Published in Scientific Papers. Series E. Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. XI
Written by Iulian NICHERSU, Delia DIMITRIU, Iuliana I. NICHERSU, Dragoș BALAICAN, Edward BRATFANOF, Alexandru NICHERSU, Oliver LIVANOV
3D - Danube Delta Decarbonising is an essential concept that promotes the maintenance of swamps and wetlands of the Danube and the adaptation of their socio-economic system to climate change. The relationship between climate change, atmospheric structure and greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other critical factors for the global environment, such as alteration of the water cycle, changes in biogeochemical cycles, erosion of soils and coastal areas, reduction of sea salinity, loss biodiversity, is a complex of specificities for the Danube Delta, given the duration of processes, diversity, and causality, both endogenous and exogenous system, and requires analysis of different variants and intensities of manifestation as an objective need for the functioning of the hydro-geo- morphological (HGM) and socio-ecological (SSE) of the Danube Delta. Wetlands such as the Danube Delta are a major source of methane (CH4) and contribute between 30 and 40% to total CH4 emissions. CH4 emissions from wetlands depend on temperature, groundwater depth, and the quantity and quality of organic matter. Global warming will affect these three factors of methanogenesis, raising questions about the feedback between natural methane production and climate change. Forecasts show that by the end of this century, natural methane (CH4) emissions from wetlands are expected to increase by up to 80% by the turn of the century if no concrete measures are taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and especially those generated by the anthropogenic factor, a better understanding of the situation is needed for future rebalancing. The scientific community agrees that an economic system based on fossil fuels, intensive agriculture, and the unsustainable exploitation of global natural resources have irreversible effects on the environment. The effects of the current economic system have detrimental effects on the Danube Delta, such as climate change, air and ocean pollution, and ecological decline, causing material and human damage to the local population. Thus, there is a real risk of catastrophic damage to our economies and societies over the next few decades, if the prevailing forms of production and consumption are not radically changed.
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