| Abstract | Mismanagement of nutrients in the Danube Basin has led to severe ecological problems, among them the deterioration of groundwater and the eutrophication of rivers, lakes and especially the Black Sea. These problems are directly related to social and economic issues (e.g. drinking water supply, tourism and fishery as suffering sectors; agriculture, nutrition, industry and waste water management as responsible sectors). Evaluation of nutrient discharges during the last decade show a decrease in the discharge of P and N. This was mainly due to the decrease in the application of mineral fertilizers and the number of cattle as well as to the collapse of the industrial production. If the economy will be recovered an increase of nutrient emissions can be expected. The challenge now is to investigate the interrelation between nutrient management in the catchment area, the transport in the Danube River system and the mixing zone of Danube river in Western Black Sea in order to recommend proper measures which combine economic development and low nutrient emissions into the hydrosphere. Therefore, an interdisciplinary research is obligatory. The Danube catchment offers the unique possibility to investigate the relationship between dramatic economic changes and water quality development in full scale and real time. It also offers a unique opportunity for the verification of the models developed.
Objectives:
Research on nutrient (N, P, Si) loads in transboundary zones Danube Delta-Black Sea.
Investigation on advection patterns of river plume and river-influenced Black Sea waters using satellite imagery, also for sampling strategy in the Danube river plume.
Revision and completion of data on the nutrient concentrations in the WBSea (Danube river plume, mixing zone, along the pathway of Danube transformed waters) in relation to the Danube nutrient discharge.
Survey on species abundance, distribution patterns and biodiversity to outline present Danube-eutrophication-related effects and seasonality of the Danube influence on the Western Black Sea. |
