Assessment of Macroalgae Phytocenoses within the Black Sea Coastal Marine Area near Sochi, Russia

The primary objective of this study was to optimize the process of remedial treatment at health reports of Sochi, Gelendzhik, and Anapa by introducing sun, air, and sea water baths in the system of sanatorium-and-spa treatment of the children with various nosologic forms of psoriasis and concomitant ophthalmoherpes that necessitated keratoplastic surgery. The study included children at the age of 7-13 years with plaque and nummular psoriasis vulgaris who received rehabilitative treatment after keratoplasty for ophthalmoherpes. The children were randomly allocated to two groups. One comprised patients based at the specialized children's sanatoria "Yunost", "Vulan", and "Bimlyuk" (Roszdrav) (group 1, n = 278). Patients of the control group were given conventional treatment in municipal outpatient settings in compliance with the existing standards (group 2, n = 278). The study showed a 2.39-fold decrease of the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) in the children of group 1 compared with its 1.38-fold decrease in group 2. It is concluded that a combination of natural physical factors of the Kuban' Black Sea coastal area has highly beneficial effect on the outcome of postoperative treatment of children with plaque and nummular psoriasis vulgaris and concomitant ophthalmoherpes responsible for corneal ulceration that requires corrective keratoplastic surgery.

Interoperability of data from different sources is the main purpose of this study. The survey covers the waters of the Black Sea in Bulgaria. Our country has a maritime border of 378 km, of strategic importance and is close to military conflicts (e.g. Ukraine). The use of different satellite and in situ data in hybrid models makes it possible to obtain much more information from one point or domain. Different satellite data have been used, which are collated with registers of open and spatial data from the Bulgarian Open Data Portal. Much of the ground information is extremely rich in detailed information on the chemical, environmental and climate status of the specific point or area of interest. The survey uses Copernicus data, the Open Data Portal, the Black Sea Basin Directorate and Innovative Techniques and Methods for Reducing Marine Litter in the Black Sea Coastal Areas — (BSB552 RedMarLitter and etc. These interoperable data will be useful for coastal protection and security, environmental monitoring and adequate decision-making in the administration, business and various other groups of data users. The methodology aims to support work on Digital Twins of the Earth. Information from so many sources will at one point lead to a much more effective and efficient management of territories in the event of environmental disasters (e.g. plastic and oil pollution), various military conflicts and their consequences, as well as annual monitoring of tourist areas and many others.

This paper applied satellite data fusion technique for changes assessment and environmental impact over Romanian North-Western Black Sea and Danube deltaic coastal area. Since single sensor solutions for automatic object recognition provide only partial answers was proposed a multi-sensor, multi-resolution approach to be effective tool of exploiting the complimentary nature of different data types for change-detection studies. In order to extract environmental features for determining surface patches and surface boundaries, grouping surface patches based on spatial proximity, geometric and radiometric properties was performed object recognition for North-Western Black Sea coastal zone based on different satellite data (Landsat MSS, TM, ETM, ERS, SPOT XS, ASTER and MODIS). Preliminary results show significant coastline position changes of North-Western Black Sea during the period 1975-2004. The direct impacts are clearly shown, but it is less straightforward to link the changes in coastline to indirect impacts of the changing land use/cover. As an indication of land use/cover change, the extension of the road network and the urban areas were compared. The growth of coastal urban areas generates a range of threats to the nearby shoreline habitats. Direct physical damage is caused by construction works on harbors, airports and tourist resorts. Also the coastline change is examined and linked to the urban expansion in order to determine if the changes are mainly human induced or natural. A distinction is made between landfill/sedimentation processes on the one hand and dredging/erosion processes on the other.

This chapter analyses the significance that tourists, on the one hand, and the business environment, on the other hand, lend to the concept of sustainable development in tourism. Starting from this point, the chapter highlights the characteristics of the sustainable development of tourism in the coastal areas of Black Sea. Sustainable development has been conceptualized by a set of four variables: economic, socio-human, ecological, and institutional-technological. The main results of the research show that both tourists and members of the business environment attach the greatest importance to the institutional-technological variable, focusing primarily on collaboration and communication between decision-makers and executives. Regarding the stakeholders, both tourists and the business community indicate local governance and central government as the main factors responsible for sustainable development. Following the research, a possible list of actions was proposed.

On ecosystems, the radioactive material can have several consequences: the mechanisms of self-regulation of biocoenosis are affected; the interactions and composition of flora and fauna in biocoenosis are modified etc., and on humans, radioactive material presents a major risk through external exposure and internal exposure to radiation. On the other hand, floods and droughts, among others, can have the effect that they can act as a support for radionuclides. The existence of risks of radioactive and chemical pollution on the lower course of the Danube, in the Black Sea Danube spill area as well as in the Black Sea coastal area, where a number of complex processes occur, determined the study of the radiochemical processes taking place in these areas. The paper addresses the following issues: radiation risk and nuclear risk, general hydrological characteristics, radioactivity of the Lower Danube water and coastal zone of the Black Sea, radioactivity of the Lower Danube sediments and coastal zone of the Black Sea, modeling of radiochemical processes.

Determine the hullform of the central hull of a passenger vessel with outriggers (SAR) for the route "Ochakiv-Kinburnska Kosa", the type of engine and propulsion, as well as the material of the hull.Method.Methods of ship theory and design, analysis and statistics are used.Results.An analysis of the design and operational characteristics of various designs of motor boats, passenger boats and small pre-planing passenger vessel was carried out.On the basis of this analysis, the optimal shape of the central hull, the type of engine and propulsion system, as well as the material of the hull of the coastal passenger vessel for the route "Ochakiv-Kinburnska Kosa" were determined.Scientific novelty.For the first time, the data of various designs and types of motor boats, passenger boats and pre-planing small passenger vessels for the route "Ochakiv-Kinburnska Kosa" have been summarized and analyzed.Practical impact.Based on a comparative analysis and generalized empirical and theoretical data, taking into account the traffic mode defined in [1], economic, design and operational requirements and limitations, as well as the experience of operating existing motor boats, boats and small high-speed vessels, the combined hullform of the central hull of a passenger vessel with outriggers (VAR) for the route "Ochakiv-Kinburnska Kosa".The comparison was carried out according to the following operational and economic criteria: transport efficiency, efficiency of use of displacement.In addition, for comparison, a project 343ME hydrofoil boat and a project 1432 "Nevka" small hydrofoil passenger vessel that were used in the Black Sea coastal areas were added.A project 1432 "Nevka" small hydrofoil passenger vessel the purpose is identical to land route minibuses and was designed as a replacement for the hydrofoil project 343ME.The hullform of the "johnboat" with a transom bow and the motor boat "Sarepta" with a combined hullform were considered in detail.In addition to the abovementioned small vessels for coastal seas and motor boats, high-speed passenger vessels for shallow rivers were designed and built.The need for such vessels was caused by the need to improve the situation with passenger transportation in areas of the USSR with a large number of shallow rivers, and the need to obtain a high-speed vessel that would not depend on the mooring infrastructure and could operate in shallow water.Collectively, this led to the emergence of the high-speed "river bus" concept.This concept was implemented in the form of pre-planing passenger vessel projects 946 and R-83.The trimaran form bow of the hull, of this design, reduced impact loads on waves.The aft part of the hull is flat-bottomed.Thus, the hullform of the passenger vessel of the R-83 project is combined and identical to the hullform of the "Sarepta" motor boat.The vessel is moving in a pre-planing, closer to the limit of the beginning of the planing.In view of the above data, the optimal hullform of the central hull was determined by the combined form of the hull.The defined hullform made it possible to use the volume of the hull with maximum efficiency and to operate the vessel as a passenger, diving, cargo-passenger, in the coastal areas of the seas and on rivers.The comparative analysis showed that motor boats and boats with outboard motors are the most effective in terms of operational and economic criteria, therefore, of the engine and propulsion is determined by the outboard motors.Aluminum-magnesium alloy, which has a lower specific gravity than steel, and is lower cost than fiberglass due to the fact that the technology of manufacturing fiberglass vessels is more cost, is determined as the material of the plating and hull construction, therefore, for payback, a many vessels building of is required, which in modern realities are impossible.

Remotely sensed satellite data are critical to understanding the coastal zones’ physical and social systems interaction, complementing ground based methods and providing accurate wide range, objective and comparable, at widely-varying scales, synoptically data. For some environmental agreements remote sensing may provide the only viable means of compliance verification because the phenomena are monitored occurs over large and inaccessible geographic areas. The main aim of this paper was the assessment of coastal zone land cover/use changes based on fusion technique of satellite remote sensing imagery. The evaluation of coastal zone landscapes was based upon different sub-functions which refer to landscape features such as water, soil, land-use, buildings, groundwater, biotope types. A newly proposed sub-pixel mapping algorithm was applied to a set of multispectral and multitemporal satellite data for Danube Delta, Constantza and Black Sea coastal zone areas in Romania. A land cover classification and subsequent environmental quality analysis for change detection was done based on Landsat TM , Landsat ETM, QuickBird satellite images over 1990 to 2013 period of time. Spectral signatures of different terrain features have been used to separate and classify surface units of coastal zone and sub-coastal zone area.The change in the position of the coastline in Constantza area was examined in relation with the urban expansion. A distinction was made between landfill/sedimentation processes on the one hand and dredging/erosion processes on the other. We considered the Romanian Black Sea coastal zone dynamics in connection with the spatio-temporal variation of physical and biogeochemical processes and their influences on the environmental state in the near-shore area.

This study focuses on the assessment of coastal zone land cover changes based on fusion technique of satellite remote sensing data. The evaluation of coastal zone landscapes is based upon different sub-functions which refer to landscape features such as water, soil, land-use, buildings, groundwater, biotope types. A newly proposed sub-pixel mapping algorithm was applied to a set of multispectral and multitemporal satellite data for Constantza and Black Sea coastal zone areas in Romania. A land cover classification and subsequent environmental quality analysis for change detection was done based on satellite images over a period of time from 1986 to 2006 , from Landsat TM , Landsat ETM, MODIS , IKONOS, Quickbird. Spectral signatures of different terrain features were used to separate and classify surface units of coastal zone and sub-coastal zone area.The change in the position of the coastline in Constantza area is examined in relation with the urban expansion. A distinction is made between landfill/sedimentation processes on the one hand and dredging/erosion processes on the other. A quasi-linear model was used to model the rate of shoreline change linked to anthropogenic and coastal erosion.

The impact of Soviet-bloc economic integration on the spatial structure of the national economies is considered, with particular reference to the interior zone and the frontier areas of member countries. In the case of the Soviet interior, the Comecon integration program has thus far affected mainly the European portion of the USSR. However, as a result of the growing flow of energy and raw materials to Eastern Europe and the increasing number of joint Comecon resource development projects, the Asian areas of the Soviet Union are also being drawn into the integration process. When it comes to frontier areas, several types are distinguished, ranging from the intensive cross-border interaction in the industrial frontier district shared by East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland to the potential interplay between Black Sea and Baltic coastal areas. The industrialization of western frontier areas of the Soviet Union is discussed as part of Comecon integration.

The Danube River, an important pathway connecting the western, central, and eastern Europe, serves as a route for various pollutants that ultimately accumulate in the Danube Delta and the broader Black Sea basin. These historically pristine regions now face escalating pressures from extensive tourism, intense fishing activities, regional conflicts, and inadequate waste disposal across the whole Danube basin. The imbalance in sediment flow, mainly caused by numerous upstream hydropower plants, aside the abovementioned anthropogenic factors, poses a severe threat to the deltaic and coastal ecosystems.Among the emerging pollutants, litter stands out prominently, with anthropic macro-objects pervading natural environments. Microplastics (MPs) constitute a category of the litter, characterized by solid, petroleum-based items sized between 1 µm and 5 mm. These particles are either preformed within these dimensions or result from the fragmentation of larger plastic debris due to natural weathering. Known for their fast spreading across diverse environments, MPs possess a porous texture that might absorb substantial amounts of various pollutants, significantly impacting the entire food chain, particularly aquatic species.Given the limited data on MPs pollution in Black Sea coastal areas, the precise impact on the natural environment remains largely uncertain. Furthermore, the correlation between MPs pollution in aquatic environments and the concentration of MPs within mussels and fish has yet to be established. To address these knowledge gaps, our study investigated the abundance of MPs in the water surface layer (average concentration of 0.63 MPs/m³) and in two distinct species: (i) the mackerel - Alosa immaculata – a pelagic fish captured at the Saint Geoge branch mouth of the Danube Delta during inland migration for reproduction, with an average concentration of 11.8 MPs/individual, and (ii) Mytilus galloprovincialis – a filter feeder mollusc collected near the Constanța harbour – with an average concentration of 6.05 MPs/individual.Our findings indicate that fibers represent the predominant morphology of MPs found in both species, while fragments dominate the surface water layer. Notably, before the tourist season, the distribution of MPs types differs, suggesting potential influences from coastal natural factors such as wind, waves, and currents on the variety of MPs encountered. This research underscores the urgency of further investigations to comprehend the intricate dynamics of MPs pollution in these vital ecosystems and the cascading effects on marine life.

Although the resources of geothermal energy in Ukraine greatly exceed domestic conventional energy sources, using geothermal heat in the country is still far behind the existing opportunities. Addressing this gap requires a large-scale pre-feasibility assessment with proper account for hydrogeological and economic factors to facilitate identifying the most promising areas of the country for efficient use of geothermal energy. One of the well-known technologies in this field is a geothermal well system (GWS) that combines pumping out thermal waters, extracting heat on the ground, and reinjecting cooled water back to the aquifer. In this study, we created the maps of expected thermal output and profitability of the doublet GWS across Ukraine for minimum and maximum values of depth and flow rate of thermal waters applying analytical methods of heat transfer in saturated rocks in combination with the net present value (NPV) as a generally accepted economic criterion. Map analysis showed that the GWS maximum expected thermal output might reach 5–9 MW in the Black Sea coastal area and steppe Crimea at the flow rate exceeding 1500 m3/day and aquifer depth of 2 km and more. The NPV index is positive for the most part of Ukraine and increases up to 7–17 million € in southern regions of the country. Calculating performance parameters for two potential GWS sites showed a higher thermal output for a GWS in the Black Sea coastal area compared to the site in Transcarpathia but comparable NPV for both sites due to lower installation costs in the western part of the country.

Abstract. Communities living in coastal areas depend in a great extent on the fresh water resources exploited from aquifers which are usually in a natural hydrodynamic equilibrium with the sea water. The contamination of fresh water with marine saltwater determines a significant increase in the aquifers electric conductivity, allowing an efficient application of resistivity methods in detecting and monitoring the marine intrusions. We present case studies from Romania (Costinesti and Vama Veche areas, southern Dobrogea) based on vertical electric soundings (VES) and recent electric resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements, relevant for the detection and monitoring of coastal marine intrusions. The results of the geophysical investigations are mostly represented as apparent resistivity but also as inverted cross sections, both illustrating by means of resistivity anomalies the spatial development and evolution in time of the marine intrusions.

Satellite remote sensing is an important tool for spatio-temporal analysis and surveillance of NPP environment, thermal heat waste of waters being a major concern in many coastal ecosystems involving nuclear power plants. As a test case the adopted methodology was applied for 700x2 MW Cernavoda nuclear power plant (NPP) located in the South-Eastern part of Romania, which discharges warm water affecting coastal ecology. The thermal plume signatures in the NPP hydrological system have been investigated based on TIR (Thermal Infrared) spectral bands of NOAA AVHRR, Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI, and MODIS Terra/Aqua time series satellite data during 1990-2016 period. If NOAA AVHRR data proved the general pattern and extension of the thermal plume signature in Danube river and Black Sea coastal areas, Landsat TM/ETM and MODIS data used for WST (Water Surface Temperature) change detection, mapping and monitoring provided enhanced information about the plume shape, dimension and direction of dispersion in these waters. Thermal discharge from two nuclear reactors cooling is dissipated as waste heat in Danube-Black -Sea Channel and Danube River. From time-series analysis of satellite data during period 1990-2016 was found that during the winter season thermal plume was localized to an area of a few km of NPP, and the mean temperature difference between the plume and non-plume areas was about 1.7 oC. During summer and fall, derived mean temperature difference between the plume and non-plume areas was of about 1.3°C and thermal plume area was extended up to 5- 10 km far along Danube Black Sea Channel.

The paper considers the influence of phytoperiphyton functioning on changes in the quality of the aquatic environment in the Black Sea coastal areas with different categories of ecological status class. According to the results of long-term studies of phytofouling of solid substrates under conditions of various categories of ecological state: Moderate – Odessa coast and Poor – delta of the Danube River, the features of its development and the possibility of changing the quality of the aquatic environment are presented. The seasonal dynamics of the structural-functional indicators of phytofouling (biomass, specific surface area, production, oxygen evolution, nitrogen and phosphorus binding) in water bodies with different ecological state was revealed. It is shown that the placement of ecopositive structures in the coastal zones of the sea with the ecological status Poor will affect the quality of the marine environment several times more intensely than in the status Moderate, due to the higher intensity of the functioning of plant communities. It was found that in the waters with the status class Moderate, macrophytes from the divisions Chlorophyta and Rhodophyta prevail, in the waters with a lower status Poor – species from the divisions Chlorophyta and Cyanobacteria, which indicates an increased trophicity of the water body. According to the predominance of species in a water body with an ecological status of Moderate, four associations of macrophytes and micro-epiphytes are distinguished, the growth of which is confined to different depths – 0–3.0 m, 4.0–6.0 m, 7.0–8.0 m, 10.0–11.0 m. For the development of communities of macrophytes and microepiphyton, the optimal depths are from 0 to 3 m, at which the highest values of surface indices, production, biomass, nitrogen and phosphorus binding are observed. With increasing depth, the average ecological activity of edificators of macrophytobenthos associations decreases from 30.79 to 24.52 m2∙kg-1.

The paper assesses the impact of water quality of some rivers located within the Black Sea coastal zone in the Sochi area on the ecological security and status of the Black Sea coastal line. The relevance of the study is determined by the lack of a unified methodological approach to establishing parameters for assessing the ecological condition of water bodies within the Black Sea coastal area. The study is the first to consider a unified river-sea system in the context of integrated monitoring of natural water quality. The research is based on biological methods (biotesting, bioindication) to evaluate the state of biological communities and processes in combination with the analysis of geological aspects. This allows a detailed study of the influence of various factors on the marine environment ecological safety. It was revealed that the marine environment has the highest levels of toxicity in the inflow zones of small rivers, which are subject to significant complex impacts from municipal solid waste landfills and industrial enterprises located in their catchment areas. In the marine plumes of rivers classified as medium, which are important for water management, recreation and fisheries in the region, seawater has a lower toxic effect as a result of significant dilution. Thus, small rivers inflows can cause similar negative impacts on the quality of the marine environment and the status of coastal biocenoses as runoff from larger watercourses. The study results can contribute to the development of new approaches for the assessment and monitoring of the environmental security of the coastal marine environment, based on the concept of the ecological system integrity in the context of interdependencies associated with the pollutants and nutrients transfer between qualitatively different environments and associated with them river and cjastal marine hydrobiocenoses.