Abstract
Geological features of heritage significance can range from the largest scale (montane and drainage basin) to microscale. The smallest scale of geoheritage include globally significant features such as the Archaean zircon crystals from Jack Hills, Australia (the oldest crystals on Earth), snowball garnets from Sweden (illustrating kinematic rotation under metamorphism and shear), and microbiota in Precambrian rocks. It also can include regionally significant microscale features that provide insights into the more local history of the Earth, hydrology, hydrochemistry, climate, and vegetation. The Becher Point Cuspate Foreland, a Holocene accretionary sandy deposit in south-western Australia, is recognised as an internationally significant area for its geomorphology, stratigraphy, wetlands, and record of climate history. Of specific importance are the wetlands that occur in the inter-ridge swales of the beach ridges. The wetlands record in their sediments a history of climate, vegetation, hydrology, and hydrochemistry, staged over a 4,500 year interval in the oldest wetlands, and over an interval of <1,000 years in the youngest wetlands. Whilst Becher Point has been recognised as Internationally significant as a Ramsar site for its macroscopic features, its importance as a site of geoheritage significance continues to the smallest scale in that its microscale geology (calcrete, carbonate grain dissolution) and micropalaeontology (pollen, calcified charophyte fructifications, and other microbiota) provide important (metaphoric) “letters of the alphabet” that can be used to read the history of the sedimentary and climate record of the region. This area provides an excellent example of how the pollen and charophyte fructifications and other microscale geological features function as important markers and signatures within the Holocene history of the beach ridge plain and wetlands and, as such, represent significant geoheritage values at the smallest scale.
Résumé
Les caractéristiques géopatrimoniales peuvent varier de grande échelle à petite échelle (les cristaux des zircons archéens de Jack Hills et les microorganismes des formations précambriennes), donnant un aperçu sur l’histoire géologique locale de la Terre. Le promontoire du Point Becher Cuspate, un dépôt de sable d’accrétion Holocène dans le sud- ouest de l’Australie, est reconnu comme une zone d’importance internationale par sa géomorphologie, sa stratigraphie et ses zones humides. Ces dernières enregistrent dans leurs sédiments l’histoire du climat, de la végétation, de l’hydrologie et de l’hydrochimie sur un intervalle de 4500 ans dans les zones humides les plus anciennes, et sur un intervalle <1000 ans dans les zones humides les plus jeunes. Alors que le Point Becher est reconnu comme site Ramsar pour ses caractéristiques macroscopiques, son importance géopatrimoniale s’étend à petite échelle, (calcrête, dissolution des carbonates pollen, charophyte calcifiée et autres microorganismes) et peut être utilisée pour reconstituer l’histoire sédimentaire et le climat de la région. Cette région est un bon exemple qui montre l’utilisation des pollens, des charophytes et d’autres caractéristiques géologiques à petite échelle comme marqueurs importants dans la reconstitution de l’histoire des crêtes de plage et des zones humides et représentent ainsi une valeur géopatrimoniale significative.
ملخص
يمكن لخصائص الجيوتراث أن تتدرج من مقياس كبير إلى صغير (بلورات الزركون الأركي “لجاك هيلز” والكائنات الدقيقة لتشكيلات ما قبل العصر الكمبري)، مانحة بذلك لمحة عامة عن التاريخ الجيولوجي المحلي للأرض. تعتبر نتوءات خليج نقطة رأس “بشير كسبات”، وهي مجموعة من الرمال المتراكمة من رواسب عصر الهولوسين جنوب غرب أستراليا، منطقة ذات أهمية عالمية بجيومورفولجياتها، وطبقاتها وأراضيها الرطبة. هذه الأخيرة تسجل برواسبها تاريخ المناخ، والغطاء النباتي، والهيدرولوجيا وكميائيتها التي تكونت على فترة زمنية تقدر ب 4500 مليون سنة (م س) بالأراضي الرطبة القديمة، وأقل من 1000 م س بالمناطق الرطبة الحديثة. في حين تم الاعتراف بنقطة رأس “بشير كسبات” كموقع رامسار نظرا لخصائصه العيانية، وأهميته كموقع للجيوتراث يمتد على نطاق صغير (كلس الكالكريت، تحلل حبوب الكربونات، حبوب اللقاح، نبات الكاروفيت المكلس وكائنات دقيقة أخرى) ويمكن استخدامها لإعادة بناء تاريخ الترسب والمناخ بالمنطقة. تعتبر هذه المنطقة مثالا جيدا يُظْهِرُ كيفية استخدام حبوب اللقاح، ونبات الكاروفيت وغيرها من الخصائص الجيولوجية الدقيقة كعلامات مهمة في إعادة بناء تاريخ كثبان الشواطئ والأراضي الرطبة وهي بذلك تمثل قيمة جيوتراثية كبيرة.
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Semeniuk, V., Semeniuk, C.A., Trend, F., Brocx, M. (2015). Microscale Geology and Micropalaeontology of the Becher Point Cuspate Foreland, Australia: Significant Geoheritage Values at the Smallest Scale—A Model for Identifying Similar Features in Geosites and Geoparks. In: Errami, E., Brocx, M., Semeniuk, V. (eds) From Geoheritage to Geoparks. Geoheritage, Geoparks and Geotourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10708-0_18
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