“We borrowed the Earth for our children and we have no right to disinherit them!” (J. Y. Cousteau)

October 31 TheInternational Day

Of Black Sea

The countries with borderings to the Black Sea:

1. Romania 2. Bulgaria 3. Ukraine 4. Russia5. Georgia6. Turkey

The Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea

Against PollutionMission Acting on the mandate of the Black Sea countries (Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine) which on the 21-04-1992, signed and shortly thereafter ratified the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (the Black Sea Commission) implements the provisions of the Convention and the Black Sea Strategic Action Plan.

Main Challenges

Combating Pollution from land-based sources and maritime transport, Achieving sustainable management of marine living resources,Pursuing sustainable human development

Main Challenges

Combating Pollution from land-based sources and maritime transport, Achieving sustainable management of marine living resources,Pursuing sustainable human development

Since the 1960s, rapid industrial expansion along the Black Sea coast line and the construction of a major dam has significantly increased annual variability in the N:P:Si ratio in the basin. Pollution reduction and regulation efforts have led to a partial recovery of the Black Sea ecosystem during the 1990s, and an EU monitoring exercise, 'EROS21', revealed decreased N and P values, relative to the 1989 peak. Recently, scientists have noted signs of ecological recovery, in part due to the construction of new sewage treatment plants in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria in connection with membership in the European Union.

Called “Pontus Euxinos”, “Kara Denis” or “Cernoie More”, Black Sea represents a source of food ans health, an inspiration for the poets, a magic place, but this “unicum hydrobiologicum” is already a fragil sistem, in danger and only with great efforts we can restore it to its original state.

Features of the Black Sea

Surface: 466 200 km 2; Average depth: 1 271 m; Maximum depth: 2 211 m (in the central-southern part);The wather volume: 537 000 km 3; Maximum length 1 200 km; Maximum depth of oxic layer: 150 m.

Black Sea is a semi-closed sea, with low salinity, with an anoxic layer(150- 2 000 m) and a high biological productivity.It presents like an intercontinental basin, almost isolated from the Mediterranean Sea, which communicates through the Bosphorus strait, narrow and a little deep.

The wonderful world of the deep The Flora

The Fauna

Stingray, near Romanian Coast

Goby, near Romanian Coast

Jellyfish, near Romanian Coast

Common dephin

Spniny dogfish (Black Sea sharks at Risk) Actinia, near

Romanian Coast

Goat fish, near Romanian Coast

Hermit Crab, near Romanian Coast

Blue Sponge, near Romanian Coast

Seahorse, near Romanian Coast

Ecology

The Black Sea supports an active and dynamic marine ecosystem, dominated by species suited to the brackish, nutrient-rich, conditions. As with all marine food webs, the Black Sea features a range of trophic groups, with autotrophic algae, including diatoms and dinoflagellates, acting as primary producers. The fluvial systems draining Eurasia and central Europe introduce large volumes of sediment and dissolved nutrients into the Black Sea, but distribution of these nutrients is controlled by the degree of physiochemical stratification, which is, in turn, dictated by seasonal physiographic development. During winter, strong wind promotes convective overturning and upwelling of nutrients, while high summer temperatures result in a marked vertical stratification and a warm, shallow mixed layer. Day length and insolation intensity also controls the extent of the photic zone. Subsurface productivity is limited by nutrient availability, as the anoxic bottom waters act as a sink for reduced nitrate, in the form of ammonia. The benthic zone also plays an important role in Black Sea nutrient cycling, as chemosynthetic organisms and anoxic geochemical pathways recycle nutrients which can be upwelled to the photic zone, enhancing productivity.

The Fauna

In the Black Sea lives 3 species of dolphins : the common dolphin , the bottlenose dolphin and the porpoise dolphin. The biggest and, in the same time, the most known is the bottlenose dolphin becouse it adapts easily to captivity conditions . In the ‘40s , the flocks populations of this 3 species of dolphins of the Black Sea were estimated at 1,5 – 2 millions. Annual catch of about 62,000 copies and the reduction of fish stocks led to a decrease of its number, reaching in 1965 al only 300.000 copies.Although the industrial fishing was forbidden, due to pollution, the number of dolphins continued to decline. Between 1983-1984 dolphin populations were estimated at 60.000-100.000 copies. Nowadays, herd size of three dolphin species is not known.

Climate

Short-term climatic variation in the Black Sea region is significantly influenced by the operation of the North Atlantic Oscillation, which is a term used to describe the climatic mechanisms resulting from the interaction between the north Atlantic and mid-latitude air masses. While the exact mechanisms causing the North Atlantic Oscillation remain unclear, it is thought the climate conditions established in western Europe mediate the heat and precipitation fluxes reaching Central Europe and Eurasia, regulating the formation of winter cyclones, which are largely responsible for regional precipitation inputs and influence Mediterranean Sea Surface Temperatures (SST's). The relative strength of these systems also limits the amount of cold air arriving from northern regions during winter. Other influencing factors include the regional topography, as depressions and storms systems arriving from the Mediterranean are funneled through the low land around the Bosphorus, Pontic and Caucasus mountain ranges acting as wave guides, limiting the speed and paths of cyclones passing through the region

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