Natural marine hazards in the Black Sea and the system of their monitoring and real-time warning

Abstract

This paper presents results obtained in two projects of GeoEcoMar, which led from the study of extreme marine events and the inventory of marine geohazards to the creation of a real-time warning system for marine hazards in the Black Sea. Project Profet resulted in establishment of the main marine hazards that could trigger a tsunami-type event in the Black Sea, like earthquakes, active faults, landslides, gas hydrates, gas seeps and mud-volcanoes. Also, major tsunami-type events in the Black Sea were listed and described from various sources. Through project MARINEGEOHAZARD, the EUXINUS and GeoPontica networks have been established, which produce data for the National Data Centres in Constanţa and Varna. The EUXINUS network is a complex automatic marine measurement system, consisting of 5 measuring instruments installed in key points of the Western Black Sea shelf. The main task of one of its main components, the Black Sea Security System, is to elaborate risk assessments and to send early-warning notifications to authorities.