Proiecte

Proiecte Naționale

PN23300203 – Identification through Complex Investigations of potential locations for Offshore Green Energy production systems (wind and waves) – INEVO

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.

MARBEFES PREMIERE: MARine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning leading to Ecosystem Services

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.

MARCO-BOLO: MARine COastal BiOdiversity Long-term Observations

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.

ERANET-JPI-OCEANS-Characterization of maritime noise in different european basins and its impact on ecological relevant deuterostome invertebrates (DeuteroNoise)

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.

PN23300301 – Innovative system for managing the dynamics of the Romanian Black Sea coast by integrating direct measurements, numerical modeling, and remote sensing, creating the “Digital Twin” of the Romanian Coastal Zone

PN23300101 – Management and monitoring of the marine environment, part of the national strategy for highlighting regional and global climate change on the Romanian continental shelf of the Black Sea: a complex analysis based on the elaboration of geological, geophysical, geophysical, biological and geochemical maps, scale 1:50,000

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.

PN23300404 – Development of an Environmental Monitoring Methodology for Potential CO2 Storage Sites in Romania

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.