Department of Applied Hydrogeology

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Department of Applied Hydrogeology

The research profile of the Department of Applied Hydrogeology encompasses both hydrogeological and geological-engineering regional research of both a basic and utilitarian nature. In their scientific work, the staff of the department predominately focus on issues related to the occurrence of groundwater in various hydrogeological structures, the documentation and broadly understood protection of groundwater resources, the assessment of changes in hydrogeological conditions due to human activity (such as mining and groundwater exploitation), the evaluation of hydrogeological properties of reservoir rocks, the modeling of groundwater flow, the formation of chemical composition and water quality, and the assessment of geological-engineering properties of soils.

• Official website of the Department

The faculty of the Department of Applied Hydrogeology plays an important role in the teaching process of Institute of Geological Sciences. The faculty of the Department teaches geology students, including hydrogeology, geological engineering, applied geoscience and environmental protection majors at all levels of education. The range of subjects taught is very broad, from regional and mining hydrogeology, hydrogeochemistry, documentation of groundwater resources, modeling of groundwater flow and dynamics, to engineering geology drilling and renewable energy sources. In their teaching activities, the DAH faculty place particular emphasis on the practical application of the content taught. A modern approach to the process of educating future geologists, befitting market realities, translates into great interest in the Department’s teaching offerings.

The Department’s faculty consists of five research and teaching employees, one professor emeritus and a technical employee:

• Dr. hab. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr (professor),
• Dr. hab. Krystyna Choma-Moryl, PhD, Prof. UWr (professor emeritus),
• Dr. hab. Jacek Gurwin, PhD, Prof. UWr (professor),
• Dr. Miroslaw Wąsik, PhD, (assistant professor),
• Dr. Michal Rysiukiewicz, PhD, (assistant professor),
• Mateusz Machnik, MSc, (assistant),
• Dorota Iwanuś, MSc, (technical employee).

Dr. hab. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. Uwr has been the head of the Department since 2004.

Research directions carried out in the Department:

• Assessment of regional groundwater resources
• Studies of hydrogeological parameters of rocks
• Establishment of protection areas of the Main Groundwater Reservoirs (GZWP) in Poland
• Numerical modeling of inflows to LGOM copper ore mines
• Modeling of contaminant migration processes in groundwater
• Analysis of the possibilities of using thermal waters in the Lower Silesia area
• Forecasting the of open-pit mine flooding
• Assessment of quantitative and qualitative changes in the groundwater environment in mining areas

Selected subjects taught by employees of the Department at the Institute of Geological Sciences:

• Dynamics of groundwater (dr. Mirosław Wąsik, PhD),
• Physical and chemical properties of soils (dr. Michał Rysiukiewicz, PhD),
• Functional geoecology of surface and groundwater (dr. Jacek Gurwin, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Geoinformatics (dr. Jacek Gurwin, PhD Prof. UWr),
• Engineering geology (dr. Michał Rysiukiewicz, PhD),
• Mining and drilling (dr. Mirosław Wąsik, PhD),
• Groundwater modeling (dr. Jacek Gurwin, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Groundwater resource assessment (dr. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Soil science (dr. Michał Rysiukiewicz, PhD),
• Engineering soil science (dr. Michał Rysiukiewicz, PhD),
• Hydrogeochemistry and migration of contaminants (dr. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Mining hydrogeology (dr. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Regional hydrogeology of Poland (dr. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Hydrogeological mapping (dr. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Hydrogeological aspects of water construction (dr. Jacek Gurwin, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Hydrology and hydraulics (dr. Mirosław Wąsik, PhD),

• Geological and engineering mapping and documentation (dr. Michał Rysiukiewicz, PhD),
• Methodology of trial pumping (dr. Jacek Gurwin, PhD Prof. UWr; dr. Mirosław Wąsik, PhD),
• Modeling of hydrogeological processes (dr. hab. prof. Jacek Gurwin, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Environmental impact assessments — abiotic aspects (Mateusz Machnik, MSc),
• Renewable energy sources (Mateusz Machnik, MSc),
• Excavation dewatering (dr. Mirosław Wąsik, PhD),
• Basics of hydrogeology and engineering geology (dr. Michał Rysiukiewicz, PhD),
• Exploration and recognition of groundwater resources (dr. hab. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr; dr. Michał Rysiukiewicz, PhD),
• Information technology (dr. hab. Jacek Gurwin, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Technologies for the reclamation of degraded areas (dr. hab. Henryk Marszałek, Ph.D., Prof. UWr; Mateusz Machnik, MSc),
• Drilling (dr. hab. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr; dr. Mirosław Wąsik, PhD),
• Medicinal and thermal waters (dr. hab. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr),
• Impact of engineering activities on the soil and water environment (dr. Henryk Marszałek, PhD, Prof. UWr),

The extensive range of research conducted by the Department’s staff has enabled them to gain comprehensive knowledge of evaluating the water-bearing capacity and abundance of reservoir rocks, not only in Lower Silesia but also in other regions of Poland. For over a decade, some members of the Department have studied the water environment in polar areas. Their research has resulted in numerous publications, including articles in scientific journals, monographs, and cartographic studies.

The Department of Applied Hydrogeology houses modern hydrogeological and geological-engineering laboratories where both research and instruction take place. The laboratories equipment includes:

• Eijkelkamp soil water permeameter
• Automatic Proctor compaction test apparatus
• Automatic direct shear test equipment from Matest
• Oedometers
• Automatic Casagrande liquid limit device
• Cone penetrometer
• M/LPzE-2e vortexer
• GeoStar 8i Package