Joggins,Nova Scotia

Joggins is a famous fossil locality in Nova Scotia, Canada. Hewn by some of the world's highest tides on the Bay of Fundy, these crumbling cliffs shed light on the life and environments of the Carboniferous Coal Age, 315 million years ago. The site has been a magnet for geologists since the early nineteenth century. Charles Lyell described it as the world's best coal‐bearing section and together with his colleague, William Dawson, reported amazing fossil forests and a rich terrestrial fauna. Since that golden age, the rate of new fossil discoveries has hardly diminished and in recognition of its importance, the Joggins Fossil Cliffs was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Status in 2008. Even after many years of study, it remains a tremendous thrill for us to explore this ‘classic locality’ in far‐flung Nova Scotia. Each winter storm, rock fall, and tide brings with it the tantalizing possibility of new fossils and new scientific insights. In this article we share something of our excitement for Joggins and provide an up to date field guide for those wishing to unlock its secrets.     

我国西部世界遗产地门票价格变动对客源市场的影响——以甘肃省和四川省世界遗产地为例

旅游需求的显著特点之一是随时间变化而变化,定量研究和预测旅游需求随时间的变化,对世界遗产地的科学开发规划和经营决策具有重要的指导意义.选取甘肃和四川两省世界遗产地景点的门票价格,统计分析了世界遗产地门票价格变动对客源市场的调节作用,用时间结构分析模型探讨门票价格变动引起的客源市场季节性结构特征和年际结构特征.结果表明:门票价格的上涨对世界遗产地的客源市场在短期内具有一定影响,但长期影响不显著.要解决目前世界遗产地人满为患的困境,尚需积极寻求其它有效措施.     

Stonehammer Geopark,New Brunswick,Canada

Stonehammer Geopark of New Brunswick, Canada is one of the newest destinations in the UNESCO‐assisted Global Geoparks Network, and the first in North America. Its rocks tell the amazing billion‐year story of the evolution of eastern North America. Highlights include some of the finest Precambrian stromatolites in the world, a Cambrian site that yielded one of the world's largest trilobites, and a Silurian section with a rich fauna of fish, crustaceans and sea scorpions. At the famous ‘Reversing Falls’ in Saint John, visitors can also see the boundary between the Late Precambrian Brookville Terrane and the western part of the Avalon Terrane, and learn about the late Silurian closure of the Iapetus Ocean during the final stages of the accretion of North America. In and around the city, Devonian pebbly sandstones represent the erosive remnants of the highlands formed as a result of that terrane accretion event, and slightly younger Carboniferous exposures further shed light on the evolution of life at a time when the region lay on the equator. These include early Carboniferous clubmoss forests preserved on the main highway east of Saint John, and late Carboniferous deposits rich in the remains of fossil plants, insects, giant arthropods, and some of the earliest reptiles—the latter recorded by spectacular trackways. Scattered Mesozoic outcrops and Quaternary moraines continue the story to the present day. Positioned at the gateway of Atlantic Canada, Stonehammer Geopark is a strategic part of an emerging geotouristic network that also includes UNESCO World Heritage Sites at nearby Misguasha, Quebec (Devonian coastal ecosystems) and Joggins, Nova Scotia (Pennsylvanian fossil forests). It presents a brilliant opportunity to teach visitors of the extraordinary story of Earth's evolution.     

The Ediacaran fossils of Charnwood Forest: Shining new light on a major biological revolution

Charnwood Forest (UK) hosts some of the oldest and best-preserved macrofossils known from the Ediacaran. It is the counterpoint to the more widely studied fossil sites of south-eastern Newfoundland (Canada), which include the recently-designated UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mistaken Point. Discoveries made in Charnwood Forest since 2008 have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of the evolution of complex macroscopic life and the subsequent development of ‘modern’ (i.e. Phanerozoic) ecosystems. The sites in Charnwood include the holotypes for several iconic Ediacaran taxa, and potentially both the oldest and youngest representatives of the deep-water Avalon Assemblage. These communities provide a unique opportunity to test models of community ecology, biological endemism and environmental sensitivity and adaptability in the Ediacaran. Here, we review the geology of Charnwood Forest and the palaeobiology of its biotas, and we summarise recent scientific advances in the context of our developing understanding of early macroscopic life. We review the application of Reflectance Transformation Imaging to these ancient communities, and signpost exciting new directions for research in Charnwood Forest, almost 170 years after the fossils were first brought to light.     

The ICL Network on “Landslides and Cultural & Natural Heritage (LACUNHEN)”

In recent decades, the concept of cultural heritage has evolved into one that encompasses an understanding of the history of humanity, together with scientific knowledge and intellectual attitudes. This changing concept has prompted a subsequent re-evaluation of what constitutes the outstanding universal values of World Heritage sites and the operational methods for implementing the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. The scope has broadened from studying a single monument in isolation to one that values a multidimensional, multiregional, and inter-disciplinary approach and encapsulates vast spans of human history. Within this broader view, landslides and more generally slope instabilities are an important factor endangering cultural heritage sites, especially prehistoric sites, earth/rock monuments, and archaeological sites affected by environmental processes and degradation. Natural and cultural heritage sites, as well as cultural landscapes, are then tied into a common framework that the Geological Society of America has defined “Men’s legacy to Earth and Earth’s legacy to Man”. On the other hand, not too much effort has been expended in the past to develop conservation policies systematically integrating geological, geomorphological, and engineering geological aspects into daily practices. The purpose of the “LAndslides and CUltural & Natural HEritage” thematic Network (LACUNHEN) is to create a platform for scientists and practitioners who are ready to jointly contribute to safeguarding relevant endangered Natural and Cultural Heritage sites (e.g., Machu Picchu). They will share and disseminate their respective experience, demonstrating how these special “objects” require approaches, techniques, and solutions that go far beyond traditional civil engineering perspectives.     

Heritage and landscape change: Recording,archiving and engaging with photogrammetry on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site

The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site is a landscape defined by change and process. As such, the approach to its heritage must be similarly flexible and active. A balance must be found between celebrating these processes of change, whilst also conserving those invaluable discoveries and features that so define this coast, as well as encouraging ongoing research and public engagement. This delicate task can be aided firstly by thinking about this geologically defined World Heritage Site as a landscape. In this way it is possible to develop rich and nuanced narratives between the human and geological. Secondly, by embracing new technologies and methodologies to record, archive and communicate features and finds, as well as the process of change itself. Here, we explore these ideas through two unique sites of geological and palaeontological interest discovered in the process of quarrying. To balance keeping the sites open to the public with the risk of natural and human damage to the sites, Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry was used to create accurate, high-resolution, georeferenced 3D models. The process and potentials of the technique are discussed, alongside a discussion of the broader ideas of heritage and approaches already at play on this coastline.     

The Jurassic Coast Story Book: An approach to geoheritage interpretation from the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site

The World Heritage status of the Jurassic Coast has important implications for how the geoheritage of the site is communicated to audiences. UNESCO defines World Heritage Sites as places with Outstanding Universal Value to all people that must be preserved for future generations. Building relationships between people and place is key to conservation and on the Jurassic Coast that is delivered by providing audiences with physical, intellectual and emotional access to the Site. Heritage interpretation offers an effective way to develop these connections and create diverse ways for people to engage with the unique Earth Science stories that underpin the World Heritage Status of the Dorset and East Devon Coast. This paper reflects on the approach to interpretation taken by the Jurassic Coast Team and explores the ways in which geoheritage is a challenging subject to interpret. Practitioners on the Jurassic Coast have more recently developed an interpretive approach to help overcome these difficulties. Three categories of geoheritage stories were identified (Landscape, Cultural geology and Earth History) and three interpretive principles were devised (perspective, intimacy and imagination) as a way of scoping out a relevant emotional context for interpretive content. This approach laid the foundation for the development of a new interpretation framework for the Jurassic Coast – The Jurassic Coast Story Book, which will be subject to ongoing testing and evaluation by the new organisation leading on the protection and promotion of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site; Jurassic Coast Trust.     

Resonance in rocks: Building a sustainable learning and engagement programme for the Jurassic Coast

World Heritage Sites have a duty, through educational and information programmes, to strengthen appreciation and respect by their peoples of the cultural and natural heritage of that site. The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site (JCWHS) showcases nearly 185 million years of Earth’s history across 95 miles of coast and exemplifies some of the most spectacular rocks, fossils and landforms in the world. However, imparting these values to non-specialist audiences of all ages, abilities and needs provides unique challenges and opportunities. A critical factor for success in addressing such a wide audience is ensuring that content is relevant, meaningful and focused on the expectations of the end user. In this paper we present our learning framework that is based around two approaches. Firstly, we map out the needs and expectations of each of our four core audience groups and set out guidelines for who we should aim our content at and how that should be delivered. Secondly, we set out three pathways (Inspire, Curious and Motivated) through which a person may choose to engage with the Jurassic Coast. We argue that if our tailored content and experiences can resonate with a person at an emotional and intellectual level, they will ultimately become devoted to the Jurassic Coast. Through empowering a community of people who understand and appreciate the geoheritage of the Jurassic Coast, they can become advocates and champions for its protection and conservation in the future.     

Carboniferous fossil forests

Forests of Carboniferous age, first described in detail in the nineteenth century, are often illustrated in textbooks, but their ecological and evolutionary significance has been largely overlooked or, worse, misrepresented. It has often been thought that the standing fossil forests found rooted in coals represent relicts of the peat-forming vegetation. Recent research has suggested that this is not always the case and that many of the standing trees represent an essentially non-peat-forming wetland ('clastic swamp') vegetation comprising a distinctive set of genera and species of plants. Recent investigation of several famous examples - Weaklaw, Arran and Joggins as well as new examples such as Mary Lee and Table Head - is throwing new light on the ecological and evolutionary significance of these fossil forests.     

An assessment of conservation effects in Shilin Karst of South China Karst

World Heritage is of outstanding universal value and has irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration to humanity. It is important to evaluate the effectiveness of World Heritage site management. As a part of the South China Karst World Natural Heritage, Yunnan Shilin Karst was included in the World Heritage list on 27 June 2007. To quantify the effects of the Yunnan Shilin Karst site conservation, the changes in ecosystem service value of the Yunnan Shilin Karst area and the nearby buffer zone were analyzed by utilizing remote-sensing images, geographic information system and an ecosystem service value model. The results indicate that significant conservation effects of the Yunnan Shilin Karst have been made since 1992, and of the buffer zone since 2004.     

Application of sedimentary and chronological analyses to refine the depositional context of a Late Pleistocene vertebrate deposit,Naracoorte, South Australia

Cave deposits of infill sediments and associated vertebrate fossils provide a valuable source of information on terrestrial palaeoenvironments, climatic conditions and palaeocommunities. In the deposits of the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area, such records span the last 500 ka and are renowned for their rich, diverse vertebrate assemblages. Previous research into the Grant Hall deposit of Victoria Fossil Cave suggested that it may preserve the only peak last interglacial (ca. 125 ka) faunal community within the World Heritage Area. The current work tested this existing model for the age of faunal remains from Grant Hall using multiple techniques. Physical and geochemical properties of the visually homogeneous sediments were analysed at regular intervals through the sequence to establish meaningful stratigraphic divisions and sediment provenance. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of individual quartz grains indicates that sediments accumulated in Grant Hall from 93 ± 8 to 70 ± 5 ka. Minimum ages provided by U/Th dating of fossil teeth (72.3 ± 2.2 to 38.2 ± 0.8 ka) are consistent with the luminescence chronology, and show that the deposit represents a more recent faunal accumulation than previously modelled for the site. U/Th ages on calcite straws within the deposit are significantly older than the sediments and fossil teeth (>500 to 186.4 ± 1 ka). As such they provide no further constraint on the chronology of the deposit but do indicate that speleothem deposition was active over much of the Middle Pleistocene. Sedimentary analyses resulted in the identification of five depositional units, contrasting with previous divisions which were based only on visual observation of the sedimentary sequence. Sediments within each unit are broadly classified as sandy silts with soil structures and may be indirectly derived from the lunettes of nearby Bool Lagoon, although their ultimate provenance is unknown. As a result of this work, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on fossil remains in the deposit may be more accurately related to prevailing climatic and environmental conditions at the time of accumulation. It also contributes to an understanding of the temporal occurrence of regional vertebrate faunas through the Late Pleistocene, reinforcing the value of developing stratigraphically constrained chronologies for cave deposits based on multiple techniques.     

Research on Fossil Heritages Protection in Xingwen World Geopark

There are various Permian fossil heritages in Xingwen World Geopark.However,during constructing Geopark in recent years,the fossil heritages have suffered more serious damages,and thus the protection models of the fossil heritage are worth studying.This paper describes the fossil heritages’ types,abundance and preservation of the current status quo in the geopark.It turns out that natural factors and human factors are the main reasons why lead to the destruction of fossil heritages.At last,it puts forward the corresponding measures in order to protect the integrity of fossil heritages in the world geopark.     

Spectacular Macau: Visioning futures for a World Heritage City

This paper examines the conflicting sentiments generated by Macau’s recent developments and how these dynamics have helped galvanize particular visions among Macau’s residents holding different possessive relationships to the city. More specifically, it explores these processes through the simultaneous construction of two incongruent landscapes: a fantasyland of gaming and leisure propelled by the liberalization of the casino industry, and a ‘historic city of culture’ exemplified by Macau’s newly acquired UNESCO World Heritage City status. Building on Debord’s conception of the dialectic of the spectacle, this paper illustrates how the growing support for heritage conservation in Macau has been propelled by a shared anxiety over the phenomenal changes brought by an expanding casino industry and concomitant erosion of Macau’s cultural identity. Through extensive interviews with local architects, conservation experts and activists, I elucidate how the designation of Macau as a World Heritage City has helped consolidate particular sets of moral claims around heritage and culture as well as introduced new commodifications of the environment that cannot be easily delinked from other spaces of the ‘spectacle city’.     

“Of outstanding universal value”: The challenge of scale in applying the World Heritage Convention at national parks in the US

This paper explores the operation of the international World Heritage Convention in the national context of the United States. Although an early advocate of the national park idea and among the earliest proponents of the Convention, the US has shown increasing ambivalence towards the World Heritage Program since the mid-1990s. Through in-depth interviews with expert informants and a questionnaire survey of 406 visitors at four US World Heritage Sites, this study considers whether combining national and international conservation designations provides valuable reinforcement of conservation goals, or leads to unnecessary overlap and even challenges to sovereignty. The majority of my expert informants were supportive of the Convention, related to philosophical and practical benefits that they believed to be associated with the World Heritage label, although most identified few tangible influences of the World Heritage Program itself. Several noted hostility to the Program from a nationalist fringe, which fears international involvement in land use decisions. Such concerns were reflected in questionnaire responses, which revealed some distrust of the Convention and misunderstandings of its operation. I conclude that the scalar mismatch of implementing an international convention at the national scale inevitably involves challenges, but that country-specific factors are important in explaining why the Convention has been particularly controversial in the US. Education is integral to addressing these challenges, as well as reengagement with the Program by both the National Park Service and the federal administration. Intangible values associated with World Heritage mean that the Convention still enjoys considerable support in the US, providing a solid foundation for such a reengagement.     

Outstanding geological values: the basis of Mt Teide's World Heritage nomination

In 1972 UNESCO created the World Heritage List to 'preserve the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and future generations of citizens of the entire world'. Nominated sites must be of 'outstanding universal value' and meet at least one of ten selection criteria, six cultural and four natural. Teide National Park (TNP) was inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2007 for its natural beauty and its 'global importance in providing evidence of the geological processes that underpin the evolution of oceanic islands' (Criteria vii and viii). The geological values rendering PNT an exceptional site are analysed in this article. Volcanism in Tenerife and TNP correspond to the Ocean Island Alkali Basalts (OIB), whereas the already nominated (1987) Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, from a different geodynamic setting, belongs to the Tholeiitic series (OIT). Both National Parks complement each other to represent the entire range of products, features and landscapes of oceanic islands. The main geological elements of this Park include Las Cañadas Caldera, one of the most spectacular, best exposed and accessible volcanic calderas on Earth, two active rifts, and two large felsic stratovolcanoes, Teide and Pico Viejo, rising 3718 m above sea level and around 7500 m above the ocean floor, together the third highest volcanic structure in the world after the Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanoes on the island of Hawaii.     

UNESCO World Heritage sites in Italy affected by geological problems, specifically landslide and flood hazard

A National Research Council, Research Institute for Hydrogeological Protection (IRPI) study on Italian monuments included in the UNESCO World Heritage List has revealed that many are affected by geological, geomorphological, and engineering geological problems. These monuments are static entities set in an environment that often manifests highly dynamic processes. As part of the efforts to protect sites of cultural and natural heritage, this study has applied a preliminary and empirical Geographical Information System-based method developed to characterize the environmental hazards at the sites where the monuments are located. Because the study of hydrogeological degradation falls within the province of IRPI, this hazard zoning focuses on river and mountain slope dynamics specifically concerning landslides and floods.     

兴文喀斯特与中国南方喀斯特旅游资源对比研究

中国南方喀斯特集中了中国最具代表性的喀斯特地形地貌。位于中国南方喀斯特区域内的兴文县拥有国内罕见的完整喀斯特景观,丰富独特的喀斯特景观被朱学稳研究员誉为“兴文式喀斯特”。本文运用比较法、德尔菲法与层次分析法,对兴文喀斯特与中国南方喀斯特世界自然遗产项目以及天坑、溶洞、石林等典型喀斯特旅游资源进行比较分析,总结其资源优势。研究认为,兴文县完整的喀斯特流域上发育了类型丰富多样、品位高、组合好且分布集中的喀斯特自然资源,形成了独特的喀斯特生态僰苗文化资源,与“世界自然遗产”中国南方喀斯特一、二期7个代表地一样具有代表性,具有列入世界自然遗产名录,进一步补充、完善中国南方喀斯特自然遗产资源的条件。      

Woolshed Creek fossil site: a key part of Canberra’s scientific and cultural heritage

The Woolshed Creek fossil site near the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Canberra, contains brachiopods Atrypa duntroonensis (early Homerian, early Silurian, ca 430.5?Ma) within a mudstone of the Canberra Formation. Their discovery in 1844 by the Reverend William B. Clarke (“the Father of Australian Geology”), and subsequent comparison with other fossil collections from around the world, contributed significantly to the nineteenth century debate about the oldest rocks in Australia. The fossil site is now on the ACT Government Heritage List and recent site improvements make it readily accessible via a pathway from the sports grounds of the Royal Military College.     

Geological heritage sites in South Australia

Beginning in 1966, research by the Geological Heritage Subcommittee of the South Australian Division of the Geological Society of Australia has identified over 450 geologically significant areas in the State, including those important or teaching and research. This work was partly funded from the National Estate Grants Program. In March 2008, Geological Monuments in South Australia, Parts 1–9 was published as a DVD in a joint project of the Geological Heritage Subcommittee and Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (now Department of State Development). Selection of sites for designation as places with geological heritage status was initially focussed on the settled areas of the State where threats from residential and other development were greatest. An objective assessment system was devised for Part 9 of this record to identify sites which best illustrated the geological features displayed in the remote and vast area of the South Australian portion of the Lake Eyre Drainage Basin. An initial review identified 96 sites with heritage potential. These were then assessed in terms of the presence or otherwise of seven criteria considered to be essential attributes for heritage status. Each of these potential sites was then ranked on a merit scale of the quality of each of the attributes present. A score of the percentage of the maximum points available at each site was calculated. Of the 96 potential sites assessed, 24 recorded a score of 67% or more, and the remainder scored well below this figure.     

Enamel diagenesis at South African Australopith sites: Implications for paleoecological reconstruction with trace elements

Elemental ratio data from archaeological and paleontological bone have often been used for paleoecological reconstruction, but recent studies have shown that, even when solubility profiling techniques are employed in an attempt to recover biogenic signals, bone is an unreliable material. As a result, there has been renewed interest in using enamel for such studies, as it is known to be less susceptible to diagenesis. Nevertheless, enamel is not immune from diagenetic processes, and several studies have suggested that paleoecologically relevant elements may be altered in fossil enamel. Here, we investigate Sr, Ba, Zn, and Pb compositions of enamel from South African karstic cave sites in an effort to ascertain whether or not this material provides reliable paleoecological information. We compared enamel data for mammals from three fossil sites aged 1.8-3.0 Ma, all of which are on dolomites, with data from modern mammals living on dolomitic and granitic substrates. Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca are about three times higher in enamel from modern mammals on granites than those living on dolomites, stressing the need for geologically appropriate modern/fossil comparisons. After pretreatment with dilute acid, we found no evidence of increased Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, or Pb/Ca in fossil enamel. In contrast, Zn/Ca increased by over five times at one site (Makapansgat), but much more subtly elsewhere. Ecological patterning in Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, and Sr/Ba ratios was also retained in fossil enamel. This study suggests that Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, and Pb/Ca data likely preserve paleoecological information from these sites, but also demonstrates that geologically similar sites can differ in the degree to which they impart certain elements (Zn in this case) to fossils. Thus, screening is probably necessary on a site-by-site basis. Lastly, further investigation of elemental distributions in modern foodwebs is necessary before elemental ratio analysis can become a common tool for paleoecological reconstruction.