The system comprises a complete hydrographical measuring platform including MS Boat MC550 with Yamaha 115 HP engine, GeoAcoustics GeoSwath 4R multibeam echosounder, Valeport MiniSVS, SMC IMU-108-30, GNSS Compas Rover Hemisphere V500, Getac X500 laptop with GeoAcoustics GS4 software, Satel Compact-Proof UHF radio modem, Valeport SWiFT SVPplus Turbidity, GNSS RTK Hemisphere A631 with Satel SatelLine Easy Pro UHF radio modem, Navtron HideTide Log with Campbell Scientific CRS451V. The GeoAcoustics GeoSwath 4R turn-key solution offers an efficient simultaneous swath bathymetry and side scan seabed mapping system for shallow waters. This provides full acquisition, calibration and data processing capabilities for producing the final bathymetry map and side scan mosaic. The system was used so far for obtaining detailed bathymetrical data at the interface between the Danube River and the Black Sea (Sfântu Gheorghe arm mouth area).

The system is a compact solution to be used with various types of vessels to obtain the vertical profile of 2D water flow velocities, water depth, vertical water movements and back-scattering information for the whole water column to estimate the suspended sediment transport. It includes a trimaran, a ADCP Nortek Signature Coastal 1000kHz, Advanced Navigation GNSS Compass and laptop Getac B360. The system was successfully used to obtain detailed flow velocities on the Danube River (Sfântu Gheorghe arm mouth area).

The data buoy is the first equipment of this type on the Danube Delta coast, allowing the continuous monitoring of wave characteristics (height, period and direction), current profiling (speed and direction), water temperature and turbidity, meteorological parameters (wind speed and direction, air temperature). It was deployed in the Sfântu Gheorghe arm mouth area (Danube Delta – Black Sea coast), at cca. 3 km offshore and -15 m water depth. The system comprises a NEXSENS CB-950 Data Buoy, wave sensor NAVMON-11, ADCP Nortek Aquadopp Current Profiler 1 MHz, Valeport Hyperion Turbidity (with Zebra-Tech wiper), water temperature sensor, Gill WindSonic M ultrasonic wind sensor and a laptop Getac B360.

It has been intensely used in multiple research applications: i) large-scale mapping of Mostiștea Valley in the Romanian Plain, with the purpose of high-accuracy mapping of ancient tombs, as a subject of a geo-archaeology PhD thesis; ii) mapping of Sacalin barrier island and other high-interest surfaces in the Danube Delta for yearly monitoring of dynamics; iii) high-accuracy mapping of the Bellu Domain as a basis for renovation works; iv) mapping of deep-seated landslides in the Curvature Carpathians for high-resolution DEMs and geomorphological mapping of hazard-prone areas.

It has been intensely used to obtain high-accuracy digital elevation models and orthophoto maps in numerous sites and applications, such as geo-archaeology sites or landslides bodies mapping. It has been used for particular applications in the coastal area including vegetation density changes on the beach and beach ridge plains (Danube Delta), rip currents detection, cliff erosion analysis.

It has been used for mapping the cold screen at Detunata Goală site, facilitating the identification of warm air evacuation areas during winter, thus sustaining the hypothesized air circulation model. It has also been used in winter to identify the presence of faults in landslides scarp areas, which are linear features characterized by higher temperatures than the surrounding surfaces.

It’s being constantly used to add supplementary high-accuracy ground control points to the drone surveys, and also to mark the location of other types of measurements (such as geophysical) due to the RTK system which assures millimetric accuracy of the recorded points.

This spectral radiometer is used for in-situ measurements of the spectral response of different aquatic and terrestrial surfaces. The obtained information is integrated into spectral databases for multiple types of optical analysis like the differentiation of concentration and type of suspended or dissolved matter in water, evaluation of chlorophyll concentration in plants etc. Moreover, these measurements are used for calibration and validation of satellite derived algorithms and products.

The sample analysis module of the laboratory consists of complex research equipment covering a wide range of applications designed for inter-correlated analysis of water, soil, sediment, and rock samples. It integrates analysers of the physico-chemical and optical properties of aquatic systems in the Danube River-Danube Delta-Black Sea area with specific equipment for granulometric and physico-chemical analyses of sediments and with equipment necessary for the imaging, compositional, and structural analysis of environmental samples. The combination of optical, laser, isotopic and spectrometry methods offer a detailed view of the coastal and deltaic areas evolution and their dynamics under increasing pressures of climate change and human activities.

Research equipment:

1. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope analyser from liquid water with autosampler
2. Particle size measurement system by laser diffraction
3. Optical microscopy system coupled with Raman spectrometer
4. Laboratory 3D laser scanning system
5. Electronic scanning microscope (SEM)
6. Spectrophotometer

This equipment is designed for the measurement and processing of analytical data regarding the water isotopic composition and is used for determining the stable isotopes (δ18O, δ17O and δ2H) in liquid water and vapor, originating from freshwater environments, seawater, or other liquids. The isotope concentration provides information about the nature water cycle and the hydrosphere-biosphere interactions, with applicability in assessing climate changes, particularly important in the context of the increasingly limited availability of water resources. The obtained data are used in climate studies (isotopes from precipitations), paleoclimatic reconstructions, aquifer dynamics, water quality studies (for example, the source of polluted waters), or for identifying high-quality drinking water resources.

The equipment is used for determining the granulometric distribution of sediments. Measurements with this device allow both the determination of the temporal evolution of the dynamics of the environment in which the analysed sediments were formed and transported, and the monitoring of the current evolution of sediment transport in the deltaic and coastal environment. These processes are of particular importance related to the long-term conservation of these environments that host unique and sensitive ecosystems.

The equipment is a confocal Raman Microscope with real-time autofocus, which combines the advantages of optical microscopy, automated image analysis, and the power of Raman spectrometry. It is designed for the complete characterization of particles and provides the user with a comprehensive view of the components of their samples, offering information about the physical (size, shape) and chemical (chemical identity) characteristics in a single automated analysis. The equipment allows component-level (particle) analysis of complex mixtures, enabling a deep understanding of their behaviour. It is used for complex environmental studies predominantly based on samples and sediment cores.

This automatic laser scanning equipment is designed for studying various types of organic and inorganic matter from deltaic and coastal environments, artifacts, objects, etc., with the aim of creating a 3D imaging database. This comprehensive solution offers increased flexibility, high measurement speed, and impressive performance, using the latest optical sensor technology (high light intensity and very fast shutter camera) and dedicated software for data capture and processing, ensuring a high level of operational efficiency, and achieving very good quality measurements.

This complex microscope is a complete equipment for compositional, structural, and imaging analysis of different samples necessary in a wide range of environmental analyses in the deltaic and coastal areas.

This equipment is used for the analysis of water samples for collecting their spectral response in various bands of the visible and infrared spectrum, with the purpose of calibrating satellite images and monitoring water turbidity under different conditions (for example, floods, algal blooms).