Paleogeography as geological heritage: Developing geosite classification Delia Evelina Bruno a,b , Brooke E. Crowley c,d , Jaroslav M. Gutak e , Adriana Moroni f , Olesya V. Nazarenko g , Kathryn B. Oheim h , Dmitry A. Ruban b,i,j, ⁎, Günter Tiess b,k , Svetlana O. Zorina l,m a CNR-IRSA, National Research Council, Water Research Institute, Via F. Blasio 5, 70125 Bari, Italy b International Agency for Minerals Policy (“MinPol”), Austria c Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA d Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA e Division of Geology and Geodesy, Institute of Mining and Geosystems, Siberian State Industrial University, Kirov Street 42, Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Region 654007, Russia f Research Unit of Prehistory and Anthropology, Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, via Laterina, 8, 53100 Siena, Italy g Department of Physical Geography, Ecology, and Nature Protection, Institute of Earth Sciences, Southern Federal University, Zorge Street 40, Rostov-na-Donu 344090, Russia h Suffolk County Department of Planning, 4th Floor, 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge, NY 11788, USA i P.O. Box 7333, Rostov-na-Donu 344056, Russia 1 j Department of Tourism, Higher School of Business, Southern Federal University, 23-ja linija Street 43, Rostov-na-Donu, 344019, Russia k Chair of Mining Engineering and Mineral Economics, Department of Mineral Resources and Petroleum Engineering, University of Leoben, Franz-Josef-Strasse 18, A-8700 Leoben, Austria l Central Research Institute of Geology of Industrial Minerals, Zinin Street 4, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan 420097, Russia m Deparment of Palaeontology and Stratigraphy, Institute of Geology and Oil-Gas Technologies, Kazan Federal University, Kremljovskaja Street 4/5, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan 420008, Russia abstract article info Article history: Received 4 October 2013 Accepted 21 June 2014 Available online xxxx Keywords: Geological heritage Paleogeographical geosite Paleoecosystem Paleoenvironment Geodiversity Geotourism Geological heritage sites (geosites) are sites that contain information about the state andthe dynamics of the Earth. Paleogeographical (paleoenvironmental) geosites preserve paleoenvironments, paleoecosystems, and other relevant phenomena. However, the value of these sites can only be fully understood through professional interpretation of the observed features. Description of paleogeographical geosites in terms of the paleospace and the geologic time they encompass is challenging, partially because of many uncertainties in the interpretations of a given geosite and in the paleogeographical, paleobiogeographical, and stratigraphical nomenclature. These geosites can be classified on the basis of facies, paleoecosystems, ichnological value, taphonomic patterns, major events and catastrophes, and geoarcheological potential that they exhibit. Some geosites comprise several subtypes, and some are especially important for construction of paleogeographical maps. Moreover, the paleo- geographical geosite type always associates with other types of geosites (20 in total). These combinations form complex geosites that contribute to geodiversity. If information about the Earth's past is especially valuable for a given complex geosite, then the paleogeographical type is dominant. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2. Paleogeographical geosites: conceptual remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 3. Towards classification of paleogeographical geosites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 4. Paleogeography in complex geosites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 Earth-Science Reviews xxx (2014) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Tourism, Higher School of Business, Southern Federal University, 23-ja linija Street 43, Rostov-na-Donu, 344019, Russia. Tel.: +7 903 4634344. E-mail addresses: delia.bruno@ba.irsa.cnr.it (D.E. Bruno), brooke.crowley@uc.edu (B.E. Crowley), GutakJaroslav@yandex.ru (J.M. Gutak), adriana.moroni@unisi.it (A. Moroni), olesyanv@yandex.ru (O.V. Nazarenko), graphicgranite@gmail.com (K.B. Oheim), ruban-d@mail.ru, ruban-d@rambler.ru (D.A. Ruban), guenter.tiess@unileoben.ac.at (G. Tiess), svzorina@yandex.ru (S.O. Zorina). 1 For postal communication. EARTH-01998; No of Pages 13 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2014.06.005 0012-8252/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Earth-Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/earscirev Please cite this article as: Bruno, D.E., et al., Paleogeography as geological heritage: Developing geosite classification, Earth-Sci. Rev. (2014), http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2014.06.005