PGI-NRI was the organiser of the 48th International IHIGEO Symposium

zaj inhigeo2023 en The 48th INHIGEO Symposium took place in late July and early August 2023. The event was organised by the Polish Geological Institute - PIB and the Polish Geological Society in cooperation with the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The conference was sponsored by the Polish Energy Group. Mining and Conventional Energy S.A.

pdf Book of abstracts and Tour Guide - 48th INHIGEO Symposium, Krakow Poland 2023 (15.91 MB)

The symposium was held at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Bóbrka and Wieliczka. The 40 participants represented as many as 16 countries from five continents. A total of 44 papers were presented in 10 sessions. Three posters were also presented.

Rozpoczęcie Sympozjum. Jako pierwszy wystąpił Prezydent INHIGEO prof. Ezzio Vaccari

Opening of the Symposium. The first speaker was INHIGEO President Prof. Ezzio Vaccari

W imieniu PIG-PIB uczestników Sympozjum powitał dr hab. Piotr Szrek Dyrektor ds. Badań i Rozwoju

On behalf of PGI-PIB, the Symposium participants were welcomed by Dr. Piotr Szrek, Director of Research and Development

Uczestnicy sympozjum na wspólnym zdjęciu (obowiązkowe "Family Photo")

Symposium participants in a group photo (compulsory "Family Photo")

The topics of the symposium included historical aspects related to geological cartography, mining and historical mining objects and their current use, as well as protection of geological heritage.

A certain tradition of INHIGEO meetings is the numerous speeches presenting biographies of outstanding figures, representatives of the natural sciences in a rather broad sense. It is difficult to refer to all of them as geologists, as up to the beginning of the 19th century they were rather natural scientists (naturalists) for whom what they walked on was only one element of nature worth describing.

As the organiser of the conference was Poland, there were many emphases on our country. An international team of authors with the participation of, among others, P. Krzywiec and J. Diemer (USA) presented the Polish part of the journey to the Russian Empire of Sir R. I. Murchison, who, accompanied by L. Zejszner visited the Holy Cross Mountains, Wieliczka and the Carpathian Mountains.

W. Mayer (Australia) discussed P.E. Strzelecki's research achievements made on this distant continent. V. Pukelyte (Lithuania) presented the profile of A. Giedroyć, to whom, as well as to I. Domeyko, is acknowledged by several nations. The biography of I. Oleksyshyn was presented by P. Krzywiec on behalf of the authors I. and A. Bubniak (Ukraine).

From the biographical part of the symposium, the speeches of P. Krzywiec and M. Kölbl-Ebert should also be mentioned. P. Krzywiec presented on behalf of a wider group of authors the figure of Georg Andreas Helving, active in Węgorzewo, who should definitely be treated more as a biologist than a geologist, but his two-volume work "Lithographia Angeburgica" on minerals and fossils clearly belongs to the field of geology. The subject of M. Kölbl-Ebert's presentation were the documents in the German archives relating to R. Brinkmann's activities in Warsaw during the Second World War. It seems that all historical documents concerning R. Brinkmann are now complete and it will be possible to prepare, in a wider Polish-German team, a paper containing a full assessment of him as a man, geologist and occupation director of the Polish Geological Institute.

The symposium could also not miss speeches on the history of geological cartography. F. Dreyer (France) presented the history of the creation of the first geological map of Denmark (1835). K. Histon (Ireland) gave a paper on the evolution of the geological map of County Donegal (Ireland). It was an interesting study illustrating how the graphical visualisation of a well-made geological map undergoes little change, whereas discussions on the age and genesis of rocks can take decades. S. Master (South Africa) presented the origins of geological mapping of the area of present-day South Africa. The fact that the first maps were published as early as 1844 and 1856 should be noted with appreciation.

E. Vaccari (Italy) presented the history of the creation of the first geological map of Everest and adjacent areas, published by A. M. Heron in 1922. In turn S. Wołkowicz and K. Wołkowicz presented achievements of the PGI-NRI in broadly defined geological cartography. This presentation was in a way a continuation of a paper delivered in 2017 discussing geological cartography of the Polish Lands up to the time of establishment of the Institute.

Several interesting papers dealt with the history of geological research and the history of geological surveys. R.M. Clary (USA) presented the history of the establishment and development of the Mississippi State Geological Survey. This survey was established almost 30 years earlier than the United States Geological Survey (USGS). However, it should be remembered that the State Geological Survey is not organisationally subordinate to the Federal Service. S. Master presented the early years of the Cape of Good Hope Colony Geological Commission.

E. Rudnickaitè (Lithuania) discussed the development of geological research in the seven-century history of Vilnius. Four hundred years of shared Lithuanian and Polish history are reflected in an unusually strong way when presenting the development of science in Vilnius, and referring to the spelling of names, one can only comment in the style of Jan Onufry Zagłoby: strength to talk about it. In turn, P. Krzywiec, on behalf of numerous teams, presented papers on early proto-paleontological dissertations made at the Toruń Gymnasium in the 17th and 18th centuries and seismic research in the Carpathian region.

An interesting experience for the participants was a visit to the Ignacy Łukasiewicz Museum of Oil and Gas Industry in Bóbrka. The open-air exhibition made a great impression on the visitors, especially the visible care taken to ensure that all the tools and equipment on display were original. The visit ended with the presentation of a film about Ignacy Łukasiewicz.

One of the leading themes of the conference, which appeared probably for the first time, was the history of the conservation of geological heritage. The first lectures on this topic were delivered in what was probably the most appropriate venue, the Drozdowice IV Chamber of the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

Michał Źróbek, a geologist working at the Wieliczka mine, gave a comprehensive lecture on geology, hydrogeological problems and the history of salt mining in Wieliczka. This was followed by employees of the Holy Cros Mountain Branch of PGI-NRI: A. Fijałkowska-Mader and W. Wesołowski presented in their speeches the history of the discovery of striped flint mining pits in Krzemionki Opatowskie and the history of works whose final effect was the creation of the Świętokrzyski Geopark, which in 2021 was included on the UNESCO list.

On the following day of the conference, A. Seghedi (Romania) presented the history of the creation of geoparks in Romania, and her compatriot V. Milu presented a poster on two historic mines, Roşia Montană and Brad. M. Yajima and T. Honjo (Japan) discussed the origins of geoparks in Japan.

In the scenery of the Wieliczka mine, P. Krzywiec presented, in a broader historical context, a biography of Adam Schröter (1515-1572), author of the poem 'Regni Poloniæ salinarum Vieliciensium descriptio carmine elegiaco' describing this mine and the work of the miners. Aleksandra Arndt, a classical philologist, then recited extensive excerpts from the work according to its original writing. For a better understanding of the content (who knows Latin nowadays?), the audience was able to follow the English translation of the poem on screen.

P. Macini (Italy) presented the history of salt mining in Italy. G. Godard (France), on behalf of the team, presented the history of the exploitation of manganese ores and their use in the production of coloured glass in Venice. S. Master discussed historical aspects of the oldest silver-bearing galena deposits in South Africa, which were discovered in 1792. Z. Petákova (Czech Republic) discussed the role of mineral resources in prehistoric times for the people living on the territory of the present-day Czech Republic.

The participation of PGI-NRI geologists in the discovery of mineral deposits in Poland during the 100-year history of the Institute was the subject of a paper by K. & S. Wołkowicz, while S. Wołkowicz additionally presented the history of exploration and exploitation of uranium ore deposits in the Sudety Mountains.

Uczestnicy sympozjum na wspólnym zdjęciu (obowiązkowe "Family Photo")

Discussion of G. Godard's presentation in the scenery of the Wieliczka salt mine

M. Napolitani (Italy) prepared a very interesting lecture on how artists are inspired by the beauty of nature (watercolour). Examples could be multiplied, but active volcanoes have always made a great impression, not only on artists. A young Italian scientist, D. Musumeci, also spoke about volcanoes, above all Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius, in historical terms as well as contemporary research. He was awarded the INHIGEO Early Career Award for his presentation.

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Górny krater Etny, 1836, akwarela (z prezentacji M. Napolitani)

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Etna’s upper crater, 1836, acquarelle

The conference was preceded by a 6-day field trip with 22 participants, including 18 from abroad. Krystyna and Stanisław Wołkowicz prepared the guidebook for the tour, which also included texts by Grzegorz Nowak, Wojciech Retman and Gerard Gierliński.

Participants of the tour were introduced to a number of sites of former mineral exploitation and the way in which these sites are currently developed. The trip included a visit to a gold mine in Złoty Stok, a uranium mining adit in Kowary-Podgórze, an adit in Krobica and an educational route through former tin and cobalt ore mining sites in the Stara Kamienica schists belt (Jizera Mountains).

The Old Mine - Science and Art Centre in Wałbrzych and ZGH Bolesław were also visited. The history of Zn-Pb and silver ore mining was then traced at the Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry. The last site associated with mineral extraction was a visit to the mine in Krzemionki Opatowskie. At the end of the trip, its participants were introduced to the geology and reptile tracks in Bałtów.

In addition to the mining and geological sites, the Książ and Krzyżtopór castles were also visited.

One of the participants in the symposium (as an accompanying person) was Michele Dean (South Africa), an artist-painter and illustrator, who commented with pencil and thin pen on every day of the trip.

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Górny krater Etny, 1836, akwarela (z prezentacji M. Napolitani)

Michele Dean's drawing commentary on the first day of the pre-conference tour: Gold mine in Złoty Stok and arrival at Hotel Karkonosze in Kamienna Góra

Rysunkowy komentarz Michele Dean (szkicująca na schodach) do ostatniego dnia wycieczki przedkonferencyjnej: Wykład głównego organizatora konferencji o geologii Polski w plenerach Pałacu Tarnowskich i bałtowskie tropy

Drawing commentary by Michele Dean (figure sketching on the stairs) on the last day of the pre-conference tour: A lecture by the main conference organiser on the geology of Poland in the open air of the Tarnowski Palace and reptile tracks in Bałtów

At the end of the 48th INHIGEO symposium, a very nice celebration was held to mark the retirement of one of the main organisers of the conference, Dr Krystyna Wolkowicz. There was a commemorative cake, a laudation delivered by Professor Ezzio Vaccari, President of INHIGEO, and many good wishes. However, it should be remembered that there is no retirement with regard to membership of organisations such as INHIGEO, it is often the start of a new, even more active period, as it involves pursuing one's passions.

The aim of the conference organisers was to familiarise its foreign participants with Poland's achievements in the field of modern management of the remnants of former mining and conservation of geological heritage, and to show how their use as cultural and educational centres currently influences the economic development of a local community or region. Participants in the conference and the excursion that preceded it complimented the sites visited and expressed their appreciation of the breadth of activities aimed at preserving the remains of our ancestors' activities.