While the history, techniques of exploitation and deposit parameters of the copper ores in the North-Sudetic Synclinorium have been the subject of numerous investigations, the transformations of the terrain in the so-called “Old Copper Basin” (Lower Silesia, SW Poland) have not been analysed in detail before. This paper is intended to complement this gap. The authors present the results of the detailed geomorphometric analysis of the post-mining forms related directly to the copper mining. The LiDAR-based, high-resolution Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), which have been used in the analysis and description of the landforms, are currently considered as the most accurate and precise 3D-spatial data available in the numerical form. The following anthropogenic forms are distinguished in the study area: large- and small-scale ground deformations (depressions and small sinkholes), abandoned quarries, and forms associated with the exploitation and storage of the flotation wastes – post-flotation tailings and dumps. Our investigations have allowed visualization of the spatial distribution of the forms, estimation of their total volume as well as perspectives of their reclamation and protection.
During mapping work carried out since October 2015 in the Nowy Kościół area in the Kaczawskie Foothills, Western Sudetes, a number of morphological forms were identified and catalogued. They indicate surface transformation due to ceased mining activity. Several depressions and grabens were recognized during the digital terrain model and satellite images analysis. The range of deformation has been determined, and their spatial parameters and the maximal depression of the ground level within the mining area have been estimated and described. Such ground level depressions have not been examined in detail before. The main aim of the studies was to determine the usefulness of geomorphometric methods based on LiDAR digital elevation models (DEM) for the purposes of high quality description of surface deformation caused by underground mining operations.
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