Sand dune migration as a factor of geoheritage loss: Evidence from the Siwa Oasis (Egypt) and implications for geoheritage management Kholoud M. AbdelMaksoud a , Wael M. Al-Metwaly b , Dmitry A. Ruban c, *, Natalia N. Yashalova d a Natural Resources Department, Institute of African Research and Studies, Cairo University, Giza, Cairo, 12613, Egypt b Department of Geography, Institute of African Research and Studies, Cairo University, Giza, Cairo, 12613, Egypt c K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management (the First Cossack University), Zemlyanoy Val 73, Moscow 109004, Russia d Cherepovets State University, Sovetskiy Avenue 10, Cherepovets, Vologda Region, 162600, Russia A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 29 March 2019 Received in revised form 1 July 2019 Accepted 4 July 2019 Available online xxx Keywords: Desert environment Geological resources Palaeontological sites Remote sensing Western Desert A B S T R A C T Anthropogenic damage of geoheritage is documented widely, but natural processes can also lead to geoheritage loss. For instance, sand dune migration causes submergence of unique geological and palaeontological sites in desert environments of the Sahara. The Siwa Oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt boasts rich geoheritage, which is represented in many localities. Three of them in the southern part of the oasis are outcrops of highly-fossiliferous limestones. Palaeontological, sedimentary, palaeogeo- graphical, and geomorphological types of geoheritage are recognized there. Sand dune activity on the study area is registered both visually and with remote sensing techniques. Denudation and destruction of naturally-exposed rocks is documented. Evidence of outcrop submergence with sand is found in all cases. The localities are situated in the pathway of rapid (up to ~ 10 m/yr) dune migration. One locality may disappear within one–two years. Sand dune migration has to be considered as a factor of geoheritage loss in the Siwa Oasis, and the relevant protection of the studied localities is necessary. Geopark creation and improvement of water use in the oasis can also help significantly, as well as the reference to archaeological experience of excavation and protection of heritage sites submerged by sands. More generally, geoheritage conservation should be integrated with a program for sustainable oasis development. © 2019 The Geologists' Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Geological heritage (geoheritage) is the entity of peculiar and chiefly unique geological features valuable to society, and it is important resource for sustainable development (Prosser et al., 2006; Gray, 2013; Prosser, 2013; Brilha, 2016; Henriques and Brilha, 2017; Reynard and Brilha, 2018; Gordon et al., 2018). Geoheritage recognition and conservation are an integral part of nature conservation, as well as provide income from new kinds of tourism activity. Therefore, protection and rational use of this resource are necessary. Geoheritage loss because of anthropogenic pressure has been documented in many parts of the world, including Northeast Africa (El-Asmar et al., 2012; AbdelMaksoud et al., 2018) and the Middle East (Şengör and Lom, 2017). Some approaches for the analysis of this loss have been proposed earlier (Ruban, 2010a). However, the negative influence of natural processes on geoheritage may be similarly or even more significant, although this issue has been studied only occasionally (e.g., Mansur et al., 2013; Ferrero and Magagna, 2015; Park and Park, 2017). The examples of geoheritage damage by climate changes, sea-level rise, river and coastal erosion, etc, can be found in the works by Prosser et al. (2010); Sharples (2011); Brown et al., 2012; Brazier et al. (2012), and Wignall et al. (2018). These examples demonstrate the diversity of the negative influence of natural processes on geoheritage, although this diversity is yet to be fully realized. Desert environments are often ideal for displaying geoheritage that is not masked by vegetation. But these environments can also be very destructive to geoheritage. Denudation of well-exposed landforms results in destruction of unique features, and rock debris and sand may cover these features to make them fully invisible. * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: kholoud.mali@staff.cu.edu.eg, kholoud.mohamedali@gmail.com (K.M. AbdelMaksoud), wael.almetwaly@cu.edu.eg, wael.almetwaly@gmail.com (W.M. Al-Metwaly), ruban-d@mail.ru (D.A. Ruban), natalij2005@mail.ru (N.N. Yashalova). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2019.07.001 0016-7878/© 2019 The Geologists' Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association xxx (2019) xxx–xxx G Model PGEOLA 776 No. of Pages 10 Please cite this article in press as: K.M. AbdelMaksoud, et al., Sand dune migration as a factor of geoheritage loss: Evidence from the Siwa Oasis (Egypt) and implications for geoheritage management, Proc. Geol. Assoc. 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