International Union Of Geological Sciences Research Articles

The Global Humanization Event (GHE)

The recent rejection of the “Anthropocene Series/Epoch,” as proposed by the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG), by the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), has reopened discussion about the Anthropocene as a geological event. This event has been referred to as the “Anthropocene Event” (AE) or the “Anthropogenic Modification Episode” (AME). This essay briefly discusses these terms and concepts, and proposed to use new terms such as “Earth System Humanization Event” (ESHE) or “Global Humanization Event” (GHE), which are more specific and terminologically more consistent with the already defined geological events.

Ecocriticism

Abstract Over the last two decades, the Anthropocene and its calamitous signatures of climate upheaval, species loss, and biocultural fragmentation has garnered dedicated attention from ecocritics, ecologists, and the public. As the culmination of a fifteen-year scientific process, however, in early 2024, the International Union of Geological Sciences, or IUGS, rejected the Anthropocene as a unit of geological time in favour of a view of the Anthropocene as a temporally transgressive event. Prominent within the year’s work are trajectories in empirical ecocriticism, ecocritical ageing studies, intermedial ecocriticism, and blue ecocriticism, all of which place emphasis on agency, narrativity, and temporality. As the example of the blue humanities reveals, explored in this essay’s conclusion, intersections between ecocriticism and emerging areas of the environmental humanities continue to generate novel directions. The expansion of interdisciplinary research engaging ecocritics, social scientists, ecologists, and geoscientists is a potential outcome of the IUGS decision. As ecocriticism evolves in the era of the Anthropocene as an event, concerns of more-than-human agency, expression, and creativity will likely attract greater focus. In addition to presenting a broad overview of publications, each of the sections below hones in on one specific work. This review of ecocritical publications in 2023 comprises six sections: 1. Introduction: The Anthropocene from Epoch to Event, which contextualizes the IUGS’s refusal to ratify the Anthropocene as an official geochronological designation; 2. Ecocritical Directions: Towards More-than-Human Agencies, which focuses on the special issue of the journal Anthropocenes, ‘Life Out of Place’; 3. Empirical Ecocriticism: Appraising Environmental Narratives, which considers the landmark edited collection Empirical Ecocriticism; 4. Ecocritical Ageing Studies: Rethinking Narratives of Decline, which turns to the edited collection Aging Studies and Ecocriticism; 5. Intermedial Ecocriticism: Diversifying Anthropocene Narratives, evaluating Jørgen Bruhn and Niklas Salmose’s monograph Intermedial Ecocriticism; and 6. Conclusion: Ecocritical Agency and the Environmental Humanities, which reflects on developments in the blue humanities.

The IGCP 714 Project “3GEO – Geoclimbing & Geotrekking in Geoparks” – Selection of Geodiversity Sites Equipped for Climbing for Combining Outdoor and Multimedia Activities

The IGCP 714 project “3GEO – Geoclimbing & Geotrekking in Geoparks” is financed by the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) and supported by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). In this paper, we report on the results of the first phase of the project focused on the criteria to be adopted to select geodiversity sites equipped for climbing or trekking. The selection of geoclimbing sites and geotrekking routes is aimed at combining multimedia tools and outdoor activities for Geosciences promotion and conservation in UNESCO Global Geoparks, aspiring geoparks or geoparks project, and also in protected areas featuring geoheritage sites. Indeed, both outdoor activities and multimedia tools favour the pursuing of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., 3, 4, 8, 11). An international consortium of geoscientists from 12 different countries selected, through the proposed procedure, 22 geoclimbing sites, and then they also detected 30 geotrekking routes mirroring Earth geodiversity. At some test sites (geoclimbing and geotrekking) multimedia tools and digital outcrop models have been developed through different methodological approaches (e.g., Structure from Motion and Multi-View Stereo photogrammetry), to open the way to the second part of the project still in progress. These sites and the relative virtual models are herein also shown. The final aim of the IGCP 714 project is indeed to create an open data repository (digital outcrop models, videos, virtual tours, photos, scientific information, and interpretations) to upload data of the selected sites to mirror Earth geodiversity for different users including tourists and school groups.

The Anthropocene Is More Than a Time Interval

AbstractFollowing the recent rejection of a formal Anthropocene series/epoch by the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), and its subsequent confirmation by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the opportunity arises to reset the definition of the Anthropocene. The case for informally recognizing the Anthropocene to be a major planetary event of Earth system transformation offers a promising way forward, but this has been criticized by proponents of an Anthropocene series/epoch. In order to move on from the assumption that it must be a time interval, and to foster a more transdisciplinary and inclusive approach, the main points of the critique must be directly addressed.

Dating the Dawn of the Anthropocene

Abstract This article provides indepth insight into the debate (based on stratigraphic findings) as to the exact date that Earth entered the Anthropocene Epoch. Generally, in Human and Social Sciences, the date of the boundary is paid less attention than the systemic shifts resulting from it. (There have been a number of publications on our surpassing of the planet’s limits, and passing of the point of no return.) However, it is important to understand this debate based on stratigraphic data, because sooner or later, the International Union of Geological Sciences will amend the geological timescale to include the Anthropocene – even if, to date, the process of formal definition has been interrupted by the negative vote on 5 March 2024 of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) after a positive vote in 2023 by the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) proposing to date the onset of the Anthropocene in 1950 (with a “golden nail” in the Crawford lake beds). In future, almost all the world’s students will learn the date when we entered it. This article explores each of the possible dates when stratigraphic data suggest the Anthropocene may have started. This should hand tomorrow’s teachers the keys to understand what may sometimes seem an obscure expert debate.

Online data service for geologic formations (Lexicons) of China, India, Vietnam and Thailand with one‐click visualizations onto East Asia plate reconstructions

AbstractPaleogeography is the merger of sediment and volcanic facies, depositional settings, tectonic plate movements, topography, climate patterns and ecosystems through time. The construction of paleogeographic maps on tectonic plate reconstruction models requires a team effort to compile databases, data sharing standards and map projection methods. Two goals of the Paleogeography Working Group of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) program for Deep‐Time Digital Earth (DDE) are: (1) to interlink online national lexicons for all sedimentary and volcanic formations, and develop online ones for nations that currently lack these; (2) to target specific regions and intervals for testing/showcasing paleogeography output from the merger of these databases. Following those goals, we developed and applied new cloud‐based lexicon data services and interactive visualization techniques to regions in East Asia. This has been a successful collaboration among computer engineers and plate modellers and has involved stratigraphers in India (ONGC), China (Chengdu Univ. Tech., and Chinese Acad. Geol. Sci.), United States (Paleomap Project, and Purdue Univ.), Australia (GPlates visualization team) and Vietnam (Vietnam Nat. Univ.). Independent online lexicons with map‐based and stratigraphy‐based user interfaces have been developed (as of the date of this submission in March 2022) for all Proterozoic to Quaternary formations on the Indian Plate (over 800) and Vietnam (over 200), the majority of the Devonian through Neogene of China (ca. 2000) and partially for Thailand. A multi‐database search system returns all geologic formations of a desired geologic time from these four independent databases. With one click, users can plot the regional extent of one or of all of those regional formations on different plate reconstruction models of that desired age, and these polygons are filled with the lithologic facies pattern.

The need for joined-up thinking in critical raw materials research

Critical raw materials (CRMs) will be a cornerstone of the energy transition. CRMs were recognized early by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a prime part of the mitigation effort for climate change and, as such, research into the genesis of key metals, as well as the sustainability of their mining, should be a priority. However, research is geopolitically influenced by the security of supply concerns of nations or economic groups of nations such as the EU, Japan, the USA and China. Many research networks and programmes are aimed at resource security; and where collaboration does exist it is along geopolitical lines, potentially disadvantaging developing countries and their efforts to implement UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). This contrasts with efforts in research such as those of the IPCC that are more collaborative and suited to rising to global challenges. We suggest that international organizations such as the International Union of Geological Sciences with its long international history, SDG focus and new focus on data (through the Deep-time Digital Earth (DDE) programme) should be involved in research prioritization unhindered by geopolitical considerations. Like climate change, the challenge of CRMs is too big to tackle in a competitive, geopolitically influenced manner. Thematic collection: This article is part of the energy-critical metals for a low carbon transition collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/critical-metals

Geodiversity, Geoheritage and Geoconservation: A Global Perspective

Abstract In recent decades, the growing awareness and necessity of dealing with geodiversity and geoheritage has drawn the attention of the global geoscientific community to conserving and safeguarding it. As a result, the global initiatives, reinforced by the efforts of the regional and local geological communities, have led to a paradigm shift in how geodiversity (diverse geological elements) and geoheritage (geological heritage) are perceived. The efforts and actions of some nations in conserving geodiversity and geoheritage have been exemplary, while others are still in a nascent stage and a few still need to awaken. The concepts of geodiversity, geoparks, geoheritage, and geoconservation are the fruits of the efforts of many global and regional organizations. The collective efforts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Global Geoparks Network (GGN), and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) have brought the attention of the global geoscientific community, policymakers and governments of almost all nations to ponder the issues of geodiversity and geoheritage. These globally recognised organisations have been at the forefront and their initiatives have permitted the conservation of some significant geological heritage and have demonstrated that they can pave a new path for more sustainable development. These organisations have worked in tandem for the past few decades and have been successful in identifying and designating some of the outstanding and geologically significant sites/geosites as ‘Natural World Heritage Sites’, ‘UNESCO Global Geoparks’. The novel ideas and statutes defining global designation criteria and protocols by these organisations are there to enthuse and encourage earth scientists, policymakers, the public, and governments of all nations to frame their own national and local statutes for the identification and conservation of outstanding national geoheritage and to further integrate them with the international organisations for global designations.

The IUGS Nomenclature on Kalsilite-Bearing Volcanic Rocks: A Critical Appraisal and Recommendations

ABSTRACT The current International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) recommendations for nomenclature of kalsilite-bearing volcanic rocks do not consider the possible coexistence of kalsilite (KAlSiO4) and nepheline (KNa3Al4Si4O16), nor do they address volcanic rocks containing kalsilite, other than the archetypal kamafugites. This review highlights the most important shortcomings in the existing IUGS nomenclature against the classical literature and the most recent reports on kalsilite-bearing volcanic rocks. In addition, a new modal classification system, more logical and complete, is proposed. This scheme follows the IUGS principles as far as possible and denotes an updated version of the most applied historical terminology. Based on the presence of the main light-coloured constituents of kalsilite-bearing volcanic rocks, only four rock names are required for petrographic classification: katungite (melilite dominant), ugandite (leucite dominant), mafurite (kalsilite dominant), and kalsilite nephelinite (nepheline dominant). Such terminology should only be applied for volcanic rocks that definitely contain kalsilite. This requires the use of advanced analytical methods (e.g. electron microprobe analysis coupled with back-scattered electron imaging), besides conventional transmitted-light microscopy, as kalsilite and nepheline are optically indistinguishable. The coexistence of these two minerals in K-rich volcanic rocks is much more common than previously recognised. Volcanic rocks with kalsilite can be separated into potassic and ultrapotassic groups. This highlights a major problem concerning the indiscriminate use of the term kamafugite and the existing confusion between the modal and chemical classifications of kalsilite-bearing volcanic rocks. Our recommendations are purely based on descriptive attributes.

Inverted volcanic relief: Its importance in illustrating geological change and its geoheritage potential

We describe volcanic inverted relief sites around the world, making a comparative analysis of those most significant sites found from literature and our own search on imagery and global topographic maps. Over fifty significant areas of volcanic inverted relief were found. The comparative analysis is based on geoscience values defined by the main geological and landscape elements that define inverted relief. This subjective analysis is open and can be verified and extended if other significant sites emerge, thus forming the basis of a future, exhaustive global comparison of this important geomorphological feature. Inverted relief occurs when valleys transform to ridges due to differential erosion of relatively resistant valley-fill, and weaker slope lithologies. It is found in various geological settings, and it is very common in volcanic terrains, especially monogenetic volcanic fields, where most examples are inverted lava flows. Relief inversion provides a clear indication of slow geological changes and landscape evolution through erosion and can be thought of in popular terms as a geological clock. Volcanic inverted relief was recognised in the 18th - 19th centuries in the Chaîne des Puys (Auvergne, France), and used as evidence to first support plutonism by Nicolas Desmarest and then support uniformitarianism by George Poulett Scrope. We review the geological and geomorphological features of volcanic inverted relief world-wide, with an emphasis on the classical Auvergne. We explore how volcanic relief inversion chart geological changes, and their value for studying geological systems and landscape evolution. With our comparative analysis we can propose sites with the greatest geoheritage potential for representing inverted relief globally and suggest how this can be valued as geoheritage. As volcanic inverted relief is an important sub-set of all inverted relief, and is generally associated with important surface, volcanic and tectonic processes, and is often ongoing, it can be an important geoheritage component in natural sites. We suggest that it should should be present in the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) Global Geosite list, can be a component of geosites in UNESCO Global Geoparks. It is also a feature for geological criteria (viii) in UNESCO World Heritage sites, where it fulfils all the requirements being both a major geomorphological feature and a fingerprint of significant geological processes in Earth evolution.

Establishing the Lower-Middle Jurassic Boundary in the UNESCO Global Geopark Molina & Alto Tajo (Central Spain)

The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Aalenian Stage (base of the Middle Jurassic), was established in Fuentelsaz (Central Spain) by the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) in 2000. This stratotype is one of the most important geosites of the Molina-Alto Tajo UNESCO Global Geopark. Since the declaration of the Geopark in 2015, several conservation and geotouristic initiatives have been developed for the GSSP, including its protection as Natural Monument.

Tectonic settings of thePlio–Quaternaryvolcanism in Iran from multidimensional and multielement solutions

Geochemical data for 435 samples of the Pliocene to Quaternary (P–Q) volcanic rocks from Iran, distributed mostly along a NW–SE trending belt, were compiled from 28 papers (12 written in Persian). Until now, the rock nomenclature employed has been inconsistent with the recommendations of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Moreover, older bivariate and ternary tectonic discrimination diagrams and only traditional qualitative approaches using Nb and Ta anomalies, have been used to understand the origin and evolution of the P–Q magmas. The P–Q magma and rock types were classified by strictly following the IUGS recommendations. Two geochemometric multidimensional models based on 10 and 16 elements, along with two decision procedures, capable of discriminating 29 fine tectonic settings, were used to document the existence of six tectonic settings in Iran during the P–Q. The rare earth elements indicated that the evolved intermediate and silicic rocks had a significant crustal component in their origin. The quantification of Nb and Ta anomalies in multielement diagrams was used to support the tectonic inferences from the multidimensional geochemometric models.

国境のない科学と国境のある科学とのはざま

国境のない科学と国境のある科学とのはざま

Foundation stone of empire: The role of Portland stone in ‘heritage’, commemoration, and identity

AbstractIn 2013, Portland Stone, a creamy white limestone from the Isle of Portland in Dorset, was named the world’s first “Global Heritage Stone Resource” (GSHR) by the Heritage Stone Task Group, a sub‐commission of the International Union of Geological Sciences. The criteria for GSHR designation are ambiguous, with the Task Group championing Portland Stone’s “cultural value” and “heritage,” neither of which are critically interrogated. In this paper we undertake a detailed critical discourse analysis of Hansard entries mentioning Portland Stone between 1803 and 2020. We reveal that the use of Portland Stone is intertwined with colonial oppression, class subjugation, empire politics, structural racism, and a mythologised, England‐centric vision of British national identity. In celebrating the use of Portland Stone as part of Britain’s “heritage”, we are condoning a narrative of Britishness that is exclusionary and whitewashed, and that supports an elite rewriting of national and international history. Drawing on critical heritage literature, we argue that the Heritage Stone Task Group must urgently reconsider their uncritical appraisal of “heritage” and “culture” and consult with social science colleagues to ensure that all voices are heard. Our study shows that through the history and nature of their usage, the rocks beneath our feet, our natural foundation, can become imbued with notions of regional and national identity, belonging and exclusion, memory and loss – they can become a powerful manifestation of symbolic and unequal power structures. While British society’s attention is turned to the imprint of colonialism, empire, and race on our geographies, we urge further consideration of the built environment: the very stones that construct our towns and cities, the plinths on which statues are erected, tell stories of oppression and domination that are an important part of British history, culture, and heritage.

An anti-racist and anti-colonial Anthropocene for compromised times

The anticipated formal adoption of the Anthropocene by the International Union of Geological Sciences offers an opportunity to develop forms of praxis informed by anti-racist and anti-colonial critiques of the Anthropocene and its mid-twentieth century start date. Moving beyond the impasse of the Anthropocene debates requires a broad suite of methods and voices. This short essay places Michael Egan’s concept of “survival science” in dialog with unexpected interlocutors historian Ibram X. Kendi and philosopher Alexis Shotwell to argue for explicitly anti-racist and anti-colonial praxis grounded in an ethic of humility. Reflections on a seminar organized by the authors for the recent research platform Mississippi. An Anthropocene River ground the theoretical work of Kendi and Shotwell in a concrete, if experimental attempt to work with the Anthropocene concept in anti-racist and anti-colonial ways, responsive to the specific entanglements of place.

The Deep-Time Digital Earth program: data-driven discovery in geosciences.

Current barriers hindering data-driven discoveries in deep-time Earth (DE) include: substantial volumes of DE data are not digitized; many DE databases do not adhere to FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles; we lack a systematic knowledge graph for DE; existing DE databases are geographically heterogeneous; a significant fraction of DE data is not in open-access formats; tailored tools are needed. These challenges motivate the Deep-Time Digital Earth (DDE) program initiated by the International Union of Geological Sciences and developed in cooperation with national geological surveys, professional associations, academic institutions and scientists around the world. DDE’s mission is to build on previous research to develop a systematic DE knowledge graph, a FAIR data infrastructure that links existing databases and makes dark data visible, and tailored tools for DE data, which are universally accessible. DDE aims to harmonize DE data, share global geoscience knowledge and facilitate data-driven discovery in the understanding of Earth's evolution.

Formal ratification of the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Chibanian Stage and Middle Pleistocene Subseries of the Quaternary System: the Chiba Section, Japan†

by Yusuke Suganuma, Makoto Okada, Martin J. Head, Koji Kameo, Yuki Haneda, Hiroki Hayashi, Toshiaki Irizuki, Takuya Itaki, Kentaro Izumi, Yoshimi Kubota, Hiroomi Nakazato, Naohisa Nishida, Masaaki Okuda, Yasufumi Satoguchi, Quentin Simon, and Yoshihiro Takeshita. Episodes 2021;44:317-47. https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2020/020080

An introduction to forensic soil science and forensic geology: a synthesis

Abstract Using forensic soil science and forensic geology as trace evidence and searches for burials is the theme of the papers in this Special Publication. The concept and design of this volume was initially established by the International Union of Geological Sciences, Initiative on Forensic Geology, which successfully brought together forensic geologists, forensic soil scientists, police officers and law enforcement agents in the investigation of crimes. In this introductory paper a brief overview is provided of the developments in interdisciplinary knowledge exchange with use of soil and geological materials (known as ‘earth materials’) in the search for burials and the provision of trace evidence. The aim is to provide background information on the role and value of understanding ‘earth materials’ ranging from the landscape scale, to the crime scene through to microscopic scale investigations to support law enforcement agencies in solving criminal, environmental, serious and organized crime, and terrorism. In this connection, recent advances in field and laboratory methods are highlighted. Finally, the 20 papers in the volume are briefly introduced and these include a diversity of global operational case studies that involve collection and analysis of earth material from crime scenes and searches for homicide graves and other buried targets.

Carnegie Institute Extension Connemara Marble: Cross-Atlantic Connections between Western Ireland and Gilded Age Architecture in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Connemara Marble of Ireland is a distinctive green decorative stone used in world architecture. These stones were imported and widely used in the Carnegie Institute Extension built in 1907 which is acknowledged as one of the America's finest Gilded Age Beaux-Arts structures. This report documents the use, quantities, and locations of Connemara Marble in the Carnegie Institute and through a review of historic primary source documents, secondary sources articles, on-site inspections, sampling, testing, and microscopic analysis has determined the stone's mineralogy and petrology, color types, and the specific location and identify of the actual quarry site and the lithostratigraphy from which these materials originated. In the 1970's the Carnegie Institute was listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior and named a Historic Landmark by the Pittsburgh History Landmarks Foundation. In 2019, the Connemara Marble was proposed as a Global Heritage Stone Resource to the International Union of Geological Sciences. The Carnegie Institute incorporates 32 varieties of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks types from Algeria, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland (i.e., the Connemara Marble), and the United States of America. The building's architects utilized four-color types of Connemara Marble in 13 prominent interior spaces of the building. The Connemara Marble formed from Precambrian Dalradian carbonates during the lower Ordovician Grampian orogeny, some 470 million years ago in western Ireland. Approximately, 366 square meters of floor tiles and wall inlays were fabricated out of some 60 metric tons of Connemara Marble blocks extracted from the Streamstown quarry near Clifden, County Galway.

Far-flung female (and fossil bone hunting) Fellows: an autoethnographical approach

Abstract Geologists roam worldwide; no less for women who took up fellowship of the ‘Geol. Soc.’. Since 1919, women Fellows of the Geological Society have lived and worked across the globe conducting fieldwork and research. Based on the author's interests and in part considering her 50 years an FGS, a selection of women Fellows is considered, many of whom affected her geological life, such as Phoebe Walder and Peigi Wallace. This autoethnographical approach encompasses women from the colonies who joined as soon as they were able; the legendary Dorothy Hill of Queensland was one of the first, with other notable Australians being Nell Ludbrook and June Phillips Ross. Others worked across the former Gondwana, such as Pamela Robinson, who pioneered much research in vertebrate palaeontology on the Indian subcontinent. Important British geologists and vertebrate palaeontologists include Dorothea Bate, Sonia Cole, Elinor Gardner and Eileen Hendriks, who wrote key geological texts in the earlier twentieth century. More contemporary women did work for UNESCO, the International Union of Geological Sciences and in the oil industry. During the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, female Fellows have worked across the world in greater numbers in all aspects of geoscience, from the Arctic to the Antarctic.