Smok sp.: A large predatory Rauisuchian Archosaur from the Late Triassic of Poland.

During the Late Triassic two groups of Archosaurs produced large-bodied predatory forms in terrestrial environments, the Theropod Dinosaurs, and the Rauisuchians, the sister group to the Crocodylomorphs, a  group which produced some members which showed remarkable convergence with the larger Theropods. One such animal was Smok wawelski, known from the bones of at least three individuals found at Marciszów near Zawiercie in southern Poland.

In a paper published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica on 29 November 2018, Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki of the Subdepartment of Evolution and Development at Uppsala University and Ewa Budziszewska-Karwowska of the Museum of Earth Sciences at the University of Silesia, describe new material ascribed to the genus Smok from the Late Triassic Woźniki Limestone of western Zawiercie in Silesia, southern Poland.

The new material comprises two isolated teeth, a dorsal vertebra, a fragment of a humerus, a fragment of a femur, a fragment of an ischium shaft, and part of a pubic boot. This material is clearly assignable to the genus Smok, and appears to come either from a single animal or animals of very similar size (unfortunately the material was not found in situ, but rather on a spoil pile from excavations during the construction of a municipal waste site, so it is unclear how closely associated the fragments were originally). However, the vertebra differed from that of Smok wawelski in several important details, leading Niedźwiedzki and Budziszewska-Karwowska to refrain from assigning it to the species, and since there is not sufficient material to establish is the specimens represent a new species, or whether the differences to the vertebra are merely variations found in members of the same species, it is assigned only to genus level.

Comparison and details of articular surface of the mid-dorsal vertebrae (in posterior view) of the predatory Archosaurs from Late Triassic of Poland. (A) Smok sp., from Marciszów near Zawiercie. (B) Smok wawelski, from the Lipie Śląskie clay-pit at Lisowice. Scale bars are 10 mm. Niedźwiedzki & Budziszewska-Karwowska (2018). 

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Polish miners rescued after Earthquake.

On Tuesday 19 March 2013, slightly before 9.10 pm GMT (slightly before 10.10 pm local time) the Lower Silesia Region of southwest Poland was struck by a magnitude 4.7 Earthquake at a depth of 3.7 km, close to the town of Lubin, which was felt as far away as Wroclaw 75 km to the southeast. This did not lead to any problems at the surface, but caused a tunnel collapse at the Rudna Copper Mine 10 km northeast of Lubin, trapping 19 miners underground. All the miners were rescued with only miner injuries after an eight hour operation.

The location of the 19 March Earthquake. Google Maps.

The Rudna Mine is the deepest mine in Europe, with the deepest working shafts 1150 m beneath the surface. It produces an average 231 000 tonnes of copper and 546 tonnes of silver per year, making it the world's top silver producer. The ores are mined from the from the Rotliegendes Sandstone and the shales and dolomites of the Lower Zechstein. The Zechstein was an ancient inland sea in northern Europe, that evaporated away during the Middle to Late Permian, leaving vast mineral deposits that are excavated as far away as northern England. Sea water contains small amounts of copper and silver in ionic form, which precipitate out as salts when seas become trapped and evaporate (as is happening with the modern Dead Sea). Because different ions have different properties they are precipitated out in a sequence as seawater evaporates, which does not show on a small scale, but which can produce distinct, workable, layered deposits when a body as large as the Zechstein evaporates.

The extent of Zechstein deposits beneath northern Europe. García-Veigas et al. (2011).

Poland is in northern Europe, an area not noted for its Earthquakes, but not completely immune either. Like other areas where Earthquakes are uncommon, it is seldom possible to give a precise cause for Polish Earthquakes, with both probably being the result of more than one source of tectonic pressure. The strongest source of tectonic stress in southern Poland is the impact of Africa with Europe, far to the south. This is causing uplift and folding in the Alpine region of Central Europe, and exert pressure on the rocks further to the north. There are also areas of minor tectonic spreading beneath the Rhine Valley and North Sea, both of which cause stress over a wide area. Finally there is glacial rebound; until about 10 000 years ago much of northern and upland Europe was covered by a thick layer of glacial ice, pushing the rocks of the lithosphere down into the underlying mantle. This ice is now gone, and the rocks are slowly springing back into place, causing occasional Earthquakes in the process.

Archive image from the Rudna Mine. Reuters.

See also Earthquake off the coast of Holland, Massacre at Lonmin Marikana Platinum Mine, Rustenburg, South Africa, Operations ceased at Padcal Mine following flooding, Seven workers killed by mine explosion in Hunan Province, China and Earthquakes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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Southwest Poland hit by Earthquake.

On Friday 6 April 2012 slightly after 8.40 am local time (slightly after 6.40 am GMT) hit the Silesian town of Lubin in southwest Poland. The quake was measured as having a magnitude of 4.4 on the Richter Scale, and occurring at a depth of 4.9 km by the United States Geological Survey. There are no reports of any casualties or serious damage at this time.

The location of the 6 April quake. USGS.

The quake struck about 20 km from the Rudna Copper Mine, which has been affected by a number of similar events in recent years. In December 2010 a quake killed 3 miners in the Rudna Mine, and a further 10 injured. There were 17 miners underground at Rudna when the 6 April quake struck, but none were injured, though apparently the quake was felt in the mine. It has been suggested that the Rudna Mine could in some way be connected to the recent series of quakes in southwest Poland, though no mechanism as to how this could occur has been proposed.

Loading ore at the Rudna Mine. KGHM.

A more likely explanation is that like most European quakes the southwest Polish quakes have been caused by the impact of Africa and Eurasia. Africa is slowly moving northward, pressing into Europe. This more usually leads to quakes in southern and southeastern Europe, and uplift in the Alps, but can cause quakes further north on the continent, and such quakes will often come in clusters as movement on one part of a fault leads to increased pressure on another part.

See also Zurich shaken by mild Earthquake, Dodecanese Islands and Crete shaken by Earthquake, Earthquakes shake northern Italy, Earthquake in the Netherlands. 8 September 2011 and Earthquakes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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