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GIS data processing techniques are currently being used to revise many ideas in the field of geomorphology and related sciences. The paper presents the characteristics of the landform relief of the Mroga and Mrożyca interfluvial area (on the northern margin zone of the Łódź Plateau) based on the results of GIS spatial analysis models. These are techniques that have not been used so far for such a detailed fragment of the Łódź Plateau. The aim of this paper was to show the possibility of detailing topographic and geomorphological analysis and re-imagining the features of the Łódź Plateau relief on the example of a case study of the Mroga and Mrożyca interfluvial area. In this case, the use of GIS modelling confirmed the main features of the strongly transformed relief of the Mroga and Mrożyca interfluvial area, which is a result of overlapping elements of relief formed during the Warta stadial of the Odra Glaciation and further, during periods of the Vistulian and Holocene morphogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reveals deglaciation palaeodynamics (Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 2 [MIS 2]) in Poland and the southern Baltic Sea (SBS) development during marine transgression/regression phases (MIS 1) determined by a numerical modelling method. The introduced approach uses a high-level polynomial regression followed by the integral calculus of successive functions and an application of formulae. As a result, palaeogeographic relations from primary matrix transform instantly into palaeodynamics within a nested matrix. Accordingly, within 9 ka of the late Pleistocene, glacial recession dynamics increased by two orders of magnitude, from -8.5 m/yr between Leszno (L, 24 ka BP) and Poznań (Poz, 20-19 ka BP) phases, through several dozen (-37.2 m/yr, -60.6 m/yr, -90.7 m/yr) to the maximum average equalling -427.3 m/yr (max. -861.4 m/yr) between the Pomeranian (Pom, 17-16 ka BP) and the Gardno (G, 16.8-16.6 ka BP) phases. In turn, SBS coastline transgression and regression dynamics varied by three orders of magnitude. Since the Baltic Ice Lake (BIL, 10.5-10.3 ka BP) up to the Yoldia Sea (YS, 10-9.9 ka BP) regression was intense and equalled -56.8 m/yr (max. -128.7 m/yr), followed by marine transgression towards the Ancylus Lake (AL, 8.7-8.5 ka BP) at 21.43 m/yr through 9.30-2.20 m/yr during the Littorina Sea 1 and Littorina Sea 2 stages (LS1 and LS2, since 7.7 ka BP), eventually 0.51 m/yr in the last 6.05 ka. The 2m sea-level rise scenario projections indicate approx. 3400 km2 of land and 684,000 inhabitants face flood risk around 2150--2240 CE, with marine transgression dynamics expected to range from 23.9--38.2 m/yr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of geochemical analysis performed for the more-than-10-m-long core of sediments derived from Lake Nowowarpieńskie. Contrary to what its geographical name would suggest, it is in fact a peripheral bay of the Szczecin Lagoon (NW Poland). A characteristic feature of the sedimentary cover of this water body is the several-metrethick layer of lacustrine chalk, which is unique in the lithology of the sediments of today's Szczecin Lagoon. This sediment has been analysed using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging. The chalk sediment from Lake Nowowarpieńskie is of chemical origin, bearing no fragments of vascular plants, but only traces of C-org in the form of small plant remains. The analysis of individual crystals using the EDS method also show Ca contents of over 99%. SEM images reveal that the sediment is characterised by a loose, disordered packing of individual crystals, often combined to form aggregates with a tabular structure. The individual calcite grains are usually a few micrometres in size, while developed ones are mostly hypidiomorphic and show signs of corrosion. The sedimentation of the lacustrine chalk indicates that the post-glacial natural development of this part of what today constitutes Szczecin Lagoon differed from that of the rest of the lagoon. This sediment was deposited in a shallow but fertile isolated lake. The full profile of sediments from Lake Nowowarpieńskie reveals its distinct bipartite character, indicating two main stages of its evolution: carbonate and post-carbonate. In the first, the water body showed similarities to the neighbouring lakes of the Wkrzańska Plain. Its evolution was driven by climatic factors. The second stage was initiated by a palaeohydrological factor -- Littorina transgression, which resulted in the lake being included into the hydrological system of the Szczecin Lagoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper presents a sedimentary record from Lake Łukie located in the southeastern part of the Central European Plain, beyond the reach of the maximum extent of the last glaciation. The lake has thermokarstic origin and developed during the last glacial termination due to subsidence of the sub‐Quaternary carbonate basement triggered by permafrost thawing. A sediment core was investigated to reconstruct water trophic state and lake depth changes during the Holocene. We aimed at showing the relationship between ecological and geochemical changes in the lake and regional/supraregional climatic and hydrological trends throughout the Holocene. Results of subfossil Cladocera analysis were combined with data on the geochemistry and stable C and O isotopes in sedimentary carbonates. Isotopic and geochemical proxies helped to detect sources of sedimentary particles in the lake and thus to reconstruct changes in the intensity of atmospheric and catchment processes (e.g. precipitation and surface runoff). The Cladocera analysis results indicated endogenic processes in the lake such as trophic changes. Our data revealed that Lake Łukie has always been a rather eutrophic water body and the periods of particularly high productivity were in the lower Preboreal and upper Subatlantic. Periods of increased water depth were recorded in the lower Preboreal, lower Boreal and upper Subboreal, whereas low water stands were obtained during the late Preboreal, late Boreal, late Atlantic and Atlantic/Subboreal transition as well as during the lower Subboreal. The sediment succession from Lake Łukie provides the first full Holocene record of carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in lacustrine carbonates from the eastern part of the Central European Lowland. The record is characterized by uncommonly high δ13C and δ18O values of the carbonates resulting from a combination of within‐lake processes and dissolution of the carbonate bedrock of Cretaceous age. The impact of the old carbonates on isotope values was helpful in the reconstruction of the catchment forcing on the lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation of a proper zoning plan or landscape-ecological plan requires taking into account recognition of the natural values of an area covered by the plan and evaluating its abiotic and biotic diversities. The aim of the paper is to present the new approach to the procedure of geodiversity and biodiversity assessment. This procedure is used to characterise abiotic and biotic heterogeneity of the postglacial landscape modified by a man, tested on Dębnica River catchment (Western Pomerania, Poland). This catchment is a representative example illustrating the landscape of Central European Plain. The analytical algorithm of the geodiversity assessment is based on appropriate selection of the evaluation criteria: lithological, relative heights, landform fragmentation, hydrographical elements and mesoclimatic conditions. Biodiversity was assessed on the basis of real vegetation, potential natural vegetation and the degree of anthropisation of the natural vegetation with respect to syngenesis of plant associations. Seven factor maps were obtained: five for the diversity of abiotic elements, and two for the diversity of biotic elements, which became the basis for the creation of total geodiversity and biodiversity maps. Maps produced in accordance with given methodology may find a wide range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the reinterpretation of the taxonomic position of fossil epiphyllous callimothalloid fungi belonging to the fossil-genera Callimothallus (hitherto classified to the family Microthyriaceae) and Cribrites (?Microthyriales). These fungi thrived from the Late Cretaceous up to the Holocene. Investigation are based on collected material from the Oligocene of Hungary and the Miocene of Poland and on published data. For the common callimothalloid fungus Callimothallus pertusus , a new combination Neomycoleptodiscus pertusus is proposed. Callimothallus quilonensis is assigned to a new fossil-genus Muyocopromyces as a new combination Muyocopromyces quilonensis. We reconsider the fossil-species Ratnagiriathyrites hexagonalis as a younger synonym of the fossil-genus Cribrites. The geographical range of fossil callimothalloid fungi and their recent counterparts are discussed. Fossil Neomycoleptodiscus , Muyocopromyces , and Cribrites are proposed as reliable climate proxy of warm climate conditions in the past. • Common callimothalloid fossil-genus Callimothallus is revised as modern Neomycoleptodiscus • New fossil-genus Muyocopromyces corresponding to modern Muyocopron is described. • Presence of the members of the family Muyocopronaceae is dated back to the late Cretaceous. • Geographical and stratigraphical range of callimothalloid fungi is summarised. • Fossil callimothalloid fungi are proposed as reliable warm climate proxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study covered 6 sites located in the Vistula glaciation area in north-western Poland, where the Holocene calcareous (gyttja) deposits occur. Three types of such calcareous deposits were isolated: marly (groundwater calcretes) (CaCO3 > 80%, loss of ignition < 20%, non-carbonate fractions < 20%), calcareous gyttja (CaCO3 50-80%, loss of ignition < 40%, non-carbonate fractions < 40%), and clay calcareous gyttja (CaCO3 20-50%, loss of ignition < 30%, non-carbonate fractions < 60%). The content of major and trace elements was determined in different horizons. Several parameters of Holocene calcareous deposits were determined, namely carbonate status, total organic carbon, non-carbonate mineral fractions and several major and minor components. Close correlations between CaCO3 and Ca, Mg contents, between non-carbonate fraction and K, Zn and Cu contents, as well as between ignition loss and Zn and Cu contents were observed in the sediments. The sediments exhibit vertical variability which relates to the genesis of sediments and soils. The highest content of macroelements was recorded in the uppermost layers for Ca, Mg, Na, and Mn and for microelements (trace elements) in bottom layers for S, P, K, Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb, and Ni. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical verification of the previous stratigraphic Quaternary subdivisions has updated the setting of the stratigraphic units in Poland. Inconsequently applied classification and terminology in the Polish Quaternary stratigraphy has been accompanied by arbitrary correlation with marine isotope stages. This has resulted in the creation of several stratigraphic units, occasionally with ambiguous stratigraphic setting and chronology, and usually devoid of the type sections. A record of most of the Early and Middle Pleistocene is full of sedimentary hiatuses. The detailed stratigraphic setting of 5 glaciations (Nidanian, Sanian 1, Sanian 2, Odranian and Vistulian) and 4 interglacials (Podlasian, Ferdynandovian, Mazovian and Eemian) has been established in the Pleistocene of Poland. The palaeomagnetic Brunhes/Matuyama boundary was determined within the Podlasian Interglacial and therefore, the oldest glaciation (Nidanian) has no equivalent anywhere in Europe. The stratigraphic units distinguished are correlated with those in Western Europe and with the marine isotope stages. The Quaternary stratigraphy in Poland is faced with the necessity of how to define regional stratotypes of the main stratigraphic units and boundaries. A crucial issue is to change the approach from a qualitative description of the stratigraphic units to one based also on selected quantitative criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unfavourable environmental conditions to Chernozem development in Central Europe has led to questions regarding their origin and age, and conditions necessary for Chernozem persistence in Central Europe under a humid climate. This paper deals with Chernozem transformation during the Holocene period in SW Poland in relation to land morphology. The study was based on a catenary approach, with additional remarks on parent material homogeneity and soil classification. Based on textural and geochemical indices, the homogeneity of aeolian material (loess) was proven in the main part of the catena, which confirmed that the differentiation of “dry” and “wet” chernozemic soil across the catena did not result from the variability of parent material. No differences in morphological or physicochemical characteristics of mollic horizons were identified between the well-drained and wet sections of the catena. The strong redoximorphic features (manifested as stagnic or gleyic properties) in the lowermost part of catena are, therefore, secondary features, i.e. developed after the mollic horizon development, presumably in late Holocene period. Chernozems with chernic horizon, weakly developed subsurface argic horizon and free of redoximorphic features prevail in the central, well-drained and not eroded section of the catena. It has been hypothesized that the loess soils in the uppermost, more inclined part of the catena have been truncated by erosion during the first agricultural period, then afforested and transformed into Luvisols, probably due to temporary abandonment of those sites less favourable for farming. The soils in the transitional zone received the colluvial addition of humus material from the eroded hill summit; however, the colour of the humus layer has a chroma too high for a chernic horizon that surprisingly shifted these soils to the Kastanozems group. This study showed that the direction of transformation of native Chernozems in the Holocene period was strongly related to their position in the landscape, which affected the erosion/accumulation intensity and water drainage conditions (soil moisture regime). As a final result of these transformations, a relief-related zonality of soils has developed with Stagnic/Gleyic Chernozems – Luvic Chernozems – colluvial “Kastanozems” – Haplic Luvisols, in the lower (moist), middle (well-drained), and upper colluvial/eroded sections of the undulating loess plain, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the legacy of Edward Feliks Lubicz-Niezabitowski, a Polish scientist, biologist, zoologist, and physician who, over 20 years, collected and studied the Pleistocene and Holocene mammals found at various sites in Poland. A synopsis of his achievements in this regard is presented here for the first time, and covers representatives of Elephantidae, Rhinocerotidae, Cervidae, Bovidae, Equidae, Carnivora, and Rodentia, dealing with the locality and context of the finds, as well as the specific elements they represent. Although it is difficult to evaluate how many specimens of those specified by Lubicz-Niezabitowski are preserved to this day, and to what extent, the collected data can be used for synthetic works concerning diversity and occurrence of Pleistocene mammals in Europe, with reference to Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Results of research on Neo-Holocene slope covers uncovered at archaeological sites in Central Poland are described in this paper. Geoarchaeological investigations have been undertaken in the Ner River basin. Distinctive archaeological relicts of human activity document periods of intensive activity of human societies. Artefacts included within deposits play a very important role in correct recognition of the chronology of covers and ecofacts for reconstructions of environmental evolution. The origin and development of slope covers have been correlated with anthropogenic changes of the natural environment. Two main phases of acceleration of slope processes have been recognised, dated to the Middle Bronze Age and to the Late Roman Period. Slope deposits have been classified as deluvia (deluvial, slope wash deposits or colluvial deposits). Their features are most typical for “deluvial sands” and, if they contain more humic matter, for “soil deluvia”. The deluvial covers have been deposited as an effect of moderately intensive slope wash processes. Accumulation of slope deposits has resulted from natural processes initiated by human impact during periods of intensive settlement and economic activity. The slope cover sediments are the source for recognition of intensity of human impact and of economic activity of ancient societies, and for distinct phases of hiatuses of settlement development. The possibility of archaeological and palaeogeographical interpretations based on research on slope covers at archaeological sites is presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• We reconstructed environment changes with the use of multi-proxy approach. • Permafrost degradation led to a radical transformation in the flow of groundwater. • The paludification of the basins was determined by local conditions. • The process of subsidence determined the characteristics of the sedimentation basins. The paper presents records of lithofacial succession in the sediments of the Bagno Staw alkaline fen (Western Polesie Lowland, Eastern Poland), documenting the phase of rapid morphogenetic transformations during LG/H in the Lublin chalkland. Environmental conditions responsible for the morphogenesis and evolution of the site (from a shallow periglacial lake to an alkaline fen) were reconstructed. A detailed geological survey in combination with the analysis of Cladocera assemblages revealed the presence of numerous palaeodepressions under the plain covered today by the alkaline fen, which were initially small shallow lakes with a well-developed phytolittoral zone. Geochemical data and the analysis of stable O and C isotopes indicated that these lakes were supplied by ascending waters. Karstic phenomena under periglacial conditions, including subsidence at the bottom of biogenic accumulation basins, played an important role in the transformation of this site. These changes were largely determined by the chronology and dynamics of permafrost degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lobelia dortmanna L. (Lobeliaceae family) is an indicator species that is predominantly found in oligotrophic and acidic lakes. They are mainly distributed in northwestern Europe. Their occurrence in Poland is highly threatened by the increasing grade of human activity and environmental eutrophication; however, new sites of Lobelia were discovered in the last few decades, for example, in Lake Krzywce Wielkie situated in Bory Tucholskie National Park (BTNP), Poland. The existence of Lobelia in this lake was unexpected because Cladium mariscus was also found in the lake. Cladium has different ecological demands and is regarded as a species typical of calcareous habitats where calcium is found in abundance in the substrate. To explain the coexistence of both species in Krzywce Wielkie, pollen analysis of organic sediments was performed for four short cores collected from the littoral zone of the lake and for one long deep-water core. Additionally, macrofossil analysis was done for all the short cores. Pollen analysis revealed the existence of Cladium from the early Holocene period up to the present time. Pollen and seeds of Lobelia were found to be present since the beginning of the 20th century. Development of L. dortmanna and Myriophyllum alterniflorum populations and a decrease in the number of aquatic macrophytes in the eutrophic water indicate oligotrophication of water. This process started following the construction of drainage canal and the consequent water level decrease. This situation can be attributed to the abandonment of the agricultural areas adjoining the lake, which causes a decrease in the inflow of nutrients into the lake. Development of pine forest and establishment of BTNP enabled the protection and conservation of the surrounding catchment areas, thus restricting the potential eutrophication of the habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Holocene delivers a unique possibility to establish climatic stratigraphic boundaries based on detailed chronostratigraphy reflected in various facies of continental sediments, in their lithological parameters and organic remains. These sediments are dated by the C method in the case of organic remains, by counting annual laminations in lacustrine facies, and by dendrochronological method in the case of fluvial sediments. The existence of well dated profiles enables to reconstruct various climatic parameters like amplitudes of seasonal temperatures, types and frequency of extreme rainfalls and floods and, finally, to distinguish rare rapid changes and most frequent gradual ones. This reconstruction is based on the analogous effects of various types of present-day rainfalls. The current authors present a critical review of existing chronostratigraphic divisions starting from simple millennial division by Mangerud based on Scandinavian palynological stratigraphy of peat-bogs and Starkel's concept based on fluctuations in rainfall and runoff regime reflected in fluvial and other facies of continental deposits. In the last decades, the calibration of C dates allowed a new approach to be used for the construction of the probability distribution function of these dates in various facies or types of sediments, which formed a background for distinguishing and correlating climatic phases and defining boundaries between them. These approaches have been creating new opportunities for revision of the existing chronostratigraphy. The aim of this paper is to present a revised version of chronostratigraphic division based on climatic fluctuations reflected in various facies of sediments on the territory of Poland and discuss their correlation with other European regions and global climatic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of interdisciplinary (multiproxy) palaeoenvironmental studies of peat - calcareous tufa depositional sequences of spring mire from Radzików site (east Poland). Analyses of three biotic proxies (plant macrofossils, pollen, molluscs) were supplemented with sedimentological, geochemical, oxygen and carbon stable isotopes analyses and radiocarbon dating and used for reconstruction of environmental changes in Late Glacial and Holocene. The obtained results enable us to (1) reconstruct main phases of mire development and (2) determine environmental factors influencing changes of water supply. The object started to develop in Allerød. The Late Glacial and Early Holocene deposit sequence is relatively thick (about 1.0 m), with good palaeoecological record. The boundary between Younger Dryas and Preboreal is especially well confirmed by palynological and malacological analyses as well as radiocarbon dating. The Mesoholocene deposits are considerably worse preserved. Mire development was evaluated in terms of general mire ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global spread of hypoxia and less frequent mixing in lakes is a major growing environmental concern. Climate change and human impact are expected to increasingly deteriorate aquatic ecosystems. The study of processes and drivers of such changes in the past provides a great asset for prevention and remediation in the future. We used a multiproxy approach combining high-resolution bulk pigment data measured by hyperspectral imaging (HSI) with lower-resolution specific chlorophyll types and carotenoids measured by HPLC to examine Holocene trophic state changes and anoxia evolution in the meromictic Lake Jaczno, NE Poland. A redundancy analysis (RDA) including pollen-inferred vegetation cover, temperature and human impacts provides insight into specific conditions and drivers of changing trophic and redox states in the lake. Anoxic and sulfidic conditions were established in Lake Jaczno after initial basin infilling 9500 years ago. Until 6700 cal BP, lake trophy was relatively low, water turbidity was high and green sulfur bacteria (GSB) were abundant within the phototrophic community, suggesting a deep oxic–anoxic boundary and weak stratification. The period between 6700–500 cal BP is characterized by constantly increasing lake production and a gradual shift from GSB to purple sulfur bacteria (PSB), suggesting a shallower oxic–anoxic boundary and pronounced stratification. Yet, the presence of spheroidene and speroidenone in the sediments indicates intermittent anoxia. After 500 cal BP, increasing human impact, deforestation and intensive agriculture promoted lake eutrophication, with a shift to PSB dominance and establishment of permanent anoxia and meromixis. Our study unambiguously documents the legacy of human impact on processes determining eutrophication and anoxia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic eutrophication and spreading anoxia in freshwater systems is a global concern. Little is known about anoxia in earlier historic times under weaker human impact, or under prehistoric natural conditions with different trophic, land cover and climatic regimes. We use a novel approach that combines high‐resolution hyperspectral imaging with µ‐XRF and HPLC‐pigment data, which allows us to assess chloropigments (productivity) and bacteriopigments (anoxia) at seasonal subvarve‐scale resolution. Our ~9700 cal a bp varved sediment record from NE Poland suggests that productivity increased stepwise from oligotrophic Early Holocene conditions (until ~9200 cal a bp) to mesotrophic conditions in the Mid‐ and Late Holocene. Natural eutrophication was mainly a function of progressing landscape evolution with intense weathering under dense forest and warm‐moist climatic conditions. Generally, anoxia increased with increasing productivity. Seasonal anoxia and some multi‐decadal periods of meromixis were the common mixing patterns throughout the Holocene except for a period of persisting meromixis between ~5200 and 2000 cal a bp. Anthropogenic deforestation around 400 cal a bp resulted in substantially better lake oxygenation despite high productivity. In this small lake, aquatic productivity and lakeshore forest cover (wind shield) were more important factors controlling oxic/anoxic conditions than Holocene temperature variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we take a fresh look at the population dynamics of the Polish Plain in the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, using Bayesian analysis and modelling of radiocarbon dates, and contrast the results with data from the North German Plain. We argue against simple adaptationalist models and instead see the cultural landscape as a complex patchwork of old forms and the emerging new traits of the early Mesolithic. We argue that the Mesolithic directly follows the Final Palaeolithic on the Polish Plain, without the chronological hiatus of 150–300 years that is often assumed for that region; while, by contrast, the two cultural patterns—Final Palaeolithic and microlith-based Mesolithic—overlapped significantly in time on the adjacent North German Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cave site Shelter in Smoleń III (southern Poland) contains an approximately 2-m-thick stratified sequence of Upper Pleistocene and Holocene clastic sediments, unique for Central Europe. The sequence contents abundant fossil fauna, including mollusk, rodent and bat remains. The cave sites with long profiles of subfossil fauna present a great value for reconstructions of regional terrestrial paleoenvironment. We explore the stratigraphy of this site through analyses of the lithology and geochemistry of sediments, radiocarbon dating of faunal and human remains and charcoals, and archaeological study, as well as the paleoecology derived from the taxonomic composition of fossil faunal assemblages. Our data show that the entire period of the Holocene is recorded in the rockshelter, which makes that site an exceptional and highly valuable case. We present paleoenvironmental reconstructions of regional importance, and we propose to regard Shelter in Smoleń III as a regional stratigraphic stratotype of Holocene clastic cave sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All dunes within a dunefield usually show a similar response to the wind regime. However, in the late-Holocene coastal dunefield in NW Poland the surface topography suggests that slipface orientation may vary significantly with distance from the coast, which is rarely reported in the literature. The dunefield was stabilized with forest in the mid-19th century, preserving a unique record of atmospheric circulation in the South Baltic region at the end of the Little Ice Age. To elucidate the Holocene processes occurring along the study site a pseudo-3D GPR data set was collected. Six grids of parallel GPR lines combined with 400 m of GPR profiles (2D) were collected across the dunefield and displayed using GOCAD for interpretation and geostatistical analysis. The geophysical data revealed that the larger dunes almost entirely consist of steeply laminated facies. Most importantly the pseudo-3D data, supported by geostatistical estimates of strata dip directions, revealed the existence of three zones parallel to the coastline with the mean dip direction almost perpendicular to the coast in the northern coastal strip and almost parallel to it in the southern part. Spreads of the dip directions in pseudo-3D GPR data sets recorded on the stoss slopes of dunes and crests suggested initial deposition on transverse dunes, which later were transformed into barchanoid dunes. This can probably be linked to changes in the wind regime, i.e. reduction in velocity of the northern and northwestern winds leading to reduced sediment supply from the coast. While the data provide a new interpretation of Holocene dunefield dynamics at this site, they also suggest that the minimum number of pseudo-3D GPR grids required to establish general trends using geostatistical analysis should be at least 10, with even more data needed at larger, or more complex dunefields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geotourism potential of ten geosites, occurring within the Drawskie Lake District, north-western Poland, was evaluated to demonstrate the need for the establishment of a geopark named "Postglacial land of the Drawa and Dębnica rivers". Each site was investigated in respect of its scientific (geological and geomorphological), educational, economic, conservation, and added values. It has been found that two geosites, being also cultural heritage sites (Drahim Castle and Pottery Settlement in Sikory), have the greatest geotourism potential. Different aspects of inanimate nature are promoted in both geosites. Thanks to the existence of such objects there is a good chance for the successful development of geotourism, which is a tool for the sustainable socio-economic development of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simplified model of hydrological changes during the Late Glacial and Holocene is presented for the northern Polish regions that were ice covered during the Last Glacial. This reconstruction is based on a group of 197 radiocarbon dates from about 120 localities reflecting the sequence of alternating lake transgressions and regressions. The earliest transgressions were related to dead-ice melting (sometimes in 2-3 phases), while the later ones started during more humid phases. However, these were usually followed by regressions, which may have been connected with the formation of new drainage systems and with the overgrowing of shallow lakes by peat bogs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents results of diatom analysis of seven sediment cores taken from various depths of the Gulf of Gdańsk between the Hel Peninsula and the coast of Gdańsk and Gdynia. Further eight cores were drilled in the northern, southern and central part of the Vistula Lagoon. The present investigations enabled the determination of: (i) differentiation of diatom assemblage zones, (ii) correlation of palaeoecological units with reference to the following stages: Mastogloia Sea, Littorina Sea, Post-Littorina Sea, including the latest environmental changes associated with an anthropogenic factor, (iii) description of the defined diatom biofacies based on statistical analysis, (iiii) reconstruction of spatial and temporal development of both basins with the emphasis on the role of inflows of sea and river waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]