The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) has recognized 100 new “geological heritage sites” at a conference in South Korea. These include the Vesuvius volcano in Italy and the Dead Sea in Israel, as well as Jodania.
The Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland and the Yosemite Valley in the USA are also new ‘geological heritage sites’. There is currently no such site in Austria. The meteorite collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna is now recognized as the “IUGS Geo Collection”.
According to the Union’s homepage, the awarded sites are places “with exceptional geological features or processes of the highest scientific relevance, which serve as a global reference and/or make a significant contribution to the development of the geological sciences throughout history.”
“Important for understanding the Earth”
In addition, ‘Geological Heritage Sites’ and ‘IUGS Geo-Collections’ will be chosen, which contain collections of data and samples ‘critical to the public’s understanding of the Earth and extraterrestrial bodies, preserve the planetary record for future generations and enable research.
The excellent meteorite collection in Vienna is the oldest collection in the world. It comprises more than 7,000 inventoried objects from around 2,400 locations. Around 1,000 of these objects can be viewed in the showroom. “We also want to use the initiative to support less well-endowed collections, especially in countries in the South, where there are often very relevant collections but which have little external impact,” said Mathias Harzhauser, head of the geological-paleontological department at the NHM Vienna.
Source: Krone
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