Release Date October 3, 1994


The following statement originated at the International 
Workshop on Geological Indicators of Rapid Environmental 
Change, held on July 11-17, 1994, in Corner Brook and Gros 
Morne National Park, Newfoundland, Canada.



             ASSESSING RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE:
                  THE GROS MORNE DECLARATION


PREAMBLE

We, earth scientists from many nations, peoples and cultures, 
speaking through the Commission on Geological Sciences for 
Environmental Planning (COGEOENVIRONMENT) of the 
International Union of Geological Sciences, urge that 
governments and other responsible authorities recognize the 
fundamental importance of understanding natural (see Note 1)  
and human- induced environmental changes, in which geological 
processes and geoindicators play a pivotal role.  This 
recognition is a requirement to achieving any kind of 
sustainable development.


WE EMPHASIZE THAT:

Change is an inevitable aspect of our dynamic world.  So that 
both natural and human-induced environmental change can be 
recognized, accommodated and managed, it is necessary to 
monitor a wide range of Earth-surface processes, both biotic 
and abiotic. Geological records of past environmental changes 
provide a major key to understanding on-going processes and 
to anticipating the future.

It is essential to ensure that long-term datasets are 
systematically collected and preserved, modifying procedures 
to take into account new issues and techniques.  Applied and 
basic research, as well as routine study, are required to 
advance knowledge and under standing of the causes and 
directions of environmental change.

The public and the scientific community must recognize 
coordinated, long-term environmental monitoring as a mission 
of fundamental importance.  The results provide the data 
necessary to assess the effects of environmental policies, 
legislation and management practices.  Policy-makers, 
planners and the public must be informed of the benefits of 
environmental monitoring and the costs of not doing so.


RATIONALE

Natural and Human-induced Environmental Change

Nature is complex and unstable.  Change is the rule, not the 
exception, and surprises are common.  Natural systems rarely 
remain for long in equilibrium.  They adjust continually to 
new conditions, for example in climate, hydrological flow and 
sea level.  Some changes are sudden, catastrophic and 
newsworthy, but there is a background of continual, small-
scale change, the cumulative impact of which may be of even 
greater significance. All environmental change cannot, 
therefore, be blamed on human actions.  Nevertheless, 
distinguishing between natural and human- induced change can 
be extremely difficult, as in the current debate on climate 
change.

In the case of some environmental changes, human influences 
may be inconsequential, as in volcanic eruptions and deep-
focus earthquakes.  In others, it may not be possible to 
separate natural from anthropogenic causes, as for example in 
the switching of river channels, coastal erosion, landsliding 
and the encroachment of deserts.  It is also important to 
recognize that many changes, such as the contamination of 
groundwater, permafrost melting, desertification, and the 
degradation of soils, may be irreversible over time scales of 
importance to society. 

Some changing environments reflect global trends, but it is 
important not to generalize all local and regional changes to 
the global scale.  All local increases in sea level, for 
example, are not indicative of global rise.


The Record of the Past

All environments at the Earth's surface result from or are 
affected by the interaction of climate, human and other 
biological activity, and geological processes.  Even if it is 
not now possible to predict environmental changes with 
confidence, data on the recent geological past are 
fundamental to establishing trends and baselines, both of 
which are essential for developing new models and concepts.  
Government, academic institutions and industry must cooperate 
to provide the data needed to validate and calibrate models 
and to identify change.

It is essential to continue past efforts at environmental 
monitoring, to protect existing archives, to maintain and 
preserve long-term datasets, and to create new data-bases, 
such as on global permafrost.  Long-term monitoring efforts 
(e.g. on stream sediment loads) are commonly abandoned as a 
result of short-term financial and administrative 
considerations. Irreplaceable information is also being lost 
because monitoring programs are not in place.  Long-term 
records, for example on tides, stream discharge and water 
quality, CO2 and ozone in the atmosphere, provide significant 
scientific and social benefits that were not anticipated when 
existing programs were established.  These examples 
underscore the need to select appropriate indicators and 
begin monitoring immediately so that baselines can be 
established, and so that the links between natural and human 
impacts on the environment can be assessed.


Indicators of Rapid Environmental Change

In order to assess the state of any environment, reliable 
indicators are needed, just as doctors use blood pressure and 
body temperature as simple, inexpensive guides to human 
health. Even if causes cannot be determined, we must be able 
to detect change and warn of dangerous conditions.  Many 
monitoring tools and techniques required to achieve these 
goals are already available.

Geoindicators are measures of magnitudes, frequencies, rates, 
and trends of geological processes and phenomena occurring 
over periods of 100 years or less, at or near the earth's 
surface, that are subject to variations of significance for 
under-standing rapid environmental change.  Geoindicators 
measure both catastrophic events and those more gradual but 
evident within a human lifespan.  Some are complex and 
costly, but many are relatively simple and inexpensive to 
apply.

Examples of useful geoindicators include 1) visual 
observations of beach profiles and vegetation 
characteristics, which permit rapid assessment of the current 
stability of beaches and coastlines; 2) growth patterns of 
coral reefs, which provide detailed information on changes in 
ocean temperature and salinity, as well as discharge 
characteristics of major river systems; and 3) seismic events 
and ground deformation, which can be used to warn of 
impending volcanic eruptions.  It is possible to utilize 
certain highly responsive natural settings as "automated 
environmental recording stations", whose records can be read 
for both current and long-term changes.  These include 
corals, cave deposits, water in the unsaturated zone, ground 
temperature conditions in permafrost areas, tree rings and 
lichens.

In searching for sustainability, we cannot afford to ignore 
important environmental indicators and the minimum datasets 
required to assess changes in erosion, sea levels, river 
flow, water quality or other earth processes that influence 
all ecosystems and our own well-being.

                 ****************************

The Geoindicators Workshop was sponsored by IUGS, Sir Wilfred 
Grenfell College (Memorial University of Newfoundland) and 
Gros Morne National Park, with support from Association of 
Geoscientists for International Development, Canadian 
Geological Foundation,  Canadian Global Change Programme, 
Canadian Quaternary Association, Canadian Society of 
Petroleum Geologists, Environment Canada, Geological 
Association of Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, 
International Science Foundation, St. John's 88 Trust Fund, 
and TERRAMON.


Note 1:  While recognizing that concepts of "nature" and 
"natural" are linked with cultural values, this statement 
uses the terms to indicate environments uninfluenced by human 
activities, i.e. nature as wilderness.

Note 2:  For example, in the absence of long-term records of 
beach erosion and sedimentation in Ocean City, Maryland, $45 
million was spent on a beach project that was destroyed in a 
single storm in 1992.  In Spain, erosion due to natural 
processes and to poor land use indicates future declines in 
agricultural production and, ultimately, desertification.  
Long-term monitoring results have led to calculations of 
potential economic losses between 1986 and 2016 of $8.7 
billion, with losses in some areas over $2000 per hectare.  
As a result of these studies, public awareness of these 
problems has increased greatly, and preventive and corrective 
measures are now being implemented in many areas.

Note 3:  Standard seismic indicators, for example, are 
available for the detection and assessment of earthquakes, 
though they are not always applied in monitoring projects 
that can induce earthquakes.


(For further information on the COGEOENVIRONMENT 
Geoindicators project contact Dr. Antony Berger, 528 Paradise 
Street, Victoria, BC V9A 5E2, Canada.  Phone/fax (604) 480-
0840. Email HARRISCE@UVVM.UVIC.CA)