dammed lake up to 35 km long. At a varve site now occupied by Loch Laggan the lake stood permanently at 260 m, but in Glen Roy varves were also laid down in a lake at 325 m and, later, 350 m caused by glacier advance. Initial ice retreat recorded by a gradual increase in varve thickness was soon followed by much thicker varves. The varve sequences are interrupted by a sand bed caused by sudden drainage of the 350 m lake. The major varves of the Glen Roy sequence show that storminess was still increasing in intensity at least 160 years after glacier retreat had begun. At the Loch Laggan site 15 cm of deformed sediments register an earthquake that produced 3 m faulted uplift of all three Glen Roy shorelines, a response to the abrupt removal of 5 km³ of water when the 260 m lake was catastrophically drained by jökulhlaup. The deformed sediments are immediately followed by varves deposited in a local lake, ice-dammed lake sedimentation now having ceased, having lasted more than 460 years.     

甘肃临潭冶力关国家地质公园地质遗迹资源及其旅游地学意义

地质公园的建设和发展以地质遗迹为核心。甘肃临潭冶力关国家地质公园主要以丹霞地貌、滑坡堰塞湖和西北岩溶地貌为主,集旅游、休闲、探险和科研于一体的综合性地质公园。公园位于西秦岭造山带西段,属中秦岭断褶带,地质遗迹丰富典型且在西北稀有,可分为3大类7类13亚类。通过定量评价可以看出,地质遗迹具有很高的科学研究价值、美学观赏价值和旅游开发价值。区内出露上古生界和新生界地层,以区域大型褶皱构造为主,冶海古滑坡形成的堰塞湖规模巨大,滑坡遗存特征明显,保存完整,发育的丹霞地貌为典型的西北高寒湿润型丹霞地貌,在构造地质学、地层学、灾害地质学、地貌学以及生态学等各领域具有重要的研究价值。本文的研究结果对于正确认识冶力关国家地质公园地质遗迹状况,深入的进行地质遗迹的保护与开发具有一定的参考和借鉴价值。     

北京市十渡国家地质公园地质遗迹评价方法及应用

本文是以北京十渡国家地质公园为例,结合《国家地质公园规划编制技术要求》,对公园内地质遗迹的科学价值、美学价值、科普价值及旅游开发价值分别进行了定性、定量评价,利用层次分析法和德尔菲法对公园内地质遗迹进行了综合评价,将公园内地质遗迹分为世界级、国家级、省级、地方级4个等级,为政府保护与管理地质遗迹提供科学依据。     

The lateglacial lakes of Glens Roy,Spean and vicinity (Lochaber district,Scottish Highlands)

This paper summarises the evidence for glacial ice advance into lower Glen Spean during the Loch Lomond Stadial which involved the blockage of westward-flowing drainage to form a series of ice-dammed lakes, the former surfaces of which are marked by prominent shorelines. Detailed mapping of glacigenic landforms and instrumental levelling of the shorelines reveals a dynamic interplay between the glacier margins and lake formation. Subsequent deglaciation led to lowering of the lake levels, at times by catastrophic drainage beneath the ice (jökulhlaup). The abandoned shorelines have been warped and dislocated in numerous places as a result of glacio-isostatic deformation, faulting and landslip activity. The pattern of retreat of the ice can be deduced from the mapped distributions of retreat moraines and the levelled altitudes of numerous kame and fluvial terrace fragments. The sequence of events outlined in this paper provides important context for understanding the evolution of the landscape of the Glen Roy area during the Loch Lomond Stadial, and a prelude to more recent studies reported in other contributions to this thematic issue.     

Palaeoseismic (?) liquefaction event in late Quaternary lake sediment at Glen Roy,Scotland

Late Quaternary lake sediment deposits from a former ice-dammed lake at Glen Roy, Scotland, contain deformation structures indicative of liquefaction. The distribution of deformation styles reflects a concentric pattern of the degree of liquefaction. A possible fault rupture and several landslides are also observed in the central area. The liquefaction structures, the zonation of the sediment deformation and the association of deformation with landsliding can most simply be interpreted in terms of ground shaking during a major earthquake occurring at the end of the last glacial episode in Scotland (c. 10,000 bp).     

北京延庆地质公园主要地质遗迹评价

地质遗迹是地质公园的核心,是旅游资源的重要类型。本文对北京延庆地质公园的地质遗迹类型进行了划分,对地质遗迹的价值进行了定性评价和定量评价。定性评价从地质遗迹的科学价值、美学价值和旅游开发价值进行分析。定量评价选取综合评价方法,将层次分析法(AHP)和专家打分法等评价算法相结合,最后进行加权处理,计算出北京延庆地质公园主要地质遗迹的综合得分。通过对北京延庆地质公园内地质遗迹的评价,为地质公园内地质遗迹的开发与规划提供了理论保证,使北京延庆地质公园得到永续的发展。     

Geoconservation and geoscience in England: a mutually beneficial relationship

Geoconservation in England, as in Great Britain more widely, is very well established. Sites of national or international scientific importance, as determined by a systematic site assessment and selection exercise, can be protected by designation as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Sites of local importance e.g. Local Geological Sites may also be taken into account when planning decisions are made that could have an impact on them. As a whole, the network of conserved geosites represents the key elements of our current understanding of the geology and geomorphology of England. Site selection and safeguard and management of this network are dependent on geoscience information, and in return continued geoscience fieldwork is dependent on having conserved sites available for study. Here, we review the relationship between geoconservation and geoscience, and how it has developed since the first geoconservation legislation nearly 70 years ago. We discuss the achievements, challenges and where and how this relationship needs to strengthen further to meet future needs of both geoscience and nature conservation. In a changing world, there will continue to be a need for innovative geoscience supported by effective geoconservation. Those interested in conserving England’s geological heritage will need to engage the wider geoscience community more than ever to deliver a shared vision for the natural environment.     

宁德地质公园奇特景观及科学价值浅析

宁德地质公园集晶洞花岗岩地貌、火山岩地貌、河床侵蚀地貌、海岸海蚀地貌于一体,景观具有很高的观赏价值.公园的许多地质遗迹具有稀有性和独特性,多种地貌景观的组合,反映了其地质历史的复杂性.地质遗迹与生物、人文景观的结合使宁德地质公园具有丰富的科学内涵和科普价值.     

宁德地质公园奇特景观的科学价值浅析

宁德地质公园集晶洞花岗岩地貌、火山岩地貌、河床侵蚀地貌、海岸海蚀地貌于一体,景观具有很高的观赏价值。公园的许多地质遗迹具有稀有性和独特性,多种地貌景观的组合,反映了其地质历史的复杂性。地质遗迹与生物、人文景观的结合使宁德地质公园具有丰富的科学内涵和科普价值。     

山西王莽岭国家地质公园地貌景观特征及其成因研究

王莽岭国家地质公园位于太行山南段,地质遗迹资源丰富、类型多样,具有重要的美学及科学价值。本文以王莽岭地质公园为研究区,通过野外调查并依据地质遗迹的成因、形态及规模、自然属性及分布特征,将地质遗迹资源划分为地貌景观、沉积构造、构造形迹、古生物化石四类,系统地研究了峡谷、岩溶、夷平面、河流阶地、瀑布等地貌的成因,为太行山的形成演化研究提供了资料,对提升研究区地质遗迹资源的科学价值具有重要意义。