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The eastern part of the transboundary UNESCO Global Geopark Muskau Arch and the southern part of the Landscape park of the same name include four areas that are the subject of research in a project financed by the OPUS National Science Centre (No. 2019/33/B/ST10/02975).
The Muskau Arch is a unique moraine structure created as a result of the multi-stage influence of the Scandinavian ice sheet. Its most characteristic geomorphological feature are parallel sequences of land surface depressions, separated by local moraine hills.
The area in question covers the former German and Polish mine “Babina”, active between 1920 and 1972. Brown coal, ceramic clay and glass sands deposits were exploited with underground and opencast methods, resulting in a variety of anthropogenic transformations in the entire region.
The internal geological structure of the Muskau Arch, identified by drilling and mining works, indicates the presence of many zones, which differ in terms of the style of glacial-tectonic sediment deformation.
As part of the project, geophysical research (gravimetric and seismic) and geotechnical drilling were carried out providing new information on the character and scale of anthropogenic transformations of the glaciotectonic area, as well as the origins of anthropogenic and natural terrain deformations.
The developed gravimetric maps combine the geomorphological forms of the terrain and surface deformations with the geological structure and anthropogenic or natural changes. The qualitative interpretation is based on the analysis of the distribution, size and amplitude of gravity anomalies reflecting the bulk density of the sediments that make up the studied medium. Negative anomalies reflect the shortage of masses, which, as a natural factor, should be associated with the presence of weathering brown coal seams, their extent and dip. They are also generated by anthropogenic processes related to mining exploitation and translate into post-mining voids, zones of continuous consolidation and subsidence trough and post-mining heaps. Anomalies with positive amplitudes show the presence of tills, glacial sands and clays.
The results of measurements along seismic cross-sections confirmed the high glaciotectonic involvement within the Tertiary formations, showed the framework character of the top of the underlying (Cretaceous) deposits and allowed for the interpretation of lithostratigraphic boundaries.
Additionally, geotechnical drilling to a depth of 12 m was carried out in selected places using an impact system (Stitz) and a geotechnical light probe (Dynamic Penetration Light). The drillings were made in places that differed in the type of human interference: heaps, surface sinkholes, as well as in places intact by mining activities. The data from the drilling will be used for the geological and engineering analysis of morphological disturbances in the next tasks, including the construction of the model using the finite element method.
The natural and anthropogenic geomorphological forms of various origins that co-occur in the area of the UNESCO Global Geopark Muskau Arch constitute a part of the global geological and cultural heritage of a great importance in Poland and in Europe. Research which aim at discovering the genesis of these transformations can greatly contribute to our understanding of the modern-day environmental changes.
Ewa Warchala; Miłosz Becker; Jan Blachowski; Anna Buczyńska; Natalia Bugajska; Dominik Janicki; Jacek Koźma; Leszek Kwaśny; Jarosław Wajs. Anthropogenic transformations in the glaciotectionical area in the Polish part of the Muskau Arch. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleEwa Warchala, Miłosz Becker, Jan Blachowski, Anna Buczyńska, Natalia Bugajska, Dominik Janicki, Jacek Koźma, Leszek Kwaśny, Jarosław Wajs. Anthropogenic transformations in the glaciotectionical area in the Polish part of the Muskau Arch. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEwa Warchala; Miłosz Becker; Jan Blachowski; Anna Buczyńska; Natalia Bugajska; Dominik Janicki; Jacek Koźma; Leszek Kwaśny; Jarosław Wajs. 2021. "Anthropogenic transformations in the glaciotectionical area in the Polish part of the Muskau Arch." , no. : 1.
The area of the present day Muzalkow Arch Geopark located on the border of Poland and Germany was subjected to a long term mining of lignite and other rock raw materials that ceased in the 70’ties of the 20th Century. The present-day geomorphological landscape of the research area is characterised by numerous and differentiated forms of anthropogenic origin (e.g. artificial lakes, subsidence troughs, sink holes, waste heaps) associated with underground and subsequently opencast mining of lignite in complex geological and tectonic conditions that result from glaciotectonic processes of subsequent stages of accumulation and weathering. It is thought that the area is presently subjected to geodynamic processes associated with weathering of exposed areas (lignite outcrops and waste heaps), destruction of shallow underground workings (subsidence troughs, sink holes) and changing hydrogeological conditions of the rock mass. The scale of these secondary deformations is presently unknown and these processes pose a threat the present day tourist development of the area, such as: sudden development of discontinuous terrain deformations, slope instability, flooding and subsequent dying of vegetation, etc.
Geodetic surveying and remote sensing (terrestrial, aerial and satellite) observations have been employed, apart from other in-situ investigations (geophysical and geological prospecting), to study the processes in one of the former coal mining fields in the geopark.
In this study preliminary results of selected geodetic field investigations, i.e. terrestrial laser scanning of a sink hole that showed on the surface in Autumn 2019 and UAV photogrammetric monitoring of an artificial waste rock tips have been reported. It has been found, based on mapping of old mining maps in GIS, that the sink hole is directly related to old shallow underground workings. Maximum depth of the analysed sink hole below ground level is 5.5 m and volume of subsidence is 35 m3. The location is being monitored to check if the geometry changes in time.
Whereas, comparison of digital elevation models of the investigated waste heap (one of three measured so far) showed development of gully erosion and downward movement of the weathered material. The deposition of material at the bottom of the heap averaged over a dozen cm and maximum of over 50 cm for a half year Summer period (from 15.05.2020 to 07.11.2020).
The presented results constitute a first approximation of 3D mapping and modelling the post-mining deformations in glaciotectonic landscape and constitute part of an ongoing research project financed from the Polish National Science Centre OPUS funds (no 2019/33/B/ST10/02975).
Jan Blachowski; Miłosz Becker; Anna Buczyńska; Natalia Bugajska; Dominik Janicki; Jacek Koźma; Leszek Kwaśny; Jarosław Wajs; Ewa Warchala. Remote Sensing based investigation of secondary mining deformation processes in a postglacial landscape of the Muzakow Arch Geopark (Western Poland) – preliminary results. 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleJan Blachowski, Miłosz Becker, Anna Buczyńska, Natalia Bugajska, Dominik Janicki, Jacek Koźma, Leszek Kwaśny, Jarosław Wajs, Ewa Warchala. Remote Sensing based investigation of secondary mining deformation processes in a postglacial landscape of the Muzakow Arch Geopark (Western Poland) – preliminary results. . 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJan Blachowski; Miłosz Becker; Anna Buczyńska; Natalia Bugajska; Dominik Janicki; Jacek Koźma; Leszek Kwaśny; Jarosław Wajs; Ewa Warchala. 2021. "Remote Sensing based investigation of secondary mining deformation processes in a postglacial landscape of the Muzakow Arch Geopark (Western Poland) – preliminary results." , no. : 1.
Mining operations cause negative changes in the environment. Therefore, such areas require constant monitoring, which can benefit from remote sensing data. In this article, research was carried out on the environmental impact of underground hard coal mining in the Bogdanka mine, located in the southeastern Poland. For this purpose, spectral indexes, satellite radar interferometry, Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and machine learning algorithms were utilized. Based on optical, radar, geological, hydrological and meteorological data, a spatial model was developed to determine the statistical significance of the selected factors’ individual impact on the occurrence of wetlands. Obtained results show that Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) change, terrain height, groundwater level and terrain displacement had a considerable influence on the occurrence of wetlands in the research area. Moreover, the machine learning model developed using the Random Forest algorithm allowed for an efficient determination of potential flooding zones based on a set of spatial variables, correctly detecting 76% area of wetlands. Finally, the GWR (Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) modelling enabled identification of local anomalies of selected factors’ influence on the occurrence of wetlands, which in turn helped to understand the causes of wetland formation.
Anna Kopeć; Paweł Trybała; Dariusz Głąbicki; Anna Buczyńska; Karolina Owczarz; Natalia Bugajska; Patrycja Kozińska; Monika Chojwa; Agata Gattner. Application of Remote Sensing, GIS and Machine Learning with Geographically Weighted Regression in Assessing the Impact of Hard Coal Mining on the Natural Environment. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9338 .
AMA StyleAnna Kopeć, Paweł Trybała, Dariusz Głąbicki, Anna Buczyńska, Karolina Owczarz, Natalia Bugajska, Patrycja Kozińska, Monika Chojwa, Agata Gattner. Application of Remote Sensing, GIS and Machine Learning with Geographically Weighted Regression in Assessing the Impact of Hard Coal Mining on the Natural Environment. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (22):9338.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna Kopeć; Paweł Trybała; Dariusz Głąbicki; Anna Buczyńska; Karolina Owczarz; Natalia Bugajska; Patrycja Kozińska; Monika Chojwa; Agata Gattner. 2020. "Application of Remote Sensing, GIS and Machine Learning with Geographically Weighted Regression in Assessing the Impact of Hard Coal Mining on the Natural Environment." Sustainability 12, no. 22: 9338.
The movement of rock raw materials from source to demand areas is carried out predominately with road and railway transport. The latter is less damaging to infrastructure, the environment and society and is cheaper for longer distances, but it is also less flexible and not widely used. The Lower Silesia region in southwestern Poland is an important producer of rock raw materials and the principal provider of igneous and metamorphic dimension stones and crushed rocks in the country. A multicriteria scoring scheme has been developed and applied to identify mines presently using road transport, that are predisposed to switch to or include a railway form of transport. Four criteria have been proposed, C1—distance to railway loading point, C2—annual production of rock raw material, C3—economic reserves, and C4—type of rock raw material. The scoring scheme (classification) was developed based on the results of descriptive statistics for mines presently using railway or combined road and railway forms of transport. Two scenarios were analyzed, one with equal weights (0.25) and the other with higher significance of C1 = 0.40 and C2 = 0.30, and lower significance of C3 = 0.20 and C4 = 0.10. In the result, 24 mines were identified and ranked in terms of their potential to introduce railway transport. The proposed methodology can be used universally for other regions and countries, and the results will be included in drawing up regional spatial development policies.
Jan Blachowski; Anna Buczyńska. Analysis of Rock Raw Materials Transport and its Implications for Regional Development and Planning. Case Study of Lower Silesia (Poland). Sustainability 2020, 12, 3165 .
AMA StyleJan Blachowski, Anna Buczyńska. Analysis of Rock Raw Materials Transport and its Implications for Regional Development and Planning. Case Study of Lower Silesia (Poland). Sustainability. 2020; 12 (8):3165.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJan Blachowski; Anna Buczyńska. 2020. "Analysis of Rock Raw Materials Transport and its Implications for Regional Development and Planning. Case Study of Lower Silesia (Poland)." Sustainability 12, no. 8: 3165.
This study aimed to analyze and assess the spatial and temporal trends in distribution of reserves and production of igneous and metamorphic dimension stones and crushed rocks in the Lower Silesia region, which with 90% of total supply is the key source region of these rock raw materials in Poland. The research utilized descriptive statistics to examine temporal variations of production, as well as to determine sufficiency of these resources for four different scenarios and seven main lithological groups of rocks. Spatial statistics in the geographic information system was used to map changes in spatial distribution of production with the density function, as well as to determine areas of highest concentration in the 2010–2018 period. Then, 169 communes in the region were assessed using the multicriteria analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique to identify local communities prospective for development of this mining sector. Strong, positive correlation (r = 0.645) between year to year production change with annual rate of gross domestic product was determined. Sufficiency of economic reserves was estimated, in four scenarios, as being the lowest for melaphyre and porphyry (25–49 years), and the highest for marble (380–389 years). Reserves of basalt and amphibolite should last for approximately 50 years (32–60 and 36–67 years, respectively), granite for 82 to 110 years, and gabbro and gneiss for over 100 years (78–159 and 76–189 years, respectively). Maps revealed a possible trend of increasing production in quarries located in the central and eastern parts of Lower Silesia, whereas multicriteria analysis allowed for the identification of nine communes with the highest potential for rock raw material quarrying. The practical outcome of this study is a knowledge database for authorities, upon which sustainable management of regional rock raw materials can be based in the context of economic, social, and environmental impacts of their extraction.
Jan Blachowski; Anna Buczyńska. Spatial and Multicriteria Analysis of Dimension Stones and Crushed Rocks Quarrying in the Context of Sustainable Regional Development: Case Study of Lower Silesia (Poland). Sustainability 2020, 12, 3022 .
AMA StyleJan Blachowski, Anna Buczyńska. Spatial and Multicriteria Analysis of Dimension Stones and Crushed Rocks Quarrying in the Context of Sustainable Regional Development: Case Study of Lower Silesia (Poland). Sustainability. 2020; 12 (7):3022.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJan Blachowski; Anna Buczyńska. 2020. "Spatial and Multicriteria Analysis of Dimension Stones and Crushed Rocks Quarrying in the Context of Sustainable Regional Development: Case Study of Lower Silesia (Poland)." Sustainability 12, no. 7: 3022.
Mining activity on the area of the former open-pit and underground brown coal mine called Friendship of Nations - Shaft Babina, which is at this moment part of the UNESCO Geopark - the Muskau Arch, was finished in 1973 and reclamation works were started with a special dedication to the forestation. As a part of the reclamation works, a number of technical and biological operations were performed, the subjects were: adjustment of water conditions, relevant land forming, development of the former mine area by plantings and improvement of soil condition. The last of mentioned factor is extremely significant element whose condition determines the proper growth of vegetation. Considering the mining-industrial history and current development of this area, it seems necessary to constantly monitor the components of the natural environment, in particular soils. Adequate and timely used remedies can limit the negative effects and degradation of flora. The purpose of this research was an analysis of the soils condition in 2009-2019 on the area of Babina mine on the basis of geological indices determined using multispectral images of Sentinel-2 and Landsat 5/8 satellite missions. The subjects of analysis were the following soil properties: humidity, overall condition, salinity, texture and chemical composition. It should be emphasized that the research was the first on this area in which remote sensing data was used. Obtained results allowed determining of the current condition of soils, describing their changes in the last 10 years and indicating spatial and temporal trends of changes in the future. In addition, the results of the analysis made it possible to identify areas that may still be under the influence of former mining activities that adversely affect the condition of soils.
Anna Buczyńska. Studies on soils condition on the area of the closed Babina mine in 2009-2019 using multispectral satellite images. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleAnna Buczyńska. Studies on soils condition on the area of the closed Babina mine in 2009-2019 using multispectral satellite images. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna Buczyńska. 2020. "Studies on soils condition on the area of the closed Babina mine in 2009-2019 using multispectral satellite images." , no. : 1.
The main purpose of this study is comparison of orthometric heights of measuring points and the accuracy of these heights depending on selected geoid model and measurement method. In addition, for better understanding of the essence of conducted research, paper provides information about: geoid and other surfaces used in geodesy to describe the terrestrial globe, modelling methods of equipotential surfaces and data that can be used to develop them, the most important geoid models developed for the area of Poland and the world, the technique of determining the orthometric heights using various measuring methods. Heights of two measuring points, located on the premises of Wrocław University of Science and Technology, were determined to achieve thesis statement. The scope of the study is limited to determining the orthometric heights of points for three global geoid models and four geoid models developed for the area of Poland. Among the selected equipotential surfaces were: geoida niwelacyjna 2000, GUGiK 2001, GEOIDPOL 2008A/C/CN, PL-GEOID-2011, OSU91, EGM96 and EGM2008.
Anna Buczyńska. Precision study of satellite levelling with using various models of geoid. E3S Web of Conferences 2018, 71, 00015 .
AMA StyleAnna Buczyńska. Precision study of satellite levelling with using various models of geoid. E3S Web of Conferences. 2018; 71 ():00015.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna Buczyńska. 2018. "Precision study of satellite levelling with using various models of geoid." E3S Web of Conferences 71, no. : 00015.