Surveying in the Studies of the Stability of Earthy Constructions, Focus on Selected Historical Mounds in Krakow (Poland)

Abstract

Mounds, as anthropogenic constructions of a very delicate structure, are subdued to constant changes, which, due to the impact of external factors (prolonged precipitation, tremors) are subdued to deformations in the form of mass movements. These phenomena usually have the character of mild soil creep in time and sometimes, as a result of rapid loss of stability, they are seriously damaged by landslide. This phenomenon causes temporary exclusion of the object from use. In the framework of the protection of these objects, the maintenance was carried out within the preventive measures referring to the construction and surveying monitoring of the geometry changes in time, as a result of phenomena taking place in the ground medium under the influence of environmental factors causing strains. The process of the deformation of mounds is similar to the characteristic, according to the Terzagie's theory. The application of surveying technologies of high precision allows the monitoring of changes in their geometry in time. The properly defined study area and the proper selection of measurement technology in the aspect of the accuracy of the prediction of changes, can efficiently help in defining the scale of deformations in the decisive process referring to the way of efficient protection of barrows. The article presents the results of point monitoring carried out with surveying technologies within 11 measurement series carried out on the selected measurement base of the Wanda Mound. The use of measurement technologies of integrated and specialist software, allows complex assessment of the degree of deformation and the trends of these changes in time, as well as identifying anomaly zones in the framework of the landslide monitoring.