Reduction of the extent of peat deposits and their water retention capacity in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin and Bieszczady Mts. due to human activity

The paper deals with the problem of anthropogenic changes in the extent of peat deposits, their volume and water retention capacity of raised and valley peat bogs in the Polish part of the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin and the Bieszczady Mts. This problem has not received a great deal of attention in the research literature. Special attention was paid to the remnants of peat domes and post-peat areas. The decrease in the area of peat bogs, the volume of peat deposit and the quantity of water retained within them were estimated for the last ca. 400 years. This paper is based on an analysis of maps produced over the last 230 years as well as aerial photographs. Field data and laboratory data were also analyzed as part of this research

Changes in relief of the Azau Valley in Central Caucasus Mts resulting from impact of volcanic activity and glaciers' oscillations during the last 1100 years

I analysed changes in the relief of the partly glaciated Azau Valley in the Central Caucasus, neighbouring to Elbrus volcanic cone (5643m a.s.l.) resulting from intensification of volcanic activity and valley glaciers’ oscillations during the last 1100 years. Field research, analysis of topographic maps and photographs from the last 140 years as well as information in literature were the basis for my work. I identified the most important geomorphological processes modelling the valley: a lava flow, floods of jökulhlaup type, glaciers’ transgressions and recessions, erosion of moraines and mass movements on the slopes. I distinguished eight sections of the Azau Valley varied in their relief and being under the differentiated influence of the listed geomorphological processes. The valley under question, represents the Alpine type area of typical cascade like transfer of waste material from the slope to the valley systems and further along its floor. Hanging tributary valleys on the Azau Valley slopes are valleys exporting waste material while the main valley functions as the valley importing waste material. In the period of absence of visible volcanic activity of Elbrus, the fastest changes in the Azau Valley relief take place during the recession of the valley and slope glaciers and of ice cap on this volcano. Findings proof interdependence of intensity of material aggradation in the valley and the amount of moraine deposits which can quickly erode and be transported to the stream channel, easily accessible weathered material derived from marginal ice-free areas as well as on the volume of ice melting water discharging great loads of sediment

Development conditions and distribution of peat bogs in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin

The Orava-Nowy Targ Basin is the only intramontane basin in the Carpathian Mountains, where numerous low and raised peat bogs developed in the Holocene. The peat bogs were originally comprising about 40% of the basin area. to became confined to 12%, in result of several centuries of exploitation of peat. On the basis of investigations on geomorphological location of the preserved relics of peat bogs, and reconstructions of their original extent, an attempt was made to identify natural environment factors which had the biggest influence on development of peat-forming process within the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin. The most important of these factors were found to be landforms of fluvioglacial and fluvial accumulation and their composition, as well climatic conditions. However, it should be stated that distribution of raised peat bogs appears to be mainly controlled by the mode of circulation of shallow groundwaters and location of their stable outflows. This is an aspect of development of peat bogs that has not been studied up to now

Role of land relief and structure in the formation of peat bogs in mountain areas, as exemplified by the Polish Carpathians

It has been often argued that the formation of peat bogs in the mountains is predominantly influenced by a humid climate. Although in many mountains precipitation during the vegetation growth season is greater than evaporation, bogs, especially of the raised type, do not cover all gently sloping areas and often develop only within certain landforms. Local hydrological conditions determined by land relief and structure are the most crucial factor in the development of bogs in such areas. Peat bogs of the Polish Carpathian Mountains demonstrate that bogs, irrespective of altitude, develop mainly in concave landforms or below convex morphological recesses, where outcrops of poorly permeable rocks offer numerous low-capacity but stable outflows of groundwater that continuously humidifies the slopes lying below thus supporting the formation of habitats for hydrophilic plants. This research project covered the parts of the Polish Carpathians having the largest number of bogs, thus allowing local-scale analysis of their location in relation to the lithological, geomorphological and hydrogeological properties of the substratum. It is assumed that an assessment of the influence of substratum on the location and formation of peat bogs is only correct when the coverage of the individual mires in the period preceding their anthropogenic degradation is known. Only then is it possible to establish what types of bedrock and which landforms are most favourable for bog formation

Field trip in the Kashmir Himalaya : report

This report contains short information about the geomorphological field trip in the Kashmir Himalaya. The guided trip program includes the following issues: the tectonic characteristics of the relief of the valleys, the sedimentation effects of the high-energy rivers, the mass movements, and the extent of the fluvioglacial and glacial forms, the wide river channel of a high-energy river covered in rock blocks, the genesis of the Kashmir Basin, the recession moraines, the wide braided channels of rivers, and the structure of the flood plain