University of Silesia in Katowice

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River valleys: an important reservoir of organic matter

River valleys are reservoirs of dynamic organic matter (OM) playing a significant role in the global carbon cycle. The floodplains of meandering rivers, which are widely distributed around the world from subarctic to tropical areas and characterized by relatively high OM resources, are of particular importance in this respect. The aim of the study, published...

Categories: enNews

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Permafrost: unknown serious risk

The melting of ice in permafrost and the associated dangers have so far been studied in connection with its easily accessible shallow subsurface part of terrain. However, it turns out that lower permafrost part may be exposed to much larger and more difficult to detect changes. The article by W. Dobiński and M. Kasprzak shows...

Categories: enNews

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Three decades of the snow measurements on Hansbreen

Snow cover is a key element of the natural water cycle and the primary building material of glaciers. On the Hans Glacier (Hansbreen), located in southern Spitsbergen, detailed snow measurements have been carried out for over 30 years, but until now, these data have yet to be practically unavailable. The Scientific Data (Nature Research) published...

Categories: enNews

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Antarctica: new spectacular facts

Research into Antarctica did not begin until the mid-nineteenth century. Since it was named a continent by C. Wilkes in 1852, no one has thought about the criteria that determine it. Without the ice sheet, Antarctica is a mere archipelago of islands that are half the size. This issue is resolved in the article published...

Categories: enNews

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DEVONIAN VOLCANISM DECIPHERED!

In the November issue of the journal Earth-Science Reviews, a Polish-Czech team led by Dr. Agnieszka Pisarzowska published a paper on potential (proximal and distal) sources of volcanic ash associated with explosive Variscan volcanism in the Late Devonian. The paper presents a detailed geochronological, geochemical, and mineralogical study of Middle and Upper Famennian tuffites from...

Categories: enNews

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Holistic Tourism Research in Himalayas

The second part of a very insightful study of Himalayan protected areas has just been published. The group of national and international researchers led by Michal Apollo, focused on the analysis of protected areas in the world’s highest mountains. The authors conducted a comprehensive study consisting of two stages – presented as separate papers. In...

Categories: enNews

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Continental-scale thermal anomalies in Europe – what are they and why do they occur?

In recent decades, the observed changes in the occurrence of extreme climate events have aroused particular interest, especially the occurrence of periods with temperatures significantly different from the long-term average in a given location. Very high or low temperature, unusual in a given area, is associated with multiple dangerous social and economic consequences and affects...

Categories: enNews

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From centimeter-scale faults in caves to the evolution of the Eastern Alps

The Late Cretaceous and Miocene evolution of the Alps, related to the collision of the Adriatic with the European plate, is relatively well understood. However, the post-Miocene fault activity in the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) is poorly recognized due to the lack of deformed Neogene sediments and glacial erosion of geomorphic indicators.  Dr. Jacek Szczygieł,...

Categories: enNews