Anthropogenic Denudation Rate in Other Mining Areas

Abstract

This chapter characterizes the mining movement of rock masses in Poland as a result of the exploitation of 12 major mineral resources. It also estimates the intensity of the resulting anthropogenic denudation and aggradation. Over 50 years (1960–2009) in Poland, 20.6 billion tonnes of mineral resources were extracted, mainly rock and energy materials. A more intense movement of rock masses was associated with open-pit mining (810,000 tonnes/km of the mining area) than with underground mining (68,000 tonnes/km), which translated into anthropogenic denudation rates that were even dozens of times higher. This chapter also presents the impact of coal mining on the relief of two European basins: The Ostrava-Karvina Basin and the Ruhr Basin. In the former, the average rate of denudation within individual mines was in the range of 28–136 mm/year; in the latter, it averaged several to 40 mm/year. These indicators are several times greater than the rate of natural denudation. The relief of the analysed areas in the last century was therefore under the prominent influence of mining activities.