Georgi Zhelezov – Romanian – Bulgarian cross-border joint natural and technological hazards assessment in the Danube floodplain. The Calafat-Vidin–Turnu Măgurele-Nikopol sector

During the period between June 2012 and November 2013, the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography ((NIGGG) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), in partnership with the Institute of Geography (IG) at the Romanian Academy (Leading partner), the Institute of Geology (IG) at the BAS, the Institute for Analytic Instruments – Cluj-Napoca and the Geography Department of Craiova University, accomplished a project within the “Romania-Bulgaria cross-border cooperation 2007-2013” Operational program, Priority axis 2, titled “Romanian – Bulgarian cross-border joint natural and technological hazards assess- ment in the Danube floodplain. The Calafat-Vidin – Turnu Măgurele-Nikopol sector” (ROBUHAZ-DUN).

Roman Cecilia, Abraham Bela, Miclean Mirela, Cadaroana, Șenilă Lăcrimioara, Roman Marius, Mihălț Alin, Ursu Monica, Tănăselia Claudiu – Environmental indicators for assessing the natural and technological hazards

Since the world population is expected to grow substantially during the next decades, raising environmental efficiency may be the only option for preventing depletion of natural resources and controlling the level of pollution. In this sense, the state of the environment reporting is now a legislative requirement at the national and EU level. The environmental issues of concern are presented below:

Rumiana Vatseva – Mapping and visualization of natural and technological hazards

Natural and technological hazard mapping forms the base of decision-making process for the risk management by providing essential information for understanding the risk nature by the society. Hazard mapping is a process of establishing the geographical location and spatial extent to which a particular hazard phenomenon is likely to pose a threat to live of people, infrastructure, property and economic activities of the study area along the Danube River in Romania and Bulgaria. Hazard maps are elaborated using GIS as a main tool for data storage, analysis, modeling and results visualization. Maps represent different natural and technological phenomenon and processes, socioeconomic circumstances and can be defined as communication products.

Emilia Tcherkezova, Stoyan Nedkov – Design of a geodatabase for assessment of natural and technological risk. Case study Vidin – Nikopol, Bulgaria

Nowadays, the prevention and mitigation of human and infrastructure loss caused by natural and technological hazards are very important activities at local, regional, national and global scale. Therefore, detailed analysis and mapping of different natural, technological and antropogenic hazards and disasters become an im- portant role for disaster studies.

This study focuses on development of a conceptual geodata model using UML class diagrams as a base for geodatabase schema appropriated for analysis and mapping of natural and technological hazards in the Danube floodplain between Vidin and Nikopol (Bulgaria). The design, development and application of a coherent geo-database for this purpose should be considered as fundamental steps in the project ROBUHAZ-DUN.

Keywords: Geographic Information Systems (GIS), geodata model, geodatabase, UML (Unified Modelling Language), UML Class Diagram, XML (eXtensible Markup Language), XMI (XML Metadata Interchange), ESRI Case (Computer Aided Software Engineering) Schema Creation, ROBUHAZ-DUN.

Boian Koulov – Technological hazards in Bulgaria’s Western Danubian municipalities: a geographic perspective

New regulations on the conditions, organization, and methods for analysis, assessment and mapping of disaster risks were recently introduced in Bulgaria (Н а р е д б а, 2012). Some deficiencies are identified in the Ordinance, e.g., a number of hazards are not dealt with, despite the explicit claims to the opposite, which leads to the conclusion that hazard sources’ research receives insufficient attention.

Nikolai Dobrev, Boyko Berov, Plamen Ivanov, Miroslav Krastanov, Aleksey Benderev, Boyka Mihalkova – Overview on landslide distribution along Bulgarian Danube river bank between Vidin and Nikopol

Bulgarian Danube river bank has a length of 467.8 km. There are located 11 towns and over 20 villages, large industrial, energy and irrigation systems. At the same time, a large part of the shore is covered by landslides, which cause considerable damage to the real estates, communications, facilities and fertile lands (D e m i r e v et al., 1981; A n g e l o v et al., 1983). Mostly affected part is western one – a strip of 200 km from Tsar Simeonovo Village (Vidin region) to Nikopol Town. Catastrophic landslides often occur in this region and the consequences of which are heavier and counteramesures are more difficult and more expensive.

Boyko Berov, Plamen Ivanov – Collapsibility of loess between the town of Vidin and the town of Nikopol

In this paper the problem of the collapse of loess is discussed as one of dangerous geological processes in the research area of the municipalities along the Danube River between the Vidin town and Nikopol town. The basic characteristics of loess – its porosity, water resistance, permeability, plasticity have been considered. The na- ture of the process of loess collapsibility was clarified. Depending on their tendency to collapse loess basis is divided into three types. The area distribution of loess soils in the investigated region is presented. A brief description is given of the relief and the spread of so-called steppe dishes. The stratification of loess is also detailed in the total cross section in loess formations: young loess – buried soil – middle loess – second buried soil – old loess. The main types of loess and loess sediments are described: loess sands, sandy loess, typical loess, clayey loess and loess clays. The types of sandy loess, typical loess and clayey loess have the greatest importance on the process of collapsibility of loess. A more detailed analysis is given of the collapsibility with these types of loess. Examples of damage and destruction of subsidence over the loess areas are listed. Finally, the basic measures to prevent collapse of loess are given. The purpose of this article is to summarize the numerous studies and to present once again the importance of this problem for the research area of ROBUHAZ-DUN project in Bulgaria.

Alexey Benderev, Miroslav Krastanov, Boyko Berov – Assessment of the main factors which influence the vulnerability of groundwater in the Danubian lowlands

Groundwaters in the Danube lowlands are the object of investigation. These lowlands are fragments of terraces of the Danube River, which form independent water bodies with shallow situated groundwater. An analysis has been made of the main indicators that are essential to determine groundwater vulnerability on the basis of possible natural and anthropogenic hazards impact over the groundwater quantity and quality. Maps have been prepared in GIS environment of the most important indicators with attention on the influence of the Danube River on the obtained results. The direction and speed of movement of the groundwaters, thickness of the water saturated part, the depth of the groundwater level beneath the surface and filtration parameters are whit primary importance. Although some of these characteristics are changeable over time, prepared GIS layers and maps are applicable to the territories of the Danube lowlands, with the exception of a strip near the river, where the dynamics of change in the level of groundwater and the direction of movement is highly variable depending on the level of position levels of the Danube River.

Carmen-Sofia Dragotă, Ines Grigorescu, Monica Dumitraşcu, Gheorghe Kucsicsa – Pluvial hazards assessment in the Danube floodplain. The Calafat – Turnu Măgurele sector

The end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century is marked by enhanced pluvial contrasts within the temperate climate in which the study-area lies. In this context, shifts between prolonged droughts and excess rainfall could generate discontinuities in the multiannual range on larger surfaces that, by the general impact on the environment produce disturbing effects (D r a g o t ă, 2005; B u s u i o c еt al., 2010). Flood wave triggered by heavy rainfall or snow melting generate sudden flood events, changes in riverbeds, damages, not least casualties. As a result, the excess of water can cause slope instability along with landslides or mudflows reactivation (B ă l t e a n u, 1997), the shrinkage of agricultural productivity (S a n d u et al., 2010), thus requesting in-depth studies on excess rainfall together with other associated extreme events: droughts, unusual snow cover, thermal anomalies, hailstorms, wind intensification etc.

Tsvetan Kotsev, Georgi Zhelezov – Potential sources of chemical pollution of Danube floodplain sector between Vidin-Calafat and Nikopol-Turnu Magurele

Information on potential sources of chemical pollution and relevant chemical stressors is substantial for environmental quality and hazard assessment. A review of official information on pollution sources within the Danube basin district between Iron Gate and the confluences of Osam and Olt rivers has been made. Economic activities located in this area are considered to have potential impact on the environmental quality of the Danube floodplain between Vidin-Calafat and Nikopol-Turnu Magurele. Nineteen industrial enterprises have been identified as significant sources of contamination based on data from the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) referred to 2011. It has been used for brief description of the pollutant sources and volumes of chemical loads. The biggest impact on the studied Danube floodplain sector can be expected by the mining industry and especially from the copper mines and smelter in the town of Bor in Serbia, transferred to Danube by the Timok River. Floodplains along the rivers of Ogosta and Iskar, right-hand side tributaries of Danube, are considered to be significant diffuse sources of heavy metals and arsenic due to historical pollution from mining and ore processing in their drainage basins. Danube floodplain sections downstream the confluences of the rivers Timok, Ogosta and Iskar are likely to receive largest loads of hazardous substances in cases of high flood events, e.g. the catastrophic flood in 2006. The threat of accumulation of metal and arsenic contaminated river sediment has to be considered in the process of ecological restoration and management of the Danube wetlands between Vidin and Turnu Magurele.

Zoya Mateeva, Carmen-Sofia Dragotă, Ines Grigorescu – Hazardous bioclimatic conditions in the Danube river adjacent regions during the cold part of the year (Calafat-Vidin – Turnu Măgurele-Nikopol sector)

Cold-spells and heat-waves, severe floods, windstorms, etc., have affected the European Region during the last years. The political, social, environmental and health consequences of these episodes have stimulated debate on whether appropriate action can prevent at least some of the health effects of such extreme weather and climate events (K o p p e et al., 2004). Institutions at all levels are now developing strate- gies, by learning from recent events, to mitigate the future impact of extreme severe weather events on health.

Peter Nojarov – Precipitation-related hazards in Vidin-Nikopol Danube floodplain sector – current state and tendencies

Heavy precipitation in Bulgaria is subject to increased research over the last decade in relation to climate change. Global and regional climate models in most of the cases project an increase of these phenomena over the territory of Bulgaria. Re- cent studies (B o c h e v a et al. 2007; B o c h e v a et al., 2008a, B o c h e v a et al.,2008b, B o c h e v a et al., 2009, N o j a r o v, 2013a, 2013b; S i m e o n o v et al.,2009) have confirmed the increase of heavy precipitation events in Bulgaria. This has been particularly evident in the period 1991–2005 when compared to the base period 1961–1990. It is valid for both heavy precipitation over 30 mm/day and for heavy precipitation over 100 mm/day. Also there is an increase of cases of thunderstorms and hail in the warm half of the year from April to September. These studies usually cover the entire Bulgaria or a large part of it, and hence the spatial resolution is relatively coarse. Also, there are almost no studies of heavy snowfalls and blizzards, which are connected with both precipitation and average wind speed. The aim of the article is to reveal spatial and, partially, temporal characteristics of precipitation-related hazards in Vidin-Nikopol sector of the Danube floodplain. Several tasks were completed in order to achieve this aim. Annual course of studied meteorological hazards was revealed. Trends in heavy precipitation events were calculated. Maps of the spatial distribution of meteorological hazards for both the current period and the older period were drawn.