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There are many possibilities to assess the hydrological and geomorphological evolution of a territory. Among them, one remarks the confluence ratio of the rivers belonging to different catchment areas. The values of this indicator may provide information regarding the stage of evolution of the fluvial landforms in the Transylvanian Basin. Also, the values may serve for the calculation of other parameters of catchment areas like: the degree of finishing of the drainage basin for its corresponding order, the density of river segments within a catchment area etc. To calculate the confluence ratio, 35 catchment areas of different orders have been selected. The confluence ratio varies between 3.04 and 6.07. The large range of values demonstrates the existence of a heterogeneous lithology and of morphological and hydrographical contrasts from one catchment area to the other. The existence of values above 5, correlated also with observations in the field, reveals an accelerated dynamics of the geomorphological processes in those catchment areas. This dynamic is mainly supported by the high landform fragmentation due to the first order rivers. In contrast, the catchment areas that have a confluence ratio below 5 are in a more advanced stage of evolution with stable slopes, unable to initiate new first order river segments.

Variability and Trends in the Vişeu River Runoff Regime. The classic hydrological water management dealt with the changing resources by assuming the existence of stationarity. Once stationarity is neglected in the design of hydraulic engineering, numerous errors and risk may exist in the operations and management strategies and will lead to unforeseen losses. Thus, one of the most important questions in today's hydrology are: Did stationarity die? and if it is true How did stationarity die? As we know the climatic change is widely accepted so it is sad that by 2050 the effects of climate change may have a generally larger effect on flow regimes than it is estimated that dams and water withdrawals. If this is so, we must consideration that in this moment one of the most important aspect/moment is the change point identification in a period, from where significant change has occurred in a time series, for this we choose to use the Ms Excel Addinsoft XLStat to assess the homogeneity of the data by the Pettitt's test, the von Neumann ratio test, the Buishand range test and also the standard normal homogeneity tests (SNHT). For the trend analysis we used the Mann-Kendall test and the classic linear regression test. Based on the results, we conclude that in case of the Vişeu watershed stationarity is questionable if not totally missing. As we see even if the precipitation values do not show significant changes regarding their homogeneity, the runoff series are changing and in most cases this change is identified in the 20thcentury last decade. These results urge us to rethink and to reevaluate our sustainable water resource management for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human induced soil degradation and erosion are between the biggest environmental challenges of the XXI century. It is estimated that the world's top soil could be eroded within the next 60 years. Here we estimated the soil erosion by water in the Transylvanian Plain by applying the RUSLE equation in combination with the modified version of Fournier index, which takes into account the monthly and yearly precipitations for estimating the rainfall erosivity. Using GIS we generated an erosivity map for The Transylvanian Plain and used it in further spatial analyses to evaluate soil erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining activities are heavily influencing and destroying the landscape worldwide. In Aghireş mining perimeter, exploitation workings have led to extreme and irreversible environmental damages, especially regarding the geomorphologic and hydrological situation. After cessation of underground mining and initiation of quarry exploitation, certain mining galleries collapsed and were afterwards flooded by precipitation and re-ascending groundwater, leading to the formation of lacustrine units. Later, the abandoned quarries have undergone the same flooding process. In this paper, we report on the genesis, evolution and the current characteristics of these bodies of water, referred to as mining lakes. In addition, using the GIS technology, the morphometry of the mining lakes is presented in this paper. Due to their predominant current use, as for recreational purposes, the sustainable management of the mining lakes is an important ecological and socio-economical factor for the Aghireş area. For the majority of mining lakes, restoration measures may be necessary due to the demands of the European legislation as well as to the demands of a specific socioeconomic use in the future (e.g. bathing lakes or fishing lakes). These aspects of investigation will constitute a prerequisite for effective environmental management and rehabilitation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main left tributaries of Someş along Surduc -- Jibou sector (Brâglez, Almaş and Agrij), are characterized by the presence of obvious processes of lateral and vertical erosion at the level of the riverbeds. The field observations, as well as the position of these rivers and their catchment areas in the neighborhood of the lower Someş subsidence area, would easily be grounds for explaining the riverbed processes as caused by an unstable fluvial base level. More precisely, this base level would be moving downwards under the influence of subsidence movements of Tisa Plain or even because of the subsidence affecting Guruslău Basin. Starting from these more or less speculative deductions, this paper aims at checking and confirming the above-mentioned explanations or finding other causes for the dynamics of riverbed processes. In this sense, we analysed a correlation between the drainage in the catchment area and at the level of the riverbeds, on one hand, and the riverbed geomorphological processes, on the other hand. Brâglez River (in western Someşan Plateau) will be considered as a study case, as it provides an accelerated dynamics of riverbed processes. This situation will be compared with the one in the eastern part of the same plateau, where rivers like Borşa, Luna or Lujerdiu do not present obvious riverbed processes despite the similar climatic and geological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of ProEnvironment Promediu is the property of Bioflux SRL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study offers a general perspective on conservation status and socio-economic constraints in Buila-Vânturariţa National Park. Buila-Vânturariţa National Park (BVNP) is a protected area established in 2004. The park is also a protected area in the European Union, as part of the Network European Ecological Natura 2000 (as Site of Community Interest: ROSCI0015 Buila - Vânturariţa, and Special Protected Area: Cozia-Buila-Vânturariţa ROSPA0025). Buffer zone of the park is a fragile area where economic development of Bistriţa limestone quarry needs to respect the conservation of environmental components. From a legal perspective, the park buffer zone does not allow economic activities which are destructive to the environment. The main constraint remains the overlapping of the southern limit of BVNP and Natura 2000 sites over the operational perimeter of the quarry Bistriţa (area of about 16 ha) and access roads to the top of the quarry. The opening activity in the top of the quarry is important for regional socio-economic context (chemical industry). An environmental impact assessment was applied for quarry which is placed very close to the park. The problems of current and future constraints need to be carefully identified and quantified in protected areas of Romania, as do the root causes and effects of these constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent decades, the environmental impact produced by municipal solid wastes has received special attention. All new EU countries are involved in the process of implementation of the European Council Directive 31/99/EC on the landfill of waste in the European Union. As consequence National legislation, adapted to fit the EU requirements, focuses on integrated waste management and environmental control of municipal solid waste landfills, from start-up to closure and assimilation into the environment. In Romania, by Government decision, HG 349/2005, was established the obligatoriness of closing unconform waste landfills located in urban areas starting at July 2009. As consequence the owner of municipal waste landfill Medias started the proceedings of closure for the landfill. The aim of this study is to compare, from an environmental point of view, different alternatives for the closure of the municipal solid waste landfill Somard-Medias (Romania). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the possibilities to establish the tendency of evolution of a territory from a hydrographical point of view is the knowledge of the degree or rate of finishing of the drainage basins. This indicator, closely connected to the law of the number of streams, provides information about the stage of evolution of the drainage basins. In order to calculate this indicator, we selected 35 drainage basins of different orders in the Transylvanian Depression. Most of them have a value of the indicator below 1. This fact indicates a hydrographic evolution based on the increase of the number of first order segments in Horton-Strahler system, to reach values equal or higher than 1, specific for the drainage basins in a more advanced stage of evolution. The occurrence of new first order river segments within the drainage basins has effects both at the level of the already existing riverbeds, which perform the transit of alluvia, and at the level of slopes, the common place of formation for gullies and ravines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]