Adam Łajczak’s research while affiliated with Krakow University Hospital and other places

This paper relies on the literature to outline the main properties of the relief of the intramontane Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin which is dominated by three fluvioglacial fans. The focus, however, was on the genetically-varied landforms, mostly found within the limits of the fluvioglacial fans, which contribute to the diversity of the basin's geomorphological landscape. Based on the results of geomorphological mapping of the area and the area's digital elevation model, an explanation was provided for the distribution of particular landform types, with specification of their parameters. Building on this exercise, the three chief morphometric properties of the Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin, i.e. local relative height, slope, and aspect, were analysed. In the area occupied by the fluvioglacial fans, these morphometric parameters were found to display the greatest variety along the S-N and WE axes. The results presented combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to geomorphologi-cal studies in the first such attempt regarding the Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin and as such fill a significant gap in the existing geomorphological studies of the area.

Zarys treści: W oparciu o przegląd literatury zaprezentowano poglądy, jakie pojawiły się od początku XX w. o kierunkach drenażu wód powierzchniowych, ich zmianach i uwarunkowaniach Kotliny Orawsko-Nowotarskiej (Karpaty Zachodnie) w neogenie, na przełomie neogenu i czwartorzędu i w czwartorzędzie. Wyróżniono trzy grupy poglądów różnie oceniają-cych dawne kierunki odpływu cieków z kotliny. Różnice w ocenie kierunku drenażu wód powierzchniowych w neogenie dotyczą wschodniej części Kotliny Orawsko-Nowotarskiej, z kolei ówczesny drenaż zachodniej części kotliny jest zgod-nie oceniany przez cytowanych autorów. Zbieżność poglądów istnieje także w ocenie kierunków odwodnienia kotliny w czwartorzędzie, kiedy pod tym względem zaszły już mniejsze zmiany. Skutkiem zmian w kierunkach odwodnienia kotliny było, uwarunkowane tektoniką i rozwojem największego stożka glacifluwialnego, przesunięcie na zachód Euro-pejskiego Działu Wodnego. Skala zmian w kierunkach drenażu wód powierzchniowych Kotliny Orawsko-Nowotarskiej i w wielkości przesunięcia Europejskiego Działu Wodnego od początku neogenu, jest znacznie większa niż w przypadku leżącej po słowackiej stronie Tatr Kotliny Podtatrzańskiej (Podtatranská kotlina). Abstract: Based on the review of research literature, which appeared since the beginning of the 20th, views on drainage directions of surface waters, their changes and conditioning of the Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin (Western Carpathians) in Neogene, at the turn of Neogene and Quaternary and in Quaternary were shown. Three groups of opinions, which differ in their assessment of the former drainage directions of the basin's surface waters, were identified. Differences in the assessment of drainage directions during the Neogene concern the eastern part of the Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin, while the former drainage in the western part of the basin is consistently assessed by the cited authors. Concurrence of opinions also concerns the assessment of drainage directions of surface waters of the basin in Quaternary, when drainage changes were small. Drainage changes of the basin, caused by tectonic movements and the development of the largest fluviogla-cial fun, resulted in the displacement of the European Watershed towards the west. The scale of changes in drainage directions of surface waters of the Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin and the size of displacements of the European Watershed since the beginning of the Neogene is much larger than in the case of Sub-Tatra Basin (Podtatranská kotlina) located at the foot of the Slovakian part of the Tatra Mountains.

Mt. Babia Góra (1725) is the highest homoclinal ridge in the flysch section of the Western Carpathians, notable for its W–E orientation and structural relief dominated by deep-seated landslides. The most elevated part of the ridge is built of the resistant Magura sandstone, which overlies less resistant older flysch formations. The relief of Mt. Babia Góra is indicative of multi-stage geomorphological development of the ridge from the Late Miocene to the Holocene. The study area has a zonal diversity of relief, with the ridge-top areas above 1400 m asl being the only ones in the Western Flysch Carpathians that penetrate into the subalpine zone. The element that dominates the relief of Mt. Babia Góra is the upper part of the main ridge, which rises above the belt of spring hollows. It is marked by asymmetry in the distribution of landforms, which are different on the precipitous northern slope and the gentle southern slope (penestructural slope). The upper part of the northern slope, where gradients exceed 40° and locally reach 70°, features elements of glacial and nival relief, remodelled landslide forms, periglacial covers, as well as couloirs, torrential fans, and debris flows, which have been preserved to varying degree. The varied relief of the upper part of the northern slope makes this area of Mt. Babia Góra similar to areas with high-mountain relief. The relief of Mt. Babia Góra, which has been only lightly transformed anthropogenically, is one of the elements of nature that were taken into account when the Babia Góra National Park was proposed to be listed as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

The location of various types of anthropogenic landforms is analysed in the context of major natural landforms within the city of Kraków. While anthropogenic landforms first appeared in the early Middle Ages, the city area is dominated by those that emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. One notable trend points to the diminishing of the relative elevation differences between the main natural landforms as a result of an equalising trend whereby the lower-lying landforms are being built-up and the higher-located ones are being lowered. On the other hand, the appearance of a number of convex and concave anthropogenic landforms, especially adjacent to each other and measuring more than five metres in either height or depth, increased local elevation differences. Overall, the historic city centre is marked by a dominant process of raising and flattening of the terrain as cultural sediments are deposited, while at a local scale the processes in action lead to the differential lowering and raising of adjacent terrain, thus increasing the undulation of the topographical surface.

Cylowa Zerwa landslide – debris flow located on the northern slope of Mt. Babia Góra (1725 m a.s.l.) within the 400 m wide altitude interval (1430-1024 m a.s.l.) is a knowable object which however has not been sufficiently noticed in geomorphological research. This paper, based on geomorphological, geological and dendrochronological investigations, as well as LiDAR data analysis, develops the following issues which describe the functioning of this object during the last ca. 150 years: Cylowa Zerwa in the gravity induced mass movements system of Mt. Babia Góra; relief of the landslide – debris flow and surrounding areas; stages of changes in limit and relief of the mass movement area during the last 150 years; relief elements of the Cylowa Zerwa which are related to debris flow; relationship between dates of the Cylowa Zerwa activation with annual spruce increments. The Cylowa Zerwa, as the only one among Mt. Babia Góra landslides studied, is distinguished by a clear bipartite relief – the upper segment is represented by rock packages, whereas landforms of the middle and lower segments are similar to those originated in the conditions of debris flow. The Cylowa Zerwa landslide – debris flow shows significant education values and it is a remarkable geotourist object.

For the area of historic centre of Krakow (area 9.29 km2), southern Poland, base maps were prepared showing hypsometry and distribution of landforms in historical variant (ca. 1000 AD) and current variant, based on published data mainly from archaeological and geoengineering research carried out for the last 60 years, and including geographic information system (GIS) tools. The aim of the work is to establish changes in undulation of the area studied within the landforms (Vistula riverbed, Holocene alluvial plain, Pleistocene terrace, limestone hills) over the last millennium. Topographic parameters calculated on the basis of the base maps (local relative height, mean slope, limit of areas without aspect and with N, E, S and W aspects) were considered. These changes were linked with dominating trends of the altitude increase due to the development of large area embankments and of convex landforms. The assessment of changes of land undulation includes four authorial methods of quantitative determination of topography changes. Until the beginning of the 19th century land flattening occurred in most of the area of the town centre. Then the increase of local relative heights started to predominate which resulted in changes of other topographic parameters. Differentiated changes, both positive and negative, in the area undulation with altitude increase were determined.

Geomorphological research in the Fann Mountains of the Pamir-Alay has indicated that subnival processes are occurring. Contemporary subnival sediments indicate that complex relationships occur between the snow patches, subnival waters, and ground. Underneath a semi-permanent snow patch, snow melts slowly from the direction of the ground, resulting in a hollow that is filled with sediments produced by wash-down from the river terraces. The energy of subnival waters washes away and displaces sediments present underneath the snow patch, but also causes them to be redeposited. The sediment features imply a significant impact of the relief under the snow patch on the thickness of nival deposits and the nivation mechanism. The sediments also indicate that subnival waters may be under hydrostatic pressure, which has a considerable impact on both the snowmelt and sedimentation processes.