Abstract Large boulders, up to several metres in diameter and mainly made up of metamorphic rocks, are scattered throughout the Torino Hill in NW Italy. These boulders were originally included in Oligocene–Miocene conglomerate beds and were released by alteration of the host rock at the surface. In the past two centuries, their origin and mechanisms of emplacement in the conglomerate bodies were largely debated by both Italian and foreign geologists. Some of the boulders had been given proper names by the local people and had become the object of legends and rituals. Moreover, in the past, the boulders had an economic value, being used as construction stones or exploited to produce aggregates, lime and millstones. This, together with the progressive urbanization of the area, caused the disappearance of many of the large boulders once present on the Torino Hill. The remaining ones are presently not appreciated and are almost forgotten, even though they represent an invaluable geoheritage and deserve rediscovery and protection.

Abstract The Bogdo–Baskunchak Nature Reserve is a geoheritage site in the Caspian Depression, near the Lower Volga River. The Salt Lake Baskunchak and the Mount Big Bogdo with the gypsum field are the main objects of interest. Local legends about this place and the history of salt mining and trading, as well as geological exploration, make this geoheritage site special. This natural landscape is intact, as seen by the first scientific expeditions of the eighteenth century organized by the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Arts in St Petersburg. Reports and papers about this area are associated with Pallas, Humboldt, Murchison, Eichwald, Auerbach, Pravoslavlev, Efremov and other scientists and expeditions. Extensive research and important discoveries were made in this area, mostly in mineralogy, stratigraphy, palaeontology, sedimentology, salt tectonics, and mining. This area reflects its long history of exploration and could be a good example of organizing the protection of geological landmarks and monuments in arid regions. In 1916, a Russian law was passed giving the government rights to organize reserves (zapovednik) for scientific and cultural purposes in the most remarkable natural areas. Only in recent decades have geological monuments in Russia become specially protected sites.

Abstract The Zhoukoudian (Choukoutien) site, which was excavated in 1921, is one of the most important ancient human sites in China and in the world as well. From the perspective of the history of transnational science, this paper summarizes the history of the excavation of Zhoukoudian and the research that has been done into related fossil and human remains. It argues that Zhoukoudian was the birthplace of palaeoanthropology and the stimulus for the establishment of Paleolithic archaeology as a field in China. The Zhoukoudian site preserves traces of prehistoric human activities that date from 700 000 to 10 000 years ago, including human fossils, stone artefacts, ornaments and mammalian fossils. Thus, it still remains the most abundant, systematic and valuable site of its kind in the world, as well as being a very important geoheritage site.

Abstract Furnas (c. 1500 inhabitants) lies within the caldera of Furnas volcano on the island of São Miguel (Azores) and has the potential to expose its inhabitants to multiple hazards (e.g. landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and degassing). The present population has never experienced a volcanic eruption or a major earthquake, although the catalogue records six eruptions, sub-Plinian in style, over the last 2 kyr. Today, the area experiences strong fumarolic activity. In the case of an eruption, early evacuation would be necessary to prevent inhabitants from being trapped within the caldera. An awareness of potential threats and knowledge of what to do in the case of an emergency would assist in evacuation. In this paper, inhabitants’ awareness of volcanic and seismic threats in 2017 is compared with that revealed in a similar study completed more than two decades ago. It is concluded that whereas awareness of earthquakes and the dangers posed by volcanic gas discharge has increased, knowledge of the threat of volcanic eruptions and the need to prepare for possible evacuation has not. Research suggests that the changing awareness is related to effective collaboration that has developed between the regional government, through its civil protection authorities and scientists, and the people of Furnas.

Abstract The Chalk is an unusual karst aquifer with limited cave development, but extensive networks of smaller solutional conduits and fissures enabling rapid groundwater flow. Small-scale karst features (stream sinks, dolines, dissolution pipes, and springs) are common, with hundreds of stream sinks recorded. Tracer velocities from 27 connections between stream sinks and springs have median and mean velocities of 4700 and 4600 m d −1 . Tests to abstraction boreholes also demonstrate very rapid velocities of thousands of metres per day. Natural gradient tests from observation boreholes have rapid velocities of hundreds of metres per day. There is strong geological control on karst with dissolution focused on stratigraphical inception horizons. Surface karst features are concentrated near the Paleogene boundary, or where thin superficial cover occurs, but rapid groundwater flow is also common in other areas. The Chalk has higher storage and contaminant attenuation than classical karst, but recharge, storage and flow are influenced by karst. Point recharge through stream sinks, dolines, losing rivers, vertical solutional fissures, and soakaways enables rapid unsaturated zone flow. Saturated zone networks of solutional fissures and conduits create vulnerability to subsurface activities, and enable long distance transport of point source and diffuse pollutants, which may be derived from outside modelled catchment areas and source protection zones.

Abstract The implementation of new groundwater tracer tests to the chalky karst plateau of the northwestern end of the Paris Basin, combined with a critical review of previous tracer test investigations, makes it possible to characterize the role of karsts in relation to many structural features. The impact of tectonic structures and lithology on the development and evolution of the karst networks is analysed. The consequences for drinking-water supplies and its protection are examined.

Abstract The small town of Yport in the northern part of the Pays de Caux, Normandy, is located on the shore of the English Channel between Étretat and Fécamp, at the outlet of a long dry valley that incises the chalk plateau. Eight hundred metres to the east, at the base of a cliff, is a cluster of springs, the ‘Fontaines d'Yport’, that emerge on the foreshore. Given their high discharge, measured at between 1 and 2.5 m 3 s −1 , the Le Havre authorities have been interested in these springs since the 1960s, in determining their origin, locating the karst conduit, developing them, and investigating the boundaries and vulnerability of the groundwater basin. Today, one third of the drinking water that supplies the Le Havre conurbation comes from the Yport wells, and investigations into their vulnerability and protection of their resource continues.

Abstract Coastal erosion impact on low-lying sandy shorelines represents a worldwide problem, which is particularly felt in various segments of the Portuguese coast where this geomorphological type represents 42% of its total length. Beach nourishment is a viable engineering alternative for shore protection and the assessment of offshore sources of beach-fill material is an essential aspect when implementing this mitigation strategy. The CHIMERA project carried out a multidisciplinary inspection on four segments of the west Portuguese coast to assess their potential as offshore borrow areas for beach nourishment. Altogether, these segments covered an area of c . 35 km 2 , at water depths between 20 and 42 m. They were surveyed using multibeam, sub-bottom profiler, ultra-high resolution multichannel seismics and a set of 126 surface samples and 72 vibrocores (with 3 m long each). To comply with the Portuguese legislation, sand types were assessed by granulometric and chemical analyses for evaluating the quality of sediments in terms of contamination. High-resolution magnetic surveys were conducted to find potential archaeological artefacts. The adopted methodology proved to be adequate to quantify and describe the spatial distribution of useful sediment volumes, supporting the ongoing Integrated Coastal Sediment Strategy for mainland Portugal.