The concept of geodiversity appears to have grown out of the discussions around biodiversity, and has evolved over time to become both a tool and a theoretical concept. The paper presents an overview of this conceptual evolution, leading to formulation of the argument that geodiversity is a broader term than geological diversity. Consequently, it is proposed that the concept should take into account all abiotic elements, processes and relations to the natural system and human activity The overview serves as a basis for focussing on the constituent elements of geodiversity that lead to the richness of variety in biotopes, ecosystems or landscapes and that infiuence its use in theoretical, educative and geoconservation terms. The suggestion is made to include four levels in a hierarchy of abiotic diversity (particles, elements, places and landscapes). several approaches to measuring and quantifying geodiversity are discussed, pointing to a need for a geodiversity index which links the different physical elements with processes in the soil, hydrology and geomorphology, as well as with topographical factors (orientation, slope and radiation).

Results obtained during the International Polar Year (IPY) on the thermal state of permafrost and the active layer in the Antarctic are presented, forming part of ANTPAS (‘Antarctic Permafrost and Soils’), which was one of the key projects developed by the International Permafrost Association and the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research for the IPY. The number of boreholes for permafrost and active‐layer monitoring was increased from 21 to 73 during the IPY, while CALM‐S sites to monitor the active layer were increased from 18 to 28. Permafrost temperatures during the IPY were slightly below 0°C in the South Shetlands near sea‐level, showing that this area is near the climatic boundary of permafrost and has the highest sensitivity to climate change in the region. Permafrost temperatures were much lower in continental Antarctica: from the coast to the interior and with increasing elevation they ranged between −13.3°C and −18.6°C in Northern Victoria Land, from −17.4°C to −22.5°C in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, and down to −23.6°C at high elevation on Mount Fleming (Ross Island). Other monitored regions in continental Antarctica also showed cold permafrost: Queen Maud Land exhibited values down to −17.8°C on nunataks, while in Novolazarevskaya (Schirmacher Oasis) at 80 m a.s.l. the permafrost temperature was −8.3°C. The coastal stations of Molodeznaya at Enderby Land showed permafrost temperatures of −9.8°C, Larsemann Hills – Progress Station in the Vestfold Hills region – recorded −8.5°C, and Russkaya in Marie Byrd Land, −10.4°C. This snapshot obtained during the IPY shows that the range of ground temperatures in the Antarctic is greater than in the Arctic. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

`Little Ice Age' (LIA) glacier advance has been registered in three of the main Iberian high mountain areas: Pyrenees, Picos de Europa and Sierra Nevada. During the LIA, three different glacial environments have been differentiated in these three ranges. A high mountain glacial environment exists in the Pyrenees, where the altitude and northern latitude developed the most complex glacial environment between the oceanic influence on the western side and the Mediterranean influence on the eastern side. In the Pyrenees the LIA glaciation occurred in 15 massifs where there are up to 100 cirques; however, today the glaciers remain only in the highest peaks. A marginal glacial environment exists in the Picos de Europa related to the oceanic influence and topography in an Atlantic high mountain: there were six glaciers in the Picos de Europa Massif during the LIA. A marginal glacial environment also exists in the Sierra Nevada, related to the northern orientation and altitude in a Mediterranean high mountain, where only one glacier, the southernmost of Europe, occurred during the LIA. Several variations of LIA glaciers have been found: historical maximum (from the end of the seventeenth to the beginning of the eighteenth centuries); minor retreat with secondary regrowth (mid-eighteenth to nineteenth centuries); and continuous retreat (from the end of the nineteenth to the beginning of the twentieth centuries); followed by the almost complete extinction of the glaciers and an increase in the periglacial environment. There are now 29 glaciers in the Pyrenees, four buried icepatches in the Picos de Europa and one buried icepatch in the Sierra Nevada. The rise of ELAs from the last LIA glacial maximum until the present allows the calculation of an increase in temperatures of around 0.9°C in the Iberian high mountains.