We analyse the regional-scale orientation of present-day horizontal stresses within the Zechstein salt deposits of the Fore-Sudetic Homocline, based on an analysis of the geometry of 23 boreholes. Using six-arm dipmeter logs (SADs), we identified systematic elongation of borehole cross-sections within salt intervals. We refer to these as breakout-like structures. These elongations demonstrate remarkable consistency within local groups of boreholes and are interpreted as resulting from natural horizontal stress anisotropy, with orientations that serve as indicators of the maximum horizontal stress (SHmax). Natural differential stresses in salt of <1 MPa can result in borehole wall stress differences of up to 4 MPa. We hypothesize that the maximum shear stress acting on the borehole wall immediately after drilling (up to 32.5 MPa) is sufficient to initiate cataclastic deformation at the grain scale and to generate microcracks. These microcracks may enhance borehole convergence and pressure-solution processes at a rate proportional to the shear stress and to the density of microcracks, which leads to observable ellipticity of boreholes in salt. Natural stress anisotropy is likely driven by differential lithostatic loading due to salt’s depth variations, generating horizontal pressure gradients of ~1 MPa/km instead. Another factor could be the gravitational gliding of competent layers down the slopes of salt-basement highs. These inferences are hypothetical but represent the first attempt to identify a proxy for estimating SHmax orientation in weak salt deposits at a regional scale.

Within the context of reengineering, process structures are described with certain criteria and terms representing the organizational infrastructure of such forms. They include concepts such as suppliers, customers and process owners, as well as recommendations related to structure flattening, decision-making methods and other activities. In mining enterprises and/or plants, two areas are conventionally identified; "management" and "operations". As regards operations, production is inherently process-based, while management is dominated by task-functional aspects. Difficulties in introducing certain elements of process infrastructure, such as quasi-market principles, result from the character of the production process. The most possibly extensive implementation of process structures is advisable because it allows these to be improved also in other areas, and thus leads to increased management efficiency. Based on these premises, we propose a transformation of functional structures into process structures in mining enterprises and discuss their adjustment and improvement potential with respect to the character of activity carried out by the enterprise.

Glauconite-bearing siliciclastic lithofacies are widely distributed throughout the Lower Ordovician (upper Tremadocian– Floian) sedimentary record of Poland. They form a diachronous horizon composed of glauconitic sandstones that locally rest on a basal conglomerate, which occur on the Małopolska Block (including the southern Holy Cross Mountains) and the East European Platform. The Lower Ordovician facies architecture in the Holy Cross Mountains can be roughly correlated with the sea-level changes reconstructed in Baltoscandia, though the local tectonics contributed to some notable differences. The Lower Ordovician glauconitic interval reflects a major change of depositional environment on the Baltica and Małopolska shelves characterised by favourable conditions for stratigraphic and sedimentary condensation. It corresponds to a transgressive and early highstand depositional system encompassing the upper Tremadocian to lower Floian interval in the Holy Cross Mountains. On the East European Platform, an extremely condensed glauconitic horizon is associated with the Floian, although its basal conglomerates may be related to the latest Tremadocian. A low accumulation rate, including periods of sediment starvation, facilitated early diagenetic precipitation of a siliceous phase in tuffitic muds, resulting in bedded and nodular cherts in the upper Tremadocian of the southern Holy Cross Mountains.

Complementary micro-area mineralogical investigations using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) allowed for the identification of several REE-bearing mineral phases, including monazite-(Ce) [(Ce,La,Nd,Th)PO₄], xenotime-(Y) [YPO₄], allanite-(Ce) [(Ce,Ca,Y)₂(Al,Fe)₃(SiO₄)₃(OH)], plumbogummite [PbAl₃(PO₄)₂(OH)₅·(H₂O)], and unidentified fluorocarbonate minerals occurring in close association with cassiterite-sulphide mineralization in the Stara Kamienica schist belt (Sudetes, SW Poland). Based on whole-rock data, as well as EPMA analyses of mineral chemical compositions, the environmental origins of xenotime-(Y) and monazite-(Ce) were determined as detrital, metamorphic, and hydrothermal, reflecting the complex geological history of the study area. REE-bearing fluorocarbonates, allanite-(Ce), and plumbogummite, identified for the first time in the Stara Kamienica schist belt, require further mineralogical and geochemical investigations to clarify their origins and roles within the mineral paragenesis. The results of this study provide new insights into the genesis and evolutionary history of both the Stara Kamienica schist belt and the entire Karkonosze-Izera Massif. Exploration of the Stara Kamienica mining site has been focused so far basically just on tin mineralisation, and this study provides the first comprehensive documentation of REE-bearing phases there.

Safety and location suitability is a vital issue for offshore wind farms and their transmission infrastructure, including cable landing stations. Geomorphological and geological features are one of the key determinants of durability and operational reliability of energy infrastructure. We analyse the dynamics of the coastal zone at the two locations (Ustka and Lubiatowo) planned for the landfall of marine transmission infrastructure on the Polish southern Baltic coast. Average centennial coastal changes were determined by comparing the shoreline from 1875 (1:25,000 topographic map) and 2022 (LIDAR). Statistical rates of change were calculated using DSAS software by analysing changes in shoreline position (1:10,000 topographic maps and LIDAR) over 7 to 8 time intervals between 1985 (1986) and 2022. Over a period of one and a half centuries, in the Lubiatowo landfall area, there was slight local erosion (max. ~80 m; ~0.5 m/yr) and accretion (max. ~90 m; ~0.6 m/yr). In the Ustka area, the situation was similar, but the extent of the changes was greater - the shoreline retreated locally by ~270 m (~1.8 m/yr) and local accretion amounted to ~270 m. Analysis of changes in the position of the shoreline on a timescale of three decades (1985–2022) showed a slight expansion of the erosion areas and a shift of the erosion and accretion centres to the east, as well as higher rates, of both erosion and accretion, compared to the period 1875–2022. Locally, the average erosion rate in the Lubiatowo area was 1.7 m/yr and the average accretion rate locally reached 1.5 m/yr. Similar trends and magnitudes of changes occurred in the Ustka area, where the average erosion rate was 1.6 m/yr and the accretion rate 1.2 m/yr. These examples of erosion-accretion systems show that data on the position of erosion and accretion centres as well as on the rate of change of the shoreline position are strongly dependent on the time intervals analysed. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse not only the current litho- and morphodynamic processes on the coast, but also the trends of change at different time scales, when determining the landfall sites of power cables and as the design of their protection.

The Sar-e-Yazd Cu (Mo) deposit is located in the Naein-Jiroft magmatic belt or Kerman belt. It is in the southern part of the Cenozoic Saveh-Nain-Jiroft magmatic belt of Iran. This deposit is spatially associated with Oligocene shallow porphyritic porphyries intruded into dacite porphyry to porphyritic quartzdiorite and middle Eocene volcanoclastic rocks. Hypogene ore minerals include chalcopyrite, magnetite, pyrrhotite, molybdenite, bornite and pyrite occurring as veinlets and disseminations mostly in the both intrusive rocks. Hydrothermal alteration from inside to outside is marked by potassic, carbonate alteration, an extensive phyllic assemblage and irregular zones of propylitic (actinolite, epidote and chlorite sub-zone) and clay assemblages with no consistent zoning patterns. The study of faults in the area reveals that, in general, they align with the pre-existing joints in the structure of the Sani Abad syncline. These faults are attributed to ancient fractures within the right-lateral shear system between the Anar and Dehshir right-striking faults. Three sets of faults are recognized in the eastern Mehriz area (Sar-e-Yazd region): 1– longitudinal direction joints (or tension faults), along with early intrusions and the first group of dykes with WNW–ESE extension, are attributed to old T2 fractures in the shear system. However, the second group of later dykes, often intruded in a N–S direction, is attributed to tensile fractures in the T1 shear system, 2 – cross direction joints (or expansion faults) and 3 – diagonal direction joints (or shear faults; the late intrusive, branches of the epithermal Cu-Fe and the Pb-Zn apophyse intruding aligned with these faults direction. The veins shows two main trends: a- tension split is related to T1 and tensile fractures (epithermal Cu-Fe veins) and b- the pennant vein pattern is related to R/R’ diagonal fractures. Fractures with the NW–SE trend (R), which are mostly filled by iron oxides, are younger and don’t have an effective role in mineralization and it seems that the fractures with the R’ shear system have been effective in the placement of intrusive. The total average of the highest metallic mineralization is enriched in supergene zone at each boreholes (BH): BH01, BH03, BH04 and BH23. Cu: 3881 ppm, Mo: 43.7 ppm, Pb: 13390 ppm, Zn: 18250 ppm and Ag: 6.7 ppm in the 25 to 58 m depth. Fluid inclusion studies indicate a wide range of homogenization temperatures in the veinlets and phyllic porphyritic quartzdiorite alteration, ranging from 136°C to 542°C, with salinities of 4–62 wt.% NaCl equivalent. The coexistence of vapour-rich inclusions (F3 type) with high salinity and liquid-rich inclusions (F2 type) with similar Th values provides strong evidence for boiling. Parts of the copper content in the solution could be deposited as a result of boiling processes as chalcopyrite which was the major mineral at the Sar-e-Yazd deposit (similar to porphyry copper deposits). The analysis of borehole samples indicates a moderate correlation between Cu and Mo, suggesting porphyry Cu (Mo) deposits in Sar-e-Yazd. Cu also shows a strong correlation with Pb, Zn, and Ag, which are key indicator elements of these deposits. Finally based on the distribution and zoning of the main metal ores, the porphyry mineralization of Sar-e-Yazd shows a significant resemblance to the Cu-Mo mineralization in the Mineral Park deposit in Arizona.

During the Late Cretaceous, inversion tectonics affected basins across Europe; in Poland, the axial part of the Polish Basin – the Mid-Polish Trough – was uplifted and transformed into one of the most prominent Mesozoic structures of Europe – the Mid-Polish Anticlinorium, with the Lower San Anticlinorium forming its supposed southeastern extension. For decades, the axial part of the Polish Basin was considered to represent the deepest, most rapidly subsiding part of the basin during the Mesozoic times, simultaneously being filled by deposits of that age. The recently defined Łysogóry-Dobrogea Land in the heart of the then-inverting axial part of the Polish Cretaceous Basin (the present-day subsurface Lower San Anticlinorium) overturned this framework. Moreover, the discovery of the Late Cretaceous Szozdy Delta System on the northern peripheries of Łysogóry-Dobrogea Land shed new light on the palaeogeography and tectonic evolution of the southeastern part of the Polish Basin – a part of the trans-European Basin System that developed over a major part of epicratonic Europe. It clearly appears that, during the Late Cretaceous, this area should be considered as an emergent landmass supplying the Szozdy Delta System, instead of as the deepest part of the basin. Although the prominent quartz sand input into the Cretaceous deposits of the Roztocze Hills is a well-known phenomenon, it has never been explored to reveal the potential parent rocks and possible degree of burial. To fill this gap, we have analysed the heavy mineral assemblages from the Szozdy Delta System, demonstrating their truly polycyclic nature. High ZTR (zircon, tourmaline, rutile) index values, the high degree of roundness, and the presence of some grain surface textures reflecting abrasion indicates multiple rounds of redeposition. However, the assemblages also include predominantly angular grains of minerals which are less resistant to erosion, which is inconsistent with repeated redeposition. Accordingly, the data suggest at least two distinct sources were involved. The first comprised multi-recycled mineral phases dominated by minerals of ZTR group, for which the source might be metapelites and/or metapsammites. The second “fresh” source delivered angular garnet, kyanite and staurolite grains, for which metamorphosed rocks were the main source. Such characteristics would be difficult to obtain from the suggested Mesozoic sedimentary cover of the San Anticlinorium (if a Mesozoic cover was even present), necessitating a search for other sources. Thus, these heavy mineral assemblages suggest a different burial history than previously assumed.

A new specimen of the Coleoidea from the Charmouth Mudstone Formation of the Dorset Coast has been identified as Loligosepia bucklandi (Voltz, 1840). The specimen includes the gladius and jaw fragments, which represent one of few records of its kind, but the head area, arms, hooks and suckers are not discernible. It can be favourably compared to other L. bucklandi fossils in the Natural History Museum in London and the J.F. Jackson Collection in the National Museum Wales in Cardiff. The range of L. bucklandi is determined to be from the Turneri Zone, Brooki Subzone to the Obtusum Zone, Stellare Subzone of the lower Sinemurian, with the new specimen stratigraphically a little older than the precisely located specimens in the J.F. Jackson Collection.

We describe the geological context of the Pleistocene strata in the Sosnowica Depression and the Parczew-Kodeń Heights, as well as the main geological processes taking place in that area during the Middle Pleistocene. The stratigraphy of the Pleistocene succession is based on the analysis of new sites with Mazovian Interglacial deposits (MIS 11c) with age determinations obtained from palaeobotanical and palaeofaunal proxies, at Zahajki, Wygnanka, and Sytyta in the Sosnowica Depression, and Podedwórze and Gęś 3 in the Parczew-Kodeń Heights. The interglacial deposits documented occur in the direct subsurface and are not overlain by glacial deposits, which indicates that the study area was not covered by the ice-sheet of the Middle Polish Glaciations (Saalian, MIS 6). They are overlain by Early Liviecian (Fuhne, MIS 11b) lacustrine and bog deposits, or upper Vistulian (MIS 2) clastic and bog deposits. Holocene strata lie above. Therefore, the glacial deposits building the Parczew-Kodeń Heights are considered to derive from the Sanian 2 (Elsterian, MIS 12) Glaciation and not from the Saalian (MIS 6) Glaciation as previously thought. Palaeolakes formed in the late part of the Sanian 2 (Elsterian, MIS 12) Glaciation and remained open during the Mazovian Interglacial (Holsteinian, MIS 11c), with some still existing until the Early Liviecian (Fuhne, MIS 11b) Glaciation. The palaeolakes described were part of an extensive palaeolakeland of the Mazovian Interglacial, stretching from the southern part of Podlasie to the northern part of Western Polesie. The last ice-sheet in Western Polesie represented the Sanian 2 Glaciation. Downloads pdf Published 2024-07-20 — Updated on 2024-07-23 Issue Vol. 68 No. 2 (2024) Section Articles License Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and more frequent citation of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

We overview selected artificial intelligence methods used in research on water systems, specifically artificial neural networks (ANN), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS), genetic programming (GP) and support vector machine (SVM) methods. Each method is characterized and the most effective ways of using these methods are discussed. These methods prove widely useful in forecasting changes in selected surface and groundwater quality parameters, forecasting sewage network failures, assessing water treatment options, climate monitoring, drought detection and environmental issues for farmers and producers. Published studies show that artificial intelligence methods should be used in the analysis of water systems, especially since artificial intelligence now appears in search results for over 60,000 environmental articles.