Traditional mass balance measurements by stake readings and snow surveying have been conducted annually since 1996 on the Waldemar Glacier (= Waldemarbreen) in northwest Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Several indirect methods were also used for estimating its mass balance. These methods were divided into two major groups: climatological and geodetic. A comparison of the latest map (2000) with that of 1978 and climatological records enable us to calculate the change in the mass balance of Waldemarbreen over 34 years. These methods include air temperature and degree-day (PDD) models. The average mass balance of Waldemarbreen, computed by climatological methods, was -0.42 m a-1 of water equivalent (w.e.) for the period 1970-2004, and -0.51 m w.e. for 1996-2004. These balances were compared with the glaciological balance for the period 1996-2004, -0.53 m w.e.. The mass balance was also computed using geodetic method, giving -0.52 m of w.e. from 1978 to 2000. It is suggested that, from these results, the approach used for Waldemarbreen might be also useful for estimation the mass balances of other small Svalbard glaciers which terminate on land.

Lysimeters represent the ideal tool for direct measurement of soil water balance components in soil profiles. Changes in the water content in a soil monolith can be measured with sufficient accuracy by the precise lysimeter weighing system.Water content changes in soil monolith as derived from lysimeter mass represent one of the basic water balance compo-nent. This paper deals with the development and comparison of individual soil water balance components in two different soil profiles from the Easter-Slovakian-Lowland. Two lysimeter vessels were filled monolithically with two different soil profiles covered with grass: one sandy soil profile from locality Poľany and one silty-loam soil profile from locality Vysoká nad Uhom. A constant groundwater level of 1 m below ground level was maintained in both soil profiles. Under the same meteorological conditions, all differences in the development of water balance components were caused only by the differences in soil profiles. The actual evapotranspiration and water flows at the bottom of the soil profiles were compared. Sandy soils are generally considered to be more prone to drought than silty-loam soils. Under the specific conditions of this experiment (maintaining a constant groundwater level) the opposite was shown, when the silty-loam soil profile was more prone to drought than sandy soil profile. Sandy soilprofile from Poľany reacted more quickly to precipitation (or evaporation). Due to the higher hydraulic conductivity of the sandy soil compared to the silty-loamy soil, the groundwater level response to external stimuli was much faster.

Permanent grasslands – according to the Water Framework Directive – are typical water related ecosystems so they largely affect water quality, its cycling and balance and therefore deserve protection. They are an element of landscape structure (ecosystem function or service) commonly considered a factor stabilising environmental changes.

Most threats posed to waters in Poland originate from present cropland structure with its definite predominance of arable lands over grasslands. Agriculture should therefore focus on the improvement of land use structure in order to minimise environmental hazards and to guarantee at the same time optimum economic effects. This could be achieved by turning arable lands into grasslands (where justified e.g. on light soils) or at least by maintaining present grassland area (condition in negotiations with the EU) and management that would consider environmental protection.

Increasing the contribution of grasslands to cropland structure or at least maintaining their pre-sent status quo would help to achieve compromise between the goals of farmers and environmental protection. Purposeful utilisation of ecosystem services, particularly those of grasslands, allows to maintain more intensive farming without environmental hazard. Limited should be only such activi-ties whose intensity exceeds regenerative or buffering environmental capacity e.g. on grounds par-ticularly subjected to water pollution or those included into Natura 2000 network.

Wetlands play a significant role in agricultural landscape. They are the areas of exception-ally great natural values able to regulate water cycling in river catchments. In many cases they are the basic food source for bred animals.

Large areas of wetlands (c. 4 million ha) have been drained for agricultural purposes in Poland. Nevertheless, there are still numerous natural (or close to natural) wetlands, part of which is protected in nature reserves or national parks.

Having in mind the transformation of agriculture and the need of protecting water resources and natural environment, it is necessary to regulate the principles of utilisation and management of re-claimed wetlands. Water management should be adjusted to the type of an area and to environmental requirements. Regardless of the type and intensity of agricultural use of wetlands one has to aim at limiting rapid outflow of spring thaw and rainfall waters which means the reconstruction and increas-ing of natural retention capacity of the river catchment. It is necessary to provide an appropriate num-ber of water lifting facilities and their proper exploitation in land reclamation objects.

It is as well necessary to create appropriate organizational, legal and financial conditions stimu-lating actions to improve water balance and wetland protection.

This paper gives the results of investigations carried out in the Fugleberget basin which lies on the northern shore of the Hornsund Fiord, in the unglaciated region of raised sea terraces and on the slopes of the Fugleberget (569 m a.s.l.) and the Ariekammen (511 m a.s.l.). The investigations were carried out between 23 July, 1979 and 4 September, 1980, including the polar night. The Fugleberget basin represents well the area of sea terraces and coastal mountains uncovered with glacier and occupying large areas in West Spitsbergen. These areas are characterized by the presence of permafrost. The aim of investigations was to determine such fluvial processes as the duration of the hydrological period, the manner of water supply to the basin and an attempt to define the elements of the water balance. In addition studies were made on hydrological processes, particulary changes in the chemical composition of water, and the magnitude of denudation determined.

This paper contains thsults of hydrological and hydrochemical investigations carried out in the basin of Werenskiöld Glacier against the background of determining climate elements. It also gives chosen elements of the water balance and mass balance determined from year-long investigations of the polar hydrological year 1979-1980.

On the basis of a year-long series of actinometric measurements performed in the vicinity of Polish Polar Station at Hornsund, this paper presents the characteristic of the value of solar radiation incoming at the active surface, of absorbed and net radiation. The maximum intensity of the direct solar radiation was 822 Wm-2, the annual sum total of total radiation was 2611 MJm-2, whereas the mean yearly albedo was 59%. The zero-crossing of the 24-hour sums of the net radiation towards negative values occurred at the turn of September and October.

The large variability and unpredictability of energy production from photovoltaic power microinstallations results from the dependence on the current weather conditions. These conditions depend on a number of factors and are variable over the time. Despite this specificity, photovoltaic micro-installations are becoming more and more popular in the world and in Poland. This is mainly due to the fact that the generation of energy from renewable sources has numerous advantages, the energy is free, renewable in time and ecological, and its production on its own gives partial independence from energy supplies from the power grid. In addition, the observed significant prices decrease of solar modules has further accelerated the development of the use of this energy source. Concern for this method of energy production among households has increased significantly in Poland after introducing the prosumer in the legal framework and the use of administrative and financial support. The implemented prosumer mechanisms allowed, for example, the net balancing of the energy consumed and produced by the micro-installation through storage in the power grid. The article describes the problem of balancing sources using solar energy, based on micro-installation used in the household (the so-called prosumer installation). The conducted analyses compared the load profile of a typical household and the energy generation profile from a photovoltaic installation, determining the real balancing formation level of such a system.

An attempt to summarize the primary iron raw materials and steel market’s hundred years history as well as influence of economic indicators on the iron ore deposit qualification for extraction has been undertaken in the paper. Steel products are crucial to the world economy, and their production has a major impact on the environment. The main factor is the huge scale of the production and growth rate, unprecedented among minerals. Iron ore and concentrates production has increased more than thirty times over the past century, and the geological resource base at the current level of consumption has provided almost 250 years of sufficiency. There have been tremendous changes in the world geography of the ore and steel industry. The iron ore mining industry is the driver of other economic activities (land transport, freight, metallurgy) and involves huge capital and human resources. The consumption of iron raw materials is also considered as an important indicator of the countries development and current or even future economic situation. Population growth remains one of the key stimulating factors. The prices of ore and iron concentrates depend on the quality of the raw material, delivery conditions, market balance and the weight of the ordered cargo. They are usually the subject of negotiations. In the past, they were long-term contracts, while short-term (yearly, quarterly) and current spot transactions are now significant. The prices of ores and concentrates in relation to steel prices are showing a strong correlation. The average iron content of the reserves has been reduced in the largest producers in the 21st century, however it does not translate into the quality of mining output. Exploitation of the richer parts of the mineral deposit is usually carried out. The high content of iron in the output is a response to the technological requirements of the metallurgy where the blast furnace charge should contain at least 56% Fe and 5–8% FeO. The current surplus of geological-mining supply (large resource base) justifies that a mineral deposit choice, destined for excavation, is economic profit maximization as well as social and environmental considerations.

All local government units in Poland have been analysed regarding their consolidated debt. The consolidated debt was compared with the budget debt which is subject to monitoring and statutory restrictions. The scale of extra-budgetary debt has been revealed as recorded in the balance sheet of a local government unit, a parent entity. In practice, the consolidated balance sheet and debt presented in it are not subject to debates and analyses. Local governments refrain from auditing and publicising of the consolidated balance sheet. The article describes the risks related to unlimited local government debt.

The objective of this paper is to derive the characteristics of an effective governance framework ensuring incentives for conducting a prudent fiscal policy.We study this problem with the use of econometric tools and a sample of 28 European Union Member States between 2003 and 2017. By looking at specific reforms and measures, not only we verify the synthetic effectiveness of fiscal constraints but also we analyse specific elements of the governance framework.Our study shows that fiscal balances are affected not only by the economic cycle, but, among others, by the level of public debt and its cost. We find that the existence of numerical fiscal rules, in that specifically revenue and expenditures rules, their strong legal entrenchment, surveillance mechanisms, sanctions, and flexibility with respect to business cycle have a significant impact on curbing deficits.

The open-cast nature of deposit exploitation means that apart from the extraction of the main mineral, rocks are also found in its vicinity. Their nature, raw material quality and geological and mining conditions allow them to be used in various branches of the economy. Hence, it seems that more attention should now be given to these rocks. However, the long-term, open-cast mining operations involving Bełchatów lignite ultimately necessitated basic, raw-material-related research on the deposits accompanying the lignite as the main mineral. The presented work shows the state of the recognition of rocks lying in the Mesozoic–Neogene contact zone in the Bełchatów lignite deposit as well as their petrographic nature and possible directions of their use. Attention was drawn to the lithological diversity of the studied rocks and diagenetic processes that contributed to the impact on their physical and mechanical characteristics. Based on the analysis of the literature, the current state of utilization and development as well as the balance of accompanying rock resources in the Bełchatów lignite deposit are presented.

Today, it would seem very important from various economic points of view for utilization and management of the aforementioned rocks encountered as open-cast lignite mining to take place. Natural resources are protected where the area mined is kept in check, and there is economic significance to any increasing in the supply of minerals, or materials made from them. The level of profitability for economic entities that exploit lignite deposits may obviously be raised in this way, and environmental goals can also be served if some of what is extracted can be transformed into environment-friendly materials.

Combi-steamer condensation hoods are widely used in modern gastronomy. They condense steam produced by the combi-steamer and also filter solid particles, moisture, grease and smells. All these factors negatively affect the staff and dishes, so efficient work of the condensation hoods becomes important. A mathematical and experimental analysis of such a device is described in this paper. First a measurement methodology was designed and measurements of air humidity, temperature and mass flow rates were performed. The measurement procedure concerned dedicated a steam generator and combi-steamer. Next a mathematical model was developed. It was based on mass and energy balances of the condensation hood. The condensate flow rate turned out to be insufficient to fulfill the energy balance while measured directly. Hence, it was calculated from heater’s power of the steam generator and the balance model was validated. The combisteamer had an unknown output, so the condensate flow rate was provided by the balance model after its validation. A preliminary diagnosis of the device was carried out as well.

Analysis of the national and regional plans shows that the current year, 2006, shall deter-mine the key lines of national and regional development practically till 2015, that means till the time when, under the Water Framework Directive, Poland should have achieved its major objectives. This year shall witness decision making not only on the key objectives, priority strategies and measures undertaken for social and economic development of the country and regions, but also allocation of the main streams of funds from the EU and public funds from national sources. This is a sort of chal-lenge for administration bodies responsible for water management, particularly in respect of pro-gramming water management tasks and their incorporation into documents which are strategic for development on national and regional level. Over 2006–2008 efforts of water management admini-stration bodies should be focused on incorporation of water management issues into the consecutive edition of the National Ecological Policy and environmental protection programmes – at regional level, to be followed by county and community levels. This paper is a part of the broad stream of methodology and pilot work on the implementation of provisions of the Water Framework Directive in Poland. The main body of the paper consists of the summary of work done for the pilot river basin of Upper Narew.

The paper presents a photographic analysis of the break-up of gas bubbles flowing out of the outlets of a self-aspirating disk impeller. It was found that bubbles detached from the interfacial surface most often disintegrate to form several daughter bubbles. Further in the work, the population balance model was verified for several formulas describing the bubble break-up rate. It has been found that a good fit to the experimental data is provided by the formula given by Laakkonen for 5 daughter bubbles. The possibility of using the Monte Carlo method to model the bubble break-up processwas also determined. For this method, a good agreement of results was achieved for the division into a maximum of 10 daughter bubbles. In the case of this method it was also found necessary to use the function of break-up frequency at a higher rate for smaller bubbles.