Andrzej Ciołkosz and his work at the University of Warsaw

The early 1960s was the period when a new discipline – INTERPRETATION OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS – PHOTOINTERPRETATION – was introduced into the curricula of the University of Warsaw’s Institute of Geography on the initiative of doc. Bogodar Winid. According to him, mgr Andrzej Ciołkosz played an important role because “…while improving his knowledge and organising the Laboratory, he recruited colleagues and junior students interested in the discipline”. In the summer of 1964, the Laboratory of Aerial Photographs Interpretation (PIZL) was set up. In addition to Andrzej Ciołkosz, its first team included: Zbigniew Goljaszewski, mgr inż. Bohdan Kukla and mgr Jan R. Olędzki, with mgr K. Trafas, mgr Maksymilian Skotnicki and mgr Lidia Lemisiewicz as important contributors. The initial years of Andrzej Ciołkosz’s work in the Laboratory had several aspects. The first was organisational activity, which involved gathering the equipment needed for classes and seminars. Initially, the Laboratory had only two Wild stereoscopes and several “museum pieces”: one Drobyshev stereograph, one Leningrad 6x6 cm converter, and two US Army surplus Sketch Master optical converters. It was therefore necessary to accumulate a sufficient number of stereoscopes, optical converters as well as simple drawing and computing instruments, which was quite quickly done. The required aerial photographs were obtained from the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography, State Photogrammetric Enterprise and the General Staff Academy. Another aspect of his work at the University of Warsaw was developing the curricula, writing textbooks and running classes. Andrzej Ciołkosz prepared a programme of lectures and classes in geographical interpretation of aerial photographs, with an emphasis on the photogrammetric, geodesic and topographical foundations of photointerpretation. This work ultimately led to the publication fo the first course book written by the team of the Laboratory of Photointerpretation, which later provided the basis for writing a manual for classes in geographical interpretation of aerial photographs, whose new editions were published in 1976 and 1999. Andrzej Ciołkosz also co-authored the first monograph on thematic interpretation of aerial photographs: Zastosowanie zdjęć lotniczych w geografii [Application of aerial photographs in geography]. The experiences that he gained in teaching were used by him and dr A. Kęsik in writing the course book entitled: Podstawy geograficznej interpretacji zdjęć lotniczych [Foundations of geographical interpretation of aerial photographs], which became a blueprint for the first Polish textbook in interpretation of aerial photographs, inspired by Andrzej Ciołkosz, and written with Jerzy Miszalski and Jan Olędzki: Interpretacja zdjęć lotniczych [Interpretation of aerial photographs], published by PWN in 1978. As the field of interpretation of aerial photographs developed, along with photointerpretation and remote sensing, Andrzej Ciołkosz, in keeping with contemporary trends in teaching remote sensing, wrote (together with Andrzej Kęsik) the textbook entitled Teledetekcja satelitarna [Satellite remote sensing]. This was the first Polish textbook on satellite remote sensing and application of photographs taken from orbital heights in geographical research. As digital imaging was introduced into photointerpretation on an increasingly wider scale, he wrote (together with dr Anna Jakomulska) a textbook on the foundations of digital analysis of satellite images, published in 2004. During his work at the University of Warsaw, Andrzej Ciołkosz devoted a great deal of attention to conducting classes. Starting from 1966 onwards, he held lectures and classes in basic photointerpretation, which were quite famous for their innovative form – particularly the lectures which were illustrated by high-quality and well-chosen slides, a novelty at the time, eagerly accepted by students. In the first years of teaching the interpretation of aerial photographs for geographical purposes at the University of Warsaw’s Institute of Geography, he also held lectures and classes for students preparing their master’s theses in regional geography of the world, economic geography and cartography. Later, he conducted classes in methods of obtaining remote sensing information and MA seminars in geoinformatics. He constantly worked to improve the subject matter of these classes, using newest materials, methods and equipment for analogue or computer-assisted analysis of the content of aerial photographs and satellite images obtained during his work in OPOLIS – the Centre for Processing Aerial Photographs and Satellite Images of the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography. Under his supervision, 21 MA dissertations in the field of remote sensing and cartography were submitted at the University of Warsaw. In 2004, Andrzej Ciołkosz was the supervisor of the PhD dissertation of mgr Małgorzata Krówczyńska from the Department of Remote Sensing of Environment of the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies of the University of Warsaw, entitled: “Application of spectral and structural features of objects shown on satellite images in land use mapping” [in Polish]. He also wrote many reviews of doctoral and postdoctoral dissertations and prepared professorship applications. His organisational and didactic activity did not mean that Andrzej Ciołkosz neglected research work. He conducted research on the structure of crops using photographic methods. On the basis of panchromatic aerial photographs taken from a triangulation tower in the vicinity of Lesznowola near Warsaw, he determined the optimum period for taking aerial photographs for the purposes of crop identification. At a later stage, such aerial photographs were subject to microphotometric analysis. Developing a photointerpretation key allowed him to analyse the produced photograms. The results of crop identification using the key were compared with the results of field research, which allowed for evaluating the reliability of this method. Another publication was devoted to the application of aerial photographs in studies on road traffic. Together with dr Jerzy Miszalski, he developed a method of analysing road traffic on the basis of aerial photographs specially taken for this purpose. With the coming of colour satellite images, Andrzej Ciołkosz indicated the possibilities offered by such images for enriching the content and form of small-scale general maps. In 1968, he got involved in analysing the colours of the Earth in satellite images taken during manned orbital spaceflights and comparing these colours with the colours used by cartographers in landscape maps. This allowed to identify the differences and similarities between maps and satellite images in rendering the representation of the Earth in different types of small-scale maps. Andrzej Ciołkosz also ran a number of projects commissioned by various institutions and implemented by the University’s Laboratory of Photointerpretation. These included analyses of the transport infrastructure in the steelworks of the Upper Silesian industrial district, and an analysis of the spatial structure of selected Polish cities. He also organised training programmes for the staff of various institutions having an interest in the application of aerial photographs. We should also take note of Andrzej Ciołkosz’s activity in the Polish Geographical Society (PTG) related to the popularisation and implementation of the new discipline in geographical sciences, which geographical photointerpretation certainly was in the 1960s. This activity was organisational in nature, connected with the establishment of a problem section at the PTG Main Board to deal with the application of aerial photographs in teaching and research. Andrzej Ciołkosz was among the initiators of the PTG’s Photointerpretation Committee, in 1990 reorganised into a PTG Branch under the name of the Remote Sensing Club. One of the Committee’s tasks was to incorporate the teaching of photointerpretation in university geography studies in Poland. This was done in 1966. Another aspect of his activity was the establishment of a forum for exchange of ideas and experiences related to the application of aerial photographs in geographic research. This was done via national photointerpretation conferences, initially organised every year, and later once every two years. The third aspect of his work was starting a specialised publishing series. The fi rst volume of the periodical entitled Fotointerpretacja w Geografi i [Photointerpretation in geography] was published in 1964. Andrzej Ciołkosz was the editor or a co-editor of the series’ fi rst six volumes. Until today, he is a member of the Programme Council of the series, currently named Teledetekcja środowiska [Remote sensing], whose 40th volume was put out in 2008. He used the experiences gained in teaching at the University of Warsaw in the lectures in remote sensing that he held in other universities and colleges

The report on the state of remote sensing in Poland in 2011-2014

The Remote Sensing Section of the Committee on Space Research of the Board of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) prepared a report on the state of remote sensing in Poland in the period 2011-2014. The report discusses issues related to the training of specialists in the field of Remote Sensing in first, second and third cycle programmes of study and also major research programmes implemented by the leading Polish research and academic centres. The report was prepared on the basis of contributions provided by members of the Remote Sensing Section PAS: prof. dr hab. Katarzyna Dąbrowska-Zielińska (IGiK), prof. dr hab. Adam Krężel (University of Gdansk), dr hab. inż. Stanisław Lewiński (CBK PAN), dr Marek Ostrowski, dr Piotr Struzik (IMGW-Kraków), and researchers from higher education institutions: dr hab. inż. Kazimierz Bęcek (Wrocław University of Technology), dr hab. inż. Krzysztof Będkowski, (Warsaw Agricultural University, University of Łódz), prof. dr hab. Kazimierz Furmańczyk (University of Szczecin), prof. dr hab. Jacek Kozak (Jagiellonian University), dr hab. Zenon Kozieł (Nicolaus Copernicus University), dr hab. inż. Katarzyna Osińska--Skotak (Warsaw University of Technology), prof. dr hab. inż. Krystian Pyka (Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Kraków), mgr inż. Paweł Szymański (Warsaw Agricultural University, University of Łódź), dr inż. Piotr Walczykowski (Military University of Technology), dr hab. inż. Piotr Wężyk (University of Agriculture in Kraków), dr hab. Bogdan Zagajewski (University of Warsaw). Prof. dr hab. Jan R. Olędzki, Chair of the Remote Sensing Section during the 2011-2014 term, member of the Committee on Space Research of the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences, handled the editorial work and provided the necessary additions. According to the findings of the Remote Sensing Section, 34 different research institutions and organisations in Poland tackled remote sensing issues in the years 2011-2014. Among them were renowned universities with established traditions in remote sensing studies and those whose history in that regard is slightly shorter, in addition to research institutions, social organisations and commercial companies specialising in conducting various types of scientific and application research. They are listed in alphabetical order below, together with their addresses and websites. Since not all of the institutions submitted their reports, information on their activities can be obtained directly from their websites. Information about remote sensing activities was obtained from 30% of the institutions and organisations involved in this area of study. It should be noted, however, that these institutions are the most notable in the field in Poland. The submitted information reveals that at least 215 people were directly involved in remote sensing activities or collaborated with remote sensing teams. They implemented 128 research projects and published a total of 404 studies at home and abroad. In addition, 154 graduates were awarded MA degrees, 17 - PhD degrees; 6 were awarded postdoctoral degrees (doktor habilitowany) and one was awarded the title of professor. Tables 1 and 2 below show a summary of achievements of academic and research institutions. In the next part, the report presents detailed data on the institutions from which information was obtained: universities, research establishments, business organisations and NGOs

Digital geomorphological map of Karpaty Mts

The paper discusses the principles governing the conversion of an analogue, reference geomorphological map into a digital map. This was done using a fragment of the 1:500 000 Geomorphological Map of Poland published in 1984, with topical editorship provided by L. Starkel and cartographic layout by K. Trafas. For the purposes of the paper, the southern part of Poland, situated within the boundaries of the geographic macroregion of the Carpathins, was selected (Olędzki, 2007). The methodology of converting an analogue map into a digital map comprised the process of data collection, encoding and processing. In this process, we used the ArcInfo, ArcView, Arc Map and Erdas Imagine software. In effect, a map was created as well as a spatial database of geomorphological information. The nature of the input data, that is the existing analogue Geomorphological Map of Poland, determined the way the data were compiled. The map’s sheets were scanned, vectorised and encoded. The basic problem was to define the method of encoding and graphic marking of data in the digital map. The geomorphological content of the Digital Geomorphological Map of the Carpathians was expanded by an additional information layer, i.e. the raster underlay of the 1:500 000 Administrative Map of Poland, derived from the Atlas of the Republic of Poland

Origin of remote sensing of environment in Poland

Years go by. Time obliterates the memory of people and events that they initiated or inspired. Events, being fruits of efforts made by individuals, frequently driven by fascination, necessity or even chance, build the history of different spheres of social life, and in the case which is of interest to us – of the discipline which is now known as remote sensing. This sketch aims to outline the origin of remote sensing in Poland and the milestones in its development during the past five decades. It does not intend to offer a detailed substantive analysis of various studies, directions of research or numerous practical applications. In the sketch’s final part, the programme of training specialists in geinformatics and remote sensing offered at the University of Warsaw is shortly discussed. In 2009, 45 years passed since the conference of geographers and specialists in aerial photographs interpretation which was held in Warsaw, at the Institute of Geography, Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences of the University of Warsaw. The conference was organised by the Laboratory of Aerial Photographs Interpretation at the Chair of Regional Geography of the Institute of Geography. The aim of the meeting – which took place in May 1964 – was to familiarise the participants with the findings of research and didactic work at academic centres abroad and at home, in order to develop a new and uniform curriculum for all geography specialisations in Poland. In addition to that, directions of research work conducted by individual laboratories of aerial photograph interpretation were also discussed. The first classes in remote sensing were conducted at geographical studies at the University of Warsaw, specialisation of regional geography, as early as the academic year 1960/1961. Similar classes were also held at the University of Wrocław, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin. In Poland, aerial photography started to be in use from the very first years of independence. In 1921-1924, photoplans on the scale of 1:10 000 covering an area of 3000 km² were made for the Polish-Soviet border areas. 1930 saw the setting up of a specialised enterprise, FOTOLOT. The establishment of the Polish Photogrammetic Society in 1930 was a momentous event as its activity played an important role in the development of photogrammetric methods based on aerial photographs, catering to different needs of the national economy. The most significant achievements in the years 1920-1939 included: a 1931 study by Roman Gryglaszewski, which described the methodology of taking and interpreting aerial photographs for land improvement works on the rivers of the Polesie region, and a 1935 study by Roman Feliński on the analysis of cities, villages and spas in the settlement organisation of the country, in which he highlighted the role of aerial photographs in studies on the country’s spatial development. In 1937-1939, aerial photographs were used in land classification and forestry. We should also mention the work of the Polish geologist Stanisław Zuber, who conducted geological surveys on the Caspian Sea and was a pioneer of using aerial photographs in geology and geotectonic research. In the inter-war period, the Lvov Polytechnic Professor Kasper Weigl, organiser of aerial photography courses, was the most eminent personality in the teaching of remote sensing. Some aerial photographs taken by the German army survived until today from the times of the Second World War; one of such photographs is an aerial photograph of Warsaw taken on 5 August 1944, at the very beginning of the Warsaw Uprising. In it, one can see areas engulfed by fi res and military operations, and the area of the ghetto, razed to the ground, in the form of a light tone. The first aerial photographs after the Second World War were taken already in 1945. The first years after the War, and later, until the end of the 1950s, were not easy for the development of remote sensing in Polish geography despite the systematic character of aerial photography of Poland at the time. In 1957, Bogodar Winid set a long-term plan for himself to change the neutral to negative approach of the geographers’ community to a new research methodology – interpretation of aerial photographs. The plan included familiarisation with the theoretical foundations of photointerpretation, development of materials for this type of classes, gradual training of specialists, gradual introduction of classes in interpretation of aerial photographs for students specialising in regional geography, and later in other specialisations and disciplines, conducting research in this field, and starting cooperation with state bodies and institutions to familiarise them with the socalled “aeromethods”. Looking at this programme fifty years later, we can say that – probably mostly owing to Bogodar Winid’s outstanding drive and energy – this programme was implemented in full. In 1966, interpretation of aerial photographs was made a compulsory subject in geographical studies. To coordinate the development of photointerpretation, on 23 October 1964 a specialised body, the Photointerpretation Committee, was set up as part of the Polish Geographical Society (PTG). A specialised series entitled Fotointerpretacja w geografii [Photointerpretation in geography] was initiated for scientific exchange purposes; currently, it is known as the Teledetekcja Środowiska [Remote sensing] series. By the end of 2008, a total of 40 volumes with 480 papers was published. The Photointerpretation Committee, later transformed into the Remote Sensing Club of the Polish Geographical Society, in the years 1964-2009 organised 19 nation-wide conferences on issues of photointerpretation and remote sensing. The range of remote sensing applications was expanded to other areas ane institutions owing to cooperation with government institutions, as a result of which OPOLIS, the Centre for Processing Aerial Photographs and Satellite Images, was set up as a part of the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography

Changes in land use in the municipality of Brodnica in the years 1911-2013

The study discusses the changes in the spatial structure of the municipality of Brodnica based on the analysis of a 1911 topographic map and aerial photographs taken in 2013. The 102 years covered by the analysis brought various events that changed the face of the town, its functions and structure as well as its surface. The analysed area covering 23.14 km2 formed a part of Brodnica within the town’s 2013 boundaries. Brodnica is a typical county seat town located in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship, with a population of 28 605 (2014). In the analysed period, the changes in the functional structure covered an area of 1,547.17 ha, that is 66.9% of the municipality. A total of 65 change were identified, in addition to 2 zones where the changes were most pronounced. One zone is located in the north and the other in the south, and they are separated by a relatively wide floor of the Drwęca River valley. The changes were mainly observed in agricultural areas, which were mostly transformed and reduced their surface area