Danube River Sediment Input and its Interaction with the North-western Black Sea

Abstract

The influence of the river Danube is determinant to the sedimentation of the north-western and western Black Sea area. After 1970, following the building of the Iron Gates dam, the Danube River sediment discharge diminished to 30–40% of its previous value. After a 12 000-year evolution, marked by active progradation, the Danube delta has become mainly inactive over the last few decades partly due to interventions of man-made origin. The deficit of sediment influx has led to the intense erosional processes of the deltaic littoral. On the Black Sea north-western shelf, two main areas (with contrasting sedimentary processes) have been identified: the internal, Danube sediment-fed shelf and the external, sediment-starved shelf. The modern highstand sedimentary history of the north-western Black Sea deep area is marked by the cessation of the Danube deep-sea fan active development. The main depositional units within the north-western Black Sea are described.