Research directions

In the study of geomorphological processes occurring in various areas, a detailed understanding of past geomorphological activity is essential in order to make predictions. In forested areas where there is no monitoring of geomorphological processes, dendrogeomorphological methods provide effective alternatives for the spatial and temporal reconstruction of their activity. Dendrogeomorphological studies mainly focus on reconstructing the activity of geomorphological processes that occur in natural contexts (such as snow avalanches, debris flows, rockfalls, etc.), but they can also be applied to reconstruct the activity of sediment transfer processes in areas with anthropogenic influences (mining areas, regions with hydroelectric developments or tourism infrastructure, etc.).

Dendrogeomorphological analyses are based on the process-event-response concept. A specific geomorphological process can occur during a given event when trees are affected, and their growth is disrupted. The spatial and temporal reconstructions of geomorphological processes are based on identifying growth anomalies within the annual rings of the affected trees, providing an annual, and sometimes even seasonal, resolution. The results obtained in this way can be validated using other geomorphological, meteorological methods, or through statistical/historical documents.

To date, dendrogeomorphological studies have been conducted in the Southern Carpathians (Făgăraș Massif, Piatra Craiului Mountains, Bucegi Mountains, Parâng Mountains), the Apuseni Mountains, and the Eastern Carpathians. These studies have been carried out by members of the dendrogeomorphology laboratories of the West University of Timișoara, Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, and Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava, in collaboration with forestry specialists (from the Institute of Forestry Planning and Research). The research has focused on reconstructing snow avalanche activity in certain corridors, as well as debris flow activity and sediment transfer in mining areas. Other dendrogeomorphological approaches have aimed at reconstructing fluvial processes for the Late Holocene based on relationships with dendrochronology of subfossil trunks found in the analyzed fluvial deposits.
In the future, alongside the continuation of the initiated dendrogeomorphological studies, it is intended to:

  • expanding studies in other dendrogeomorphologically significant areas in the mountainous region, focusing on the manifestation, at local and regional scales, of specific geomorphological processes (snow avalanches, debris flows, rockfalls);
  • deciphering how subfossil trees can contribute to the creation of a highly replicable dendrochronological series for as long a period as possible from the Middle and Late Holocene, and using the obtained series for dating changes in the behavior of riverbeds.

The study of "soil erosion and gully formation" has led to a concentration of concerns from various scientific fields such as agronomy, forestry, land improvements, and even policymakers. Among these, geomorphology has also given special attention. The contributions of the geomorphology field have consisted of:

  • The study of water and soil losses through surface erosion: developing syntheses at the national level in Romania regarding this phenomenon
  • Formation and evolution of gullies (typology, distribution, analysis of regional factors in gully formation control, investigation through case studies of gully landforms and processes, rates of gully advance, and gully advancement time).
  • Organization, planning, and anti-erosion management of agricultural lands

Research group:
Lect. Dr. Laura Tîrlă
CS III Dr. Virgil Drăgușin
CS Drd. Ionuț Mirea
Master's student Teodor Cojocaru


Scop și activități:

The morphology and dynamics of karst systems represent a limited research field in Romania, a niche with exceptional potential for revealing certain paleoclimatic episodes, as well as explaining various tectono-geomorphological features. Through their typical functional characteristics, karst hydrosystems ensure the interconnections between the subaerial and subterranean environments, synchronizing their evolution. Water is one of the main natural resources in karst areas, and through infiltration, it plays a major role in the transfer of biogeochemical components within this environment. Therefore, understanding the underground circulation paths and monitoring its quality are extremely useful. Recently, the importance of speleothems as terrestrial archives has been recognized. multi-proxy it has gained an upward trend internationally, as methods and investigation tools have improved. The interest in paleoclimatic studies through speleothem analysis has also developed in Romania, in full agreement with the need to obtain as detailed and structured data and information as possible at both the regional and global levels.

Romanian research in this field is organized into two major directions, between which there is a close connection – karstology and speleology. The current generation of researchers has advanced these two sciences to a new level, which involves dating, isotopic analyses, crystallography, mineralogy, etc.

The working group within AGR aims to deepen and expand research on karst by addressing the following aspects:

  • Correlating the characteristics of carbonate rocks with the development of karst systems;

  • Comparative analysis of the geomorphology of exokarst systems;

  • Climatic variability during the Quaternary in Romania through speleothem analysis;

  • The role of speleothems in investigating the tectonic and geomorphological evolution of carbonate platforms.

Through external collaborations, access to specialized laboratories with advanced equipment is ensured, allowing for the dating and isotopic analyses of speleothems.

An essential aspect is attracting and involving students in the activities carried out, including the publication of results, with the aim of training young researchers in the field.

The coastal zone is located at the intersection of marine, terrestrial, and atmospheric processes. Thus, the landforms created are complex and dynamic, and their study contributes to understanding the genesis and behavior of coastal relief, providing the key to adapting human communities to changes.

The research activities aim to:

  • Coastal behavior at a large scale: Reconstructing the evolution of deltaic systems requires detailed investigations into the development of delta lobes, marine fields, and barrier islands.
  • Coastal morphodynamics: The evolution of beaches, dunes, submerged bars, and the mouth bar is monitored through sediment calculations, considering the influence of environmental factors such as wind, waves, shore currents, and floods in shaping coastal landforms.
  • Coastal hazards: The measured data provide insight into the climate and the impact of coastal storms, highlighting the importance of these events in coastal dynamics and the vulnerability of coastal areas.
  • Geoarchaeology: Geoarchaeological reconstructions depict the impact of coastal changes on the development of ancient human communities.
  • GIS applied in coastal geomorphology: Geographic Information Systems allow the quantification and analysis of spatial data, providing valuable information regarding the dynamics of coastal areas.
  • Integrated coastal zone management: By understanding how coastal systems function, correct policies can be adopted based on the concept of sustainable development.

The objectives of fluvial geomorphology research in Romania have been focused over time on the question: how sensitive have rivers, their channels, longitudinal profiles, and valleys been to the action of various controlling factors, and what has been the magnitude of the changes? Whether it concerned the shape and depth of valleys, the number, altitude, and age of terraces, the shape of the longitudinal profile, the succession of channel types, or the dominant processes at the level of a river sector or a cross-sectional area, Romanian geomorphologists have predominantly focused on fluvial landforms and less on the generating processes or explaining the mechanisms behind the changes.

In the study of river networks and riverbeds themselves, there were two moments that marked a shift in method and approach in fluvial geomorphology. The first was in 1978 with the publication of Morphometry of Drainage Basins (I. Zavoianu), and the second was in 1989 with the appearance of the work Morphology and Dynamics of Riverbeds (Ichim et al., 1989). Until then, rivers and fluvial processes were more in the attention of hydraulic engineers (Hancu, 1976) and hydrologists (Diaconu, 1971, Ujvari, 1972), with geomorphologists preferring to focus on major issues related to valleys and river terraces. After these milestones, a true enthusiasm was observed among young geomorphologists. Thus, fluvial landforms and processes, and their relationship with the drainage basin, gained increasing importance in doctoral theses, with a preference for a quantitative approach. Among the results, we list:

  1. geomorphometry of river networks, risks, and hazards in the fluvial domain.
  2. Geomorphology of longitudinal profiles
  3. Geomorphological research on deciphering the evolution of riverbeds during the Late Quaternary.
  4. Understanding the centennial changes in the plan configuration of riverbeds.
  5. Riverbed deposits and their geomorphological significance.
  6. The effect of dams on riverbed dynamics, the formation of backwaters.
  7. Modification of riverbeds in the vertical plan (climatic vs. anthropogenic control).

The mountain domain presents major complexity due to the pronounced variability over short distances, especially in topography, geological substrate, and land cover, which leads to the formation of microclimates and highly diverse local effects. The mountainous environment, with its major relief energy, is the ideal setting for the emergence of rapid and violent processes that can constitute risk factors for humans and society. The importance of understanding natural processes in the mountain environment is even more necessary as high-altitude areas are highly affected by recent climate change.

Currently, mountain geomorphology studies within AGR are focused on the following directions:

  • evaluation of the manifestation mode, magnitude and frequency of periglacial processes such as degradation, periglacial elevation, creep, solifluxion, periglacial sorting:
  • morphometric characterization and analysis of the large-scale spatial distribution of periglacial forms such as rocky walls, terraces and scree cones, rock glaciers, grass-covered mounds, terraces and solifluxion lobes, stone streams:
  • quantification and modeling of the weight of topographic control factors (altitude, slope, aspect) and climatic factors (temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind) in the dynamics of periglacial processes and forms:
  • mapping of alpine and low-altitude permafrost in Romanian Carpathians and evaluation of controlling factors:
  • paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on analysis of lake sediment archives, distribution and characteristics of relict periglacial forms and analysis (including absolute and relative dating) of glacial sedimentary deposits:
  • mountain risks and hazards such as snow avalanches, rockfalls/rock collapses, and debris flows: inventory, process dynamics, critical triggering thresholds, development of warning systems.

Geomorphometry focuses on the quantitative analysis of the Earth's surface, primarily modeled using digital elevation models (DEMs). Geomorphometric techniques allow for the derivation of morphometric variables (such as slope, aspect, curvature, etc.) as well as the extraction of geomorphological features (including drainage networks, catchment areas, or landforms).

Having made a fundamental contribution to the development of quantitative geomorphology, geomorphometry is increasingly practiced in Romania, ranging from standard applications to methodological contributions in the development of classification systems and digital mapping of landforms. A particular feature of geomorphometry in Romania is the scientific contribution to the automatic classification of landforms using object-based analysis. Geomorphometric techniques have also been applied in Romania for digital soil mapping, archaeological site prediction, and the assessment of susceptibility to various risk phenomena.

The main objective of the working group is to contribute to the understanding and assessment of geomorphological sites, with a strong focus on geoconservation, geoeducation, and geotourism, in close connection with these sites.

Geomorphosites are landforms that, through human perception, acquire not only scientific value but also cultural, ecological, aesthetic, and economic significance.

Our research directions are:

  • Enhancing research on geomorphosite-related topics (assessment, mapping, conservation, education, and tourism promotion) and developing a community of researchers in the field of geomorphosites;
  • Development of methods for the assessment and mapping of geomorphosites;
  • Inclusion of geomorphosite studies in university curricula;
  • Development of relationships between geomorphosite studies and the social sciences;
  • Establishment of public relations with research programs focused on geoconservation and geotourism.

In Romania, there is significant interest in applying the concepts of natural hazard, geomorphological hazard, and the related notions of natural risk and geomorphological risk to assess the sensitivity of the landscape. Most of the relevant studies emerged during the 1990s, the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. The issue of geomorphological hazards has been addressed through the lens of applied geomorphology. The most frequently cited geomorphological hazards include: soil erosion, mass movements, fluvial erosion, and coastal abrasion.

In this general context, the studies have focused on:

  • The assessment of hazard related to various slope processes;
  • Completing the spatial probability of occurrence (where?) with elements related to understanding the triggering factor, its critical threshold, and its recurrence interval leads to a better understanding of the spatiotemporal probability of such processes (where and when?).
  • The assessment of risk associated with various slope processes;
  • Risk studies aim to accurately assess the level of threat posed by a specific process, in order to establish measures for reducing potential damages. The estimation, evaluation, and management of risk lead to the implementation of policies based on appropriate measures, which constitutes risk governance.

The Paleogeomorphology Working Group within the AGR aims to be a discussion forum for individuals interested in understanding the Earth's surface in the past. Our objective is the qualitative and quantitative reconstruction of geomorphological processes that have shaped the present-day landscape, including the type and rate of these processes, the resulting landforms, and regional differences imposed by the temporal and spatial variation of controlling factors (geological, climatic, environmental, and anthropogenic).

So far, few studies in Romania have focused on the analysis of geomorphological processes in the context of Quaternary climate change. These have mainly concentrated on: the dynamics of fluvial landscapes in northwestern Romania during the last glacial cycle, the evolution of the Danube Delta and the Black Sea shoreline during the Holocene, glacial erosion at the Glacial–Interglacial transition in the Carpathians, and geomorphological processes over the last ~100 years.

This brief overview of the current state of knowledge on several topics of interest to those studying the Quaternary leads to a major conclusion: a reassessment of the rates of geomorphological processes occurring in Romania is necessary, and the success of such a large-scale endeavor can only be achieved through the involvement of the entire geomorphological community.

The field of “Paleogeomorphological Reconstructions” aims to take a first step in this direction by providing a virtual space where those interested in the domain can share and receive information on these topics.

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The geomorphological system of slopes has been approached in Romania from the perspective of slope morphology and shaping processes. The systematics of slope processes have attracted considerable interest from geologists and geomorphologists, followed by experimental field studies aimed at determining their rates of occurrence.

Studies focusing on slopes and slope processes predominantly concern the areas of the Flysch Carpathians, the Subcarpathians, the Transylvanian Plateau, the Moldavian Plateau, and the Western Hills.

Among slope processes, mass movements have attracted the most attention. These are studied in terms of the agents involved, the processes and resulting landforms, as well as their spatial distribution and classification. Additionally, research focuses on the ways in which material transfer occurs between slopes and riverbeds, aiming to highlight the typology and evolutionary trends of these processes. Control, preparatory, and triggering factors are also analyzed in their spatial and temporal distribution.

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