Recognition and assessment of sinkholes as geosites: lessons from the Island of Gozo (Malta)

Abstract

Recognition and assessment of sinkholes as geosites: lessons from the Island of Gozo (Malta) There is a wide literature on sinkhole or doline classification, formation and evolution. However, despite the fact that they are often characterised by spectacular morphological features, sinkholes are not normally described as geological resources which might be valuable for the society and worth of being promoted for their geomorphological importance. A series of sinkholes have been investigated in the Island of Gozo (Malta), some of which of notable size and high aesthetic interest. These sinkholes have been assessed applying a methodology which has been specifically set up with the aim of verifying whether any of them could be considered as geosites according to their scientific, additional (ecological, aesthetic, cultural) and use values. The paper shows the geosite assessment procedure and discusses its outputs, according to which 6 out of the 17 investigated sinkholes can be considered as geosites of geomorphological interest (geomorphosites). Finally, issues related to their enhancement and fruition are taken into account in the frame of potential geotourism strategies.

Late Quaternary coastal landscape morphology and evolution of the Maltese Islands (Mediterranean Sea) reconstructed from high-resolution seafloor data

“…The bottom of these depressions, at present covered by a Posidonia oceanica mat of vegetation, is peppered by rocky blocks, or draped by medium-fine sand appearing as a flat and smooth surface. Considering their regular shape, their dimensions, their fill and the presence of radial fractures, these presumed sinkholes seem to correspond fairly well to those described by Coratza et al (2012), Soldati et al (2013) and Galve et al (2015) in Gozo. Thus, they could share a similar origin and, perhaps, age, but this hypothesis still requires further investigation (Fig.…”

“…The Maltese Islands are marked by karst features of different size, from dolines to palaeosinkholes (especially in Gozo: Coratza et al 2012;Soldati et al 2013;Galve et al 2015), karst limestone pavements (especially on Lower and Upper Coralline Limestone) and pits (Alexander 1988;Pedley et al 2002;Magri 2006). The archipelago is also incised by a fluvial system consisting of several 'widien' (wadis) that are orientated SW-NE and that have formed narrow valleys from the 'hinterland' to the coastline (Alexander 1988;Anderson 1997).…”

Malta and Sicily Joined by Geoheritage Enhancement and Geotourism within the Framework of Land Management and Development

“…similarities and differences. This approach benefits from experience acquired by the authors in previous studies carried out in the Maltese Archipelago [16,34,60] for the selection phase, which required an original adaptation to the Mediterranean morpho-climatic context of former criteria for geosites' quantitative assessment. Finally, in order to rank geosites in terms of management and tourism promotion, the method proposed by Feullet and Sourp [57] was applied.…”

“…The assessment procedure here applied was developed based on previous works [50,53,57] and benefited from the outputs of its application in the Isand of Gozo [60]. In particular, considering that the study areas are mainly rural, more emphasis was given to ecological and aesthetic values than to cultural ones, which where anyhow taken into account.…”

Scientific values of landforms as the basis for the declaration of protected sites (a case study of Mt. Kraví hora in the Novohardské hory Mts., Czech Republic)

“…According to Reynard et al (2007Reynard et al ( , 2016, there are two groups of values to be attributed to a landform: scientific and added/additional ones (in literature, e.g. Bruschi Coratza et al, 2012, there are more groups of values, but for the purposes of this article we only use one group). The scientific value comprises of criteria such as integrity, rarity, uniqueness, lithological and morphological diversity, palaeogeographical importance or exemplarity (which is the most important issue for geoconservation and geoeducational potential).…”