The use of selected research methods to describe the pore space of dolomite from copper ore mine,Poland

Basic knowledge of the characteristics of copper-bearing rock such as dolomite is essential to locate those areas of the deposit which have different structural and textural properties. Those regions can be important in terms of the assessment of the possibilities of gas accumulating in them as well as in terms of gasogeodynamic hazard. To better understand those threats, it is necessary to locate, monitor and analyse those areas in detail. This article characterises the structural and textural parameters of dolomite from the Polkowice–Sieroszowice copper mine in Poland. The study involved five samples from various areas of the mine. A number of research methods were selected. Reflected and transmitted light microscopy (MS), computer microtomography (Micro-CT), gas adsorption porosimetry (LPNA), mercury porosimetry (MIP), helium and quasi-fluid pycnometry (Pycno. He, DryFlo). Each of the methods examined a different scope of the pore size, which enabled to achieve a full view of the porous nature of those rocks. We determined their porosity (open, closed, total), surface area as well as mean size and volume of the pores. Also, we studied the character and the pore size distribution from a few nm to a few mm. Comprehensive dolomite properties analyses showed that these rocks are characterised by high structural variability. They have mesopores and macropores but few micropores. The analyses presented in this paper are determined by a large petrographic diversity of the deposits containing dolomite. This article is an example of a comprehensive approach to the rock analysis in copper ore mines.     

The urban heat island in the city of Poznań as derived from Landsat 5 TM

Deforestation is expanding and accelerating into the remaining areas of undisturbed forest, and the quality of the remaining forests is declining today. Assessing the climatic impacts of deforestation can help to rectify this alarming situation. In this paper, how historical deforestation may affect global climate through interactive ocean and surface albedo is examined using an Earth system model of intermediate complexity (EMIC). Control and anomaly integrations are performed for 1000 years. In the anomaly case, cropland is significantly expanded since AD 1700. The response of climate in deforested areas is not uniform between the regions. In the background of a global cooling of 0.08 °C occurring with cooler surface air above 0.4 °C across 30° N to 75° N from March to September, the surface albedo increase has a global cooling effect in response to global-scale replacement of forests by cropland, especially over northern mid-high latitudes. The northern mid-latitude (30° N–60° N) suffers a prominent cooling in June, suggesting that this area is most sensitive to cropland expansion through surface albedo. Most regions show a consistent trend between the overall cooling in response to historical deforestation and its resulting cooling due to surface albedo anomaly. Furthermore, the effect of the interactive ocean on shaping the climate response to deforestation is greater than that of prescribed SSTs in most years with a maximum spread of 0.05 °C. This difference is more prominent after year 1800 than that before due to the more marked deforestation. These findings show the importance of the land cover change and the land surface albedo, stressing the necessity to analyze other biogeophysical processes of deforestation using interactive ocean.     

Simulation of an uncertain emission market for greenhouse gases using agent-based methods

The paper presents the problem of a simulation of the greenhouse gases emission permits market where only low accuracy emission amounts are known. An organization of the market with uncertain emissions is proposed and trading rules for individual market participants are discussed. Simulation of the market is based on a multi-agent system. Negotiation of purchase/sale prices between the parties are introduced, where the trading parties adopt one of two options: (i) bilateral negotiations, and (ii) sealed bid reverse auctions. Results of simulation runs show trajectories of transaction prices, as well as probability distributions of learning agents’ bidding prices.     

Very Low Frequency Electromagnetic Induction Surveys in Hydrogeological Investigations; Case Study from Poland

In 2011, a geophysical survey was carried out in the surroundings of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, using a Very Low Frequency method. The measurements were designed to determine the reason of frequent flooding of the lowest level of the building. The main objective of the study was to find out from where and in which way the rainwater seeps into the building and how this problem can be solved in the least invasive manner. The aim of geophysical methods was also to provide necessary information that will enable the construction of a hydro-geological model of the local environment. The interpretation revealed the presence of a sandy gutter surrounded by impermeable clay. There is a big resistivity contrast between those layers. Their location and approximate dimensions were determined.     

Newly identified historical tornadoes in the Czech Republic from 16th to the 20th centuries

Tornadoes have occurred in the territory of the Czech Republic throughout history. Although their frequency and intensity are not as high as in the USA, they can cause severe damage as well. That is why a systematic effort to document individual occurrences of this dangerous meteorological phenomenon as far as possible back into the past began in the 1990s. The aim of this investigation is to extend the first European catalogue of tornadoes originally published by Wegener [Wegener A., 1917. Wind-und Wasserhosen in Europe], by the addition of these cases from the Czech Republic.This paper adds further to Setvák, Šálek and Munzar [Setvák M., Šálek M., Munzar J., 2003. Tornadoes within the Czech Republic—from medieval chronicles to the internet society. Atmos. Res. 67–68, 589–605], who reported the earliest documented tornado in the land of the Czech Republic which occurred in AD 1119 in Prague. In so doing, it presents recently discovered tornado cases from the 16th to the early 20th centuries, found in a variety of historical sources since the last ECSS conference held in Prague in 2002. In particular we will focus on the case from Jablonec nad Nisou (northern Bohemia) in 1925, which was probably the first case in the Czech Republic with accompanying photographic documentation of damage caused by a tornado.     

Physics of basic motions in asymmetric continuum

We consider the advantages of a formalism based on concept of the asymmetric continuum and we present some equivalence theorems relating it to the asymmetric elasticity and to micropolar and micromorphic theories as founded by Nowacki, Cosserats and Eringen. We consider the basic processes in an asymmetric continuum which could be reduced to the point basic motions/deformations. The co-action of spin and shear motions is assumed to play the main role in fracturing process, while the constitutive relation between the antisymmetric stresses and rotations replaces the friction constitutive law.     

Observations of tectonic microdisplacements in Europe in relation to the Iran 1997 and Turkey 1999 earthquakes

Long-term repeated measurements of microdisplacements in tectonic fault structures of various parts of Central Europe and the Balkan Mountains showed that displacement trends changed significantly at several points in the period from 1997 through 2000; afterward, long-term trends were restored. This phenomenon took place in the periods of strong (M > 7) earthquakes in Iran (1997) and in the North Anatolian fault zone in Turkey (1999). Two strong Izmit earthquakes of 1999 in Turkey at distances of 600 km from the Balkan Peninsula and 1400 km from observation points in Central Europe were the main seismic events of the period studied. Apparently, the crustal deformation due to the sources of the aforementioned earthquakes reaches the central part of the European craton. Anomalous displacements in some areas occurred due to deformation propagating for great distances in the heterogeneous block medium of the West European part of the Eurasian plate. Changes in stresses can be caused by impulsive deformations of various intensities acting on some structural units (fault segments) at various distances.     

New marine ΔR values for Arctic Canada

For more than four decades, the reporting of ¹⁴C dates on marine molluscs from Arctic Canada has been notable for the lack of consistently applied marine reservoir corrections. We propose that the common approach of reporting Canadian Arctic marine ¹⁴C dates using presumed time-invariant reservoir corrections be abandoned in favour of calibration of ¹⁴C dates, using the current standard protocol. This approach best facilitates inter- and intra-regional correlation, and correlation with other geochronometers. In order to enable the consistent calibration of marine ¹⁴C dates from Arctic Canada, we analysed a ¹⁴C database of 108 marine mollusc samples collected live between 1894 and 1956, and determined regional reservoir offset values (ΔR) for eight oceanographically distinct regions. The following new ΔR values should be used for ¹⁴C calibration: NW Canadian Arctic Archipelago, 335 ± 85 yrs; Foxe Basin, 310 ± 90 yrs; NE Baffin Island, 220 ± 20 yrs; SE Baffin Island, 150 ± 60 yrs; Hudson Strait, 65 ± 60 yrs; Ungava Bay, 145 ± 95 yrs; Hudson Bay, 110 ± 65 yrs; and James Bay, 365 ± 115 yrs.     

Comparison of source parameters estimated in the frequency and time domains for seismic events at the Rudna copper mine,Poland

Source parameters estimated in the frequency domain for 100 selected seismic events from the Rudna copper mine, with moment magnitude ranging from 1.4 to 3.6, were collected to study their scaling relations and to compare them with the parameters estimated in the time domain. The apparent stress and static stress drop, corrected for the limited bandwidth recording, increase slightly in a similar manner with increasing seismic moment. The ratio of apparent stress to static stress drop, a measure of radiation efficiency, is practically constant and its mean value is close to 0.1. For 37 seismic events, with moment magnitude between 1.9 and 3.4, source parameters were estimated in the time domain from relative source time functions, that displayed unilateral rupture propagation, and their rupture velocity could be estimated. It ranges from 0.23 to 0.80 of shear wave velocity and is almost independent of seismic moment. The fault length, estimated from the average source pulse width and rupture velocity, is clearly dependent on seismic moment and is smaller than the source radius estimated from the corner frequency on the average by about 25 percent. There is no correlation between the values of static stress drop estimated in the frequency and time domains, but the time domain stress drop is in general similar to that estimated in the frequency domain. The apparent stress increases with increasing rupture velocity, and the ratio of apparent stress to static stress drop seems also to depend on rupture velocity.