General theme: Changes in fluvial spatial dynamics in various geomorphological

systems in response to controlling variables

Study theme: Controls on fluvial incision in the lower Danube river during the
Quaternary (between east of Olt river and Black Sea coast)
Controls on fluvial incision of lower Danube river
Fluvial incision can be controlled by several variables or processes and can result in
development of a staircase of fluvial terraces (e.g. strath- and fill-types).
A first factor controlling fluvial incision can be lowering of river base levels due to
changes in the Black Sea level. An eustatic sea-level fall will cause the stream bed to
steepen relative to the adjacent reaches, revealing a topographic knickpoint (Burbank and
Andreson, 2001). The river will erode across this threshold until will attain a new
equilibrium profile, a steady effective discharge associated neither with aggradation nor
degradation. Multiple sea-level drops cause upstream migration of the knickpoint due to
bedrock erosion (upstream retreat), leaving behind abandoned floodplains, which become
terrace levels. The Danube river outlet is represented by its delta that directly connects
with the Black Sea. If sea-level changes would affect the fluvial incision, this would
lower the river outlet in its lower reaches (Maddy, 1997; Maddy et al., 2000;
Vandenberghe et al., 2011). If the Black Sea level fluctuations would cause lowering of
the Danube base-level associated with upstream migration of the knickpoint and
development of fluvial terraces, likewise, it should happen for its major tributaries (e.g.
Olt, Arge, Ialomia, Siret, Prut), where fluvial terraces with similar ages should be
present. <<<Repetitive upstream migration of the knickpoint would lead to formation of a
staircase of fluvial terraces, which should be older near the river outlet and younger
upstream. This hypothesis will help to differentiate if the sea-level lowering triggered
fluvial incision and formation of fluvial terraces. >>>.
A sea-level rise will cause the river to deposit along its course, with fluvial deposits
becoming younger upstream, away from the sea shore <<<.>>>.
Lowering of the sea-level can generally attributed to sea-level fluctuations caused by
the glacial-interglacial cycles.
Danube fluvial incision depends on the rock substratum in which this river is cutting
its course. This substratum is represented by the Upper Miocene-Quaternary sedimentary
deposits of the Dacic basin and older Palaeogene and Mesozoic deposits of the Moesian
platform. Evolution of the Dacic basin is closely linked with the western Black Sea basin.
The Dacian and Black Sea basins were disconnected during the Early-Middle Pontian
(Munteanu et al., 2012). A Middle Pontian sea-level fall, equivalent to the Messinian
Salinity Crisis (Krijgsman et al., 1999), was differently recorded by these basins due to a
barrier located along the Scythian gateway (Dobrogea bulge). The sea-level drop reached
1.7-1.3 km in the Black Sea (Munteanu et al., 2012), and 100 and 200 m in the northern
part (Stoica et al., 2013) and southern part (Leever et al., 2010) of the Dacic basin,
respectively. The two basins were connected during the Upper Pontian-Dacian (Munteanu
et al., 2012), when shallow water was present in the Dacian basin, and shelf and deep
marine existed in the Black Sea. The Late Pliocene-Quaternary endemic evolution took

place in the Black Sea (Winguth et al., 2000; Aksu et al., 2002; Hiscott et al., 2007;
Lericolais et al., 2010), where a sea-level fall enhanced transport of large volumes of
sediments towards the deeper part of the basin. An increase in the sedimentary input was
recorded in the Danube discharge area during the Quaternary, coeval with inferred
moments of complete basin fill (or complete basin drain) in the Focani area (Dinu et al.,
2005; Gillet et al., 2007). The Black Sea level dropped ~150 m during the early Middle
Pleistocene (Winguth et al., 2000), when the Dacic basin was entirely filled with
sediments. The duration of the water level cycles, identified in the north-western Black
Sea for the last 900 ky (Middle Pleistocene to Holocene), varies between 50 and 130 ky
(Winghuth et al., 2000), which are 6th and 5th order cycles in the sense of Fulthorpe
(1991) and Carter et al. (1991) and can be correlated with the eccentricity and obliquity
cycles of Milankovitch (1941). The drainage network presently debouching in the
western Black Sea did not reach this area during the Pliocene based on the large-scale
delatic sedimentation taking place in the Dacic basin (Jipa and Olariu, 2009).
A second control can be Pleistocene climatic changes, which in Romania are
indicated by the U-shaped glacial valleys with basal moraines preserved in the mountains
and by the loess sequences largely occurring in the flat areas of the Moesian platform.
Glacial valleys occur on the northern slope of the South Carpathians and the northern part
of the East Carpathians above 1700 m above sea level (a.s.l.) (Mndrescu et al., 2010;
Necea et al., 2013), with glacial moraines preserved above 1200-1400 m a.s.l. (Urdea,
2004; Urdea and Reuther, 2009). The onset of glaciation in Romania can be placed in the
upper Middle Pleistocene and affected mainly the South and East Carpathians as dated by
10
Be exposure of glacial moraines in the South Carpathians (Late Pleistocene; Reuther et
al., 2007) and by U-series of Scrioara ice cave from the Apuseni Mountains (350 kyr,
upper Middle Pleistocene; Onac, 2001). The SE Carpathians, lowland plains (generally
Romanian and Moldavian), and areas within the Transylvanian and Braov basins were
possibly in a non-glacial setting, under a still cold climate associated with upper Middle
to Late Pleistocene loess deposition. Deposition ages resulted from luminescence dating
in the Braov intramontane and Focani foredeep basins (Late Pleistocene and upper
Middle Pleistocene, respectively; Necea et al., 2013) and in the Danube plain (Blescu et
al., 2003, 2010), and from palaeomagnetism studies also in the Danube plain (Panaiotu et
al., 2001). The Lower Danube reach was in a non-glacial setting, which implies that
glacial terraces are not present in this area and that the climatic changes may be partly
responsible for fluvial incision.
A third factor can be uplift trigged by local tectonics. Lowering of the river baselevel can also be caused by the tectonic uplift, which leads to topographic growth and
consequent fluvial incision.
The Lower Danube area on the Romanian territory is cut by the NW-SE-trending
major Intramoesian and Peceneaga-Camena faults occurring to the west and east,
respectively. These faults had a transtensional dextral movement during the (Late
Miocene) Late Pliocene-Quaternary (Trpoanc et al., 2003). Young ENE-WSWtrending sinistral strike-slip faults were reported on a larger extent of the Moesian
platform, which could be considered as conjugates of the Intramoesian and PeceneagaCamena faults (Rbgia and Trpoanc, 1999; Rbgia et al., 2000; Trpoanc et al.,

2003). ENE-WSW-striking normal faults separated by transfer zones are mainly found
between the Peceneaga-Camena shear zone and the Ostrov-Sinoe fault to the south, while
older faults were reactivated as either sinistral or normal faults displaying uplifted
northern blocks (Trpoanc et al., 2003).
In the Lower Danube reach on the Bulgarian territory, the Pliocene-Quaternary
dextral transtension with a NNW-SSE to NNE-SSW direction inherited and expanded the
existing graben structures (Bergerat et al., 2010), associated with NNE-SSW- and WNWENE-trending normal faults. This transtension can be linked with the right-lateral
eastward movement of the North Anatolian fault zone <<<>>>.
The Lower Danube course might have been influenced by the major strike-slip
faults, causing the river to change its course from W-E to S-N and ultimately again to WE. The Quaternary and older downward movements along the Intramoesian and
Peceneaga-Camena faults might have caused the roughly uniform tilting of the southern
foreland (Trpoanc et al., 2003). This might have induced burial of existing fluvial
terrace, which were subsequently covered by recent sediments. Older terrace levels of the
Danube river are found buried at several tens of meters as evidenced by data from
hydrological wells (Enciu et al, 2015).
Methodological approach:
Factors controlling fluvial incision can be derived from studying distribution of fluvial
terraces, terrace type, pattern of fluvial incision and its relationship with main structural
elements. These will serve ultimately to reconstruct the palaeoclimatic conditions.
- Terrace distribution can be obtained from extracting terrace contours from
published geological and geomorphological maps combined with data from public
literature. Terrace contours can be then plotted against satellite imageries with
different resolutions (e.g. 90 m for SRTM DEM, 30 m for Landsat ETM+, 10 m
for ALSO Pulsar, 0.5-1 m for WV3) for better defining the terrace edges.
Fieldwork will help to verify and correct terrace extent and terrace type (e.g.
strath vs. fill). Terrace distribution within the Lower Danube area and its major
tributaries across the Moesian platform (e.g. Olt, Arge, Ialomia, Siret, Prut
rivers) will give insights on terrace formation order (old to young direction),
migration of knickpoint(s) (upstream vs. downstream) and its relationship relative
to lithology, structural elements and river intersections.
- Terrace type (strath- or fill type) will results from field observations.
- Terrace distribution and type can also result from studying hydrological (and
hydrocarbon) wells to establish terrace presence and burial, especially to the east
in the lower reaches of the Danube river.
- Pattern of fluvial incision will result from quantifying the amount of vertical
fluvial incision and terrace formation age resulting from dating of terrace
erosional surfaces. The amount of fluvial incision will be extracted from SRTM
DEM and field measurements, whereas terrace age will result from infrared
stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating of loess and/or fine fluvial deposits
covering terrace erosional surfaces.
- Plotting river courses versus main structural lineaments and structures will serve
to assess if and how rivers responded to recent tectonic movements. River courses
can be automatically extracted from SRTM DEM or Landsat imageries, whereas

structural lineaments and structures can be complied from published geological

maps and literature combined with interpretation from satellite imagery.
Comparing terrace extent with reconstructed glaciated areas will give insights if
there is any link and control by the glaciers. Glacier distribution (including glacial
lakes) is currently done by geographers at Suceava Univ. (Department of R.
Rdoane).
Reconstruction
of
palaeoclimatic
conditions
(warm/cold
periods,
glacial/interglacial periods) and their correlation with the Romanian and European
loess chronologies serve to establish the link between formation and abandonment
of fluvial incision and terraces and deposition of loess-palaeosol sequences. Key
profiles with large exposures of sequences formed above the Upper Miocene to
Lower Quaternary strata. Several locations can be found through the Romanian
plain.

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