Effect of partial mining of shaft protection pillar in terms of reliability index

ABSTRACT

The work presents calculations of shaft support reliability index during partial extraction of protection pillar deposit and the related seismic phenomena. It has been assumed that the probability of failure caused by seismic phenomena depends on the velocity random variable of the shaft support vibrations. The random vibration velocity is a function of random variables of energy, shock distance and vibration frequency. Estimations of probability distributions for energy and frequency have been based on the actual measurement data from a mine. Failure probability has been estimated by means of methods based on so-called Hasofer-Lind reliability index β.     

Peralkaline felsic magmatism at the Nemrut volcano,Turkey: impact of volcanism on the evolution of Lake Van (Anatolia) IV

Nemrut volcano, adjacent to Lake Van (Turkey), is one of the most important peralkaline silicic centres in the world, where magmatism for ~570,000 years has been dominated by peralkaline trachytes and rhyolites. Using onshore and Lake Van drill site tephra samples, we document the phenocryst and glass matrix compositions, confirming a complete spectrum from very rare mafic to dominantly silicic magmas. Magma mixing has been common and, along with the multi-lineage nature of the magmas, indicates that Nemrut has been a very open system where, nevertheless, compositionally zoned caps developed during periods of relative eruptive quiescence. Geothermometry suggests that the intermediate-silicic magmas evolved in an upper crustal magma reservoir at temperatures between 1100 and 750 °C, at fO₂ close to the FMQ buffer. The silicic magmas either were halogen poor or exsolved a halogen-rich phase prior to or during eruption. An unusual Pb-rich phase, with up to 98.78 wt% PbO, is interpreted as having exsolved from the intermediate-rhyolitic magmas.     

Snow Accumulation on a Small High‐Arctic Glacier Svenbreen: Variability and Topographic Controls

One of the main controls on the net mass change of land‐terminating Arctic glaciers is the magnitude and distribution of snow accumulation. In Dickson Land, region of Svalbard with the greatest distance to the sea, the issue has not been receiving much scientific attention for decades. In this paper, new snow accumulation data are presented from Svenbreen in Dickson Land from end‐of‐winter surveys. The measured winter balance was 0.42 ± 0.15 m w.e. in 2010, 0.50 ± 0.10 m w.e. in 2011 and 0.62 ± 0.10 cm w.e. in 2012. Snow depth and water equivalent have been analysed in the background of altitude, slope and aspect extracted from the digital elevation model of the glacier. On steep northern slopes (>15°) accumulation was the highest, whereas it was decreased on southern slopes with moderate inclination (9–12°). Elevation, which on many glaciers proved to be highly correlated with snow depth, explained only 17–34% of snow depth variability due to complex interplay between local climate and geometry of a small valley.     

Different Borders‐Different Cooperation? Transborder Cooperation in Poland

The aim of this paper was to analyze the role of border and borderland type in transborder cooperation. To this end, 591 projects under six Interreg IIIA Programs in which Polish border regions participated from 2004 to 2006 were examined. These programs were compared to identify the various factors influencing projects in different border regions. Although research on cooperation usually focuses on a national scale, actual cooperation depends largely on regional and local conditions, which are the focus of this study. Despite a common legal and institutional framework, the Interreg projects were not all realized in the same way. Different local conditions had impacts on programs and implementation. Therefore, the effectiveness and achievement of transborder cooperation objectives depended on the modification of each program to specific regional conditions.     

Evaluation of electric parameters of anisotropic sandy-shaly Miocene formations on the basis of resistivity logs

In this paper, electrical properties of an anisotropic rock formation are discussed. Electrical anisotropy parameters, i.e., horizontal resistivity, R _H , and vertical resistivity, R _V , and anisotropy coefficient in the sandyshaly Miocene formation, are determined on the basis of induction logs and laterologs. Graphs of R _V = f(R _H ) calculated for different resistivities of sandstones and shales and variable volumes of those two components allow us to conclude about the correctness of the applied method for determining the resistivity parameters of autochthonous Miocene formations.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Salvinia natans</Emphasis> in medieval wetland deposits in Gdańsk,northern Poland: evidence for the early medieval climate warming

Large numbers of sub-fossil remains of the aquatic fern Salvinia natans (L.) All. have been found in several early medieval sites in Gdańsk, N. Poland. This record indicates a population expansion of this species around 7th–8th century A.D., similar to the recently observed rapid spread and high population dynamics of S. natans in northern Poland, which recent studies have attributed to climate warming. Our results suggest that in the Vistula deltaic area the S. natans expansion in the Early Middle Ages (7th–8th century A.D.) was similarly stimulated by climate warming, while its subsequent decline was mainly due to climate cooling, especially during the Little Ice Age. Warmer winters and springs and a longer growing season seem to be the most important factors forcing the expansion of S. natans in medieval times. According to our data, the co-occurrence of S. natans with other aquatic plant species was similar in both the medieval and present-day vegetation. Also, the high density of S. natans in the medieval population caused impoverishment of the local ecosystems in a way that has been observed in recent water bodies affected by invasive pleustophytes (free-floating plants).     

GPR and aerial imageries to identify the recent historical course of the Obra River and spatial extent of Obrzańskie Lake, altered by hydro-technical works

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements have been conducted to retrace the natural course of the Obra River and changes of spatial extent of Obrzańskie Lake (western Poland). The Obra River valley was subjected to intensive anthropogenic transformation. Three artificial canals were constructed here in the beginning of the nineteenth century. The GPR surveys were done using a georadar MALA ProEx equipped with 250 MHz antenna. The measurement was verified by coring and analyses of historical maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images. The research has shown that there are at least three elongated depressions preserved in the modern land surface near the village of Solec, situated in the middle course of the valley. Several structures suggesting functioning of a multi-channel pattern in the past have been detected inside and in the vicinity of the depressions. Filling the channels with silts and peats might have been the effect of flow deceleration caused by the construction of the Obra Canals. Moreover, situation of two of the retraced depressions suggests that the landforms might be the remains of a river bed disappearing in wetlands. Further studies including groundwater flux measurements in the area between the depressions are needed to confirm such hypothesis. Furthermore, the study allowed retracing the spatial extent of Obrzańskie Lake. The sediment structures detected by the GPR measurements and calibrated with coring were interpreted to be the traces of the lake shoreline. The interpretation was supported by the findings inferred from aerial and satellite images. It was shown that Obrzańskie Lake had had at least three islands and had been directly connected with a network of braided channels before the anthropogenic intervention. The spatial extent of the lake was significantly altered by the construction of the North Obra Canal. Disconnecting the lake from the Canal resulted in more than 50 % decrease of the lake surface.