Representatives of the Faculty of Geo-Data Science, Geodesy and Environmental Engineering of AGH University of Krakow took part in two important conferences on land subsidence.
From 13-17 April, Prof. Agnieszka Malinowska, Dr Artur Guzy and Mr. Sebastian Walczak, attended the Taiwan International Symposium on Land Subsidence in Taipei.
During the symposium, Prof. Malinowska chaired the session “Policy, Governance, and Public Engagement”, while Dr Guzy chaired the session “Mechanisms and Modeling of Subsidence”.
Prof. Malinowska delivered a presentation entitled “Integrated Assessment of Surface Deformation and Water Regime Alteration in Subsidence-Affected Areas”. Dr Guzy and Mr. Walczak presented the poster “Integrating Shallow and Intermediate Compaction Processes: A Coupled Framework for Deltaic Land Subsidence”.
Researchers from our Faculty, Dr Guzy, Mr. Walczak, Dr. Witkowski and Dr. Łucka, also contributed as co-authors to several other conference presentations focused on modelling, monitoring and mitigation of subsidence in delta areas, including studies on drowning deltas, groundwater-extraction-induced subsidence in the Mekong Delta, the International Panel on Land Subsidence, and the response of subsidence to groundwater management in Ho Chi Minh City.
The following week, representatives of the Faculty participated in the First International Land Subsidence Symposium in the Philippines, held from 20-22 April in Quezon City.
During the symposium, Dr Guzy and Mr. Walczak presented two posters: “InSAR-Derived Long-Term Land Movement in the Mekong Delta” and “Integrating Shallow and Intermediate Compaction Processes: A Coupled Framework for Deltaic Land Subsidence”.
An important part of the symposium was a field visit to the North Manila Bay area, a region facing severe subsidence, flooding and increasing exposure to coastal hazards. Subsidence is not only a scientific problem. It is directly connected to water management, urban development, climate adaptation, flood risk, livelihoods and long-term resilience. In deltaic regions, the question is no longer whether subsidence is happening, but how fast it is progressing, how well it can be understood, and what can still be done to reduce its impacts.
During the symposium in the Philippines, experts associated with the UNESCO Land Subsidence International Initiative also worked on an Action Agenda for the subsidence-affected North Manila Bay area, preparing concrete actions for the coming years. We are proud that Prof. Malinowska and Dr Guzy are involved in this initiative as Polish representatives.
The research presented during both events is part of the 3MAP project: Monitoring, Modelling and Mitigation of Land Subsidence in Delta Areas, supported by the National Science Centre of Poland, and carried out by Dr Guzy.
