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Multi-scale Web Mapping for Geoheritage Visualisation and Promotion

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Abstract

Due to the renewed interest for sites of geological interest, both in nature conservation and tourist sectors, numerous regional and national geosite inventories have been carried out in several countries during the last two decades. For this purpose, various assessment methods have been developed and published. The issue of the representation of the results of inventories—in particular, the mapping system, the question of updating data—remains open. Moreover, if in the field of nature conservation, practitioners are used to working with GIS, it is not the case in the tourist sector where data must be delivered to the users in open-access and easy-to-use formats. This paper discusses what opportunities of web mapping methods and techniques there are in the domain of geoheritage assessment and promotion. A web mapping application in Google Maps application programming interface (API) framework is proposed to disseminate the results of geosite inventories carried out in Switzerland both at national and regional scales. The interest of the proposed application is discussed according to three main criteria: mapping interests and limitations, management purposes and interpretive issues.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the anonymous referees, José Brilha and the editors of the journal, whose suggestions helped to improve the manuscript. The Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) is also thanked for allowing us to use the data of the inventory of Swiss geosites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography and Sustainability, Géopolis, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    S. Martin & E. Reynard

  2. Department of Geography, University of Valladolid, Prado de la Magdalena, 47011, Valladolid, Spain

    R. Pellitero Ondicol

  3. Regional Museum of Natural Sciences, via Giolitti 36, 10100, Torino, Italy

    L. Ghiraldi

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  1. S. Martin
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  2. E. Reynard
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  3. R. Pellitero Ondicol
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  4. L. Ghiraldi
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Correspondence to E. Reynard.

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Martin, S., Reynard, E., Pellitero Ondicol, R. et al. Multi-scale Web Mapping for Geoheritage Visualisation and Promotion. Geoheritage 6, 141–148 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-014-0102-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-014-0102-3

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