SUNDANSE project is proud to be featured inside Mission Ocean and Waters service portal to express the importance of our unique initiative to develop sustainable sediment solutions for the Danube River – Black Sea system.
About SUNDANSE project
The SUNDANSE project aims to protect Danube wildlife by restoring the river’s sediment balance – all while offering a floating campus for cutting-edge research.
The Danube River, a lifeline for people and wildlife for centuries, has been significantly altered by human activities since the late 1800s. Dam construction, farming, and shipping, coupled with climate change, have disrupted its natural sediment balance, resulting in increased flood risks, navigability challenges and ecosystem damage.
The SUNDANSE project, part of Mission Ocean and Waters, aims to restore balance by assessing and improving sediment management along the Danube, from Vienna to the Black Sea. It will develop a Sediment Management Handbook, create predictive tools, enhance monitoring infrastructure, test solutions and engage stakeholders. To maximise the impact of project innovations and outcomes, SUNDANSE will assess the applicability of its solutions to other regions and EU river basins, and develop comprehensive business plans, innovative business models, market strategies and exploitation roadmaps.
These measures are crucial not only for mitigating risks but also for protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems. SUNDANSE’s alignment with the Mission Ocean and Waters goal of restoring 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030 underscores the project’s significance within the broader EU efforts to combat ecological degradation. The project directly supports the Water Framework Directive, which focuses on restoring water bodies to achieve good ecological status, prevent further deterioration, and contribute to the EU’s 2030 biodiversity strategy through enhanced efforts to preserve the natural functions of rivers.
Monitoring sediment, preserving life in water
Changes in sediment can disrupt habitats for various species. Aquatic life, including fish and invertebrates, depends on specific sediment conditions for spawning and feeding. Alterations to these conditions can result in biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, threatening the health and survival of species. As Professor Lucian Georgescu, the project coordinator of the SUNDANSE project and Manager of the REXDAN Research Center at ‘Dunarea de Jos’ University of Galati (UDJG), explains, ‘The quality of biota – all living systems in the Danube – is directly dependent on the sediment.’
The project will monitor the quality and quantity of sediment in three different use cases located in three EU countries, including the presence of macroinvertebrates. ‘There are hundreds of species of macroinvertebrates, often hard to see, but they are perfect indicators of aquatic ecosystem health and the impact of human activities,’ he adds.
Where extreme erosion and extreme sedimentation are found, the project will identify the causes, assess the impact, and propose nature-based solutions to improve the sediment balance. This will include an inventory linking specific types of pollution to their effects on the biota.
A floating campus advancing Danube research
The SUNDANSE project will survey the Danube using the cutting-edge REXDAN research vessel. Owned by the project coordinator, UDJG, REXDAN is Europe’s newest and most advanced research vessel, equipped with seminar rooms, laboratories and accommodations for researchers.
‘We will invite experts and scientists to collaborate, directly contributing to the protection of aquatic ecosystems. Through this vessel, we are creating a mobile academic campus,’ says Georgescu.
Throughout the project, REXDAN will visit participating countries, including Serbia, Bulgaria and Austria. Students from local universities will be invited to attend seminars on board and conduct research in the vessel’s labs. This approach fosters open science, enabling students to actively engage in the preservation and restoration of the Danube.
