SUFOSION PHENOMENA IN THE AREA OF PIENINY NATIONAL PARK

Aim of the study The aim of the study was to determine the range and conditions for the formation of the piping hole and the piping canal found in the Pieniny National Park in May 2019. Material and methods The scope of the research carried out included the determination of the geotechnical characteristics of subsoil on the slope near the piping hole and along the piping canal. Numerical calculations with the finite element method were also carried out in the GeoStudio program, which allowed to assess the possibilities of soil deformation caused by the seepage forces. Results and conclusions The results of the research and the analysis of the literature showed that the piping processes in the Polish Carpathians are a common phenomenon that plays a sculptural role. The observed piping form indicates that on the slope is a continuous, several dozen meters long, piping channel formed in medium-cohesive, clayey silt soils. It should be expected that during periods of prolonged or intense rainfall such phenomena will intensify. The calculation results did not confirm the occurrence of conditions favoring the formation of hydraulic deformations. However, during the increased filtration flow, high values of the hydraulic gradient in the soil are generated, which, in the case of high porosity of the soil, favors the removal of soil particles. The occurring process of piping on the slope in question is favored by the presence of a wooden trough from which water infiltrates the ground, which increases the intensity of in-soil flow in the analysed part of the slope.