Rafał Gawałkiewicz

Over the recent ten years the development of geodesic and informatic tools contributed to enrichment of measurement and interpretation methods as well as visualization of various anthropogenic and natural objects subdued to deformations over the time. The availability of photogrammetric methods (terrestrial and airborne measurements) caused that they are widely applied in monitoring of various objects subdued to the external (i.e., atmospheric) factors (rain, wind, temperature), mining (influence of underground mining). This also refers to natural terrain surface affected by mass movements and artificial earth constructions (mounds, spoil tips, dikes, road and rail embankments), the changes of which can threaten stability and pose threat to objects situated in these areas/objects and their users. There are many methods of getting spatial data and their processing, allowing the interpretation of geological threats. The article presents the measurement and interpretation model of the changes of artificially formed area with the historic Wanda Mound in Krakow with the use of robotic station SPS 930 Trimble and active signal MT 1000 and program AutoCAD v. 2021 (splines Coons patches). In the article it was shown that applying a limited number of the data set elements in a definite geometric system and the same measurement technology in the studied period of the analysis (2013–2022), it is possible to record and graphically interpretate changes on the surface of an earth mound, manifested in the phenomenon of ground creep, even in case of small values.

In the present borders of the city of Krakow there are many post-mining pits, often called „wounds” in the landscape. They form post-exploitation troughs after the mining of: clay, sand, gravel and limestone, now filled with precipitation waters, meltdown waters and ground waters. Once mining objects, nowadays they fulfil various functions: sport and recreational, ecological and cultural, economic and educational. In terms of nature and landscape (due to the impact of natural forces functioning as an unorganized area), one of the biggest and most beautiful water bodies in the city is the Bagry Lake. Despite its localization near the strict centre of the city and belonging to the newest objects of this type (exploitation ended in 1972), the water body of Bagry has not been thoroughly inventoried so far. The combination of hydrographic data obtained by the author and bibliographic query of literature and archive data allowed us to fully illustrate the stages of the water body formation and to describe the characteristic of the borrow pit.

One of the biggest and the most valuable water bodies in the aspect of nature, landscape, economy and recreation, localized within the city of Krakow is the Bagry Lake (Bagry Reservoir). Despite the fact that mining stopped in 1970s, the water body has not been inventoried so far (including hydrographical survey) and has not been investigated in an interdisciplinary way. Although it is a relatively new object, in the preserved publications and local press articles it is difficult to find information about the history of the origin and the stages of the development of the water body. The analysis of archival cartographic materials and hydrographical measurements made by the author makes a perfect supplementary material to learn about history of the formation of such an urban water body, specific in ecological and landscape-related aspect.

The article discusses the impact of additionally measured gyroazimuths on the accuracy of the underground network. It discusses such issues as: the way of gyroazimuth measurement, corrections introduced into the measured gyroazimuth, effects of centering the instrument and signal and effects of side lengths for accuracy of gyroazimuth measurement, the legal basis for such measurement in mining excavations and design quantities and location of gyroazimuth measurement in the underground network to obtain its better accuracy. These theoretical arguments have been illustrated on the example of gyroazimuths measurement on the fi ve sides of the existing underground network mainly focused on increasing its accuracy parameters by this additional measurement.

For many years in Poland, anthropogenic objects constructed underground have been very popular with tourists. In the past they fulfilled various functions (historic mines, underground merchant warehouses, military objects, special objects, caverns and grottoes). Many of them were secured and rebuilt in such a way that a new form was created. They make interesting tourist offers and still more objects can be made available to tourists. An example of strongly modified underground anthropogenic objects of very complex geometry and extremely interesting architectural form is the Underground Tourist Route (Polish: Podziemna Trasa Turystyczna – PTT) in Sandomierz. Owing to much effort and financial means, in 1960s many interesting cellars and merchant warehouses were saved from destruction – and – with the application of mining techniques, they were joint into attractive spatial forms. So far, few publications give the full characteristic and parametric data of this object. Today’s possibilities of available measurement and information technologies allow comprehensive inventory of complicated engineering constructions, as well as the 3D visualization, regarding even tiniest elements of small architecture (doors, lattice, lamps, etc.). The article presents the results of the visualization and parameterization based on the data from integrated surveying (levelling, transects, total stations, laser scanning and other direct measurements).

Among many inland water bodies, a large group includes water bodies formed as an effect of mining activities. Open-cast mining of common minerals, i.e., sand, gravel, loam, basic minerals such as lignite, sulphur and fossil resins of coniferous trees (amber) leaves many excavations, which spontaneously get filled with precipitation waters, black waters (the ones near the surface) and ground waters (deeper underground), often making new and wonderful elements of local landscape. Till the time of political transformations in Poland, due to low awareness of proper reclamation of post-mining areas, few post-mining excavations that spontaneously filled with water were subdued to comprehensive inventory, surveying and geological documentation, which is a necessary condition for their safe use. Examples of such objects are Bagry and Staw Płaszowski in Kraków (mining of loam (clay), sand and gravel), which have undergone full surveying inventory, including bathymetric surveying, only several decades after the end of mining (Gawałkiewicz R., Maciaszek J., 1999; Gawałkiewicz R., 2017; Gawałkiewicz R., 2018a and Gawałkiewicz R., 2018b), despite being the property of the city of Cracow for many years and functioning as sports and recreational, natural (ecological) and economical (fishing facilities) spots. A worth mentioning body of water is the reservoir “Piaseczno” (the commune of Łoniów, the Sandomierz District), now classified as a part of a group of reservoirs with medium retention and has been created after the opencast exploitation of sulphur ended. Despite many years of reclamation measures (shallowing by washing glass sands to the reservoir) and due to the great risk of danger (local landslides, unstable ground in the costal zones, artificially maintained level of the water table) the Łoniów commune did not approve this reservoir to use; and nowadays, the reservoir is not suitable for any form of use. The only function that can be fulfilled is ecological function. In the article the results of the complex geodetic (littoral zone) and hydrographic (body of water) inventory are presented. It was possible owing to the use of the remote-controlled HyDrone produced by Seeflor Systems and equipped with a SonarMite BTX/SPX OHMEX ultrasonic sonar by Lymtech and a GNSS set by Trimble (R8s antenna + TSC3 controller) and biological inventory in the littoral zone. Detailed morphometric parameters of the reservoir were also noted based on the integrated geodetic and bathymetric measurements, which in the future may provide valuable data used in the process of adapting the analyzed area for various socio-economical purposes, while maintaining a high degree of safety of its use.

The tradition of making mounds in the area of Poland goes back to prehistoric times. Mounds had the function as the places of skeleton burials and/or cremation burials as well as places of worship. Later mounds had (among others) the following functions: orientation points, signalization points, landmarks and border points, artificial elevations for development, elements of the landscape in gardens and parks, places of burial, monuments honouring famous people and historic events. Their proper documentation, by their characteristics through graphical description, can be a valuable source on their localization, history and technical shape of the building.
The article presents proposals of a card of scientific documentation of mounds and barrows, using the example of the Krakus Mound. Based on scientific literature, cartographic materials, lists of the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society (PTTK) and interviews in the fields, 1111 (including 85 destroyed) mounds and barrows were illustrated on the map, making an open database.

Within the borders of the city of Cracow there are several water bodies that are important and valuable in ecological, aesthetic (landscape), economic and recreational aspect. One of them is the Bagry Reservoir, called Bagry Wielkie, situated in Płaszów, in the neighbourhood of the zone designed for industry, warehouses, transport (railway no. 91) and residential areas. Over the whole period of its existence and use, the water body was subdued to frequent geometric changes. Transformations resulted mainly from the demand of the neighbouring brickyards for clay, gravel and sand exploited for the needs of the development in the area of Płaszów, especially during Nazi occupation and the stage of the fi rst phase of the industrialization of socialist Poland (1950–1970). The end of exploitation in 1972 and leaving the excavation without carrying out the process of remediation measures caused the return of ground waters to the state of hydro-geological (spontaneous liquidation of the depression funnel). The change in the level of the water table and a very complicated shoreline, typical in this type of post-exploitation water bodies, often cause the separation of the peripheral fragments of the water body from its main part. This limits the possibility of applying popular bathymetric sets, i.e. echo-sonars fixed on manned boats, carrying out the process of acoustic probing in water areas. In 1999, the small water body located in the south-west part of the study area, was still an integral part of the Bagry. Nowadays it is separated from the main body with a narrow piece of land. Thus the supplementation of hydrographical documentation required the application of automatic measurement tools. The article presents the results of the application of hydro-drone Smart-Sonar-Boat in making a bathymetric map of this poorly accessible fragment of Bagry, making contribution to the cartographic documentation made by R. Gawałkiewicz (Gawałkiewicz R., 2017).

Geomorphological and ecological examination of waterbodies facilitates effi cient action aimed at their correct management and attributing proper functions to them or their parts. For years there have been many concepts of the management of numerous post-mining water bodies in Cracow, within the Local Site Development Plan (Miejscowy Plan  Zagospodarowania Przestrzennego). Within the borders of the city of Cracow there are several water bodies important and valuable in environmental, landscape, economic and recreational aspect. One of them is the Bagry Reservoir called Bagry Wielkie (the Great Bagry). Nowadays it consists of two parts separated with a dike: the bigger of the area 30.03 ha, fulfi lling the function of sports and recreation as well as economic function (Special Fishery „Wspólnota”, managed by the Regional Board of the Polish Angling Association – Zarząd Okręgowego Polskiego Związku Wędkarskiego Z.O. PZW Kraków/Cracow) and the smaller one – 0.57 ha, for many years being a breeding site of several protected species of birds and fi sh. The knowledge of the geometry of the water basin, characteristics of the bottom (type of the surface, mud) and location of water vegetation, makes base and component of reliable assessment of the state of water environment as well as making proper decisions in the area of the protection of natural resources or revitalization of the water body. This article presents the possibilities of measurement system Lowrence Mark-4, which, apart from hydrographical data, due to specialist algorithm of the interpretation of the return signal, provides numerical information on the hardness of the bottom and the thickness of the vegetation mass on its surface. Measurements made with the application of remote-controlled Smart-Sonar-Boat equipped with sonar Lowrence Mark-4 and GPS R8s Trimble provided important data giving basis to initial assessment of the condition and natural value of this diffi cult-to-access part of Bagry Reservoir.

At present, the market of geodetic equipment was enriched by the large group of scanning instruments, which are massively used in the process of inventory and monitoring of various engineering constructions. There is more and more interest in this type of technology, because it is limiting the role of users, speeding up the measurement and allows higher amount of data that can be used in the individual stand. In Poland, new geodetic regulations defi ne the conditions of applying this type of measurement sets in basic works of geodetic services. Nowadays, properly processed data can make the element of geodetic resource. It is common to apply laser scanning in inventory for a very large number of objects on the surface and underground. These objects have often a complicated geometry and are difficult to reach, so there are no possibilities to carry out the measurement, according to commonly accepted principles, looking for optimal measurement solutions guaranteeing adequate accuracy. The results of detail tests of geodetic technologies (carried out worldwide by the scientific and research centres), allow the conclusions about the possibility to apply them in a specific field situation or specific geometry of the object. In the article, the usefulness and accuracy of reference signals applied in the transformation of the clouds of reference signals point and the impact of the inaccuracy in recognizing the centre of the signal (as fully automatic process) to the value of the scan rotation and the change of values of the measured length due to the title of twisting the reflecting plane.

There are many surveying methods to measure the inclination of a chimney with the use of classical protractor instruments (Theo 010A/B, T2 Wild), electronic theodolites (TC2002 Wild-Leica), electronic total stations, including mirrorless ones, allowing to  define indirectly the course of the construction’s axis on the selected observation levels. The methods are the following: indentations, direct projection, double-edged method, polar method with the option of mirrorless measurement. At the moment a very practical and quick measurement technology, signifi cantly eliminating the influence of human errors on the observation results, is laser scanning. The article presents the results of the scanning of 120-metres high reinforced concrete industrial chimney of the Cement Plant „Ożarów”, with the application of modern scanning total station VX Spatial Station by Trimble, as an alternative to the methods applied so far. The advantage of scanning is the possibility to obtain a point cloud, which, apart from the information on the course of the chimney axis in the space, provides detail information on the real shape and deformations of the coating of the object’s core.

Determination of the accuracy characteristics of geodetic instruments is – according to the law – the duty of geodetic services doing all the surveying. The certificates are given by the authorized units equipped in special comparative bases. The specifics of modern scanning instruments require much research to get full information about real accuracy of instrument. Wide application of refl ectorless measurements in the inventory and monitoring of the natural and anthropogenic objects requires the recognition of accuracy parameters of the defi nite instrument. This refers both to positioning the head based on reference points, but also the components of the situation error of the point in the cloud. An important component included in the situation error of the point the error of the distance measurement in the option of full automation. Automatism and short time of the measurement of the set of point requires specifi c approach to the way of determining the characteristic of telemeter. One can use the existing bases for this purpose. In article the algorithm of the use of existing comparative base of the Geodetic Metrological Laboratory of AGH for the needs of testing refl ectorless telemeters of scanning total stations of laser scanners within the range of the present length of the base in the online mode.