From January 25 to 30, 2026, a delegation from the National Institute of Marine Geology and Geoecology (GeoEcoMar), comprising both senior researchers and PhD students, participated in the 22nd International Sedimentological Congress (ISC), held in Wellington, New Zealand, organized by the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS).
The primary goal of participating in this congress was to disseminate the results obtained within the PNRR project, as well as to strengthen the collaborative relationships with specialists and institutions in the field of geology.
Throughout the congress, team members engaged in plenary sessions, workshops, and thematic presentations. Four sessions were chaired by team member Senior Researcher (CSI) Dr. Mihaela Melinte, focusing on the sedimentology of black shales throughout the Phanerozoic. The study of shales is essential for understanding major geological events and the evolution of sedimentary basins. During this session CSI Dr. Mihaela Melinte has presented her work entitled “Oligocene black shale deposition of the Paratethyan Realm (Transylvania and the Eastern Carpathians)“, CSII Dr. Relu Roban has given a presentation about the Eastern Carpathians Mesozoic black shales sedimentation and their tectonic setting, and CS PhD. Vlad Apotrosoaei has presented a series of sedimentological features with related geochemical and biotical fluctuations during mid-Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Events in the Tethyan Realm.
Other team members focused on the dynamic interaction between sedimentary processes, climate change, and sea-level variations. Throughout the session focused on this matter, CSI Dr. Gabriel Ion has presented his work entitled “Coastal to shelf environments across time and space – Quaternary time, NW Black Sea“, providing new data on analyzing the Black Sea-level variations over the last 20,000 years.
To cover the geoheritage topics, CSI Dr. Andrei Briceag has given a presentation about geological heritage and geodiversity of the Mesozoic Southern Carpathian Dinosaur World, from the Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark, highlighting geoconservation and geotourism as central pillars of geosciences. During the session dedicated to the study of plastic pollution of sedimentary systems, CSII Dr. Iulian Pojar-Vintilă presented the paper entitled “Microplastic pollution in low-depositional ox-bow lakes, Danube Delta, Romania“.
The team was also highly active in the poster sessions, covering topics from CO₂ storage to environmental mapping: CSII Dr. Sorin Anghel presented two studies: “Assessing Conformance and Integrating Sedimentological Data in Geological CO₂ Storage: Insights from the RAMONCO Project” and “Subsurface Contamination Mapping in a Black Sea Coastal Environment“. On the same sessions, the young researchers from GeoEcoMar, PhD student Constantin Lazăr and MSc student Andrei Stoian gave their presentations entitled “Mapping marine sediments in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea” and “Eocene Deposits of the Eastern Carpathians: An Example of Coalescing Turbidite Systems” respectively.
These activities facilitated an update on the latest research directions and innovative methods, highlighting the original contributions of the institute to the field of sedimentology. Furthermore, attendance at this prestigious event increased the international visibility of GeoEcoMar and strengthened the scientific reputation of its members. Furthermore, the direct interaction with global experts provided a significant advantage for the professional development of the team’s younger researchers.
Also, during the delegation, the team has conducted a one-day fieldtrip to analyze and correlate Lower Cretaceous deposits on the eastern coast of the Cook Strait that separates the two islands of New Zealand.