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Article

The Impact of Hard Coal Mining on the Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Land Subsidence in the Urban Area (Bielszowice, Poland)

by
Robert Machowski
1,
Maksymilian Solarski
2,*,
Martyna A. Rzetala
1,
Mariusz Rzetala
1 and
Abderrahman Hamdaoui
3
1
Institute of Earth Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
2
Institute of Social and Economic Geography and Spatial Management, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
3
Independent Researcher, Zemamra 24-200, Morocco
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Resources 2024, 13(12), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13120167
Submission received: 22 October 2024 / Revised: 25 November 2024 / Accepted: 26 November 2024 / Published: 28 November 2024
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Abstract

:
This article presents the results of long-term monitoring of land subsidence in the Bielszowice area (Upper Silesian Coal Basin) using archival maps from the late 19th and 20th centuries, as well as contemporary LIDAR models from 2012 and 2022. The research work conducted included an analysis of subsidence caused by mining activities based on four terrain models: a historical terrain model obtained by digitizing Messtischblätter topographic maps, showing the land surface in 1883, a terrain model obtained by vectorizing Polish topographic maps from 1993, and LIDAR digital terrain models from 2012 and 2022. The study shows that over a period of 139 years, the study area subsided by an average of 9.5 m, which translated into an anthropogenic land subsidence rate of 68 mm/year and a subsidence volume of 100.5 million m3. The greatest subsidence occurred in the northern part of the study area, where basins with depths exceeding 30 m (the maximum subsidence amounted to 36 m) emerged. During the 139 years studied, land subsidence affected the entire area that was built up until 2022. Overall, 38.9% of built-up areas subsided by less than 10 m, 54.0% was subject to subsidence ranging between 10 and 20 m, and subsidence of more than 20 m affected 7.1% of the areas. Such large-scale subsidence in an urbanized area resulted in mining damage to houses and other infrastructure (e.g., railroads, roads); in extreme cases, some structures had to be demolished. Bielszowice is a good example of an area where spatial conflicts have emerged that have been related to the activities of industrial plants on the one hand and the development of urban areas on the other.

1. Introduction

The slow or sudden decrease in ground surface elevation, known as land subsidence, occurs in various parts of the world and may have various causes. Subsidence is often the result of multiple human-induced subsurface activities and processes [1]. Often, land subsidence affects densely populated highly urbanized and industrialized areas. Therefore, land subsidence can be considered a global urban problem [2,3]. The causes of land subsidence can be broadly divided into natural and those related to direct or indirect human activity. Natural causes primarily include geological and geomorphological factors such as the formation of caves and the formation of sinkholes in karst areas, as well as the melting of permafrost [4,5]. On the other hand, causes related to human activity mainly include underground mining [6] and massive water abstraction in highly urbanized areas [4]. Land subsidence caused by intensive use of groundwater accounts for 80% of subsidence cases identified in the United States [7].
The lowering of the land surface as a result of groundwater abstraction primarily affects large cities where the demand for water is increasing [8]. Cities struggling with land subsidence due to groundwater pumping include Mexico City, Tokyo, Bangkok, Jakarta, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Lagos [9,10,11,12,13]. In some cities, such as New York, there are several overlapping factors that cause subsidence, such as geological structure, groundwater extraction, and the excessive load generated by large buildings [14]. A separate group of areas subject to land subsidence are those within which this phenomenon occurs as a result of underground mining [15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36].
Land subsidence caused by deep coal mining occurs in mining regions in various parts of the world, e.g., India [17,35], Germany [21,26], Greece [36], the Netherlands [25], the United Kingdom [28], Turkey [20,22,24], the Czech Republic [16,23], Vietnam [33], China [19,31,32], and Poland [27,29,30]. In the case of longwall coal mining, ground subsidence usually occurs within a few years after the mining front has passed, but where a mine roof suddenly collapses, it may occur many years after the discontinuation of mining operations [28].
Despite the gradual abandonment of coal (fossil fuels) as the main energy resource, Poland still has a number of mines that extract hard coal by underground mining. The largest concentration of mining areas in Poland and one of the largest in the world can be found in the so-called Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB), which is situated on the border between Poland and the Czech Republic. The history of coal mining within the USCB dates back to the 16th century, but its rapid development began in the mid-19th century [37,38]. For more than 150 years, mining was among the main factors determining the economic development of the area, contributing to the influx of population and the development of settlement [39,40,41]. It was also a factor that had a strong impact on the natural relief of the USCB [6,42,43]. The rapid development of coal mining in this area, especially in the 20th century, contributed to the emergence of some of the largest subsidence basins in Europe [6,44]. These landforms are characteristic of areas where mining is carried out using the caving method (without the use of backfill to fill mining voids). Land subsidence results not only in the formation of new relief forms, which are sedimentation depressions or local depressions that change the longitudinal profiles of river valleys, but also in the emergence of so-called mining damage, i.e., damage to buildings and transport infrastructure, or the emergence of flooded and waterlogged areas on land used for agriculture [45,46,47,48,49,50]. Where mining areas do not overlap with densely populated and intensively developed areas, mining activities do not pose a significant problem, but when mines operate under intensively developed urban areas, resource extraction may lead to so-called spatial conflicts. On the one hand, the coal mines that developed in the 19th and 20th centuries were the reason for the influx of population and the development of infrastructure in the study area [51], but on the other hand, they also contributed to the technical deterioration of the urban fabric and of the accompanying infrastructure [50].
This paper is an attempt at a detailed quantitative analysis of changes in land elevation in one of the parts of Ruda Śląska, the Bielszowice district, where mining activities have been carried out for almost 150 years. The possible impact of mining activities on damage to buildings and technical infrastructure has been analyzed as well.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Area—Outline of Mining History in the Study Area

The study area is located in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) and is part of Ruda Śląska, one of the cities forming part of the so-called Katowice conurbation (Figure 1). The Katowice conurbation is a group of cities that have developed since the 19th century to become one of the largest industrial districts in Europe [39,40]. The urban centers included in the conurbation grew primarily due to the rapid development of the mining (mainly of coal and metal ores) and processing industries from the second half of the 19th century onward. Industrial development has resulted in a large population influx. With 2.4 million inhabitants, the Katowice conurbation is currently one of the largest population centers in Europe [40]. The research focused on Bielszowice, which is among those parts of the Katowice conurbation that have been most transformed by human activity. This area has been subject to heavy industrial pressure since the late 19th century, while rapid urbanization progressed at the same time.
Bielszowice functioned as a separate settlement from the Middle Ages until the mid-20th century, and only in 1959 was it incorporated into the newly formed city of Ruda Śląska. The district covers an area of 10.6 km2, i.e., just over 7% of the city area, and has a population of nearly 10,000 [52].
The first open-pit coal mines started to operate there as early as the late 18th century, but rapid industrial development, especially involving coal mining, took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Currently, three coal mines that have their mining areas within the district continue to operate: the Bielszowice, Halemba-Wirek, and Makoszowy mines. Most of the study area is located within the mining area of the Bielszowice mine (Figure 1). The mine was constructed between 1896 and 1904. Its mining area currently amounts to 34 km2, and it only coincides with the study area in its northern part. Under a section of the western part of the district, the mining field of the Makoszowy coal mine is located, which has been in operation since 1906. In the eastern part of the study area, coal is currently mined by the Halemba-Wirek mine, which was established in 2007 as a result of the merger of the Wirek coal mine, which dates back to the 19th century, with the Halemba coal mine, which was established in 1943 [37,38].
In the study area, the land surface is dominated by quaternary formations in the form of fluvioglacial sands and gravels, locally overlying glacial tills ranging in thickness from a dozen to around 50 m. Directly below these formations lie Carboniferous sediments [53]. The rock layers of this period are characterized by varying thicknesses and are interbedded in the rock mass. They developed in the form of clay shales, sandy shales, sandstones, and numerous coal beds and seams. Longwall mining with block caving takes place at great depths, mostly below 800 m, and only affects the thicker coal-bearing formations. In the study area, the thickest coal seam (ranging from 7 to 9 m) is located at a depth of 510 m. In addition, the presence of faults with dips ranging from 10° to 80° and throws of 1 to 7 m has been noted in the rock mass. Due to the geological conditions and the mining method used, these areas are at risk of rock bursts, with several such events recorded each year [54,55]. As a result of coal mining, underground workings are created, and when these collapse, there is a slow movement of the rock mass toward the resulting voids. As a result of these movements, morphological changes occur, which are manifested on the surface as deformation of strata, subsidence, and the formation of depressions [56]. The subsidence factor varies according to the type of underground mining. In the case of full extraction using block caving, subsidence can be as much as 0.7 m for every meter of rock removed, whereas in the case of partial extraction using strip mining and hydraulic backfilling, it is only 0.02 to 0.03 m [57].

2.2. Research Methods

A number of source materials were used in the research. The oldest materials were the archival Prussian 1:25,000 topographic maps (Messtischblätter) produced at the end of the 19th century [58]. The relief shown on those maps reflects the natural (pre-industrial) state—at the time they were produced, industrial activity was at an early stage of development, and thus the area occupied by relief forms related to mining activities was very limited. Those maps were produced by qualified military cartographers. They can be used to conduct measurements and exhibit relatively small errors compared to contemporary materials—the accuracy of the terrain representation on maps is up to several meters [59,60]. They have been used on multiple occasions to study the impact of coal mining on changes in land relief in mining areas [6,16,21,26,43,49,50,61,62,63,64,65] and for assessing the transformation of the natural environment under the impact of human activity in various regions [66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77]. In order to determine the relief of the study area at the end of the 20th century, Polish 1:10,000 topographic maps were used [78]. Archival maps were rectified to the modern coordinate system using the affine method with several dozen benchmark points. On the basis of the contour intervals present on both sets of maps, two digital terrain models were produced to replicate relief in the late 19th century (pre-industrial period) and the late 20th century, with the contour intervals adjusted to the maximum accuracy of Prussian maps. Using simple raster map algebra, the changes in relief that occurred from 1883 to 1993 were determined. The maximum vertical error in this case was ±1.5 m.
The research used measurement data of terrain configuration reconnaissance using lasers (Light Detection and Ranging, LIDAR) [79] conducted as part of airborne laser scanning (ALS) [80]. Data from remote sensing reconnaissance were used to create a digital terrain model (DTM), which is a representation of the shape of the topographic surface after filtering out other cover elements [81]. Two LIDAR models showing relief in 2012 and 2022 were used to trace the changes in relief taking place until 2022. Similarly, as with maps, relief at both points in time was compared using simple raster map algebra (Figure 2). The lidar models used in work are very accurate terrain imaging made using laser scanning. In the case of the juxtaposition of the two LIDAR models, the maximum vertical error was ±0.3 m (with horizontal errors not exceeding 1 m). In addition, after the LIDAR models had been adjusted, they were compared with the models produced on the basis of both sets of maps, which provided information on how relief changed throughout the study period from 1883 to 2022, as well as from 1993 to 2012 and from 1993 to 2022. Modern terrain models have been generalized to an accuracy close to that obtained as a result of the digitalization of historical maps, and the results are presented with appropriate contour cuts of subsidence.
Prussian maps from 1883, Polish maps from 1993, and 1:5000 aerial photos from 2021 were used to illustrate land use changes [82]. As a result of map vectorization, information was obtained not only on the trend of changes in land use but also on the extent and scale of the threat that land subsidence posed to built-up (intensively developed) areas. This helped identify the areas most at risk of so-called mining damage. In addition, a field survey of mining damage was conducted.

3. Results

3.1. Changes in Relief

The relief of the study area depicted on Prussian topographic maps from the late 19th century was quasi-natural. Only in the northeastern part of Bielszowice did the Deutsche Zinkhütte zinc smelter operate alongside open-pit mines where the coal used in the smelting process was extracted (Figure 3). Those open-pit mines, however, did not affect the overall elevation of the study area due to their small scale. At that time, the highest point in the area was situated 315 m above sea level (the hills located in the northeastern part of Bielszowice). The lowest point, at 235 m above sea level, was present in the western part of the study area, within the Potok Bielszowicki stream valley. At that time, the average elevation in the Bielszowice area was 256.8 m above sea level, and the height difference between the highest and lowest points was 80 m (Figure 4, Table 1). By the end of the 20th century, the general elevation pattern did not change but elevations in the area decreased. The maximum elevation decreased by 4 m to 311 m above sea level, and the minimum elevation by 10 m to 225 m above sea level during this period (Figure 3). Between 1883 and 1993, the average elevation in the study area decreased by 6.7 m to 250.1 m above sea level by the end of the 20th century, while the height difference between the highest and lowest points increased from 80 to 86 m (Table 1). During the period in question, the greatest land subsidence occurred in the northern part of the study area, within the mining areas of the Bielszowice and Wirek mines. There, three subsidence basins formed, within which elevation decreased by more than 20 m (in the case of the westernmost basin, the decrease in elevation reached a maximum of 26 m). Land subsidence between the late 19th and 20th centuries affected 70% of the study area (Figure 5). Only in the southwestern and central parts of Bielszowice were areas present whose elevation did not decrease during that time. Between the late 19th and 20th centuries, the volume of land subsidence in the area reached 70.9 million m3 (Table 2).
Analysis of highly detailed LIDAR models has shown that in the second decade of the 21st century, the study area continued to undergo rapid changes in relief caused by mining activities. At the end of the study period, in 2022, the general elevation pattern in Bielszowice remained similar to the one present nearly a century and a half earlier (Figure 3). However, between 2012 and 2022, several subsidence basins emerged or became deeper, with maximum depths ranging from 1 to 5.8 m (Figure 6). As a result of land subsidence, the average elevation of the study area decreased slightly from 247.5 m above sea level to 247.3 m above sea level, while both the minimum and maximum elevations remained almost unchanged during that period. The maximum elevation increased by 0.2 m and the average elevation increased by 0.1 m (Table 2). The height difference between the highest and lowest points also increased slightly (by 0.1 m). During that period, 27% of the study area was subject to land subsidence, and the volume of that subsidence amounted to 2.1 million m3 (Table 3). In order to obtain a complete picture of the changes in relief from 1883 to 2022, a comparative analysis was conducted by comparing digital models made on the basis of the contour intervals present on the 1883 Messtischblätter map and the 2022 LIDAR model (Figure 7), as well as on the basis of the 1993 topographic map and the 2012 and 2022 LIDAR models (Figure 8 and Figure 9). The LIDAR models were adjusted to the contour intervals present on topographic maps. A comparison of models produced from maps with those produced using the LIDAR technology demonstrates that between the early 1990s and 2012, several extensive sedimentation basins with depths exceeding 5 m and reaching up to 20 m emerged or developed (Figure 8). In the following decade until 2022, those basins became slightly larger and deeper. The maximum amount of subsidence in the 1993–2022 period was 22 m (Figure 9). The area of land subject to subsidence in the 1993–2012 period amounted to 68.4%, and in the 1993–2022 period, it amounted to 70.4% of the study area. The average elevation of the study area decreased by 2.6 m (by 2012) and 2.8 m (by 2022) during that period, and the volume of land subsidence amounted to 27.5 and 29.6 million m3, respectively (Table 3).
In order to globally capture land subsidence over the past 139 years, i.e., the entire period during which underground mining took place in the study area, a digital terrain model from 1883 was compared with a 2022 LIDAR model (for this purpose, the latter model was adjusted). During that period, land subsidence affected over 89.4% of the area of Bielszowice. Severe subsidence, exceeding 20 m, was present in 6.8% of the area and was concentrated in the northern part of the district, within the mining fields of the Bielszowice and Wirek mines. Subsidence exceeding 30 m occurred in 0.2% of the area, with the maximum decrease in elevation reaching 36 m (Figure 8). During the period studied, the average elevation of the area decreased by 9.5 m, with the height difference between the highest and lowest points increasing by the same amount. The total volume of land subsidence amounted to 100.5 million m3 (Table 3).
Land subsidence in the period from 1883 to 1993 affected 91% of the areas that were built up by 1993 (and 100% of the areas that were already built up at the beginning of the study period), with subsidence greater than 5 m affecting more than 80% of built-up areas. Locally, the elevation of some built-up areas decreased by as much as 15 to 20 m (parts of the district located north of the Na Piaski and E. Kokota streets) (Figure 5). In the period from 1993 to 2022, 95% of built-up areas were subject to subsidence, of which 40% amounted to less than 5 m and about 3% amounted to more than 10 m (Figure 9). During the period from 2012 to 2022, 61% of the areas built up by 2022 were subject to subsidence, of which subsidence of more than 2 m affected 16% of the areas built up by 2022 (Figure 6). During the period from 1883 to 2022, the entire area built up by 2022 was subject to subsidence to some extent. Nearly 40% (38.9%) of areas that were built up in 2022 were subject to subsidence of no more than 10 m, the elevation of 54% of built-up areas declined by between 10 and 20 m, and the most severe subsidence (more than 20 m) affected 7.1% of built-up areas (Figure 7).

3.2. Changes in Land Use

An analysis of maps shows that at the end of the 19th century, agricultural land still dominated in Bielszowice. Arable land, wasteland, and grassland accounted for a total of 72% of the study area at that time. Forests and wooded areas dominated the southern part of the district, accounting for about 18% of its area. The settlement pattern at the end of the 19th century was characteristic of rural areas (buildings were concentrated around the streets that ran parallel to the right tributary of the Potok Bielszowicki stream), with several small colonies being present as well. At that time, small industrial areas were concentrated exclusively in the northern part of the study area (near the zinc smelter that opened in 1805)—those were small coal pits and metal ore deposits, which were mined by open-pit methods [83] (Figure 10). The rapid development of industry, which took place between the late 19th century and the end of the 20th century, resulted in a large population influx and, consequently, an increase in built-up areas. By the end of the 20th century, built-up areas accounted for 20% of the study area and industrial areas for 11% of the study area. The increase in intensive development was primarily at the expense of agricultural land (arable land and grassland) whose total share at the end of the 20th century decreased to just 30.9% of the Bielszowice district. During the 1993–2022 period, some industrial plants closed, and as a result, the share of land used for industrial purposes decreased slightly (Figure 10, Table 4). The share of arable land and grassland decreased to 16.7% during that period, while that of built-up areas increased to 23.8%. The share of forest and wooded land increased to 39.5% in 2022, which was mainly caused by natural forest succession on post-agricultural and post-industrial wasteland (Figure 10, Table 4).

4. Discussion

The study area is one such district that has been subject to subsidence mainly as a result of intensive mining activities. Initially, mining activities in the study area were limited to open-pit mining, but as mining techniques developed and the demand for hard coal increased, underground mining began [37,38,83]. Small-scale mines were gradually consolidated into ever larger ones, expanding the mining area and reaching deeper deposits [37,38]. In the case of Bielszowice, intensive coal mining dates back to the beginning of the 20th century: as early as 1913, 1.5 million tons of coal were mined annually in the district. In the second half of the 20th century, output increased, exceeding 2.0 million tons per year and reaching 2.7 million tons per year by 2000 [38]. Therefore, it can be assumed that the relief depicted on the Prussian topographic map reflects the pre-industrial (quasi-natural) state (Figure 3). The first subsidence basins most probably began to form as early as the first half of the 20th century, becoming deeper as mining intensified in the post-war period (Figure 5). In the period from 1883 to 1993, the largest subsidence took place in the agricultural and forest areas north of the inhabited part of the Bielszowice village. During the subsequent periods analyzed, the existing subsidence basins expanded and became deeper (Figure 5, Figure 6, Figure 7, Figure 8 and Figure 9), with the largest subsidence in the entire study period occurring in the northern part of the study area. The maximum subsidence depth during the 139 years analyzed reached 36 m. Similar subsidence values were recorded for the nearby city of Bytom, where maximum subsidence reached 35 m, but the analysis there covered only 111 years, i.e., a much shorter period [50]. Cases of subsidence exceeding 25 m have also been recorded in other parts of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin [6,49,84]. Slightly lower subsidence values have been recorded for other old coal basins such as the Ruhr—25 m [21,26], the Czech part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Ostrava region)—20 m [16], mining areas located in the British Isles (13 m), or the Netherlands (10 m) [85,86].
The lowering of the land surface caused by mining activities results does not just result in changes in elevation patterns in the area in question: it leads to a decrease in the average elevation or exacerbates height differences and increases relief intensity as a result [6,50]. As a result of land subsidence, endorheic depressions emerge, serving as sedimentation basins in which water bodies often form [47,49,84,87,88], and changes occur in the longitudinal profiles of watercourses [6], potentially increasing the risk of flooding [89].
The formation of subsidence basins also has a negative impact on soil and vegetation cover [90,91,92]. Localized subsidence changes the water balance in the soil, causing it to become locally dry or excessively wet, which is associated with a reduction in nutriensts [90,92]. Soil cover deterioration due to land subsidence, resulting in reduced yields, has been observed in agricultural areas in different parts of the world [90,93]. Land subsidence can contribute to shallow landslides that reduce the suitability of the soil for agriculture and intensify erosion processes, especially on loess soils [94]. Deterioration in soil quality and the consequent reduction in crop yields can be a manifestation of mining damage occurring in areas with extensive land use (agricultural areas.
An important adverse effect of the occurrence of land subsidence in intensively developed areas is possible mining damage, leading to a deterioration in the technical condition of infrastructure or even necessitating the demolition of buildings and the resettlement of population [50]. In the case of Bielszowice, where 100% of built-up areas were subject to subsidence during the study period, this problem is significant as mining damage affects the entire study area. This damage concerns both buildings and road surfaces. In the period from 2010 to 2014 alone, the cost of remedying mining damage in the Bielszowice area amounted to PLN 119.4 million (about USD 31 million), of which PLN 43.2 million was compensation to property owners and PLN 76.2 million was the cost of construction work or services related to damage repair [95].
Among the many factors that have influenced elevation changes in the study area, undoubtedly, the most significant are land subsidence processes caused by underground coal mining. Elevation changes resulting from the emergence of various concave (e.g., pits, funnels, leveled surfaces, disused quarries) and convex (e.g., waste rock dumps, piles, levees, embankments) features are also associated with mining activities. Similar forms are caused by the activity of other industries or services, or even agriculture, although their effect on elevation change is much less spectacular than in the case of subsidence. The impact of these factors on the elevation is often compensated by, e.g., backfilling subsidence basins with waste rock and removing waste dumps [50]. In the study area, adverse changes in elevation due to progressive groundwater abstraction (mine dewatering, water supply) cannot be completely ruled out, although the occurrence of this problem has not yet been noted in the scientific literature on the region [50]. The scant presence of loose formations, combined with their marginal importance for groundwater abstraction, as well as the presence of solid rocks (e.g., sandstones, shales, quartzites) in the geological substrate of the area means that the problem of land subsidence caused by water abstraction does not exist in practice [50], or at least not to the same extent as in other urban areas around the world that have had to deal with land subsidence caused by intensive groundwater abstraction from loose formations [8,9,10,11,12,13].
The presented example of changes in land elevation in the area of Bielszowice in Ruda Śląska should be discussed in the context of the use of fossil fuels and the operation of mines that extract resources of crucial importance for the energy transition, providing a documented study of unintended natural and socio-economic effects of underground coal mining. The method presented for assessing changes in land elevation can be used, for instance, as a basis for decisions to cease or continue fossil fuel extraction, or in the development of land-use plans involving new underground mineral extraction projects The applied significance of the presented method for assessing changes in land elevation may include its use by spatial planners as a tool for illustrating the potential impact of landform transformations on changes in land cover and land use forms.

5. Conclusions

Using various source materials, it was possible to trace the changes in the relief of the Bielszowice district caused by coal mining in the years 1883–2022 (i.e., from the pre-industrial period to the present). The analysis demonstrates that coal mining has significantly affected the relief of the study area, contributing to the emergence of extensive deep subsidence basins. During the 139 years studied, nearly 90% (89.4%) of the district’s area was subject to land subsidence, with very significant subsidence (exceeding 20 m) occurring in 7.0 percent of the study area. During the same period, the average elevation of the land surface decreased by 9.5 m, and the maximum subsidence reached 36 m. The mining of coal and waste rock resulted in a subsidence volume of 100.5 million m3, and the rate of anthropogenic denudation averaged 68 mm per year. Land subsidence in the study area contributed not only to a lowering of the land surface but also to an increase in relief intensity as the height difference between the highest and lowest points grew. An important negative aspect of land subsidence is the emergence of so-called mining damage. During the study period, there was damage to buildings, railroad lines and facilities, water and sewage networks, electricity and gas networks, and finally, road infrastructure, including bridges and overpasses. Subsidence has also caused losses in farming and forestry as subsidence basins became flooded. The total cost of removing mining damage during the study period can be estimated at nine figures (in the 2010–2014 period alone, this cost amounted to PLN 119.4 million, i.e., about USD 31 million).

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, R.M., M.S., M.A.R., M.R. and A.H.; Methodology, M.S.; Software, M.S. and A.H.; Investigation, M.S.; Data curation, R.M. and A.H.; Writing—original draft, R.M., M.S., M.A.R. and M.R.; Writing—review & editing, R.M., M.A.R. and M.R.; Supervision, M.R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by the University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland), Institute of Earth Sciences, project no. WNP/INoZ/2023_ZB25.

Data Availability Statement

Data are contained within the article.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

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Figure 1. Location of the study area: (A) location of the study area in Europe, (B) location of the study area within the boundaries of the city of Ruda Śląska, (C) study area against the background of contemporary mining areas, 1—study area, 2—boundaries of administrative units, 3—the border of the city of Ruda Śląska, 4—boundaries of mining areas.
Figure 1. Location of the study area: (A) location of the study area in Europe, (B) location of the study area within the boundaries of the city of Ruda Śląska, (C) study area against the background of contemporary mining areas, 1—study area, 2—boundaries of administrative units, 3—the border of the city of Ruda Śląska, 4—boundaries of mining areas.
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Figure 2. Raster map algebra: (A) 2012 terrain model, (B) 2022 terrain model, (C) elevation difference for the period 2012–2022.
Figure 2. Raster map algebra: (A) 2012 terrain model, (B) 2022 terrain model, (C) elevation difference for the period 2012–2022.
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Figure 3. Terrain models based on maps: (A) 1883 terrain model, (B) 1993 terrain model, (C) 2012 terrain model, (D) 2022 terrain model.
Figure 3. Terrain models based on maps: (A) 1883 terrain model, (B) 1993 terrain model, (C) 2012 terrain model, (D) 2022 terrain model.
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Figure 4. Hypsometric profiles (1—as of 1883, 2—as of 1993, 3—as of 2012, 4—as of 2022) and average absolute elevation (5—as of 1883, 6—as of 1993, 7—as of 2012, 8—as of 2022) of the land surface within the boundaries of Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice.
Figure 4. Hypsometric profiles (1—as of 1883, 2—as of 1993, 3—as of 2012, 4—as of 2022) and average absolute elevation (5—as of 1883, 6—as of 1993, 7—as of 2012, 8—as of 2022) of the land surface within the boundaries of Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice.
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Figure 5. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 1883 to 1993: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 1993, 4—built-up areas in 1883.
Figure 5. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 1883 to 1993: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 1993, 4—built-up areas in 1883.
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Figure 6. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 2012 to 2022: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 2022.
Figure 6. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 2012 to 2022: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 2022.
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Figure 7. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 1883 to 2022: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 2022.
Figure 7. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 1883 to 2022: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 2022.
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Figure 8. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 1993 to 2012: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 2012.
Figure 8. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 1993 to 2012: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 2012.
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Figure 9. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 1993 to 2022: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 2022.
Figure 9. Changes in relative elevation within Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period from 1993 to 2022: 1—changes in relative elevation [m], 2—isohypses [m], 3—built-up areas in 2022.
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Figure 10. Changes in land use in Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period 1883–2022: 1—roads, 2—railway lines, 3—watercourses, 4—water bodies, 5—fields, fallow lands, fallow wastelands, 6—forests and trees, 7—meadows, pastures, grasslands, 8—built-up areas, 9—industrial areas and post-industrial areas, 10—allotment gardens, 11—road areas, 12—cemeteries, 13—sports facilities, 14—railway areas.
Figure 10. Changes in land use in Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period 1883–2022: 1—roads, 2—railway lines, 3—watercourses, 4—water bodies, 5—fields, fallow lands, fallow wastelands, 6—forests and trees, 7—meadows, pastures, grasslands, 8—built-up areas, 9—industrial areas and post-industrial areas, 10—allotment gardens, 11—road areas, 12—cemeteries, 13—sports facilities, 14—railway areas.
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Table 1. Changes in land elevation in the area of Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period 1883 from 1993.
Table 1. Changes in land elevation in the area of Ruda Śląska, Bielszowice, in the period 1883 from 1993.
Elevation Range
[m a.s.l.]		18831993
Area [km2]Share of Area [%]Area [km2]Share of Area [%]
225–235--1.211.3
235–2453.734.94.239.7
245–2551.716.12.422.6
255–2652.422.71.110.4
265–2750.76.60.76.6
275–2850.87.50.65.7
285–2950.65.60.10.9
295–3050.43.80.21.9
305–3150.32.80.10.9
Table 2. Subsidence volumes in the study area in the period 1883–2022.
Table 2. Subsidence volumes in the study area in the period 1883–2022.
PeriodAverage Depression
of the Ground Surface [m]		Rate of Land Surface Subsidence
[mm/Year]		Subsidence
Volume
[Million m3]
1883–19936.76070.9
1883–20229.568100.5
1993–20122.614427.5
1993–20222.810029.6
2012–20220.2202.1
Table 3. Changes in land elevation in the area of Bielszowice in the period 2012 from 2022.
Table 3. Changes in land elevation in the area of Bielszowice in the period 2012 from 2022.
Elevation Range
[m a.s.l.]		20122022
Area [km2]Share of Area [%]Area [km2]Share of Area [%]
221–2311.514.31.615.2
231–2413.230.43.230.4
241–2512.826.52.826.5
251–2611.211.41.110.6
261–2710.65.70.65.7
271–2810.65.70.65.7
281–2910.43.80.43.8
291–3010.21.90.21.9
301–3110.10.20.10.2
311–3210.00.1--
Table 4. Changes in land use in Ruda Ślaska, Bielszowice, in the period 1883–2022.
Table 4. Changes in land use in Ruda Ślaska, Bielszowice, in the period 1883–2022.
Linear Attributes [km]Year 1883Year 1993Year 2022
Roads49.544.958.8
Railway lines-9.39.0
Watercourses8.527.425.4
Areal attributes [ha]Year 1883Year 1993Year 2022
Fields, fallow lands, fallow wastelands 596.2165.0137.3
Forests and trees198.1311.0418.5
Meadows, pastures, grasslands169.0162.940.0
Built-up areas45.0212.1252.0
Road areas28.729.064.1
Water bodies4.618.36.0
Industrial areas and post-industrial areas15.3115.8100.1
Cemeteries0.33.03.0
Sports facilities-5.75.7
Allotment gardens-35.931.0
Railway areas-11.611.2
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Machowski, R.; Solarski, M.; Rzetala, M.A.; Rzetala, M.; Hamdaoui, A. The Impact of Hard Coal Mining on the Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Land Subsidence in the Urban Area (Bielszowice, Poland). Resources 2024, 13, 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13120167

AMA Style

Machowski R, Solarski M, Rzetala MA, Rzetala M, Hamdaoui A. The Impact of Hard Coal Mining on the Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Land Subsidence in the Urban Area (Bielszowice, Poland). Resources. 2024; 13(12):167. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13120167

Chicago/Turabian Style

Machowski, Robert, Maksymilian Solarski, Martyna A. Rzetala, Mariusz Rzetala, and Abderrahman Hamdaoui. 2024. "The Impact of Hard Coal Mining on the Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Land Subsidence in the Urban Area (Bielszowice, Poland)" Resources 13, no. 12: 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13120167

APA Style

Machowski, R., Solarski, M., Rzetala, M. A., Rzetala, M., & Hamdaoui, A. (2024). The Impact of Hard Coal Mining on the Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Land Subsidence in the Urban Area (Bielszowice, Poland). Resources, 13(12), 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13120167

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