In the context of the preparation of a CCS project in Romania, this project aims to develop an innovative environmental monitoring methodology for potential CO2 geological storage projects.
This methodology supports storage operators who must implement monitoring in all phases of the storage project, based on the monitoring plan (mandatory according to Law 114/2013 for the geological storage of CO2 in Romania), resulting from the risk analysis.
The innovative methodology will be based on the implementation of geophysical, geochemical and biological methods of environmental analysis to highlight potential CO2 leakages from the storage reservoir. The project will also demonstrate the feasibility of less-used geophysical methods for monitoring the geological storage of CO2. With the testing of the methodology on natural analogues of the geological storage of CO2 for CO2 geological storage, areas with natural CO2 emissions and natural CO2 reservoirs, the project aims to understand the mechanisms that ensure the integrity of a storage site, as well as the mechanisms for migration of CO2 to the surface.
The results of the project will be integrated into a database developed according to FAIR principles.
The proposed project has as main objectives the management and monitoring of the marine environment in the context of anthropogenic and climatic changes, the area of interest being the north of the Black Sea continental shelf near the maritime border with Ukraine. The northern extremity of the Romanian part of the Black Sea is economically and geo-strategically important, being also the least known area in the maritime area of Romania. The project will provide data of scientific and economic interest, for example – the existence of marine resources (including biological, sedimentological – sands, limestones at various depths), concentrations of heavy minerals, etc, data on existing pollution in the area, as well as genetic changes (based on DNA analysis of marine organisms) under anthropogenic and climatic pressure. Geophysical data will involve deciphering the marine substrate (geomorphology, bathymetry), but also possible buried metal objects, geomorphological changes. The backscattering geophysical method will be used for the first time in Romania (as the main indicator of the physical variability of the upper marine sediments), and the geochemical characteristics of superficial sediments (content in organic matter, calcium carbonate, heavy metals, etc.), the diversity and abundance of benthic organisms will also be studied. The final goal of the project is the good management of the Romanian continental shelf of the Black Sea, meaning that oceanographic maps at 1:50 000 scale will be made – digital maps with many levels of information (layers in format Geographic Information System – GIS). These products represent the cornerstones for the spatial planning of the Romanian Black Sea shelf. Considering that the current Core Project (Program NUCLEU) will last more than 4 years, and the investigated area will be the northern one, the monitoring will also be carried out geo-ecologically. Innovative techniques and methodologies will be used. Finally, a database will be created for the northern part of the Black Sea continental shelf.
Sturgeons represent highly valuable faunistic resources, constituting a significant source of income and employment in the Black Sea basin. However, threats such as water pollution, habitat destruction, illegal harvesting, and trade endanger their survival. Sturgeon populations in major basins have declined by 70% over the past century, particularly in the Danube River and its Delta. The SturNet project aims to protect sturgeon populations and conserve the unique ecosystem of the Black Sea basin. Through collaborative research, data collection, and model development, our habitat conservation efforts will support the sustainable development of the region’s natural resources. The project aims to address these issues by developing a free digital mapping tool that provides information on sturgeon behavior and migration routes.
Among noise sources, maritime traffic is of relevance on animal wellness, although its impact is little known in many European sea-basins. To date, there has been an almost exclusive focus on vertebrates, in which noise involves the mechanoreceptor cells of the ear and can cause hearing impairment or deafness. Homolog cells have been discovered in tunicates, marine invertebrates closely related to vertebrates, thus opening the question on their ability to sense and be affected by noise. Tunicate mechanoreceptors sense sound waves and particle movement and are predictable targets of noise pollution. DeuteroNoise aims to characterize the noise pollution caused by maritime traffic (also using simulations) in selected sites of the North Adriatic Sea, Lagoon of Venice, North Sea, Black Sea, and Barcelona shore, and test its effects on behavior, nervous system and sensory organs, immune system, and resilience in marine invertebrates closely related to vertebrates (deuterostomes): hemichordates, echinoderms, cephalochordates, and tunicates. These animals are common in European seas and cover different levels of the trophic network, from the holoplankton-meroplankton to sessile or sedentary primary consumers. Noise level will be detected on site and simulated in the laboratory. A behavioral, morphological and genetic survey will be conducted on sampled animals living in polluted vs non-polluted areas. Moreover, animals will be exposed to noise in laboratory-controlled conditions to verify its effect on larval, juvenile and adult stages at individual level and over generations. Comparative studies will allow us to: highlight causes of noise pollution in the different basins; determine how species react to it; identify its genetic and morphological signatures; predict sensitivities in closely related animals that cannot easily be studied in laboratory or on-site; predict noise pollution and infer the best practices to reach the Good Environment Status of European basins.
The project aims to respond to modern challenges regarding the loss of biodiversity and habitats, by approaching molecular investigation of the Black Sea environment and its species. Sustain efforts towards harmonization of molecular techniques are made globally in order to halt the loss of biodiversity in agreement with the UE Biodiversity Strategy 2030 desiderates (“to put Europe’s biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030”) and The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/CE), which requires the achievement of Good Environmental Status of biodiversity and habitats. Barcoding and e-DNA techniques rely on genetic markers to identify species unlike the ”classical” approach based on morphological characters.
The project aims to assess the impact of stressors upon the marine ecosystem, and especially the cumulative effect of climate warming and contaminants on the ecosystem services, such as regulation, support and production of Black Sea habitats under the Danube influence. Keeping in mind the risks posed by the pollutants input into the Black Sea and the global warming, the current proposal will contribute at understanding how these risks may affect the Black Sea ecosystem services in the future.
The project meets the current trend of developing blue economy technologies, in accordance with European Union directives regarding prioritizing the implementation of green energy production systems. The EU directives target reducing the overall dependence on conventional energies having a negative impact on ecosystem. In this respect, Black Sea Romanian coast presents a definite potential for both marine and wind dynamics, therefore pointing to major near future investments and development. Currently, there are no specific studies concerning the evaluation of favorable locations and availability for wind/wave farming, hence the novelty of the proposed project.
INEVO pursues to determine the areas of optimal potential as future locations for energy conversion systems from renewable energy sources. Based on geological, morphological, geophysical, oceanographic and climatic data, the project will deepen the already existing geological and morphological studies by collecting and including new data to validate the potential areas of interest. Planning and conducting new acquisitions of geophysical, geological, oceanographic and meteorological data will include the development of an innovative and integrative methodology with significant efficiency of operational costs, benefiting from the optimal use of the EMSO-EUXINUS infrastructure. The integrated data interpretations provided by the project, including geological and morphological thematic maps, as well as oceanographic models for the target areas, will constitute turnkey solutions for future investors.
The project “Applied research in recent deltaic sedimentary structures to highlight/parametrize the accumulations of marine mineral/energy resources” aims to implement the latest technologies of in situ and laboratory investigation, as well as to process the obtained information for the investigation of the marine sediments, in order to develop and diversify the blue economy in Romania.
Until now, no such applied marine research had ever been conducted in Romania. In the European context of stimulating the development of blue economies (in close connection with the marine domain), it is desirable that Romania promote this type of applied research. Applied research through very high-resolution seismo-acoustic methods and geochemical methods is considered, aiming to identify and characterize the deltaic submarine sedimentary bodies, the areas where both mineral and non-conventional energy resources can accumulate. Compared to the classical seismic methods used (in industrial hydrocarbon prospecting), the vertical resolution envisaged is between 0.4 and 3m, compared to 10-15m in the case of classical methods. Considering the high-resolution capacity of the methods that will be used, we appreciate that recent sedimentary structures, of shallow depth and thickness, capable of hosting accumulations of mineral substances (heavy minerals-placers and/or unconventional biogenic methane) will be discovered.
Recently CCS value chain started considering ships for direct injection, not only transport. The CTS project will evaluate the global potential of this technology for facilitating permanent CO2 storage using case studies from offshore on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, Baltics, Black Sea and Atlantic coast of Portugal. CTS will study the impact of direct injection from ship on the definition of capture clusters and storage facilities by developing CCS scenarios in four different offshore regions in Europe. The efficiency of the scenarios from the perspective of cost and abated CO2 emissions compared to existing plans and scenarios will be evaluated. One of the project goals is to advance direct ship injection technology further together with NEMO Maritime – the industrial partner developing one of such solutions. Direct ship injection is a flexible and low cost solution that can help accelerate CO2 storage and contribute to reducing emissions already by 2030. CTS aims at improving cost and efficiency along the value chain; developing new markets by better addressing the need of smaller emitters; increasing LCA and TEA knowledge for the value chains in selected areas. By utilizing offshore storage and building trustful communication with stakeholders in selected geographical locations, CTS also aims to contribute to strengthening the acceptance of CCUS technologies.
The main impact of the project is to provide a technology that will allow to decrease costs, reduce conflicts with other marine activities and increase flexibility for early start of CO2 injection in offshore regions, therefore addressing some of the major issues that can hinder the deployment of CCS in Europe on a scale able to deliver required mitigations before 2030.
The project aims to engage new stakeholders in four offshore regions through versatility, flexibility and cost efficiency of direct CO2 injection from ship for permanent storage. The key outcome is design of a full CCUS value chain including direct injection from ship, with engagement of the stakeholders along it. Creation of a full value chain design will promote stakeholder engagement and create a platform for evaluation of the business cases by individual stakeholders by giving them a realistic scenario to adhere to.
The outcomes should help to increase roll-out of the CCS value chains not only through technological advantages of direct ship injection, but also by reducing the threshold for smaller emitters and unlocking offshore storage potential in sites becoming commercial due to lower capex and opex of direct ship injection. Generally, CTS contribution is to map potential emitters, prepare conceptual design of the value chain with a focus on ship design, wells, and storage site.
Although in recent years, due to the growing awareness of the effects of climate change, the annual production of plastic objects has decreased, the amount of microplastics in nature is constantly increasing. This fact is caused by the high amounts of waste already in the natural terrestrial or aquatic environment, as well as by the numerous deposits stored not according to standards, that, by disaggregation and under the influence of the natural factors, are generating micro and nano-plastic particles. The plastic polymers texture itself allows the storage of other toxic pollutants (heavy metals, POPs, PAHs, etc.), the longer these objects remain in nature their concentrations increasing all the more.
The ingestion of microplastics by aquatic and terrestrial species has been indicated as one of the factors that modify the pathology of various organs, changes in the degree of the lipids absorption or the dysfunction of the reproductive system being reported, for example. Although the medical trials on the impact of microplastics on living beings, especially mammals, are at a preliminary stage, there are clear signals that the other types of pollutants stored in the polymer texture are harmful as well.
Given the fact that, in recent years, the presence of microplastics in high quantities in all types of samples – water, sediment and fauna, has been demonstrated, it is considered necessary to have a monitoring project on the variation of macro and microplastic concentrations in the key areas, as well as the monitoring of economically important aquatic species. The project’s first component aims to monitor plastic objects and particles pollution from the key areas of the Romanian coastal and shelf area, the tourism areas, the commercial ports, the marine fish farming, the protected areas within the coastal area of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, the area of the bay, as well as other locations where worrying concentrations of waste have been and will be identified.
The second component of the project represents the development and technology of the different methods to identify or collect plastics, depending on their size, from various natural environments. The need to eliminate plastic objects from the aquatic environment is all the more important as these objects have the ability to absorb pollution, and by being ingested by the aquatic life, the pollution is then transferred into the food chain. Among the examples of technologies that will be proposed and developed within this project are devices to collect macro and microplastics from dry beach sediments and CHIRP type sonar to identify the artificial objects accumulated at the substrate level.
The research project, which has immediate applicability, highlights a significant topic in the study and assessment of the quality of the deltaic natural aquatic ecosystem components. Generally, the project’s relevance derives from fundamental principles and concepts related to preserving and conserving natural ecosystems, particularly due to unique ecosystems such as those of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. To prevent the degradation of the Danube Delta’s natural environment – a valuable eco-region, internationally recognized as a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage site, Biosphere Reserve and Wetland of International Importance – it is important to promote sustainable measures aimed at protecting fauna and flora, reducing water pollution, combating fish poaching, promoting sustainable fishing practices, supporting nature-based tourism, and developing strategies for mitigating and adapting to unavoidable climate change. The integrative and systematic approach shapes the foundation for achieving the project’s objectives. A rigorous assessment of the current changes occurring in the unique ecosystems of the Danube Delta will be conducted using a multidisciplinary scientific and technical approach, deriving from various domains and fields. The research project database will be augmented with relevant information on real scientific and socio-economic interests that can be used to develop sustainable environmental and socio-economic restoration programs for the Danube Delta region. Several tools and methods will be used for interdisciplinary integration, including hydrological, sedimentological, biological, and geophysical surveys, including applications of geomorphological field mapping and topo-bathymetric measurements. The project outcomes will contribute to sustainable development and conservation strategies for the deltaic area, which is vulnerable to both natural (e.g., climate warming, floods, droughts) and anthropogenic (e.g., pollution, agriculture, uncontrolled conventional tourism) impacts.
