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Piotr Gierszewski

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Unobvious geoheritage in sacral buildings: millstones in churches of NE Poland from a geological and geomorphological perspective

Piotr Czubla, Dariusz Brykała, Maciej Dąbski, Piotr Gierszewski, Mirosław Błaszkiewicz, Zachariasz Mosakowski, Piotr Lamparski

Geographia Polonica (2024) vol. 97, iss. 3, pp. 327-354 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0282

Further information

Abstract

The article highlights the importance of medieval churches with embedded millstones as geocultural objects with a great geotouristic and educational potential. In the lowland areas of Northeastern Poland, 79 millstones and their semi-finished products were inventoried. Their sizes ranged from 70 to 100 cm in diameter. The majority of them were made of erratic boulders, mainly granitoids of Fennoscandian origin. Additionally, gneisses, sandstones, pegmatites, and basaltoid were also identified. An attempt was made to determine the degree of weathering of the millstones over several hundred years of exposure to external conditions. Measurements of moisture content and salinity of the walls surrounding 10 millstones embedded in the walls of 8 churches were taken three times (in spring, summer, and winter). Lower wall moisture was observed in the vicinity of the millstones, but only in the case of three walls, the salinity of the mortar binding the bricks and stones was at a low level. A weak but statistically significant negative correlation was found between the age of the churches and the hardness of the millstones measured with a Schmidt hammer.

Keywords: geoheritage, millstones, medieval churches, petrography, weathering

Piotr Czubla [piotr.czubla@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Department of Geology and Geomorphology Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz Narutowicza 88, 90-139 Łódź: Poland
Dariusz Brykała [darek@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Maciej Dąbski, Chair of Physical Geography Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw Krakowskie Przedmieście 30, 00-927 Warszawa: Poland
Piotr Gierszewski [piotr.gierszewski@geopan.torun.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Mirosław Błaszkiewicz [mirek@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Zachariasz Mosakowski [zachary@twarda.pan.pl], Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Research into the Anthropocene Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
Piotr Lamparski [piotr.lamparski@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń, Poland

Implementation of the AdH hydrodynamic model on the Włocławek Reservoir

Magdalena Tutro, Paweł S. Hachaj, Monika Szlapa, Piotr Gierszewski, Michał Habel, Włodzimierz Juśkiewicz, Natalia Mączka

Geographia Polonica (2022) vol. 95, iss. 4, pp. 371-386 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0241

Further information

Abstract

The variation of water velocity in an artificial dam reservoir is influenced not only by the inflow discharge, but also by the bathymetry of the reservoir and the water level at the dam. The depiction of spatially complex variations in flow velocity through a reservoir would not be possible without the use of hydrodynamic models. A reliable hydrodynamic model of the reservoir is an effective tool for predicting and analyzing changes in the reservoir geoecosystem in an age of changing climate and risk of water stress. A depth-averaged two-dimensional AdH model was used to visualize the hydrodynamics of the Włocławek Reservoir. Running the model for eight different hydrological conditions delivered consistent results and allowed to calibrate themodel parameters. Additionally, it provided a way to verify the data regarding the rating curve of the Vistula River upstream the reservoir.

Keywords: 2D hydrodynamic modelling, dam reservoir, model calibration, velocity map, AdH model, Vistula River, Włocławek Reservoir

Magdalena Tutro [mtutro@pk.edu.pl], Faculty of Environmental and Power Engineering Cracow University of Technology Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków: Poland
Paweł S. Hachaj [pawel.hachaj@pk.edu.pl], Faculty of Environmental and Power Engineering Cracow University of Technology Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków: Poland
Monika Szlapa [monika.szlapa@pk.edu.pl], Faculty of Environmental and Power Engineering Cracow University of Technology Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków: Poland
Piotr Gierszewski [piotr.gierszewski@geopan.torun.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Michał Habel [hydro.habel@ukw.edu.pl], Institute of Geography Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz Kościeleckich Square 8, 85-033 Bydgoszcz: Poland
Włodzimierz Juśkiewicz [w.juskiewicz@geopan.torun.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Development Polish Academy of Sciences Kopernika 19, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
Natalia Mączka [natalkamaczka@gmail.com], student at Faculty of Environmental and Power Engineering Cracow University of Technology Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków: Poland