Proiecte

PN23300304 – Development of an Intelligent Monitoring System for hydrological connectivity in the anthropogenic river ecosystems from the Danube Delta

Acronim: GEOMARDIGITAL
Responsabil: Dr. Laura Georgeta Duțu, CSI
Coordonator: GeoEcoMar
Beneficiar: GeoEcoMar
Finanțator: Ministerul Cercetării, Inovării și Digitalizării
Schema de finanțare: Programul Nucleu 2023-2026
Durata: 48 months
Data începerii: 01.01.2023
Data finalizării: 31.12.2026

PN23300304 – Development of an Intelligent Monitoring System for hydrological connectivity in the anthropogenic river ecosystems from the Danube Delta

Acronim: GEOMARDIGITAL

The abiotic (the water and sediment fluxes, the physico-chemical properties of water and sediment) and biotic ( the biodiversity, structure and functionality of food webs) characteristics of deltaic systems depend on the level of hydrological connectivity with the main river channel. The Danube Delta bears the imprint of the evolution of climatic and anthropogenic conditions that in recent centuries have intensely transformed the natural conditions of the Danube river basin. These changes (morphological, hydrological, sedimentological, ecological, etc.) at the scale of the receiving basin have been amplified by the recent anthropogenic developments (in the last 200 years) within the delta; these have affected the hydrological connectivity, producing local readjustments of the riverbed morphology and, implicitly, interruptions in the trophic chain caused by the decrease in the liquid and solid transport capacity on the anthropogenically rectified meanders and, also implicitly, towards the interdistributary depressions.Therefore, the need to monitor hydrological connectivity descriptors, which mainly include the frequency, duration, time and rate of exchange of different water bodies and sediments, must be taken into account in order to avoid ecological and economic disaster. In this regard, the development of an Intelligent Hydrological Connectivity Monitoring System dedicated to the anthropized ecosystems in the Danube Delta becomes necessary, because it would help prevent and manage correctly, quickly and efficiently the emergency situations that may occur following the degradation or even the interruption of hydrological connectivity. This Intelligent Monitoring System will significantly reduce the costs related to the field campaigns for measurements. An integrated method for monitoring the hydrological connectivity of the Danube Delta will be developed, allowing the real-time detection of both the interruptions in water and the sediment flows and, thus, the blockages in the food chain, as well as the possible pollution. The installation of this system in vulnerable locations will help the local and national administrations, the environmental authorities and other stakeholders to make timely decisions, in order to restore the hydrological connectivity so that both the ecological disasters (interruptions in the functionality of the food chain, pollution) and the economic difficulties (navigation difficulties or even interruptions in river circulation caused by reduced water flows or siltation of riverbeds) can be avoided.

  • Studying the hydro-morphological, sedimentological and ecological changes caused by the human activities and their effects on the structure and functionality of deltaic meander ecosystems.
  • Identifying the areas caracterized by hydrological connectivity problems and the effects that the degradation and interruption of hydrological connectivity may have on the biodiversity through interdisciplinary research on the current state of the aquatic environments affected by anthropogenic interventions (special focus on the rectified meanders of the Danube branches in the delta, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe) using modern geophysical, geological, hydrodynamic, biological, hydrochemical, geochemical methods.
  • Developing the integrated methods for monitoring the hydrological connectivity along the rectified meanders in the Danube Delta.
  • Developing an Intelligent Monitoring System that capitalizes on traditional methods of data acquisition, storage and processing, obtaining a unitary system, with low energy consumption, reliable and easy to use,that would help the rapid and efficient management of emergency situations (such as the interruptions in water transfer to interdistribution depressions), which may occur following the degradation or even interruption of the hydrological connectivity.
  • Dissemination of the research results carried out during the project time.

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