Osiemdziesiąt lat Oddziału Świętokrzyskiego Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego w służbie polskiej geologii – osiągnięcia w geologii stosowanej

Abstract

Eighty years of the Holy Cross Branch of the Polish Geological Institute in the survey of Polish geology – achievements in applied geology.A b s t r a c t. This article presents the achievements of the employees of the Holy Cross Mts. Branch of the Polish Geological Institute in the field of applied geology: geological cartography, geology of natural resources and hydrogeology. The area of the Holy Cross Mts. is located in central Poland and for hundreds of years was the main source of metal ores and rock raw materials for the Polish state. Investigating the possibility of using these minerals and raw materials in the modern economy was the reason for establishing the Polish Geological Institute in Kielce. Shortly before World War II, a department of the Institute was established in Kielce for a detailed geological study of this interesting area, where the full profile of the Phanerozoic deposits is present, from the oldest Cambrian to Quaternary. The basic work performed by geologists in Kielce was the preparation of geological maps. During the 80 years of the Institute’s activity in Kielce, geological maps on various scales were made, ranging from 1:300,000 to 1:50,000. Currently, detailed mapping at the 1:50,000 and 1: 25,000 scales are being prepared. The search for deposits of iron, copper and other metals, conducted by the Kielce Institute, did not lead unfortunately to discovery of economically useful deposits. On the other hand, large deposits of rock building materials have been identified and documented and are currently exploited mainly for road construction. The region of the Holy Cross Mountains and their vicinity is unique in comparison to other regions of Poland because the entire population and economy are supplied with water from underground sources. Taking care of resources and adequate water quality is the main goal of the hydrogeologists employed at the Holy Cross department of the Polish Geological Institute. They organized and supervise a network that controls the water level and its quality, the impact of quarry activities on the groundwater levels, and prepare various types of hydrogeological maps.