Orșova Research Station
The Station is situated on the Dealul Mosului mountainside (267 m), close to the Cioaca Mica peak (217 m), in the southern side of the city, in a place which offers a unique landscape and view of the reservoir and of the Cerna Gulf.
The Station features a main building (200 square meters) which offers optimal accommodation for more than 70 people, which are separated into several rooms, located on two floors. On the ground floor there are two laboratories for
various geographical specializations: geomorphology-environment, meteorology-hydrology, humanistic-regional geography, study (conference) room and specialized library, meant for conducting both therein and in the neighbouring area
specialized practice sessions for students: geographers, geologists, biologists, chemists, all locals and from abroad. Also, within the institution there is another secondary building with accommodation for about 30 people (which
is currently non-functional), 1,5 hectares of terrain with incipient vegetation; an automated meteorological station, a classical one, including a meteorological platform, a research laboratory at Gratca, which is currently not usable
and which can be found on the Danube shore.
Contact details
Adress: Panfil Seicaru no.2 Street, Orsova City, Mehedinti Region, Romania
Tel/fax: +4025-236.15.13
History
Orșova Research Station, coordinated from a scientific point of view by the Faculty of Geography in Bucharest, was established in 1964 with the aim of conducting research in the fields of geomorphology, hydrology, clime and biogeography,
as well as of conducting specialized practice sessions for students in geography.
Research directions
Interdisciplinary research using advanced geographic information techniques. It employs digital topography, GNSS, remote sensing, and photogrammetry for practical applications. The lab aims to address issues such as soil erosion, riverbed
dynamics, and urban planning. Through quantitative assessments and modeling, it offers solutions for ecosystem change, hydropower impact, and sustainable development in urban and rural systems.
Fieldwork and laboratory equipment
River Ecosystems Monitoring, Sampling and Preconditioning Laboratory is structured in 5 complementary modules:
M1- SOIL EROSION MONITORING AND EVALUATION
It includes equipments that can form a network of sensors with the role of collecting data on the components of the environment (air environment, soil, aquatic environment). The sensor network is part of a flow that aims to assess
and model areal erosion, socio-economic vulnerability and associated risk in relation to nearby aquatic environments.
M2-REMOTE SENSING MONITORING OF FLUVIAL AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
The UAV systems are used to collect RBG or multispectral aerial images that allow to calculate some indices for the characterization of environmental elements – soil, vegetation, water, relief.
M3- BATHYMETRIC DATA COLLECTION
The statistical analysis and digital modeling of the spatio-temporal characteristics of the erosion processes is carried out in accordance with the acquisition of high-accuracy bathymetric data. The singlebeam hydrographic system is
used to highlight water depth and submerged relief. .
M4- GEOCHEMICAL SCANNING WITH X-RAY FLUORESCENCE
The equipment is used for soil and sediment core analysis in environmental studies. It can also be used for the analysis of discrete samples of rock. It allows simultaneous high-resolution measurement of chemical composition and magnetic
susceptibility by X-ray and visible light radiography and multiparameter characterization of the sediment from the natural evolutions or anthropogenic influences point of view.
M5- PRIMARY DATA PROCESSING, MODELING AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS
The workstation is the basic system that integrates and processes all the data provided by sensors, satellite data and those produced by aerial photogrammetry (UAV), allows their qualitative visualization and examination, together
with metadata, processing and obtaining raster and vector models.