Technogenic geodiversity: a proposal on the classification of artificial ground

This paper’s main purpose is to propose and discuss a specific geological classification (termed geotechnogenic) of artificial ground, that is, the new ground types formed as a direct or indirect result of human action, be it related to erosion or deposition processes or whilst in situ modification of the natural land. These technogenic grounds are classified into four main categories, namely the aggraded ground, the degraded ground, the modified and the mixed ground, each of them is subdivided into specific genetic types. The foundations of the proposal are derived from two main “schools” of thinking about the geological products of mankind’s activity, on one hand the British works on the artificial ground and, on the other hand, the former Soviet, after Russian and east European studies on technogenic deposits and soils. These contributions have been compared with and joined to the American and Brazilian contributions on the study of technogenic deposits, leading to a comprehensive and synthetic table that can be used for basic purposes of geological and geotechnical analysis and mapping of land areas transformed by human action, as well as to aid their geomorphologic interpretation and mapping.