scholarly journals Calcerous Tufa as Invaluable Geotopes Endangered by (Over-)Tourism: A Case Study in the UNESCO Global Geopark Swabian Alb, Germany

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 198
Author(s):  
Heidi Elisabeth Megerle
Keyword(s):  
Geological Heritage ◽  
Aesthetic Value ◽  
Nature Preservation ◽  
Karst Landscapes ◽  
Swabian Alb ◽  
Southwest Germany

Calcerous tufa and sinter are among the most impressive natural spectacles in karst landscapes whose scientific and aesthetic value is universally recognized. Being visually often very appealing they attract numerous visitors. At the same time tufa landforms are extremely vulnerable and can be seriously damaged even by minor interference. The challenge is, therefore, to protect the calcerous tufa heritage, to communicate its values, and to enhance it with the help of adequate geotourism offers. Tufa geotopes are an essential part of the geological heritage of the UNESCO Global Geopark Swabian Alb in Southwest Germany. Unfortunately tufa landforms, especially tufa cascades, suffer serious impairments by (over-)tourism, particularly during the Corona pandemic. The article explores where best to strike the balance between valorization and protection, as well as how to ensure that growth in tourism is compatible with nature preservation, especially in the case of the extremely vulnerable tufa geotopes.

scholarly journals Geoheritage and Geotourism in Regions with Extinct Volcanism in Germany; Case Study Southwest Germany with UNESCO Global Geopark Swabian Alb

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 445
Author(s):  
Heidi Elisabeth Megerle
Keyword(s):  
Geological Heritage ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Comprehensive Strategy ◽  
Active Volcanism ◽  
Very High ◽  
Swabian Alb ◽  
Southwest Germany ◽  
Tertiary Period

Geotourism has become more popular in recent decades. Volcanism is an essential part of geoheritage and attracts a high number of visitors. In contrast to active volcanism, Tertiary volcanism is often not identified as such by a lay audience and is understandably perceived as less spectacular. The challenge is therefore to protect the volcanic heritage, to communicate its values, and to enhance it with the help of adequate geotourism offers. Germany does not have active volcanism, but a very high quality volcanic geological heritage, especially from the Tertiary period. Fortunately, this heritage is being increasingly valued and presented in an attractive way for a lay audience. The two Geoparks in the Eifel (Rhineland-Palatinate) are pioneers in this field. The UNESCO Global Geopark Swabian Alb actually offers a well camouflaged potential. The Swabian volcano, with an area of 1600 km2, is one of the most important tuff vent areas on earth, but hardly known outside of expert groups. A comprehensive strategy for the geotouristic valorization of the Tertiary volcanic phenomena does not yet exist in the Geopark Swabian Alb.

scholarly journals A Mineralogical Museum as a Geotourism Attraction: A Case Study

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
Magner Turner-Carrión ◽  
Paúl Carrión-Mero ◽  
Israel Turner-Salamea ◽  
Fernando Morante-Carballo ◽  
Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Geological Heritage ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Heritage Conservation ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Mining District ◽  
Mining Site ◽  
Semiquantitative Evaluation ◽  
Additional Value

The Zaruma-Portovelo mining district in Ecuador, and in particular, Portovelo City, is home to the oldest mining museum in the country. This museum, named Museo Mineralógico Magner Turner (MMMT in Spanish), is a centre that reflects, through its collections, the history and culture of this territory. This work aimed to evaluate the MMMT as a possible geosite by analysing its contributions to the geomining heritage of the Zaruma-Portovelo district, and thus, to enhance it and promote its collections as a geotouristic attraction. The work involved three phases: (i) describing the museum and its surroundings; (ii) a semiquantitative evaluation of the museum using the Brilha method and a geosites assessment model (GAM); and (iii) a qualitative evaluation using the Delphi and SWOT methodologies to define strategies and proposals for museum development. The results obtained by the semiquantitative evaluation of the geosite with the Brilha method reflect high scientific (330/400), educational (380/400) and touristic (365/400) appeal. The applied GAM shows the museum as a geosite with high principal and additional value, placing it in the Z33 field of the global valuation matrix. In addition, the semiquantitative and qualitative evaluation made it possible to describe the importance of the museum and its collections in the development of the area. The study carried out qualified the museum as a mining site with an appropriate valuation, an example of ex-situ geological heritage conservation and a basis for geotourism development.

‘Reality’ Television Critique in Israel: How ‘Quality’ Became ‘Morality’

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 502-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noa Lavie
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Reality Television ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Similar Process ◽  
Soap Operas ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Aesthetic Value ◽  
Popular Television

‘Reality’ television is a global and highly popular television phenomenon. Despite its public and academic critique as cultural ‘trash’, the genre enjoys great economic legitimacy. In recent years, other ‘trashy’ television genres, such as soap operas, have gained aesthetic-artistic legitimacy alongside their economic legitimacy. Taking a Bourdieusian approach and using the discourse about Israeli ‘reality’ shows as a case study, this article addresses the question of whether a similar process is evident in television critics’ attitudes towards reality television. Using quantitative and qualitative content analysis of reviews of ‘reality’ shows between 2003 and 2014, the article shows that the main question debated in such reviews is the genre’s morality rather than its aesthetic value: for Israeli critics, it is the moral attributes of these shows, not their aesthetic or artistic worth, which determine their ‘quality’.

A GIS-based modeling approach to predicting cave disturbance in karst landscapes: a case study from west-central Florida

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Van Aken ◽  
Grant L. Harley ◽  
James F. Dickens ◽  
Jason S. Polk ◽  
Leslie A. North
Keyword(s):  
Central Florida ◽  
Modeling Approach ◽  
West Central ◽  
Karst Landscapes

Palaeolithic Art as Cultural Memory: a Case Study of the Aurignacian Art of Southwest Germany

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Porr
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Memory ◽  
Individual Variations ◽  
Active Individual ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
Southwest Germany ◽  
Palaeolithic Art

This article examines aspects of social memory in the Aurignacian mobiliary art of southwest Germany. An analytical distinction is introduced between cultural and communicative memory with different characteristics and functions in Palaeolithic social life. It is argued that the statuettes are reflections of cultural memory, but also stood in a complex and unstable relationship with the flexible conditions of everyday life. The figurative objects are not passive reproductions of collective ideas. Rather, they have to be seen as products of an active individual and intense concern with the field of meanings and associations of cultural memory, and consequently represent individual variations of a socially shared meaningful ideology

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