National Institute of Research and Development for Marine Geology and Geo-ecology GeoEcoMar

1. European Centre of Excellence for Environmental and Geo-ecological Studies on River – Delta – Sea Systems in Europe:case study River Danube – its Delta – Black Sea System(Euro-EcoGeoCentre - Romania) National Institute of Research and Development for Marine Geology and Geo-ecology GeoEcoMar

2. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaMain objectives • Continuous formation and training of young scientistsfor improving the scientific level of the Romanian R&D units; • Enhanced East - West scientific co-operation by networking and improving mobility schemes; • Enhanced long-term co-operative research and monitoring of the River Danube-its Delta-Black Sea system using jointly the local and international human and logistic resources (a “matrix” and “catalyst” of the two previous objectives).

3. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart I: Continuous training of young scientists WP.1 - Specialised courses(duration two weeks yearly) Course 1 "Hydrological, sedimentological, biogeochemical processes in fluvial, deltaic and coastal marine environments"(Year 1, Month 8) (a) Coastal marine processes of water and sediment dynamics, erosion-accumulation equilibrium, schemes for coastal zone protection (b) Delta hydrology and sedimentary processes, river-sea contact zone processes and water and sediment dynamics (c) River hydrology, sediment transport, scouring, changes in morphology, sedimentation, navigation improvement etc. Course 2 " Biogeochemistry of water and sediments in rivers, deltas and coastal seas, the quality of water and sediments" (Year 2, Month 22) Course 3 "Ecosystem structure and functioning" (Year 3, Month 32)

4. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart I: Continuous training of young scientists • WP.2 - Summer schools(10 days yearly) Year 1 – Month 9; Year 2 – Month 21; Year 3 – Month 33 Topics to be covered: Environmental complex studies, geo-ecology of the River Danube, its Delta and the coastal Black Sea; Genesis and evolution of the Danube, of the Delta and of the Black Sea; Structure and functioning of the characteristic ecosystems in the region; Environmental changes impact on aquatic and sedimentary systems; Major pollution issues impacting the environmental state of the region, the water resources and supply; Cost-effective solutions to protect and rehabilitate the river, delta and coastal sea environments; Sustainable management of living and mineral resources within the Danube-Black Sea system.

5. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart I: Continuous training of young scientists • WP.3 - Junior scientists visitors(two young scientists/one month each yearly) Task 3.1: Two young scientists from Euro-EcoGeoCentre will have one month training at IFREMER and Hamburg University for specialised analyses of samples collected during the first River Danube cruise and using new methodologies and analytical equipment (Year 1 – Month 9). Task 3.2: Two young scientists will take part in the study of Black Sea and Danube Delta samples at the Institute of Environment and Sustainability of JRC in Ispra (Year 2 – Month 21). Task 3.3: Two young scientists will participate for a one month period in processing and interpretation of the results of the three year research programme of the Euro-EcoGeoCentre at IFREMER (Year 3 – Month 33).

6. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart I: Continuous training of young scientists • WP.4 – Two Ph.D. thesis with double supervision In the first two years the PhD students will spend two months/year at the partner university. In the last third year the PhD students will have two times two months stays – one for finishing the thesis research and the second for preparing the public presentation of the thesis

7. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart I: Continuous training of young scientists • WP.5 – Workshops (Duration 3 days/workshop - 18 participants, of which 8 from abroad) Task 5. 1.: Workshop 1 – "New ideas for an integrated observing and forecasting system in the Lower Danube River, Danube Delta and NW Black Sea“ (Year 1 – Month 7) Task 5. 2.: Workshop 2 – " Present-day environmental problems of the Lower Danube River, including Danube Delta" (Year 1 – M 12) Task 5. 3.: Workshop 3 – "Environmental disequilibria in the NW Black Sea coastal system: causes, consequences, correctives" (Year 2 – M 21) Task 5. 4.: Workshop 4 – "Changes in the structure and functioning of the open sea ecosystems" (Year 3 – M 33)

8. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart I: Continuous training of young scientists • WP.6 - Symposia, conferences (35 participants, of which 15 from abroad) Task 6. 1. Symposium 1: "Abnormal influxes into the European Seas, particularly BAB Seas (Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas) – causes, consequences, correctives" (Year 1, month 10 - 3 days) Task 6. 2. Symposium 2: "Reciprocal connections between subsystems along the contour interfaces in semi-enclosed European Seas – a review of the diversity and variability of terrestrial - aquatic, atmosphere - sea and water mass-seabed interactions” (Year 2, month 22 – 3 days) Task 6. 3. Symposium 3: "Sequential/differential approach for the holistic knowledge of the coastal zone – fundamentals of sustainable management" (Year 3, month 34 – 3 days)

9. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart I: Continuous training of young scientists • WP. 7 – Establishing of dedicated web site for a virtual school and dissemination of the Centre's results Electronic publishing of general and specific information about the project and about the Centre and its facilities; Electronic publishing of information about the current progress and agenda of the project; Electronic publishing of all written materials of courses and seminars; Gathering and structuring in a database of all the scientific data acquired during the project; publishing this information on the project web site; Publishing on the project web site of the suitable deliverables and the corresponding scientific papers.

10. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart II: Enhanced scientific cooperation by networking • WP.8 – Co-ordination - Steering Committee meetings Management of scientific, teaching and networking activities of European-EcoGeoCentre; Management and control of the administration and financial state of the Centre; Upgrading the development strategy of the Centre. Time schedule: Year 1: Meeting 1 - month 1, 3 days; Meeting 2 - month 12, 3 days; Year 2: Meeting 3 - month 21, 3 days; Year 3: Meeting 4 - month 30, 3 days; Meeting 5 - month 36, 3 days.

11. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart II: Enhanced scientific cooperation by networking • WP.9 – Participation in cruises on the Danube, in the Danube delta and on the Black Sea Task 9.1 – The participation of high-level scientists from the co-operating West-European institutes in cruises on the River Danube, within the Danube Delta and on the Black Sea as co-chiefs of the cruises Objectives: To enhance the co-operation among Romanian and West-European partners; To develop closer networking through direct participation of high-level professionals from the West-European co-operating institutes in field research organised by the European EcoGeoCentre; To facilitate the transfer of know-how from the western scientists to young Romanian researchers.

12. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart II: Enhanced scientific cooperation by networking • WP.10 – Participation in laboratory work Task 9.1 - The participation of high level scientists from the co-operating West-European institutes in laboratory work on samples and records obtained within the cruises on the River Danube, in the Danube Delta and on the Black Sea. Objectives: To enhance the co-operation among Romanian and West-European partners; To develop closer networking through the direct participation of high-level professionals from the West-European co-operating institutes in laboratory work on collected samples and recorded profiles during the field works carried out through the Centre; To facilitate the transfer of know-how from western scientists to young Romanian researchers.

13. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart II: Enhanced scientific cooperation by networking • WP.11 - Participation in processing and interpretation of data; publication of results. Task 11.1 – The participation of high-level scientists from the co-operating West-European institutes in data processing and interpretation, structuring and validating a complex data-base and a project GIS, as well as predicting the evolution of the Danube-its delta-Black Sea system. Objectives: To enhance the co-operation between Romanian and West-European partners; To develop closer networking through the direct participation of high-level professionals from the West-European co-operating institutes in data processing and interpretation at Euro-EcoGeoCentre as well as at the other participating institutes; To facilitate the transfer of know-how from western scientists to young Romanian researchers.

14. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart III: Long term co-operative research and monitoring of the River Danube – Danube Delta – Black Sea system • WP.III/1 - Process studies (hydrology, sedimentology, biogeochemistry etc.), water and sediments quality, structure and functioning of ecosystems within the Danube - its delta - Black Sea system Not financed through the Centre of Excellence Objectives: Scientific cruises on the River Danube, in the Danube Delta and on the Black Sea for sampling water, sediments and biota, in-situ measurements of different physical-chemical parameters, bathymetric, hydrologic and geo-environmental studies (side-scan, acoustic and seismo-acoustic profiling, geomagnetics, etc.) ; Laboratory analyses of samples collected during the cruises Processing and interpretation of the data obtained

15. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart III: Long term co-operative research and monitoring of the River Danube – Danube Delta – Black Sea system • WP.III/2 - Global and sea level changes and their influence on the ecological state and socio-economic development of the region; anthropogenic changes and their role in the ecosystems functioning Not financed through the Centre of Excellence Objectives: Task A: Geophysical, geological and biological studies of continental, shallow and deep-water depocenters for evidencing global changes in sedimentary records. Task B: Identification and quantification of the main categories of physical-chemical and biological disturbances of the regional aquatic ecosystems, as a consequence of anthropogenic socio-economic activities.

16. Euro-EcoGeoCentre - RomaniaPart III: Long term co-operative research and monitoring of the River Danube – Danube Delta – Black Sea system • WP.III/3 – Data-base, GIS and predicting the trends of environmental evolution of the region; studies on the sustainable management of the mineral and living resources Not financed through the Centre of Excellence Objectives: Task A - To create a complex database for the River Danube - Danube Delta - Black Sea system. Task B - To establish a project GIS which will be able to generate thematic maps as needed and will be updated throughout the project.