DANUBIUS-RI

DANUBIUS-RI is a new European research infrastructure that aims to study the river-sea continuum through an integrated, interdisciplinary and pan-European approach. These environments, marked by high ecological complexity and dynamic physical, chemical, and biological processes, are particularly vulnerable to pressures from human activities. Addressing the challenges of their management requires bringing together expertise from the terrestrial, fluvial, marine and socio-economic domains in a single, coherent scientific vision.

The aim of DANUBIUS-RI is to improve the understanding of the dynamics governing the functioning of river-sea systems and to contribute to the development of sustainable management practices, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the main European environmental policies. To achieve this, the infrastructure aims to network existing knowledge and research centres of excellence in Europe and promote the exchange of data, expertise, tools and methods.

DANUBIUS-RI is structured into several components. Its central hub is located in the Danube Delta, Romania while four thematic nodes are based in different European countries: the observation node in the UK, the analysis node in Germany, the modelling node in Italy and the impact node in the Netherlands. The entire infrastructure is supported by a Data Centre, located in Romania, a technology transfer office in Ireland and an e-learning facility in Spain. Research and applied activities are also carried out at 12 supersites representative of the river-sea continuum distributed across Europe. The Italian supersite is represented by the Po Delta and the lagoons of the northern Adriatic Sea, coordinated by CORILA.

DANUBIUS-RI seeks to address fundamental scientific questions related to the management of these complex systems: What does it mean today for a river-sea system to be in good ecological status? How do these systems react to diverse and increasing environmental pressures? How do changes propagate within the system and what impact do they have on the ecosystems and the services they provide? And finally, how can management strategies be developed that are effective, sustainable and compatible with the uses and needs of human society?

OGS is actively involved in both the Italian supersite and coordinates the ecological modelling activities in the modelling hub coordinated by the CNR. OGS contributes with interdisciplinary expertise ranging from ecology to biogeochemistry, from geophysics to genomics, and supports experimental, modelling and data analysis activities. It also provides environmental data, modelling tools and innovative methods, contributing to the development of an advanced European system for the study and management of the river-sea continuum.