Biography: Dr. Lyubka Pashova is an Associate Professor at the Department of Geodesy of the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Her main expertise is in geodesy, geoinformatics, and disaster management. Dr. Pashova focuses her research on integrating geospatial technologies and modern geodetic methods to study geodynamic processes and assess risks from natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, in the Black Sea and Balkan regions.
Abstract: Estuaries are highly dynamic coastal systems that respond rapidly to climatic and anthropogenic stresses. Their spatial and temporal variability challenge traditional approaches to monitoring these systems. The talk will present an integrated monitoring framework that combines satellite remote sensing, aerial imagery, and in situ measurements to improve the characterization of physical, biogeochemical, and morphological processes in estuaries. The capabilities of optical, SAR, and hyperspectral satellite sensors, drone- and aircraft-based platforms, and in situ instruments, including CTDs, ADCPs, and water-quality probes, are discussed. Two examples are considered to demonstrate how multi-platform data fusion improves the detection of sediment transport, water-quality gradients, vegetation change, and shoreline evolution. Methodological considerations related to preprocessing, inter-platform calibration, and uncertainty reduction in the processing and analysis of multi-sensor data are briefly outlined. Emerging capabilities include next-generation satellite missions, autonomous platforms, artificial intelligence analytics, and open data infrastructures. Integrated monitoring strategies are essential for advancing estuarine science and supporting adaptive management in the face of accelerating environmental change.
Biography: Dr Michael Nones is an Associate Professor in the Hydrology and Hydrodynamics Department at the Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland. He currently works and leads projects on fluvial morphodynamics and geomorphology, combining numerical modelling with remote sensing, to understand how climate and human-driven changes influence river systems' dynamics and water quality, specifically sediment transport. He published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles on the topic, and is currently the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of River Basin Management.
Abstract: The interaction between sea forcings and inland drivers shapes coasts, and rivers play a major role in this, as they drive sediment generated in the upper part of the basin towards the coasts. The talk will revise how we can leverage satellites to track the spatiotemporal evolution of rivers, with a major focus on tracking changes in planform morphology and transport of suspended sediments from source to sink. Through a series of examples, methodological advancements and current limitations will be discussed to point out future research directions and the benefits of integrating current approaches with innovative technologies.
Biography: Łukasz Kruszewski, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, specializing in mineralogy and geochemistry. His research primarily focuses on researching burned coal mine dumps, both in terms of mineralogical and geochemical transformations and the mine dump-vegetation interactions. He tracks the fate of elements released in exhalation processes, also in the context of the potential recovery of critical raw materials, and climate change dynamics. Recently he began to cooperate with his IGS PAS colleagues and UNDIP, Indonesia, in the field of lacustrine sediment studies. For years, he has been popularizing science through lectures (including for scientific circles) and participation in the Science Picnic and the Science Festival.
Abstract: Spontaneous coal fires (SCF) in post-coal mining waste-rock heaps is a well-known phenomenon. The waste materials are not solely barren rocks, but also juvenile brines derived from the mines themselves; they fill-in pore space in the waste rocks.
The SCF processes transform the brines via their vaporization followed by either escape of the Cl-, Br- and I-rich gases into the atmosphere or condensation/pneumatolysis processes leading to crystallization of numerous interesting and often rare mineral species. A new study in a single fumarole of the famous “Szarlota” heap at Rydułtowy (Rybnik Coal Area) allowed to pinpoint a large amount of interesting halide minerals, including at least few completely new species, including (NH4)3Bi2I9, (NH4)3Sb2I9, and NH4Iphases. Brontesite, (NH4)3PbCl5, cryptohalite, (NH4)2[SiF6], bararite, (NH4)2[SiF6], barberiite, (NH4)[BF4], demicheleite-(I), BiSI, marshite, CuI, iodargyrite, AgI, panichiite, (NH4)2[SnCl6], salammoniac, NH4Cl, are also present. Phases of the Ag-I, Pb-I, Sn-I(Br), Pb-Sb-I, NH4-Cd-Cl, NH4-Pb-Cl, NH4-Pb-Br, NH4-Pb-I, NH4-Sn-Cl, NH4-Sn-I, and NH4-Te-I systems were also detected.
Crystallization of those compounds immobilizes the gas-phase halogens. As such, it is limiting atmospheric pollution with climate-change-related gases, like methyl halides, freons, and SF6.