The relationship between the selected landslide morphology and the geologic setting of the Carpathians and the Carpathian Foredeep based on the digital terrain model

This article presents the results of digital terrain model analysis and field observations related to occurrence of characteristic forms in landslide surface that may indicate the geological setting. Based on these observations, three characteristic structures were selected occurring on many landslides in the Carpathian Mountains and the Carpathian Foredeep. The former are the wrinkle structures visible on the digital terrain model associated with movement along the bedded surface. The other are the streak structures linked to the occurrence of gravels and sands on the clays. The third mogul type structures are related to cylindrical sliding surfaces formed in clay

Assessment of activities of selected landslides in the Rożnowskie Dam Lake region based on field studies and analyses of differential digital models

The article compares results of field assessment of activity of selected landslides in the Rożnowskie Lake region, obtained in 2010-2014 with a differential digital models (DDM) from airborne laser scanning data of 2010, 2013 and 2018. Results of DDM analyses were similar to those from field studies. The most difficult task in the field research was to distinguish between active landslides, where the last movements took place over three years after the date of landslide registration, and periodically active landslides, the last visible movements that took place five years ago. The article underlines that not all displacements within the landslides, visible on differential terrain models, are the result of colluvium landslide movement. Sometimes they are due to anthropogenic activities. Differential digital model in the Znamirowice landslide presents terrain changes that have resulted from intensive agricultural land use

Lithological displacement index as an element of landslide susceptibility assessment

The use of multi-temporal LIDAR data in the study of landslides gives many possibilities. The increasing-over-time availability of ALS data encouraged research on development of landslides using Differential Digital Terrain Models. An important passive factor that determines the development of landslides (especially in the Carpathians) is lithology. The author propose a new lithological displacement index, that dscribes the volume of displaced ground (m3 ) per area of 1 m2 of a given lithological unit. The example of the test area of Rożnowskie Lake has shown that lithological displacement index can assess the landslide susceptibility, which is variable and depends on the amount of rainfall. During periods of heavy rainfall, large volumes of displaced rock masses were recorded in the thick-bedded formations. In dry periods, the trend is reversed

Influence of mining activity on landslide development

W artykule przedstawiono wpływ działalności górniczej na rozwój ruchów masowych na przykładzie czterech osuwisk. Pierwsze z nich znajduje się w Rydułtowach, na obszarze niecki osiadań spowodowanej podziemną eksploatacją węgla kamiennego. Osuwisko to zagraża najstarszemu tunelowi kolejowemu w Polsce, a jego uaktywnienie było prawdopodobną przyczyną zniszczenia tunelu w 1857 r. Kolejne dwa osuwiska pośrednio są związane z podziemnym ługowaniem soli w krakowskich Swoszowicach. Ostatni z przykładów to osuwisko rozwinięte w nieczynnej kopalni iłów Zesławice, będące świadectwem wpływu powierzchniowej eksploatacji i skarpowania zboczy na rozwój osuwisk.The article presents the influence of mining activity on development mass movements on the example four landslides. The first of these is located in Rydułtowy, in the area of mine subsidence caused by the underground exploitation of coal. The landslide threatens the oldest railway tunnel in Poland, and its activation was the probable cause of the destruction of the tunnel in 1857. Another two landslides are indirectly connected with underground salt leaching in Swoszowice (district of Kraków). The last of the examples is a landslide developed in the dormant open-cut mining Zesławice, a testimony to the impact of surface exploitation and undercutting of slopes for the development landslides

Conditions of landslide development during the last decade in the Rożnów Dam-Lake region (Southern Poland) based on Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data analysis

In order to identify the causes of landslide development in the area of Rożnów Lake (Outer Carpathians – southern Poland) in the last decade, Differential Digital Terrain Models (DDM) were used. These were made on the basis of Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data from four flights. The first ALS data are from 2010, before the event in Poland known as the “landslide catastrophe”. Comparing digital terrain models from different years tracking of changes in landslide activity relative to the intensity of precipitation. The article presents a method of investigating landslides with the use of DDM. This analysis allowed calculation of the displacement lithological index and of landslide susceptibility, based only on landslides that have become active in the last decade. The areas with the highest susceptibility to landslides are regions of Hieroglyphic Beds occurrence and of tectonic overthrusts. An important role in the development of landslides in the area of Rożnów Lake is also played by the thick-bedded Ciężkowice sandstones (usually associated with low susceptibility to landslides). After the “landslide catastrophe”, it is precisely in these formations that the greatest displacements and more frequent widening of the landslide boundaries were recorded, though they are generally stable during smaller rainfall

Geohazards in Poland in 2021

Geological hazards caused by landslides, earthquakes, erosion, land surface deformation and collapse in 2021 in Poland were among the average compared to recent years. They did, however, affect material losses. The Polish Geological Survey (PGS) recorded 41 events related to sudden landslide activations, which damaged or destroyed 17 road sections. Through ongoing monitoring of 72 landslides, 33 were shown to be active. In 2021, more than 5,200 landslides were identified and inventoried in Poland. Geodynamic monitoring performed by PGS recorded 611 seismic events in Poland, whose magnitudes reached M4.2. In addition, using satellite radar interferometry, continuation of land surface deformations was found mainly in mining areas. In 2021, there was a number of collapses of various origins. The paper is a brief report on the ongoing tasks of the Polish Geological Survey in the field of geological hazards and presents events that took place in Poland in 2021

Development of landslide research at the Polish Geological Institute

The paper presents the history and latest achievements in landslide research at the Polish Geological Institute (PGI). Since the establishment of PGI in 1919, landslides have been investigated during geological mapping in the Carpathians and considered by engineering geologists. After the 2nd World War, the importance of landslide research becomes more and more important following each landslide catastrophic event. Since 2008, the research on landslide and mass movements has been carried out systematically at the PGI within the SOPO (Landslide Counteracting System) project framework. Since that time, the SOPO project has been developing from landslide mapping and recording into a large spatial database, a sophisticated monitoring system (including on-line data acquisition) and susceptibility analysis, and early warnings with prediction capabilities. SOPO plays an important role to local and national administration. Together with the legal component, it allows defining a strategy for landslide risk reduction in Poland. Recently, landslide research plays so important role at the PGI that a special department, called Geohazard Center, has been established within the PGI organizational structure