Abstract Échaillon stone, a Mesozoic platform limestone from SE France, is proposed as a Global Heritage Stone Resource. The Échaillon stone quarries are located at the western termination of the Alps, near the city of Grenoble. Stone from the main Échaillon quarries is an Upper Jurassic to Berriasian bioclastic near-reef limestone, renowned for its two characteristic white and pink colours. Two ancillary quarries nearby, the Lignet and Rovon quarries, provided the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian to Aptian) Yellow Échaillon stone, of lagoonal origin. Échaillon stone's unique characteristics, resistance to weathering and high aesthetic values made it a prized building and ornamental material used in many significant historical buildings in Europe, North Africa and the USA. Although the first use of Échaillon stone in buildings dates from the Gallo-Roman period, the industrial use ranges from the mid-nineteenth century, during the heyday of the Beaux-Arts architecture period in France, to the mid-twentieth century. The reputation of Échaillon stone was bolstered by world-renowned architects, sculptors and artists who used it for historical building ornament and sculptures. By the turn of the twentieth century, production started to decline and it ceased by the middle of that century.

ABSTRACT Limestone provides many lessons about Earth’s systems (geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere) through the geochemical, hydrologic, ­tectonic, and rock cycles. Limestone is ideal for teaching cross-disciplinary STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics, along with history and culture through its uses in society as a valuable economic resource. Carbon and calcium chemistry is part of the everyday environment, and limestone deposits around the world are important archives of biotic and abiotic Earth history. Limestones provide data for reconstructing global climate change and provide important “documents” for recreating Earth’s changing biodiversity throughout geologic time, including human history. Limestone precipitation is Earth’s antidote to global warming. Limestone is volumetrically one of our most valuable natural resources with a variety of uses, as well as frequently involved with natural and human-induced environmental hazards. Limestone is a common commodity readily available to all teachers and students, thus it is the ideal material for ­budget-strapped STEM educators to use to address Next Generation Science Standards. Some uses include: using fossils to develop concepts of paleoecology and evolution; using limestones to reconstruct ancient geography (including plate tectonics); and addressing the relevance of limestone to our society as a building stone, for its medical uses, and as a potential hazard associated with karst (caves and sinkholes). Five cross-disciplinary content concepts are addressed to aid teachers in preparing limestone-centric instruction: (1) enhancement of the understanding of chemical reactions and geochemical cycles, (2) biological evolution, (3) physics applications, (4) economic and environmental impacts, and (5) historical and fine arts’ use of limestone.

Abstract This guidebook chapter outlines a walking tour that provides an introduction to the geological, archaeological, and historical setting of Pittsburgh, with an emphasis on the use of local and imported geologic materials and resources in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The focus is on downtown Pittsburgh, the low-lying triangle of land where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers join to form the Ohio River, and Coal Hill (Mount Washington), the escarpment along the Monongahela River to its south. Topics include the importance of—and concomitant effect of—historic coal use; use of local and imported geologic materials, including dimension stone used for buildings and gravestones, and chert used for gunflints and millstones; the frontier forts built at the site; and the ubiquitous landslides along Coal Hill.

Abstract The knowledge that societies have of their geological environment and of the materials used in their heritage is of great importance for the sustainable use and conservation of traditional natural stone architecture. Similar weathering mechanisms occur in natural environments and the built environment and, in both cases, weathering may endanger both natural and built heritage. The Sierra de Guadarrama (Spanish Central System) is a privileged area in which natural and built heritage coexist. This paper describes an area of particular monumental and geological interest on the northern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama; its main aim is to propose an itinerary for members of the public, presented as a route through the area around Segovia, in which architecture/cultural heritage and an Earth sciences approach are brought together with an educational purpose. To this end, some connections are established between weathering forms in natural and built environments, as well as between the lithological characteristics of the rocks used in construction of ancient monuments in the area and the distribution of stresses and loads of walls.

Abstract Natural stone was the primary building material in Cyprus in the past. Nowadays, its use is mostly confined to decorative purposes and restoration projects. This study represents the first thorough and systematic investigation of the characteristics of local carbonate stone. The variety of the results recorded highlights the complexity of this natural geomaterial and, hence, the particular attention needed before selecting the appropriate lithotype in construction practice. Stones coming from the same geological formation exhibit significant variations in their physico-mechanical properties. The materials’ durability against salt crystallization is explained with reference to their pore structure and flexural strength, revealing that, in many cases, small differences may have a significant impact on stone performance. The study also investigates the use of novel microdestructive techniques in the prediction of the mechanical properties of the stones under study. These techniques can be especially useful in the characterization of monumental stone, where sampling is limited, or when in situ characterization of stone is required.

Abstract Highly porous and soft calcarenites, often called ‘calcareous tuffs’, are commonly found throughout Southern Italy and are traditionally used as building materials. The petrophysical features of some of them were determined, focusing on the microstructure (fabric and porosimetric characteristics) and on the properties related to water absorption, drying and water vapour permeability; the compressive strength was also measured. The mineralogical composition was analysed and a variable presence of clay minerals was found for the different varieties. Diverse levels of damage under a salt crystallization test were related to the mineralogical, petrographic and porosimetric features, the latter being a source of the heterogeneity of the investigated stones. Results of laboratory tests and observations of decay in the field suggest protection against water penetration as the primary requirement for slowing down the decay of such highly porous and soft stones. Some water-repellent products were tested for effectiveness in reducing water absorption and for compatibility with the original stones’ properties. Their use in the presence of salts was taken into account, including the performances of the treated stones under the salt crystallization test. Treatment issues were found to be strongly influenced by the porosimetric characteristics of the studied materials.

Abstract Most buildings of architectural heritage in Paris and its surroundings are built with Lutetian limestone. Several historic buildings of the ‘Vexin Normand’ region show Lutetian limestone in the upper parts of their walls, while the lower parts are built with a chalk known as ‘Pierre de Vernon’. The ‘Pierre de Vernon’ appears up to the first metre, although in exceptional cases it can reach the middle height of a building. Commonly, chalks exhibit low durability due to their high porosity. However, ‘Pierre de Vernon’ is supposed to have greater durability than other chalks because of its historic use for basement construction. The objective of this research was to understand the use of the ‘Pierre de Vernon’ in the lower part of the constructions. A petrophysical characterization of Vernon chalk and Lutetian limestone was carried out, focusing mainly on the differences in porosity and water uptake. Salt crystallization tests were done to contrast their response to decay. Colour and roughness measurements and scanning electron microscope observations were performed. Results show that the different porous networks of these two limestones lead to a high contrast in their hydric properties and responses to decay, and the use of Vernon chalk in the lower sections of buildings has been found to be appropriate.

Abstract There are three large intracratonic basins (Vindhyan, Cuddapah and Chattisgarh) and several smaller basins (Kaladgi, Bhima, Pakhal, Penganga, Indravati, Khariar, Sabari and Kolhan) covering a large part of peninsular India. They are not known to host any significant metallic resource – except for a substantial uranium resource and Pb–Zn sulphide mineralization in the Cuddapah Basin, uranium in Bhima and Kaladgi basins and manganese in the Penganga sequence – but are nevertheless the repository of vast resources of industrial rocks (limestone, dolomite, phosphorite, aluminous laterite, building materials) and minerals (including pyrite, barite and diamond) in the country. The temporal distribution of these resources indicates a Mesoproterozoic age for all the deposits and occurrences except the uranium deposits in the Vempalle dolostones in the southwestern fringe of the Cuddapah Basin, which are Palaeoproterozoic in age. The Cuddapah Basin is the most intensely mineralized Proterozoic basin, with the Cumbum Formation in the Nallamalai belt hosting stratabound base metals and barite, dated c. 1.6 Ga, all the way from north to south. Potential mineralization, still undiscovered in the basin, is a large SEDEX-type Pb–Zn orebody in the vicinity of the Mangampet barite deposit and unconformity-proximal U deposits in the Kurnool Group, similar to those of the Bhima Basin.