Sinaia Research Station

Harmoniously integrated in the unique landscape of the Bucegi Mountains, during its first stages of functioning, the Ecological Research Resort in Sinaia has fulfilled the role of a research station in the fields of investigating specific biodiversity, the flora and the fauna of Romania. The location chosen for this resort is special due to its geographical position, at an altitude of 860 meters, in the Cumpătu residential area.

The research Infrastructure consists of laboratories for long-term research in taxonomy and ecology, accommodations for biology students during field applications and a Conference Center. The unceasing interest for the restoration of the research station in the last years has made possible the creation of conference rooms and laboratories which can represent an ideal place for: short-term training sessions, workshops, scientific and didactic practice, scientific meetings, research and symposiums.

Contact details

Adress: Cumpătu nr.5 street, postal code 106100, Sinaia, Prahova county, România

Telephone: +40745.865.151

History

The Zoological Research Station Sinaia, has been established by professor A. Popovici-Bâznoșeanu in 1922 for field activities of students in biology. It was the first academic and research institute in Romania benefiting from the high valued ecosystems diversity of the Bucegi mountain region and the Prahova River basin (in natural conditions at that time).

The institutional development of the Zoological Research Station Sinaia had three phases:

  • 1922-1951, without permanent staff, dedicated to the accumulation of knowledge and data on mountain flora and fauna. Around 130 scientific papers have been published in national and international journals.
  • 1951-1989, having permanent research staff, focused on knowledge development about the structure and dynamics of natural populations in relationship with abiotic and biotic factors. The results have been published in 386 original scientific papers.
  • after 1989, when the research activity of the Zoological Research Station has been integrated in the research activities of RCSES, as part of the Department of Systems Ecology. Activities were carried out in different research projects together with other national partners (e.g. Forest Research and Management Institute) along Bucegi-Piatra Craiului, Neajlov and Brăila Islands LTSER sites.

Research directions

This project ensures the expansion of the integrated research platform at the University of Bucharest, creating a cloud model and enabling interconnection with scientific domain-specific research platforms, positioning the university among renowned European institutions in high-performance computing and aligning with new European development requirements, while facilitating integration with the Lifewatch EU infrastructure.

The HPC infrastructure will support research in all areas of interest for the University of Bucharest, such as: exact sciences, social sciences, environmental, earth and life sciences and humanities. It will also enable:

  1. Storage and rapid data processing for large volumes of data;
  2. Support for the infrastructure and applications necessary for analyzing large volumes of data;
  3. Connection of the infrastructure with the component infrastructures of Lifewatch ERIC, as well as the provision of raw data or results from modeling activities to other research infrastructures, including ICOS, Danubius or eLTER;
  4. The development of virtual laboratories;

Fieldwork and laboratory research equipment

Sinaia Datacenter- Virtual Laboratories (Lifewatch)

Development of services for data visualization, analysis and modeling. To ensure the interconnection of the four platforms within the project, dedicated internet lines will be provided as follows:

Laboratory for sampling, preconditioning and isolation of samples for the study of biodiversity and ecosystem studies in mountainous areas

The laboratory is designed to ensure the sampling, conditioning, and transportation of samples to other laboratories within the University of Bucharest that will enable further analysis.