Karoly Nemeth

• PhD in Geology (Otago)
• Professor at Massey University

The Samoa Islands are in the SW Pacific (Fig. 1.1). Their origin is largely volcanic and record a geological history of about two million of years based on surface or accessible rocks (Fenner 2018; Gale et al. 2021; Goodwin and Grossman 2003; Kear 1967; Kear and Wood 1959). Beside the igneous rocks occur on the islands, sedimentary successions are...

The Samoan Islands are part of the broader SW Pacific region with their unique geological and geomorphological heritage sites dominated by their volcanic origin and their direct connection to the coastal and marine environment of the Pacific (Németh and Gravis 2022). The south-west (SW) Pacific is an expansive oceanic region with many of its island...

Tourism significantly impacts the global economy (Camilleri 2018), especially in small economies like island nations in the SW Pacific (Hall 1994; Hughes 2022; Kumar and Stauvermann 2023; Poirine 2010; Pratt and Harrison 2015; Rapaport 2013). In remote areas, tourism often leverages unique local features to attract visitors (D’Hauteserre 2016; Hugh...

Nature itself classified in two categories: living and non-living. The living part of nature includes the whole range of diversity of flora and fauna together with the environment they occupy creates biodiversity (DeLong 1996; Sarkar 2002). In more clear terminology: “biodiversity/biological diversity is species, genetic, and ecosystem diversity in...

This book presents a comprehensive study on estimating Samoa’s geodiversity using a complex quantitative-qualitative method. This method calculates the density of geological-geomorphological features and their relative abundance on Earth, providing a spatial distribution that can identify geosites. The study’s global relative abundance estimate off...

Lunayyir Volcanic Field is one of the youngest (~600 ka to Historic) Cenozoic mafic intracontinental volcanic fields in the western margin of the Arabian Microplate. It consists of about 150 volcanic edifices that worked around 700 vents indicating strong vent alignments and potential longevity of activity to build each of its volcanoes. The volcan...

Alchichica Maar is in the eastern sector of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, where volcanics range from basalts to rhyolites, with 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and 143 Nd/ 144 Nd values between 0.70293 to 0.70447 (εSr = −21.1 to −4.5) and 0.512733 to 0.512949 (εNd = +3.4 to +6.2), respectively. In this study, Nd and Sr isotopic data and new major and trace element...

Voluminous Miocene silicic volcanism sourced mainly from the extensional Pannonian Basin played a major role in the evolution of Central Paratethys. Here, we identify a widely distributed (> 3150 km ² ) member of the Upper Rhyolite Tuff, called the Dobi Ignimbrite, with a precise sanidine/plagioclase ⁴⁰ Ar/ ³⁹ Ar age of 13.064 ± 0.065 Ma (~ Badenia...

The western part of the Arabian Peninsula is the home of one of the most extensive if not the largest monogenetic volcanic province on Earth. Dispersed volcanism formed distinct volcanic fields from the East Anatolian Fault in southeast Türkiye all the way to northwest Yemen. Monogenetic volcanism was also recorded in the western side of the Red Se...

Most of the Earth’s natural hazards are linked to geohazards due to the abiotic nature providing the basis for biological features to exist. From this point of view geohazards are part of geoheritage as they represent geological and geomorphological features slow or rapid that shaping the planet face and imprint its results in its geological and ge...

Monogenetic volcanism is the most common manifestation of volcanism on Earth and many planets and moons of the Solar System. They are variously organized volcanic forms reflecting volcanic eruptions that are normally short lived and produce small volume of eruptive products. Monogenetic volcanism can occur in any geological environment hence their...

In this book we provided a detailed summary of the geoheritage aspects of the dispersed Cenozoic (mostly Neogene–Quaternary) volcanic fields of western Saudi Arabia.

In this chapter we introduce the geosystem services concept within ecosystem services to the western Saudi Arabian monogenetic volcanic fields. A global overview will provide enough background to see the validity of this approach to develop a functional geoconservation strategy for the largest continuous monogenetic volcanic fields on Earth to util...

Saudi Arabia went through a dramatic transformation in the last decade and tourism in general is a key economy field where major improvements and developments initiated. Beside the traditional religious tourism recently major steps were taken to develop regenerative tourism in the Kingdom and exploring several aspects of niche tourism. Geotourism a...

This research emphasizes the vital role of geoeducation in fostering a deeper appreciation of palaeovolcanic geoheritage in the Kratovo-Zletovo palaeovolcanic area, which is in the northeastern part of North Macedonia. In this paper a sophisticated and objective evaluation of the palaeovolcanic geoheritage for future proclamation as a protected are...

Pounamu plays a very important role in Māori culture (New Zealand) and is a taonga (treasure) of the people. Pounamu is a result of the intricate, unique geological context of the Zealandia microcontinent in the SW Pacific successfully separated from Gondwana in the Late Mesozoic but cut half in a NE-SWE trending right-lateral strike-slip dominated...

The far north part of Coromandel Peninsula can be considered a good place for geoeducation and geotourism, which is justified by the remnants of Miocene-Pleistocene volcanic integration with marine environment. These processes in collaboration with old Jurassic and quaternary sediments create a diverse geological and geomorphological constructions...

Las Islas Canarias (España) son un conjunto de islas volcánicas oceánicas localizadas en la placa africana y en la latitud subtropical. En los últimos 500 años han ocurrido dieciséis erupciones históricas y la última, la del volcán monogenético Tajogaite, tuvo lugar en La Palma en 2021 (19 de septiembre-13 de diciembre) y, además de sus profundos i...

This paper presents the results from a geographic information systems (GIS) workflow, which was used to analyze the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of volcanoes in the Mio-Pleistocene monogenetic Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field (BBHVF), located in the Pannonian Basin, Hungary. Volcanism occurred during the tectonic inversion in a...

Geodiversity, comprising both endogenous and exogenous geological processes, plays a crucial role in shaping the structure and functionality of natural systems, alongside its substantial impact on human well-being. However, the often-overlooked interconnection between geodiversity components limits our comprehension of geosystems. In the Chinchiná...

The rapid development of Auckland City in New Zealand from an initial rural settlement to a global urban hub produced a characteristic footprint on the Auckland Volcanic Field (AVF). This process was facilitated by increased anthropogenic activity that has resulted in the deterioration and destruction of many volcanic landforms and caused severe ar...

Unexpected natural hazardous events can lead communities to create preparedness plans and identify risks associated with future devastating events. In the case of Cyclone Gabrielle , which resulted in catastrophic damage throughout the North Island of New Zealand, we recognised a need for models that could define the most hazardous areas in the Cor...

Using a multidisciplinary approach to understand the subsurface processes behind the formation of maar‐diatreme volcanoes is of growing interest. While geophysical characterization can visualize the diatreme and the feeding dike system beneath the volcano at a reasonable scale, such data are rare and generally unavailable. Stratigraphic‐controlled...

Accurate dating of young eruptions from explosive volcanoes is essential for forecasting future eruptions and for defining the hazardscape of volcanic fields. However, precise dating of Quaternary eruptions is often challenging due to limited number of applicable dating methods or lack of datable eruptive phases. Moreover, small volume eruptions (e...

During the Miocene-Quaternary, an important volcanic activity occurred in the Middle Atlas which generated innumerable volcanoes of varied origin including Strombolian to Hawaiian style explosive eruption dominated volcanoes of scoria and spatter cones to phreatomagmatic types creating maars and tuff rings, or their mixed varieties. The volcanic ge...

The Lechmine N'kettane is a Quaternary volcano, located within the Middle Atlas Volcanic Field (MAVF) in central Morocco. It is built on the faulted contact between Liassic limestone and Plio-Quaternary fluvio-lacustrine deposits. In map-view it consists of an elliptical maar crater, surrounded by a tephra ring, within which a scoria cone is nested...

Harrat Khaybar is an active monogenetic volcanic field in western Saudi Arabia that hosts spectacular monogenetic volcanoes and a Holocene volcanic cone with extensive lava fields. The volcanic region is a subject of intensive land use development, especially along tourism ventures, where the volcanic features are the key elements to utilize for in...

Arxan-Chaihe Volcanic Field is located southwest of the Great Xing'an Range in Inner Mongolia, NE, China. This monogenetic volcanic field formed in the Pleistocene, with its latest activity a fissure eruption about 2000 years ago. Here we present the first geodiversity estimate of the region, applying a method combining the geomorphological and geo...

Hydrology is one of the most influential elements of geodiversity, where geology and geomorphology stand as the main values of abiotic nature. Hydrological erosion created by river systems destructing rock formations (eluvial process) from streams’ sources and then transporting and redepositing (alluvial process) the rock debris into the main river...

It is imperative today to make geoheritage conservation an essential part of all environmental standards and operational procedures. This is because geoheritage conservation secures the preservation of in situ geoheritage elements especially in urban environment such as Auckland. Geoheritage in Auckland is strongly associated with both indigenous c...

Fissure eruption is the most prominent type of Pleistocene to Holocene volcanism in Arxan-Chaihe Volcanic Field recording vent migration along fissures. This research is examined Sentinel Satellite Images to outline the youngest lava flows in the region in conjunction with field observations. Also, GIS-based analyses were performed with the aim to...

The Arxan–Chaihe volcanic field (ACVF) is a Pliocene to recent intracontinental monogenetic volcanic field. Within the ACVF, at least 47 vents are preserved in a ~2000 km² area, forming two major NE-SW trending structural elements. The youngest eruptions took place about 2000 B.P., forming two distinct complex scoriaceous and lava spatter cone syst...

In the Canary Islands, sixteen historical eruptions have been documented in Lanzarote, Tenerife, El Hierro, and La Palma. The latest eruption, the Tajogaite eruption, occurred in 2021 in La Palma and the richness and diversity of the natural and cultural heritage associated with this eruption can be a valuable resource for attracting visitors and t...

The last volcanic eruption in Western Samoa, which occurred between 1905 and 1911, produced a complex scoria and lava spatter cone and an extensive lava field that destroyed Sale’aula village, near the Pacific coast. This eruption, referred to as the Matavanu eruption, also produced pahoehoe-type lava flows with superbly preserved surface textures,...

Volcanic geoheritage relates to the geological features of a region that are associated with the formation of a volcanic terrain in diverse geoenvironmental conditions. These features include the volcanic processes, volcanic landforms and/or the eruptive products of volcanism that form the geological architecture of that region. Volcanic geoheritag...

The Middle Atlas Volcanic Field (MAVF) covers an area of 1500 km², with a total erupted volume of solid products (e.g., Dense Rock Equivalent or DRE) estimated to be more than 80 km³. The MAVF comprises 87 monogenetic basaltic volcanoes of Tertiary-Quaternary age as scoria cones (71%) and maars (29%). These monogenetic basaltic volcanoes have vario...

In qualitative–quantitative assessment of geodiversity, geomorphology describes landscape forms suggesting specific locations as geosites. However, all digital elevation models (DEM) contain information only about altitude and coordinate systems, which are not enough data for inclusion assessments. To overcome this, researchers may transform altitu...

Tūhua (Mayor Island), located off New Zealand's Bay of Plenty coastline, is a compound, shield-like volcano dominated by peralkaline rhyolite lavas and pyroclastic rocks. Previous studies established a chronostratigraphic framework for the island, yet detailed geomorphic interpretation has been hindered by the rugged, shrub covered terrain. Here we...

Mayor Island is located approximately 45km off the North-East coast of the North Island of New Zealand. This island was formed by various explosive and effusive volcanic eruptions commonly influenced by magma-water interaction eruption events occurring since the Pleistocene. The wider area of the SW Pacific contains numerous volcanic islands with a...

The Andahua Group is a distinct cluster of typically monogenetic volcanoes located in the northern most part of the Central Volcanic Zone in the Andes, characterized by small-volume lava domes and scoria cones. Seven volcanic clusters have been distinguished. Using satellite imagery, geological mapping, and field work, we found a total of 103 lava...

The SW Pacific is an expansive oceanic region with many of its islands difficult to access and relatively unexplored in a geoheritage context. Here we provide a potential framework for systematically assessing geoheritage values of the SW Pacific and creating a holistic and multi-value inventory. We outline the use of digital terrain models as land...

Spatial scale in modeling is one of the most important aspects of any kind of assessment. This study utilized previously studied assessments of geodiversity through a qualitative–quantitative methodology for geosite recognition. Our methodology was developed based on geodiversity as a complex description of all elements of abiotic nature and proces...

On the 15th of January 2022, a massive hydrovolcanic eruption at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in Tonga (SW Pacific) sent shockwaves in the near-field regime, close to the volcano. The far-field disturbances that encircled the globe were of a slower velocity. The most prominent disturbance was the Lamb wave, with the rest of the disturbances being a va...

Recent conceptual geological frameworks of continental monogenetic volcanism highlight that the small magma volume eruptions, resulting volcanic geology and edifice architecture in such settings are sensitive to variations in external or environmental conditions. These conditions, along with fluctuations in magma flux, can change rapidly over short...

During Earth’s history, geosphere-biosphere interactions were often determined by momentary, catastrophic changes such as large explosive volcanic eruptions. The Miocene ignimbrite flare-up in the Pannonian Basin, which is located along a complex convergent plate boundary between Europe and Africa, provides a superb example of this interaction. In...

We describe volcanic inverted relief sites around the world, making a comparative analysis of those most significant sites found from literature and our own search on imagery and global topographic maps. Over fifty significant areas of volcanic inverted relief were found. The comparative analysis is based on geoscience values defined by the main ge...

The assessment of geodiversity is a relatively new field of research connecting abiotic aspects of nature to the wider environment. The study of geodiversity is still in development, so a uniform and complete paradigm remains to be defined. Therefore, an assessment of geodiversity may be highly dependent on the nature of the territory subject to st...

Effusion rate is the instantaneous lava flow output by a vent. It is one of the most important factors that govern the emplacement and dynamics of lava flows and can be determined by direct measurements or estimated through modeling. The Negros de Aras monogenetic volcanic field, located in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, is the largest vol...

The Negros de Aras monogenetic volcanic field in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes displays the highest concentration of scoria cones in northern Chile (0.23 per km²). It contains 66 vents, 22 of which are emission points of lava flows without an associated recognizable volcanic edifice, whereas 44 are typical scoria cones. Most vents are asso...

The increase in geoheritage studies has secured recognition globally regarding the importance of abiotic natural features. Prominent in geoheritage screening practices follows a multicriteria assessment framework; however, the complexity of interest in values often causes decision making to overlook geoeducation, one of the primary facets of geosys...

Understanding the relationship cause/effect between tectonic earthquakes and volcanic eruptions is a striking topic in Earth Sciences. Volcanoes erupt with variable reaction times as a consequence of the impact of seismic waves (i.e. dynamic stress) and changes in the stress field (i.e. static stress). In 2012, three large (Mw ≥ 7.3) subduction ear...

Arc magmas typically contain phenocrysts with complex zoning and diverse growth histories. Microlites highlight the same level of intracrystalline variations but require nanoscale resolution which is globally less available. The southern Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand, has produced a wide range of explosive eruptions yielding glassy microli...

In volcanically active regions, the process, volume and timescale of the production, transport, and accumulation of sediments are not exclusively determined by climatic and tectonic processes. Volcaniclastic sediments can be produced and incorporated into background sedimentary systems through volcano-sedimentary processes with greatly variable tem...

This research presents a literature review of published scientific literature on the Coromandel Peninsula, a well-known region of the northern part of the North Island of New Zealand. It contains many biological, geological, and historical features and is well known for beautiful scenery, resulting from a volcanic rock-dominated terrestrial environ...

Volcanic lakes pose specific hazards inherent to the presence of water: phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions, lahars, limnic gas bursts and dispersion of brines in the hydrological network. Here we introduce the updated, interactive and open-access database for African volcanic lakes, country by country. The previous database VOLADA (VOlcanic LAk...

Structural hydroxyl content of volcanic quartz phenocrysts was investigated with unpolarized Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The phenocrysts originated from five pyroclastic fallout deposits from the Bükk Foreland Volcanic Area (BFVA), Hungary, and two from the AD 1314 Kaharoa eruption (KH eruption), Okataina Volcanic Complex (Taupo Volcan...

The article demonstrates a method for quantitative-qualitative geodiversity assessment based on core elements of abiotic nature (geology and geomorphology) according to a proposed weight multiplied by the area of spread through the studied region. The territory of the Coromandel Peninsula was selected as a case study due to its diverse geology and...

Both Savai’i Island and Upolu Island of Samoa are home to numerous potential geosites that could form the basis of geopark projects at a range of scales from local, regional, or global. During the Samoa Geoparks Project Phase 1, intensive research identified Samoa’s geoheritage values, resulting in the selection of the island of Savai’i as a locati...

An integrated stratigraphic, sedimentological, volcanological, and geochemical studies were conducted for the first time on the eruptive products of the Marssous volcano, Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt. The rarity of complex volcanological studies in the west Red Sea rift makes these investigated volcanoes important as they offer a clue...

Understanding the cause/effect relationship between tectonic earthquakes and volcanic eruptions is a striking topic in Earth Sciences. Volcanoes may erupt due to the impact of seismic waves (i.e. dynamic stress) and changes in the stress field (i.e. static stress) with variable reaction times. In 2012, three large ( M w ≥7.3) subduction earthquakes...

Geoheritage is an important aspect in developing workable strategies for natural hazard resilience. This is reflected in the UNESCO IGCP Project (# 692. Geoheritage for Geohazard Resilience) that continues to successfully develop global awareness of the multifaced aspects of geoheritage research. Geohazards form a great variety of natural phenomena...

Geological resources are basic elements that have shaped both the course of human history and characteristics of human society. Protection of their imprint on our landscapes underlies the field of nature conservation known as geoconservation. Explicitly from 1991—when the term “geoheritage” was used at the First International Symposium on the Conse...

Ordination methods are used in ecological multivariate statistics in order to reduce the number of dimensions and arrange individual variables along environmental variables. Geoheritage designation is a new challenge for conservation planning. Quantification of geoheritage to date is used explicitly for site selection, however, it also carries sign...

Mafic volcanic rocks are typically formed by primitive magmas (MgO >8 wt%) and are evidence of both a rapid magma ascent from the source and a negligible differentiation en route to the surface. Thus, mafic rocks on Earth are relatively close in composition to the primary magma. These rocks are common in intraplate and extensional tectonic environm...

The Kamo Volcanic Field (KVF), a partly preserved Quaternary volcanic sequence of three small-volume basaltic volcanoes located about 10 km northwest of the Aira caldera in the Kagoshima graben in southwestern Kyushu, Japan. It forms part of the volcanic arc of Japan and consists of the Late Pleistocene Aojiki volcano and two Holo�cene maars: Sumiy...

Cerro Overo maar and La Albóndiga lava dome are two independent monogenetic volcanoes located in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes in northern Chile, close to the active Lascar and Chiliques volcanoes. Cerro Overo maar was formed <77 ka ago by explosive-effusive eruptions, including phreatomagmatic activity, while La Albóndiga lava dome (Pleis...

The Tilocálar volcanic complex comprises four monogenetic volcanoes located at the southeastern edge of the Salar de Atacama Basin, northern Chile. These monogenetic volcanic centers are the Tilocálar Norte lava, the El Maní dome, the Tilocálar Sur small–lava shield, and the Tilocálar Sur maar, respectively, and were formed between 460 ± 50 ka to <...

Detailed investigation of a Lower Miocene Plinian pyroclastic sequence that crops out in the Bükk Foreland Volcanic Area (BFVA) in Northern Hungary is presented here. The studied eruptive products are part of a ca. 50 metres thick pyroclastic succession comprising of a basal ignimbrite that is covered by stratified pyroclastic unit including a topm...

Long‐lived stratovolcanoes display a thick volcanic apron surrounding the edifice. This sedimentary succession incorporates the majority of the deposits from both growth and destruction phases of a volcanic massif. The ring plain of Taranaki Volcano (>200 ka) is composed of volcaniclastic mass‐flow deposits that are exceptionally well‐exposed along...

Motuoapa Peninsula, located in the southeast of the Taupo Volcanic Centre, New Zealand, is dominated by a silicic pyroclastic cone and overlaying lavas. The pyroclastic succession has not been recognised and studied before, and its thickness and sedimentological characteristics indicate completely different eruption mechanisms than proposed for the...

Abstract The Kamo Volcanic Field (KVF), a partly preserved Quaternary volcanic sequence of three small-volume basaltic volcanoes located about 10 km northwest of the Aira caldera in the Kagoshima graben in southwestern Kyushu, Japan. It forms part of the volcanic arc of Japan and consists of the Late Pleistocene Aojiki volcano and two Holocene maa...

Maar volcanoes are monogenetic landforms whose craters cut below the pre-eruptive surface and are surrounded by a tephra ring. Both the maar crater and the surrounding tephra rim deposits are typically formed due to magma–water explosive interactions. Northern Chile is located in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes where, in literature, 14 maars...

Monogenetic volcanism produces small eruptive volumes with short eruption history, different chemical compositions, and relatively simple conduit. The Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes is internationally known as a natural laboratory to study volcanism, where mafic and felsic products are present. In this contribution, the spectrum of architecture...