Plenary conference: Prof. Edward J. Anthony – River Deltas as Land–Sea Interfaces: Science, Society, and the Challenges of a Vulnerable Century
Description: River deltas concentrate some of the world’s most pressing environmental and societal challenges at the intersection of rivers, coasts, and human settlement. This presentation frames deltas as complex land–sea interface systems where physical, biogeochemical, and social processes are deeply intertwined. Beyond the physical dynamics of sediment and water, it examines the role of deltas as carbon sinks and stores, their biogeochemical functioning under changing hydrological regimes, and the profound social dimensions. Addressed to a broad academic audience, the presentation makes the case for why universities must invest in integrative, cross-faculty delta science.
Prof. Edward J. Anthony is Professor of Physical Geography (Classe Exceptionnelle) at Aix-Marseille University, France, and ERA Chair holder of the Horizon Europe DELTA-Hub project at the University of Bucharest. With over 35 years of research in coastal and fluvial geomorphology, sedimentology, and coastal management, he has conducted landmark studies along the coasts of South America, West Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean, with a particular focus on river delta dynamics and coastal vulnerability under global change. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications (H-index: 44), serves as Editor-in-Chief of Marine Geology (Elsevier), and is the 2023 laureate of the Grand Prix des Sciences de la Mer Albert II of the Principality of Monaco.
Keynote: Dr. Monica Măgureanu – Degradation of water micropollutants in mixtures by plasma-ozonation
Dr. Monica Măgureanu is a Senior Researcher at the Research and Development Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics.
Keynote: Nicoleta BRIȘAN, Carmen ROBA, Dan NIȚĂ, Robert BEGY – Radiometric methods applied in the reconstruction of heavy metal pollution dynamics in lacustrine sediments: approaches and applications developed within UBB
The historical reconstruction of heavy metal pollution in lake sediments represents an essential direction for understanding the cumulative impact of anthropogenic pressures on aquatic ecosystems and for substantiating effective management and remediation strategies. In this context, the use of radiometric methods, based on the analysis of the isotopes ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs and ²²⁶Ra by gamma spectrometry, provides a robust framework for dating sediment layers and estimating accumulation rates.
The integration of this chronological information with high-resolution geochemical analyses (ICP-MS) allows the reconstruction of the temporal dynamics of heavy metal contamination and the identification of critical stages associated with the intensification of anthropogenic activities. This methodological approach facilitates not only the retrospective assessment of pollution but also the understanding of the relationships between sedimentation processes and the distribution of contaminants, including dilution or concentration effects.
The applicability of the method is demonstrated by investigating some lacustrine systems from the pre-deltaic area of the Danube, where historical industrial influences have generated significant accumulations of heavy metals in sediments. The results highlight the variability of sedimentation regimes and their relationship with the distribution of contaminants, confirming the usefulness of the radiometric approach in identifying long-term pollution trends.
Due to its integrative and reproducible character, this type of analysis represents a valuable tool for environmental monitoring, ecological risk assessment, and the development of adaptive management strategies in aquatic ecosystems affected by anthropogenic pressures.
Keynote: Călin Cotoi – Reed farming and the socialist imagination of the Danube Delta
At a fundamental level, the delta is the result of the articulation of hydrological and geological processes. The research I want to present, however, looks at the forms of framing and the hybrid material, practical and discursive processes that constitute the delta, in relation to both nature and technological, political and modernization interventions in the area.
The focus is on the emergence of the socialist delta, as a culminating historical moment of spatial planning and territorial modernization, constituted around a techno-science of reed: reed farming. I look at the conditions of possibility and the failure of this process, but also at the way in which it conditions subsequent modernization projects – especially the post-socialist one of ecological governance of nature and water. The current, ruined landscape of the reed and the socialist development of the delta have become an ambiguous part of contemporary understandings of the governance of “wild nature” in the wetlands of Eastern Europe.