#doorsblacksea

[michaeljrea]

Just back from a great few days in #Brussels for our 18 month review for Horizon 2020 News project @doorsblacksea - really positive comments on our work so far; a great team effort in revolutionising #BlackSea research for #BlueGrowth opportunities.

Check out what we do 👉 www.doorsblacksea.eu

[doorsblacksea]

Mariam Avakova becomes WtGA award finalist!

Many congratulations to Mariam Avakova who was a finalist in the Welcome to Georgia Awards for the best event organizer category. The Awards generally recognise those who work in tourism, but Mariam has been very proactive in the last 2 years and has made a huge contribution particularly in engaging the young people of Georgia in climate issues.

During the pandemic, her story began online, and for Mariam it soon became a narrative on how virtual events can play a significant part in ones’ personal growth. She became an ambassador for the Young Black Sea Community, and was also accepted to a Malta University Ocean Governance programme. She became a Youth4Ocean advocate and was able to work with other young professionals, helping to organise and moderate a youth panel networking event: ‘Let's Listen to the Arctic Oceans’.

Image: Mariam wore a traditional Georgian dress of her Mother to the Awards. © Mariam Avakova

“I've always been the first to take action rather than waiting for it to find me. My creativity and optimism encouraged me to keep learning, and to uncover new chances for myself and my country. I am fueled by self-inspiration and a global imagination - Think globally, act locally”

Mariam Avakova, Georgia

Image: Georgian young people are very enthusiastic about climate issues. © Mariam Avakova

Mariam was also selected to represent Georgia at #EMDinMyCountry, which was the first time Georgia had been depicted on the EMD map and where an individual has been given the responsibility of organising an event. Supported by DOORS, Black Sea Connect and Bridge-BS, the #EMDinGeorgia event featured artwork activities and an awareness-raising quiz competition for young people about the Black Sea environment. Mariam was also able to promote the ‘New Plastic Economy’ through the Eco-friendly TENE USB cable, produced from melted plastic bottle caps.

"The event astonished me by being really entertaining and energetic and allowing me to meet a lot of young people who are enthusiastic about what they do. Being the first person to put Georgia on the map as part of #EMDInMyCountry is an honour and a historical milestone. Huge gratitude goes to my My former director Kakhaber Bilashvili, DOORS and all my EU4Ocean forum team. My country is my soul, I am proud to be Georgian and to think globally. I feel I'll be a positive challenger to start a new chapter among all award categories next year.”

Mariam Avakova, Georgia

We are keen to hear from all Black Sea young people looking to get involved in climate issues (email: social[at]doorsblacksea.eu). Tell us what you're doing and tag us @doorsblacksea so we can share your stories wider in the network. It really makes a difference.

[doorsblacksea]

📣 We'd like to wish you all the very best over the holiday period. The last 6 months has really seen @doorsblacksea move into a new gear. 

🎥 Here are some of our highlights!  

We look forward to working with you all in 2023! 🎅 ☃️

[doorsblacksea]

Rivers are the lifeblood of the Black Sea

Image: One of the River channels in the Danube Delta. © DOORS Black Sea.

Some of Europe’s longest and largest rivers flow into the Black Sea, including the Danube, the largest tributary, as well as the Dnieper, Dniester and the Don. Black Sea water quality is largely dependant on human activities in these drainage locations, an area encompassing 23 countries where 190 million people live.

A semi-enclosed basin

The Black Sea region is unique because of its location between Europe and Southeastern Asia and as a semi enclosed basin, it's the endpoint of upstream pollutants causing eutrophication, plastic pollution, and chemical contamination. As an example, the Danube River begins in Germany's Black Forest and flows some 2,850km through cities, valleys and wide gorges before reaching the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine:

Image: Danube River on the Map of Europe.

The upstream battle

Environmental problems in the Black Sea are serious. The amount of marine litter in the Black Sea is twice as high as in the Mediterranean Sea. The concentration of some toxins exceed their threshold value, according to EMBLAS studies in 2019. The research also found that 83% of marine litter found in the Black Sea is plastic namely bottles, packaging and bags. It is estimated the Danube and Dniester can bring from 6 to 50 items of litter per hour.

Video: Prof Adrian Stanica explains eutrophication in the Danube Delta. © DOORS Black Sea

Some priority hazardous chemical substances are also present, which makes the Black Sea the most polluted sea in the world, receiving river discharges heavily loaded with nutrients and contaminants from industrial and mining waste. This means the water quality of the life-supporting surface layer has seriously deteriorated, dramatically impacting the marine food chain and contributing to the demise of Black Sea fisheries.

Love your rivers!

Public engagement on these issues is essential to helping us turn the tides back in the Black Sea's favour. There has been some fantastic work done by Black Sea Young Ambassadors and Elena Culighin from Moldova in particular, whose awareness raising campaigns has really helped to explain human impacts on rivers and the Black Sea. We were delighted to have her record a short clip for our #BlackSeaLitterFree campaign.

Video: Elena Culighin explains why rivers are so important to the health of the Black Sea. © DOORS Black Sea

River-Sea Systems are lifeblood of our planet, and carry with the fate of our lives as humans. We all have responsibility to act and treat them as the valuable resources they are.

Image: Black Sea Young Ambassador, Elena Culighin. © Elena Culighin

The Black Sea needs your help - get involved!

To raise awareness we want to highlight problem areas for marine litter in the Black Sea, but also give a ‘shout out’ to the good work that is already happening. DOORS has built up an extensive social media following over the last year and we would love to share information about clean-ups and other activities you are involved with. We want to share your passion and good work!

So please send us your pictures, videos (email: social[at]doorsblacksea.eu) and use the hashtag #BlackSeaLitterFree and tag us @doorsblacksea so we can share your posts wider in the network.

[michaeljrea]

Diving for methane in Bulgaria

On a short trip to Varna, as part of my commuications role on the Horizon 2020 project, DOORS, I joined researchers from Ifremer, IO-BAS and GeoMarine who were conducting essential assessment work in two locations: at Varna Lake and at Zelenka on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

This 4 year project aims to transform the way scientific research of the Black Sea is conducted, and at the same time, stimulate an emerging blue economy in the region. There's a lot of travel, which I love, and its been great fun promoting the scientific work of researchers to the wider world. This fieldtrip to Varna in Bulgaria, looks at the innovative ways they are working to monitor water quality which is essential for local economies, population health and wider society.

The Black Sea is subject to large amounts of organic matter and pollution transported by the rivers. The degradation of this material over time has contributed to uniquely high concentrations of gases, notably Hydrogen Sulphide and Methane that emit from the seafloor. This has made the Black Sea the largest anoxic water body on earth, where below 150-200m depths there is not enough oxygen to support marine life, except only some forms of bacteria.

Image: Dr Anton Antonov from GeoMarine Ltd on the DOORS buoy on Varna Lake, replacing the sensor. © DOORS Black Sea

As part of the DOORS project two remote sensor buoys have been installed on Varna Lake which measure various water parameters in real time. At 20-minute intervals, data on water temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, methane concentrations and pH redux is sent over GSM to DOORS researchers. This represents a promising step forward in monitoring capability for the area but also provides essential data to allow future modelling for large scale deployments further out in the Black Sea.

It is feared the impact of climate change will accelerate gas discharges from the seafloor. Methane, in particular is a powerful greenhouse gas which can contribute to acidification of the sea itself and potentially become a huge carbon source if it makes its way into the atmosphere. The warmer weather in summertime tends to yield higher concentrations of methane emissions and this September field trip targets a time when the seawater is at its hottest.

Image: The dive location was about 200m off the coast at Zelenka. © DOORS Black Sea

A key part of this study is to compare the performance of 2 methane sensors for in situ measurements, firstly, on the instrumented buoy in Varna Lake, and to measure methane fluxes both at the sediment water column interface, and at the sea surface-air interface at Zelenka on the coastal environment. However, as I was able to witness first hand, the process of measuring and monitoring these gases in the Black Sea is not easy. It involves a lot of equipment and requires relatively calm conditions to do the work. A specialist dive team from Ifremer and IO-BAS were able to locate methane seepages from the seafloor around 200m off the shore at Zelenka, and take underwater samples for analysis.

Image: The dive team from Ifremer and IO-BAS. © DOORS Black Sea

The overall aim is to interpret the data to better understand the environmental factors (current, storm, water temperature, earthquake, etc.) that control methane fate at the coastal Black Sea water column, including Varna Lakes and the Zelenka seep-site. The preliminary findings will be shared by DOORS researchers at the MARblue conference on 26-28th October in Constanta where they will further discuss the challenges associated with this kind of monitoring.

All Images from the fieldwork campaign can be viewed here on Flickr.

[michaeljrea]

Filming on the Black Sea for DOORS

Image: Adi Iacob filming for HotNews.ro. © DOORS Black Sea

Last week saw the start of location filming for DOORS Black Sea with a trip to the Danube Delta. As part of the communications team for the €9m European H2020 project, one of our tasks is to make a short documentary explaining the environmental and economic sitation in the region. As you would expect, the eyes of the world are on the Black Sea at the moment and we were delighted to be joined by the media team from HotNews.ro who were doing a piece on the environmental impacts of the queuing ships waiting to enter the Sulina canal as a result of the war in Ukraine.

The 3 day tour of the area, led by Dr Adrian Stănică, DOORS Project Coordinator and Director of GeoEcoMar firstly took us to the Black Sea Danube mouths, critical navigational routes for trade, and a place where the freshwater meets marine water. There, we could witness first hand more than 100 large ships from several countries, many loaded with Ukrainian grain, waiting to make their way back out to sea and around the world.

Image: Dr Adrian Stănică navigating through a Danube Delta canal. © DOORS Black Sea

The situation is a true indicator of the impact of the war on the Black Sea. Ukraine is the world’s leading wheat exporter, accounting for 9% of the global market. It also accounts for 42% of the sunflower oil market and 16% of world corn production. Russia’s blockade of Black Sea ports not to mention the dangers of floating mines along the coast, has meant an estimated 25m tons of wheat are stuck in Ukraine, pushing up world grain prices.

While it is unclear at this moment the environmental impact the war is having on the marine waters without scientific analysis, there are fears about the increased risk of oil spills and other contamination that could affect what is already a very fragile ecosystem.

Image: Cristian Teodoru from GeoEcoMar analysing some water samples from Lake Rosu. © DOORS Black Sea

Our second day saw us head inland to the Danube Delta lakes including one of the largest, Lake Rosu, which historically was once connected to the Black Sea but today the gradient channels prevent saltwater intrusion into the lakes. Researchers from GeoEcoMar conducted some water sampling. While there have been attempts to dredge several channels to deliver more oxygen-rich water into the Delta with the aim of increasing fish populations, these areas remain largely eutrophic, making it difficult for fish stocks to thrive and survive. As a result, the fishing industry in the Danube Delta has decreased significantly in recent years.

Image: Lake Rosu, one of the largest lakes in the Danube Delta © DOORS Black Sea

The trip has highlighted the delicate relationship between marine and freshwater interaction alongside the industries that we, as humans all depend on in our lives.

You can follow DOORS Black Sea through our website and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn

Images from the trip can be viewed here on Flickr.

The hotnews.ro article (Romanian) and video can be viewed here.

[michaeljrea]

Opening €9m ‘DOORS’ on the Black Sea

Now that we are fully up and running I'd like to share a huge project I'm delighted to be a part of for the next 4 years. DOORS is a new €9m EU research project that will link science, policy and industry for crucial Black Sea regeneration. 

I'll be the WP lead for Communication and Dissemination, so making short films, documentaries, running social media, news and much much more! A big shout out to Fiona Rennie from unavoided.com who has already designed a killer logo and will be working on the forthcoming website and visual identity material too.

The Black Sea is considered to be the most polluted in the world and we have a huge task ahead of us. Led by GeoEcoMar from Romania, DOORS will bring together expertise and technology from 37 institutions from the Black Sea region and other European countries to address the human and climate change impacts on damaged ecosystems.

DOORS will develop a common framework of scientific methods for gathering data. The project will provide a system that will bring together information from in-situ measurements, research cruises, satellite observation, modelling and data integration capabilities. This system will allow partners to better understand the complex marine processes that happen across the Black Sea.

By providing mechanisms for business to link with research, DOORS will create new job opportunities for emerging Blue Growth economies through new synergies and mentoring schemes; the first of its kind to be setup in the Black Sea. Key initiatives that engage schools, universities and general citizens of the region will promote behaviour change and celebrate best practice, influencing future policy, and the health of Black Sea communities.

I want the work we do in communications to be relevant not just for scientists and academics but anyone interested in learning about ocean literacy and contributing to a better planet. We'll try to explain things in ways anyone can understand. 

You can follow us @doorsblacksea on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram if you want to know more!

[doorsblacksea]

'Under the Surface' art project highlights marine pollution

Image: This wonderful ceramic installation is part of a series of works, ‘Under the Surface’. © Lera Litvinova

We are delighted that Ukrainian Artist Lera Litvinova is supporting our #BlackSeaLitterFree campaign. Her ‘Under the Surface’ project (funded by European Marine Board) looks at the impact of the war on marine pollution in the Black Sea.

'EMBracing the Ocean’ residency

‘EMBracing the Ocean’ is an artist-in-residence programme delivered and funded by European Marine Board (EMB) and provides grants for creative individuals to inspire societal change for Ocean sustainability, ensuring its health and resilience now and into the future. As an EMBracing the Ocean artist, Lera Litvinova has created new work co-designed with various scientists (including from DOORS, Bridge-BS and Emblas projects) to look at the impact of the war on marine pollution in the Black Sea as part of a series of work under the title, 'Under the Surface’.

Video: Lera describes her motivation for the project. © DOORS Black Sea

A fragile ecosystem under stress

The impact of the War on the Black Sea marine environment is something that is concerning DOORS' scientists and without scientific analysis to confirm, it is feared increased contamination from oil spills, war debris and the blockade could affect what is already a very fragile ecosystem. “More and more often in private conversations with ecologists, I hear the word “ecocide” in relation to the territory of Ukraine”, says Lera, acknowledging that without safe access to conduct measurements and analyse the resulting data, the impacts on the Black Sea are unknown.

Image: The ceramic pieces were made from clay and combined together. © Lera Litvinova

Making changes

This series of artwork includes sculptures, paintings and drawings and forms part of Lera’s exhibition “Renaissance” which also encourages us to look forward to a time when the war is over and cities have to be reconstructed. She poses the question: is it possible to rebuild with a new attitude towards nature in order to save the Black Sea? From her point of view, we have to encourage behaviour change:

“Our possibilities are small in terms of recreation and huge in terms of the destructive consequences of indiscriminate consumption. Scientists say that 80% of marine pollution comes from land (UNEP 2006). But, to put it bluntly, all 100% of pollution is formed by people living on land.”

Lera Litvinova, Artist & Curator, Ukraine

Litter as inspiration

Lera’s work in 'Under the Surface’ takes inspiration from objects found in rivers and seas that play a significant role in marine pollution. It is estimated that 85% of marine litter found in the Black Sea is plastic, namely bottles, packaging and bags. But using this material in an art project is fantastic example of what we like to call 'Citizen Science’, it connects honestly with viewers across the spectrum and encourages us all to think about adapting what we do to improve our environment, both above and below the water line.

Image: Some fantastic underwater photography promotes the 'Renaissance’ exhibition. © Lera Litvinova

Lera Litvinova’s exhibition “Renaissance” runs from August 26 to October 26 2022 at the Museum of Outstanding Figures of Ukrainian Culture (Lesya Ukrainka, Mykola Lysenko, Mykhailo Starytskyi, Panas Saksaganskyi) in Kyiv.

More information about the exhibition can be found on the EMB website.

The Black Sea needs your help - get involved!

To raise awareness we want to highlight problem areas for marine litter in the Black Sea, but also give a ‘shout out’ to the good work that is already happening. DOORS has built up an extensive social media following over the last year and we would love to share information about clean-ups and other activities you are involved with. We want to share your passion and good work!

So please send us your pictures, videos (email: social[at]doorsblacksea.eu) and use the hashtag #BlackSeaLitterFree and tag us @doorsblacksea so we can share your posts wider in the network.

[michaeljrea]

it's finally here! Today we launch #Episode01 of the @doorsblacksea Podcast We chat to @ShepelNataliya student from #Ukraine at #COP26 to talk about the challenges facing the #BlackSea and her interest in #OceanScience. Available on all platforms: https://bit.ly/3AZUDbq

[doorsblacksea]

"This is an unprecedented investment in the region to harmonise understanding and build collective action" - Professor Andrew Tyler talking about @doorsblacksea in The Stirling Observer. 

https://www.pressreader.com/uk/stirling-observer/20210709/281805696925671