scholarly journals Precambrian metamorphites as part of the petrographic diversity of Rila Geopark

2021 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-29
Author(s):  
Dimitar Sinnyovsky

The petrographic diversity of Rila Mountain is an important prerequisite for the development of Rila Geopark and its nomination for UNESCO Geopark. According to the principle of the thematic geodiversity, the leading theme of the geopark – glacial landscapes, is complemented by the remarkable petrographic diversity of igneous and metamorphic rocks, in which alpine glacial forms are developed. Following a recent review of the intrusive rocks that make up the Rila-West Rhodope Batholith, the concept of Rila Geopark would not be complete without a retrospective of the metamorphic rocks that are an integral part of its petrographic diversity. The different approaches (lithodemic and lithotectonic) to the mapping of the Rila-Rhodope Massif divided the geologists into two camps. This led to a discrepancy in terminology and nomenclature of the metamorphic units, which is unacceptable in the context of the educational priority of the geopark. For the purpose of geotourism, clear and understandable interpretations are required to provoke the visitors’ interest in geological processes and phenomena, rather than confusion and perplexity. This article is a historical overview of the geological study of the metamorphic terrains in Rila Mountain with a scheme of lithodemic units based on the existing lithostratigraphic nomenclature. This approach allows the preservation of the names of the lithostratigraphic units, whose toponymic adjectives derive from well known geographical features in the Rila-Rhodope Massif. The rank term is replaced by a lithological or descriptive term, which frees the nomenclature from the dogmatic restrictions of the stratigraphic code and reduces the distance between the strictly scientific and popular science approach used for interpretation of geological information in a popular language accessible to the general public. This methodology is consistent with the approach recommended for mapping of non-stratified bodies on the Geological Map of the Republic of Bulgaria at a scale 1:50 000.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania Luti ◽  
Samuele Segoni ◽  
Bimla Tamburini ◽  
Giulio Pappafico ◽  
Filippo Catani

<p>Geological maps convey different and multifaceted information including lithology, age, tectonism and so on. This complex information is not fully exploited in landslide susceptibility (LS) studies, as a single parameter is usually derived from the geological map of the study area (e.g. the area is divided into lithological or lithostratigraphic or geological units). The aim of this work is testing different approaches to extract significant information from geological maps, creating different parameterizations, and analyzing the sensitivity of a LS model to these variations.</p><p>Our test site is a 3100 km<sup>2</sup> wide area in Tuscany (Italy) characterized by a very complex geological setting. A 1:10000 scale geological map subdivides the area into 194 different lithostratigraphic units. This map was reclassified according to different criteria, creating 6 different parameters derived from the same geological map: lithology (6 lithological classes), age of deposition (the area was subdivided into 6 chronological units), paleogeography (6 units were differentiated on the basis of their environment of formation), genesis of the bedrock (5 classes accounted for the mechanism of formation of the outcropping rock/terrain), broad tectonic domain (the mapped elements were grouped into 5 broad structural units accounting for their tectonic history), detailed tectonic domain (same as before but with a more detailed subdivision into 10 classes).</p><p>Some of these parameters have already been used in LS studies, others have been used here for the first time; however, all of them have some connections with landslide predisposition. These parameters were used (one by one and altogether) to run seven times a landslide susceptibility model based on the widely used random forest machine learning algorithm. The model configurations and resulting maps were evaluated in terms of AUC(Area Under Curve) and OOBE(out of bag error): while the former expresses the forecasting effectiveness of each configuration, the latter expresses, among a single configuration, the importance of each input parameter.</p><p>We discovered that the results are very sensitive to the approach used to consider geology in the susceptibility assessment, with AUC values ranging from 63.5% (using chronological units) to 70.0% (using genetic units) and 75.2% (using all the geology-derived parameters simultaneously). These results are in line with OOBE statistics, which showed a similar relative importance of the geologically-driven parameters.</p><p>These outcomes can to assist future landslide susceptibility studies for different reasons:</p><p>(i)at least in our study area, lithology, which is commonly used in LS, did not provide the best results;</p><p>(ii)as geological maps provide multifaceted information, a single classification approach cannot fully grasp this complexity; therefore, the best results can be obtained using different geology-based parameters simultaneously, because each of them can account for specific features connected to landslide predisposition (to our knowledge, a similar approach has never been attempted before in LS literature).</p><p>(iii)When using thematic maps to feed LS models, it is important to fully understand the nature and the meaning of the information provided by the geology-related maps: results are very sensitive to this kind of information and the interpretation of the results should take it into account.</p>


2017 ◽  
pp. 28-37
Author(s):  
V. B. Spektor ◽  
A. A. Shestakova ◽  
Ya. I. Torgovkin ◽  
V. V. Spektor
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 502-512
Author(s):  
Sergey MONIKOV ◽  

2020 marks 280 years since the birth of the outstanding Russian naturalist and explorer Ivan Ivanovich Lepyokhin (1740-1802) and 275 years since the birth of the outstanding German explorer and naturalist Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin (1745-1774). An overview of scientific contribution to the study of nature and economics of the Russian Empire in general and the southeast of European Russia in particular made by these two leaders of the Academic Expeditions of 1768-1774 is presented. The author discusses a number of inconsistencies in S.G. Gmelin’s biography found in references (encyclopedias), scientific and popular science literature of pre-revolutionary Russia and the USSR. The question of I.I. Lepyokhin and S.G. Gmelin memorialization in Volgograd and Saratov Regions and the Republic of Dagestan has been raised.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Barros ◽  
Kris Piessens ◽  
the GeoConnect³d team

<p>The transition towards a clean and low carbon energy system in Europe will increasingly rely on the use of the subsurface. Despite the vastness of subsurface space, only a fraction of it is suitable for the exploitation of geo-resources. The distribution and fitting combination of required conditions is determined by geological processes. We are, therefore, constrained in where we can develop resources and capacities. Moreover, increased subsurface use in a restricted area will inevitably lead to high chances of interferences and conflicts of interest. This means that sound geological information is essential to optimise the subsurface contribution to a safe and efficient energy transition.</p><p>Within this scope, the main goal of the GeoConnect³d project is to convert existing geological data into an information system that can be used for various geo-applications, decision-making, and subsurface spatial planning. This is being accomplished through the innovative structural framework model, which reorganises, contextualises, and adds value to geological data. The model is primarily focused on geological limits, or broadly planar structures that separate a given geological unit from its neighbouring units. It also includes geomanifestations, highlighting any distinct local expression of ongoing or past geological processes. These manifestations, or anomalies, often point to specific geologic conditions and, therefore, can be important sources of information to improve geological understanding of an area.</p><p>Geological data in this model are composed of spatial data at different scales, with a one-to-one link between geometries and their specific attributes (including uncertainties), and of semantic data, with data organised conceptually and categorised and/or linked using SKOS hierarchical and generic schemes. Concepts and geometries are linked by a one-to-many relationship. The combination of these elements then results in a multi-scale, harmonised and robust model.</p><p>The structural framework-geomanifestations methodology has now been applied to different areas in Europe. The focus on geological limits brings various advantages, such as displaying geological information in an explicit, and therefore more understandable, way, and simplifying harmonisation efforts in large-scale geological structures crossing national borders. The link between spatial and semantic data is the essential step adding conceptual definitions and interpretations to geometries. Additionally, geomanifestation data successfully validates or points to inconsistencies in specific areas of the model, which can then be further investigated.</p><p>The model demonstrates it is possible to gather existing geological data into a comprehensive knowledge system. We consider this as the way forward towards pan-European integration and harmonisation of geological information. Moreover, we identify the great potential of the structural framework model as a toolbox to communicate geosciences beyond our specialised community. This is an important step to support subsurface spatial planning towards a clean energy transition by making geological information available to all stakeholders involved.</p><p>This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 731166.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (3) ◽  
pp. 96-102
Author(s):  
E.A. CHEGODAEV ◽  

The article is devoted to political repressions among Belarusians of Bashkiria in the 30s of the XX century. To date, this ethnic group remains one of the little-studied peoples of the republic, which was a consequence of the long-term priority in the research of the titular Bashkir ethnic group against the background of the ethnocentrism of the historical science of the country. The number of publications devoted to the Belarusians of Bashkiria continues to remain insignificant until now, and most of them are published in the periodical press, as a rule, they have a journalistic, local history, popular science, reference or review orientation. For the first time, the researcher was faced with the task of identifying the dynamics of repressive measures against the ethnic group of Belarusians who lived compactly in rural areas of the region. The analysis of the data of the "Book of Memory of the Victims of Political Repression of the Republic of Bashkortostan" has established that rural residents from among the Belarusian ethnic group suffered more at the initial stages of mass collectivization. this confirms the prosperity of the settlers acquired during the functioning of the farm system of management, as well as the fact that the repressions against Belarusians did not have an ethnic coloring, like their neighbors in the farm residence of Latvians. As an example, the archival and investigative cases of the FSB in the Republic of Bashkortostan from 1931 are considered. The fate of a late-period migrant who emigrated to the Soviet Union in 1926 from the territory of Western Belarus is considered.


2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Marchetti ◽  
Vincenzo Sapia ◽  
Adriano Garello ◽  
Donatella De Rita ◽  
Alessandra Venuti

<p>The Vulci archeological site was object of interest by the Soprintendenza ai beni culturali dell’Etruria meridionale (Italian government department responsible for southern Etruria’s cultural heritage) since the beginning of the 20th century. In 2001, the Ministero dei Beni Culturali (Italian ministry of cultural heritage) along with the local authorities, opened a natural-archeological park. In this area, it lies most of the ancient Etruscan city of Velch (today known by its Latin name, Vulci) including the Osteria Necropolis that is the object of this study. Recently, new archaeological excavations were made and the local authorities needed major geological information about the volcanic lithotypes where the Etruscans used to build their necropolis. The aim of this study is to define the geological and geophysical characteristics of the rock lithotypes present in the Vulci park. For this purpose, a geological map of the area (1:10000) has been realized. Moreover, two different geophysical methods were applied: measurements of magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity tomography. Magnetic susceptibility analyses clearly identify magnetic contrasts between different lithotypes; the characteristics of the pyroclastic flow that originated the Sorano unit 2 and its vertical facies variations are well recorded by this parameter that along with lithostratigraphic observations provides information about the depositional conditions. Two electrical resistivity tomographies were performed, which show the Sorano unit 2 thickness to be of c. 7 m with resistivity values ranging from 200 to 400 Ω·m. This kind of multidisciplinary approach resulted to be suitable to study this type of archaeological sites, revealing that areas characterized by a relevant thickness and wide areal extension of volcanic lithotypes can be a potential site where Etruscans might have excavated their necropolis.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Brandl ◽  
Anna Kraetschell ◽  
Justin Emberley ◽  
Mark Hannington ◽  
Margaret Stewart ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;The offshore regions of Eastern Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands include several active and remnant arc and backarc systems that formed in response to complex plate tectonic adjustments following subduction initiation in the Eocene. Although there has been extensive exploration for offshore petroleum resources, and more than 54 research cruises have investigated or transited the region since 1993, a comprehensive regional geological map, including the deep marine areas, has not been available at a scale that permits quantitative analysis of the basin history. We present the first map that depicts interpreted assemblage- and formation-level lithostratigraphic units correlated across the marine basins and adjacent land masses. The mapped assemblages and large-scale formations are based on a compilation of land-based geological maps, marine geophysical data (hydroacoustics, magnetics, and gravity) integrated with the results of geological sampling, ocean drilling, seismic surveys, and seabed observations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;More than 400,000 km&lt;sup&gt;2 &lt;/sup&gt;of the map area covered by ship-based multibeam and other geophysical data were inspected to derive the offshore geological units. In areas with limited data, the units were extrapolated from well-documented formations in adjacent regions with more complete information, including on land. This approach follows closely the techniques used for remote predictive mapping in other regions of the Earth where geological information is sparse. Geological boundaries were constrained by ship-based multibeam data reprocessed at 35-m to 50-m resolution and integrated with the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) gridded at 100 m. Lithotectonic assemblages were assigned on the basis of plate structure, crustal type and thickness, age, composition, and sedimentary cover and further refined by bathymetric and geophysical data from the literature and cruise reports. The final compilation is generalized and presented here at 1:1 &amp;#1052;. Our new approach integrates conventional mapping on land with remote predictive mapping of the ocean floor.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The newly compiled geological map illustrates the diversity of assemblages in the region and its complex geodynamic evolution. The resolution of our map allows to perform quantitative analyses of area-age relationships and thus crustal growth. Further geoscientific analyses may allow to estimate the regional mineral potential and to delineate permissive areas as future exploration targets.&lt;/p&gt;


10.1144/m54 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. NP-NP
Author(s):  
A. Scharf ◽  
F. Mattern ◽  
M. Al-Wardi ◽  
G. Frijia ◽  
D. Moraetis ◽  
...  

The geology of the Oman Mountains, including the Jabal Akhdar and Saih Hatat domes, is extraordinarily well-exposed and diverse, spanning a geological record of more than 800 Ma. The area is blessed with first-class outcrops and is well known in the geological community for its ophiolite. The Oman Mountains have much more to offer; including, Neoproterozoic diamictites (“Snowball Earth”), fossil-rich Permo-Mesozoic carbonates and metamorphic rocks. The arid climate and deep incision of wadis allow for nearly complete rock exposure which can be investigated in all three dimensions. The diverse geology is also responsible for the breathtaking landscape. New roads and the nature of the friendly Omani people make fieldwork unforgettable.This Memoir provides a thorough state-of-the-art overview of the geology and tectonics of the Southeastern Oman Mountains, and is accompanied by an over-sized geological map and a correlation chart.


Landslides ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 2443-2453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuele Segoni ◽  
Giulio Pappafico ◽  
Tania Luti ◽  
Filippo Catani

AbstractThe literature about landslide susceptibility mapping is rich of works focusing on improving or comparing the algorithms used for the modeling, but to our knowledge, a sensitivity analysis on the use of geological information has never been performed, and a standard method to input geological maps into susceptibility assessments has never been established. This point is crucial, especially when working on wide and complex areas, in which a detailed geological map needs to be reclassified according to more general criteria. In a study area in Italy, we tested different configurations of a random forest–based landslide susceptibility model, accounting for geological information with the use of lithologic, chronologic, structural, paleogeographic, and genetic units. Different susceptibility maps were obtained, and a validation procedure based on AUC (area under receiver-operator characteristic curve) and OOBE (out of bag error) allowed us to get to some conclusions that could be of help for in future landslide susceptibility assessments. Different parameters can be derived from a detailed geological map by aggregating the mapped elements into broader units, and the results of the susceptibility assessment are very sensitive to these geology-derived parameters; thus, it is of paramount importance to understand properly the nature and the meaning of the information provided by geology-related maps before using them in susceptibility assessment. Regarding the model configurations making use of only one parameter, the best results were obtained using the genetic approach, while lithology, which is commonly used in the current literature, was ranked only second. However, in our case study, the best prediction was obtained when all the geological parameters were used together. Geological maps provide a very complex and multifaceted information; in wide and complex area, this information cannot be represented by a single parameter: more geology-based parameters can perform better than one, because each of them can account for specific features connected to landslide predisposition.


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