Gamma Emitters on Micro-Becquerel Activity Level in Air at Kraków (Poland)

The Petryanov air filters combined into half-year sets were analyzed for the presence of ⁴⁰K, ¹³⁷Cs and ²²Na by means of low-background gamma rays spectrometry. Each sample contains aerosols from more than 1 Mm³ of air. Samples were collected in ground level air at Kraków (Southern Poland) from 1996 to 2002. Activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K are almost constant with the mean of 14.7± 4.5 Bq m^–3. Activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs, which are on the level of single Bq m^{– 3} show exponential decrease with effective half-life time of 7.07± 0.77 years. The cosmogenic ²²Na shows a strong seasonal variation with significant different mean values activity concentration between 0.333± 0.095 Bq m^–3 and 0.137± 0.045 Bq m^–3, for summer and winter, respectively. Moreover, the activity ratio for two cosmogenic radionuclides: ²²Na and measured previously ⁷Be show also changes with statistically significant seasonal differences. The lower values were found during winters. The mechanisms which might govern this ratio are discussed. The conclusion is that transport of ²²Na during summer seems to be so much effective, that results in kind of relative depletion of stratosphere of this nuclide.     

Temporal variations in heat fluxes over a central European city centre

Summary Energy fluxes have been measured over an area near the centre of the city of Łódź, Poland, since November 2000. The site was selected because the building style (surface cover and morphology) is typical of European cities, yet distinct from the majority of cities where energy balance observations have been studied thus far. The multi-year dataset permits consideration of temporal changes in energy balance partitioning over a wide range of seasonal and synoptic conditions and of the role of heat storage and anthropogenic fluxes in the energy balance. Partitioning of net radiation into the turbulent fluxes is consistent in the two years, with the largest differences occurring due to differing precipitation. The monthly ensemble diurnal cycles of the turbulent fluxes over the two years are similar. The largest differences occur during the July–September period, and are attributable to greater net radiation and lower rainfall in 2002. The latent heat flux accounts for approximately 40% of the turbulent heat transfer on an annual basis. The average daily daytime Bowen ratio and its variability are slightly reduced during the summer (growing) season. Anthropogenic heat is a significant input to the urban energy balance in the winter. The fluxes observed in this study are consistent with results from other urban sites.     

Urban–rural contrasts of meteorological parameters in Łódź

Summary Data from two automatic stations in Łódź (one urban and one rural) for the period 1997–2002 are analyzed to reveal urban–rural contrasts of such parameters as air temperature, relative humidity, water vapour pressure and wind speed. Under favourable weather conditions the highest temperature differences between the urban and rural station exceeds 8 °C. Relative humidity is lower in the town, sometimes by more than 40%. Water vapour pressure differences can be either positive (up to 5 hPa) or negative (up to −4 hPa). Wind speed at the urban station is on average lower by about 34% in night and 39% during daytime. Regression analysis shows that for rural winds lower than 1.13 m s⁻¹ urban winds can be stronger than rural speeds. Attention has also been paid to singularities in the course of the analyzed parameters over 24 hour periods. It is shown that the typical course of the urban heat island intensity under favourable conditions is similar in all season. Four stages of this course have been distinguished. Wind speed differences also seem to change in a typical way. Case studies show that humidity contrasts, unlike temperature, can evolve in different ways under fine weather conditions. Types of relative humidity evolution are proposed.     

Comparison of volumetric and remote sensing methods (TLS) for assessing the development of a permanent forested loess gully

The gully systems develop a compact network dissecting the loess cover of the NW part of the Lublin Upland. They are overgrown by dense and multi-storey forest assemblages. It is very difficult to apply teledetection techniques, GPS positioning, and geodesic tools, such as a laser rangefinder or total station, for monitoring of gully development. The detailed research, involving the comparison of traditional and modern methods, was conducted in a gully with a secondary erosional dissection, developing in the gully bottom with varied intensity for the last 15 years. In the period of comparative research (2012/2013), the rate of development of the erosional dissection was measured by means of traditional methods as well as a Leica HDS 7000 laser scanner. 3D laser scanning permitted precise terrain modelling and the assessment of qualitative and quantitative spatial changes. This paper compares the results of three measurement campaigns. The analysis showed intensive development of the dissection, manifested in an increase in its volume (37 %), retreat of the erosion scarp (32 m), deep erosion (19 %), and lateral erosion (27 %). Registered moderate snowmelt in 2013 caused the volume dissection to increase by 57 m³, mainly as a result of the gully bottom scouring. During heavy rainfalls in June, the landforms were widened by a further 217 m³ and observed deepening and widening of erosive potholes. The prevalence of deep erosion resulted in the transformation back into a V-shaped cross section. A total of 37.3 Mg km⁻² of material was discharged from the gully catchment during snowmelt runoffs in 2013. A precipitation event in June 2013 caused the discharge of 856.9 Mg km⁻² of material from the catchment. The obtained results confirm that snowmelt erosion determines the spatial development of perennial gullies, but the volume of material discharged from the catchment depends on the occurrence of extreme precipitation during the warm season.

     

A new discovery of parautochthonous moldavites in southwestern Poland,Central Europe

Moldavites represent tektites derived from the Ries impact structure (~24 km diameter, ~15 Myr old) in southern Germany. Two new localities with parautochthonous moldavites in southwestern Poland were found. In these localities, fluvial sediments of the so‐called Gozdnicka formation host the moldavites. Characteristic tektite features, especially bubbles and inclusions of lechatelierite, are reported. The moldavites' size distribution and their abraded shapes indicate that they were redeposited from the nearby Lusatia substrewn field.     

Integral Turbulence Statistics Over a Central European City Centre

Atmospheric measurements over 5 years (2005–2010) at two sites in ?ód?, central Poland have been analyzed to develop a better understanding of turbulence in urban areas. Fast response wind velocity, temperature, humidity and CO₂ concentration were measured using sonic anemometers and gas analyzers, placed on narrow masts at 37 and 42 m above the ground. The measurements were used to calculate standard deviations of each parameter, and were then normalized according to local Monin–Obukhov similarity theory and plotted as a function of stability parameter ζ = z′/L. Results for the wind components show typical scaling with a power law with exponent ±1/3 in the free convection limit, and that approaches a constant value close to neutral stratification. For stable conditions, the constant value in the neutral limit remains the same for stability parameters lower than 0.1–0.2, then increases. The normalized standard deviation of temperature fits the ?1/3 law in the free convection limit, approaching a constant value within a stable limit. However, it exhibits hyperbolic characteristics for close to neutral stratification. The normalized standard deviations for humidity and CO₂ concentration exhibit scaling similar to the wind components in the unstable regime and remain constant in the stable domain. The results for the wind components and for temperature are in the range of various functions found in other studies. The absolute values for humidity and CO₂ concentration seem to be slightly higher, but only single examples of such investigations can be found in the literature.     

Discovery of the most distal Ries tektites found in Lower Silesia,southwestern Poland

We report the first occurrence of moldavites in Poland. This discovery confirms the hypothesis that moldavites could have been distributed up to 500 km from the Ries crater in Germany. The tektites were reworked from Middle Miocene sediments and redeposited in Late Miocene (Pannonian) fluvial deposits of the Gozdnicka Formation in Lower Silesia. The Polish moldavites are represented by nine (<8 mm) fragments with a total of 0.471 g. The lack of the autochthonous tektites indicates that tektites investigated here had to be redeposited in a fluvial environment, probably from the Lusatian area. The chemical composition of the Polish moldavites plots in the same area with those from other localities.