december 2004 the environment introduction to the 2
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C E N T R E O F E X C E L L E N C E : R E S E A R C H O N A B I O T I C E N V I R O M E N T
bimonthly No 10NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2004
Prof. Dr. Leszek MarksDirector, Polish Geological Institute4, Rakowiecka St., 00-975 Warsaw, Poland [email protected]
Prof. Dr. K. JaworowskiChief Co-ordinatorCentre of Excellence [email protected]
IN THIS ISSUE:Presentation of two REAWorking Groups: HumanInduced Hazards andGlobal Change: Climateand Environment as well asthree PGI's regionalBranches: Upper Silesian,Lower Silesian andPomeranian, and theirachievements.
Publisher:The Polish GeologicalInstitute4, Rakowiecka St.; 00-975 Warsaw, Polandtel. (22) 849 53 51www.pgi.gov.pl
Editors:Maciej Podemski;Barbara Bańkowska-Zajączkowska;Janina Małecka.tel. (22) 849 53 51 w. 221;e-mail:[email protected]
1000 copies
ISSN 1731-7177
The Polish Geological Institute, representedby its Centre of Excellence REA, for manyyears has been engaged in the research on
and the prevention of the impact of the economicand everyday living human activities on environ-ment.The Institute is systematically registering allthe dangerous to the environment processes andphenomena caused by the human activity. It cov-ers the chemical pollution of soils, and surface-and groundwater, caused by mining, metallurgyand other industries, then – pollution of arablelands by an excessive use of fertilisers and pesti-cides, risk of pollution caused by these chemicalsstored in improper conditions, by oil products ingasoline stations, military bases and so on, andfinally, hazardous storage of mining, industrial andcommunal wastes.
Having all those hazards registered in com-puterised databases as well as on the maps,
Institute forwards the information to the govern-ment agencies, regional and local authorities, andeventually, to general public. At the final stage,complex monitoring systems are established at the national, regional, and local scales, providingsystematic and still growing on-line observationsof changes in the environmental well-being.
This issue of the PGI’s Centre of ExcellenceREA INFORMATOR / Information Newsletter, the second one in English language, presents the most important Institute’s activities in the fieldof the environmental protection. In short commu-nications, a review of the REA Working Group:Human Induced Hazards investigations, achieve-ments in the systematic geochemical surveys at the country-wide, regional and urban scales, and actual status of the complex geoenviron-mental mapping, have been described. The activ-ity of another REA Working Group: GlobalChange: Climate and Environment has also beencharacterised.
Finally, the engagement of the Institute’sregional Branches: Upper Silesian, Lower Silesianand Pomeranian, in the geoenvironmentalresearch and protection as well as in the trans-boundary cooperation, especially with the west-ern neighbours of Poland, has been exemplified.
Editors:M. Podemski; [email protected]. Bańkowska-Zajączkowska;[email protected]. Małecka; [email protected]
PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENTIntroduction to the 2nd Englishissue of the REA INFORMATOR
Increasing industrial production, overuse of the chemical substancesin agriculture, and urbandevelopment have a generalnegative impact on theenvironment.
Contemporary Biebrza river swamps
2
REA WORKING GROUP: Human Induced Hazards
The investi-gations arecarried out
mainly in the areas transformed by min-ing activities connected with lignite andhard coals, copper and zinc-lead ores,and industrial minerals. They areexpanded also on the areas surroundingpower stations, various polluting indus-trial plants such as copper, zinc and leadmetallurgical plants, chemical plants, gas-works as well as on the areas adjacent tothe industrial and municipal dumpinggrounds. The densely urbanised areasbecame the investigation targets as well.
Working Group: Human InducedHazards concentrates mainly on geo-chemical investigations of the environ-ment pollution with toxic elements andthe persistent organic pollutants, and onwaste management. They are carriedout in the form of geochemical mappingand geochemical monitoring. Theresults are published as reports andatlases. A systematic reconnaissancegeochemical survey covered already theentire Poland. More detailed surveyswere performed in the largest industrial
agglomerations, e.g. Warsaw,Łódź, Wrocław, Szczecin,Gdańsk and Cracow. The out-come of the PGI geochemicalsurveys was published also ininternational and nationaljournals and presented atinternational and national con-ferences.
All necessary analyses areperformed in a modern chem-ical laboratory of the PolishGeological Institute whichquality is constantly highlyappreciated during the nation-al and international rankingtests. The results obtained andrelevant follow-up publica-tions are used in Poland bypublic authorities, business,and general public for land useplanning and for solving vari-ous agriculture, forestry,water supply, and health pro-tection problems. They arealso helpful in education.
In the coming years,detailed geochemical investi-gations will be continued inthe Upper Silesia, the most pollutedarea in Poland. The results will form thebasis for the assessment of its land’s suit-ability for industrial, agricultural, com-mercial or recreational purposes. Theywill also be of help for reclamation of thedevastated mining and industrial areasand for evaluation of the environmentalpollution impact on human and animalhealth.
It is also planned to examine the con-centration of harmful elements and per-sistent organic pollutants in the sedi-ments of dam water reservoirs whichserve as the source of drinking water,above all of the Zegrze Overflow Lakeand Sulejów Water Reservoir.
Work on another field of theWorking Group studies: waste manage-ment, has so far resulted in an extensiveinventory of the hazardous waste land-fills. At the same time, the investigatorshave evaluated degree of the landfills
pollution threat to soils as well as to sur-face water and groundwater. Since 1999,Polish Geological Institute has been alsoparticipating in liquidation and reclama-tion of the most dangerous repositoriesof fertilisers and plants protection chem-icals (so-called tombs).
Besides, the tasks executed by theGroup include co-ordination and prepa-ration of a multi sheets Geoenvironmen-tal Map of Poland in 1:50 000 scale con-structed of several information layers onmining, quality of water, natural hazardsrisks, geotechnical quality of construc-tion areas, nature protection and thecultural heritage of the studied areas. Inaddition, this map contains informationlayers presenting geochemical andradiometric data and delinaeation ofareas environmentally acceptable forstoring waste.
The Centre of Excellence REAWorking Group: Human Induced
Investigations on the soil, surface water, water sediments and groundwa-ter pollution and their causes, have been carried out by the PolishGeological Institute for many years, and since 2001 are coordinated by the Working Group: Human Induced Hazards of the PGI’s Centre of Excellence REA.
Storage of old agrochemicals, Ostrowiec, WesternPomerania
Clearing of old agrochemicals storage ,Dratów, Lublin region
These studies cover geochemical soil and water sampling,their chemical analyses, storing the results within com-puter databases and, finally, constructing geochemical
maps presenting distribution of harmful chemical elements.Geochemical maps are constructed in different scales: recon-naissance (1:5 000 000-1:500 000), regional (1:300 000-1:100 000) or detailed ones (1:25 0000-1:10 000).Completed maps may be traditionally published in printedforms. Recently, they are commonly plotted from computerdatabases, disseminated on CD-ROMs or made available onthe Internet. Usually such maps are published in form of geo-chemical atlases supplemented with explanatory notes.
The Polish Geological Institute began systematic geo-chemical mapping of the entire country in 1990. The firststage (1991-1993) included a general assessment of the con-tamination of soils, surface waters and their bottom sedi-ments at the reconnaissance scale of 1:500 000 (published asGeochemical atlas of Poland 1:2 500 000). Due to differentconcentrations of chemical elements in soils, water and sed-iments (Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Ni, V and Y), two distinctgeochemical provinces were distinguished in Poland’s terri-tory: southern – covering the Carpathians, and the Upperand Lower Silesia, and northern – covering the remainingparts of the country.
Generally, detected land areas polluted with toxic metalsdid not exceed 1% of the country’s area. At the same time,however, alarmingly high concentrations of other chemicalelements (phosphates, sulphates, Ba, K, Na and Zn) were
3
GEOCHEMICAL MAPPING OF POLAND
Effective protection of the Earth’s natural environment requires properinformation on the occurrence, distribution and concentration of the harmful chemical elements and compounds. Such information has been gathered by the Polish Geological Institute since the early 1990-ies through the systematic geochemical investigations of soils, rocks, surface water and groundwater, bottom sediments of surface water etc.
Hazards cooperates with numerousnational and foreign academic centres,research institutions and specialisedcompanies. In cooperation with theEuropean National Geological Surveys,the Group has prepared and publishedseveral atlases, e.g. Atlas: Geology for envi-ronmental protection and territorial plan-ning in the Polish-Lithuanian cross-borderarea, Geochemical Atlas of Europe andAgricultural Soils of the Northern Europe.Cooperation with the United StatesGeological Survey concerned emission ofthe hazardous radioactive gas, radon.The Group actively participates also inthe execution of several European Unionsponsored projects.
Geochemical soil sampling
Storage cleared of old agrochemicals, Tworzymirki-Gaj, Wielkopolska region
Till the end of 2004, 847 sheets of this map, covering80% of the country, will be completed. It is plannedthat the whole mapping will be finished by 2007. In
2002, began work on a multi-sheets GeoenvironmentalMap of Poland at the scale of 1:50 000, supplementing thepreviously mentioned map with the information on envi-ronmental geochemistry and on the areas suitable for wastestorage facilities. In the future, the map will also provideinformation on the protected areas within the Europeannetwork NATURA 2000, and on flood and surface massmovements (landslides) hazards. Both maps will soon beavailable via the Internet. Information included in the mapsis stored in the computer databases located in theVoivodships Systems of Spatial Information, and will beconstantly updated.
Still another program for construction of the detailedgeoenvironmental maps at the scale of 1:10 000 (Maps ofdegraded and of increased natural risk areas) is presentlybeing prepared. The maps will cover areas endangered bylandslides and floods, the post-industrial, highly urbanisedareas, as well as areas foreseen for large investments in thefuture.
discovered in surface waters. Higher concentrations of toxicelements occur in the areas with heavy concentration of indus-try, especially there where metallic ores were and are extract-ed, processed and smelted, and in large urban agglomerations.
The follow-up regional and detailed geochemical surveyshave already covered several important regions and agglom-erations in Poland: the Upper Silesia (1:200 000) andLegnica-Głogów Copper (1:50 000) regions, and a number ofurban centres (1:100 000 scale): Warsaw, Cracow, Kielce,Łódź, Szczecin, Wałbrzych, Wrocław, Gdańsk andCzęstochowa. The results of the above mentioned, geo-chemical investigations have been published in the years1991-2003 in the form of geochemical atlases.
For the next stage of geochemical survey, the detail inves-tigations (1:25 000) are planned to cover the areas withheightened Pb-Cd-Zn concentrations in the Silesian-Cracowregion, in the Głogów and Legnica copper smelters impactzones, and in some areas of the Lower Silesia region with former mining and metallurgy centres.
4
GEOENVIRONMENTAL MAPPING OF POLAND
To satisfy the needs of the state ministries and agencies as well as local authori-ties, responsible for planning and implementation of various elements of thecountry’s sustainable development programmes, the Polish Geological Institutestarted in 1997 to prepare a multi-sheets Geologic-Economical Map of Polandat the scale of 1:50 000. The map contains necessary information on the pres-ent status of the environment, including location of mineral resources, miningactivity, surface water and groundwater resources, geotechnical characteristics
of the construction areas, the nature protection areas, and the existing relics of culture heritage.
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Wisła02
Geologic-Economical Map of Poland 1:50 000. Actual coverage
A map of Pb content in soil, 1:25 000; Upper Silesia
5
PGI UPPER SILESIAN BRANCH Hard coal geology research centre in Poland
Polish Coal Basin in the Upper Silesia region has been an interest of the Polish Geological Institute from the very beginning of its activitythat is since May 1919. The research started with constructing a geologicalmap of the Basin in 1:25 000 scale. Until September 1939, the Institute’steam prepared 13 sheets of the map. This task provided also a lot of dataon the Carboniferous coal-bearing formation in Poland. It was used in1935 for a Detailed Map of the Polish Coal Basin. The Second World
War interrupted those geological investigations.
The Institute’s Regional Station was reactivated in Będzinin spring of 1945. It started with continuation of geo-logical mapping and the investigations of the
Carboniferous coal-bearing formation. Some results: thedetailed lithostratigraphic subdivision of the Carboniferous ofthe Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) and a registry of num-bered coal seams are still used during the coal mining. In 1960,the Institute’s Upper Silesian Regional Station moved to a new,present building in Sosnowiec. Since then, the Station, upgrad-ed in 1965 to the Institute’s Branch, has discovered severalnew hard coal deposits in the Upper Silesia region and a newCoal Basin in Lublin area (LCB). For the feasibility study of ahard coal deposit in LCB - „Łęczna” – the Branch has beenawarded the Ist Degree State Prize.
The Upper Silesian Branch geological investigations result-ed eventually in a monograph on Carboniferous formation inPoland, published in 1970, as well as in other thematic mono-graphs and atlases. The investigations of the Upper SilesianBranch included also ore mineralisation on the north-easternborder of the USCB. A copper, molybdenum and tungstenores deposit was discovered there, in the vicinity of Myszków.
During late 1980-ies and early 1990-ies, intense geologi-cal investigations on the coal-bed methane in the USCB werecarried out, partly in cooperation with foreign, mainlyAmerican, companies.
Since the mid 1950-ies, the Branch has been also con-ducting investigations of groundwater in the coal-bearingseries and in the vast zinc-lead deposits, occurring at theborder of USCB and the Cracow-Częstochowa Jurassic Belt.These investigations have also resulted in publication of sev-eral hydrogeological monographs. The Branch’s geothermalinvestigations of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin are alsoworth mentioning.
Lately, a large portion of the Upper Silesian Branch workfocuses on geological mapping of the USCB: the selectedsheets of the Detailed Geological Map of Poland,Hydrogeological Map of Poland, Geologic-Economical Map ofPoland and Geoenvironmental Map of Poland, all at the scale of1:50 000, and other thematic maps in different scales.
Within the framework of the intensive international co-operation, the Upper Silesian Branch developed with Czechgeologists an unified picture of the USCB geological structure,cut into to parts by the Polish-Czech border. Similarly, thegeology of the Lublin Coal Basin and its south-eastern exten-sion: the Lviv-Wolhynia Coal Basin, was jointly re-worked
with the Institute of Geological Sciences of the UkrainianAcademy of Sciences in Kiev. Finally, in 1995, the Branch organ-ised the XIII International Congress on Carboniferous andPermian, and in 2000 – 4th European Coal Conference.
Subsided and flooded mining area. Szczygłowice coal mine, UpperSilesia
Subsided and flooded mining area. Szczygłowice coal mine, UpperSilesia
The results of many years’ Branch’swork are summarised in theDetailed Geological Map of the
Sudetes Mts. 1:25 000, updated withinthe Detailed Geological Map of Poland1:50 000, and numerous other geologi-cal maps, such as a multi-sheetGeological Map of the Lower SilesianRegion in 1:100 000 scale, covering theadjacent areas of the Czech Republic andGermany (1995), joint Polish-German-Czech Lausitz / Jizera / KarkonoszeGeological Map 1:100 000 (2001), Atlasof the Lower Silesian Coal Basin, andTectonic Map of Sudetes Mts. and Fore-Sudetic Block 1:200 000 (2004).
Mineral exploration carried out bythe Lower Silesian Branch resulted in dis-covery and/or feasibility studies of sever-al mineral deposits. For instance, of theonly Polish tin ores deposits, barite andfluorspar deposits, unique kaolindeposits, potter and fire clay deposits,and numerous deposits of building and
road stone, agglom-erates, quartz, felds-pathic materials etc.A large portion ofthe Branch’s investi-gations dealt withg r o u n d w a t e r.Between others, it runs the LowerSilesian part of thecountry’s ground-water observationnetworks, con-structs a consider-able part of theHydrogeological Map of Poland 1:50 000,and so on.
A lot of Branch’s interest is devotedlately to the geoenvironmental problemsof the Lower Silesia region such as envi-ronmental geology, natural hazards (e.g.floods), geotourism and conservation ofinanimate nature. During the last decade,it included construction of several sheets
of the Geologic-Economical Map of Poland1:50 000, and environmental impactassessment of mining dumps and tailingpods. The Branch participates also in thepreparation of the national and regionalLower Silesian waste management plans.
Present Branch’s international co-operation focuses mainly on geologicalmapping, research on the geologicalstructure of the Sudetes Mts. and Fore-Sudetic area as well as on naturalhazards (floods) and protection of inan-imate nature. The Lower SilesianBranch takes also part in internationalresearch programs, such as PACE,POLONAISE, EUROPROBE, involvinginterpretation of the geological struc-ture of Poland’s deep basement.
Cooperation with the CzechGeological Survey has so far resulted inthe publication of geotourist maps oftwo Sudetes regions: Śnieżnik Massif(1997) and Stołowe Mts.-Adršpašsko-Teplické Skály (1999), both in 1:50 000scale. Recently, establishment of a Polish-German geopark MużakówArch is in preparation. It will be the firsttransboundary object of this type inEurope.
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The seat of the Lower Silesian Branch, Wrocław
Flood damage in Lower Silesia
PGI LOWER SILESIAN BRANCH Centre of the Institute cooperation withPoland’s western neighbours
The PGI’s Lower Silesian Branch was established in 1949. From the beginning, the Branch has dealt with geological and hydrogeological investigations of south-western Poland, primarily of the Sudetes Mts. andFore-Sudetic area. This region is characterised with an unusually complexgeological structure and is rich in mineral resources. That is why the primary specialisation of the Branch is geological mapping and mineral exploration.
urrently, the PGI’s PomeranianBranch conducts geologicalworks and research in north-
western and western Poland, includinggeological and hydrogeological map-ping, economic and environmental geo-logy, and groundwater monitoring. Forinstance, some 46 sheets of the Hydro-geological Map of Poland in 1:50 000scale have already been constructed.The Branch runs also a RegionalHydrogeological Data Bank for theWestern and Central Pomeranian andfor the western part of Ziemia Lubuskaand Wielkopolska regions. In the sameareas, the Branch runs a network ofstationary hydrogeological observa-tions (70 points). The network con-tains a part of the national groundwa-ter monitoring system, covering alsothe Polish-German cross-border area,from the Baltic Sea coast (Uznamisland) in the North, to the Noteć andWarta rivers valley in the South.
The PGI’s Pomeranian Branch closely cooperates withthe Federal Geological Survey of Germany (BGR) andGeological Surveys of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg–Vorpommern Lands. Joint Polish-German geological and
geoenvironmental research in the Odra River valley area isvital for the landuse management, utilisation of its resourcesand the environment protection. As the first result of the co-operation, a Map of natural resources and geoenvironmentalrisks in the Polish-German cross-border area, has been con-structed (1997-98).
As a real achievement of the cooperation, the construc-tion and publication of five sheets of the Geological Map, cov-ering the Polish-German cross-border area in 1:200 000scale, should be regarded. Quite recently (2004), aGeological-tourist map of the Pomeranian region in 1:200 000scale has been published in cooperation with the GeologicalSurvey of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Land. At present, thePGI’s Pomeranian Branch started the execution of an inter-national project Morphotectonic European Lowland AreaMELA, co-financed by the European Union. The projectresults will be used for the preparation of a MorphotectonicMap of European Lowland Area.
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PGI POMERANIAN BRANCH An important link of a European regionalcooperation
The Pomeranian Branch of the Polish Geological Institute was establishedin Szczecin in 1995 to replace the Marine Coast Geology Unit, operatingsince 1964. The Branch generally concentrates on the geologic mapping ofthe western Pomeranian area. So far, the Branch has constructed 70 sheetsof the Detailed Geological Map of Poland in 1:50 000 scale, and theSzczecin sheet of the Geological Map of Poland in 1:200 000 scale. Thewestern part of the Geodynamic Map of the Polish Baltic Coast Zone in
1:10 000 scale, has also been prepared.
A landslide on a Polish Baltic Sea cliff coast
A mapping drilling
C
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Merry Christmas and
a Happy New 2005 YearEditors
The climate changes, which have taken place during thelast geologic period, Quaternary, are well recordedwithin the Quaternary marine, lacustrine, swampy and
river deposits. They may also be detected in borehole corestaken from glaciers, in old tree rings, and even in the still pre-served palaeomorphologic forms.
Initiated by the Polish Geological Institute in 1954,detailed geological and geomorphologic mapping of the coun-try at the scale of 1:50 000, 1:25 000 and 1:10 000, withaccompanying studies of the fossil and contemporary lacus-trine and river deposits, resulted in the reconstruc-tion of numerous old landscapes in Poland, and inidentifying climatic changes in Pleistocene (olderQuaternary).
Geological mapping and investigations resultedalso in actions aimed at providing legal protection toseveral important geological and geomorphologicphenomena. For example, in 1999-2001, in thenorthern and central Poland, 15 areas and objects(landscapes, morphological forms, geological out-crops, erratic blocks etc.), which could constituteEuropean inanimate nature heritage, were selectedfor further protection. The results of these investi-gations have been presented in numerous publica-tions, lectures and posters prepared for nationaland international conferences, between others foran international conference Geological heritage con-cept, conservation and protection policy in CentralEurope organised recently by the Working Group inCracow, Poland.
At the moment, the Working Group works atreconstruction of former climate and forecasting on
that base the future climatic changes. It includes studies onthe contemporary deposits of the Baltic Sea bottom, inlandlakes, rivers as well as on the fossil lacustrine deposits, onthe impact of the ice-sheets cooling, on the climate changesduring the late Pleistocene, on the sea and inland waters levelchanges as a result of contemporary climatic changes andtheir connection with changes in the level of fossil waterreservoirs, and so on.
A. Ber, [email protected]. Winter, [email protected]
The primary task of the REA Working Group: GlobalChange: Climate and Environment is the research on the climate from the geological past, and based on thatknowledge – forecast of the future climatic changes, taking into concideration the human activities influence on thesechanges. The Working Group deals with these issues using its geological experience.
Contemporary winter landscape, Mazury Lakeland
REA WORKING GROUP: Global Change: Climate and Environment