Pavel Ichim

Determining rural areas vulnerable to illegal dumping using GIS techniques. Case study: Neamt county, Romania

The paper aims to mapping the potential vulnerable areas to illegal dumping of household waste from rural areas in the extra- Carpathian region of Neamt County. These areas are ordinary in the proximity of built-up areas and buffers areas of 1 km were delimited for every locality. Based on various map layers in vector formats (land use, rivers, built-up areas, roads etc) an assessment method is performed to highlight the potential areas vulnerable to illegal dumping inside these buffer areas at local scale. The results are correlated to field observations and current situation of waste management systems. The maps outline local disparities due to various geographical conditions of county. This approach is a necessary tool in EIA studies particularly for rural waste management systems at local and regional scale which are less studied in current literature than urban areas.

Factors Influencing The Breeding Success of White Storks Ciconia ciconia in Eastern Romania

Summary. The White Stork is a farmland and wetland bird that has become part of village communities by nesting in urban areas. Despite breeding close to people, allowing easy access for monitoring, its population in Eastern Europe is poorly studied. This paper presents the breeding success and habitat selection of a White Stork population from Eastern Romania. During the 2016 breeding season their breeding performance was poor compared to other European countries; on average only 2.25 nestlings fledged per nest. With respect to their habitat selection, the Eastern Romanian population uses similar habitats to storks elsewhere in Europe. Parameters influencing their breeding success could include weather conditions, geomorphology, habitat, landscape and intraspecific variables. To find those variables involved in the fluctuation of chick numbers General Linear Model (GLM) analyses, with a step procedure selection, were used. These analyses covered 55 variables. The best model of breeding success included altitude (P = 0.001); a higher elevation is associated with a lower number of chicks per nest. The number of river sectors (P = 0.045) and the distance to the nearest empty nest (P = 0.001) also have a positive influence on breeding success. These two variables could relate to the food availability in the study area. —Fasolă-Mătăsaru, L., Baltag, E.Ş., Ichim, P. & Cojocaru, D. (2018). Factors influencing the breeding success of White Storks Ciconia ciconia in Eastern Romania. Ardeola, 65: 271–282.

Three Years of Observations on Global Solar Radiation at Mădârjac Weather Station (270 m) - Central Moldavian Plateau

Abstract This study is based on 3 years of hourly observations of global solar radiation (2014-2016), at a new weather station installed in the region of Central Moldavian Plateau, at Mădârjac (47.05°N, 27.25°E, 270 m). The main characteristics of annual, monthly and daily regime of global radiation were emphasized using for comparison similar data from Iașioficial weather station. Smaller annual amount of global solar radiation than those observed in previous studies were observed, reaching 4734 MJ/m2 in Iași and 4454 MJ/m2 in Mădârjac. An altidudinal gradient of global solar radiation close to 140 MJ/m2 was identified for the hilly region of Moldova. Despite the overall higher values in Iași, 30% of days indicates higher values of this parameter at Mădârjac weather station. These results can be used for the evaluation of the photo-voltaic potential in the region, but also to understand the altitudinal differences of solar radiation in the hilly region in Moldavia, since the only long-range actinometric stations from this part of Romania, Iași and Galați, are located at low altitudes.

The Distribution of the Monthly 24-Hour Maximum Amount of Precipitation in Romania According to their Synoptic Causes

In the present paper we have analysed the synoptic conditions generating the maximum amount of precipitation within 24 hours in Romania. This study is based on the analysis of daily weather maps from different archived sources and also on the processing of ROCADA data set concerning the daily amount of precipitation in Romania (1961-2013). Some main weather types (WTs) specific for the occurrence of high amount of precipitation in Romania were established, and the daily recording of the maximum amount of precipitation for 24 hours at monthly level was assigned to one of the defined WTs. Out of the total of 312 days analysed from the synoptic point of view, a total of 133 days (42.6%) were characterized by high atmospheric instability. The larger part of them (100 days) were determined by cold air advections associated to long-wave troughs propagating from North Atlantic towards the centre of European continent, while the rest of 33 days were generated by cut-off lows identified in the middle and upper troposphere in South-East Europe. As well, 124 days (39.7%) were assigned to Mediterranean cyclones transiting the region of Romania and 55 days (17.7%) were associated with Atlantic cyclones activity. The climatology of each synoptic type is presented. Also, regional and seasonal disparities are described using proper interpolation methods. Key-words: Precipitation extremes, ROACADA database, Mediterranean cyclones, Cut-off lows Long-wave troughs.

Built-Up Area Change Analysis in Iasi City Using GIS

Abstract The study analyses the spatial and temporal changes occurred in the builtup area of Iași city and its surrounding areas using cartographic materials from different time periods. The paper aims to highlight the areas where the most significant changes took place by identifying the main evolution patterns, generated by certain natural or human-driven factors. The results of the study were achieved by using specific photo-interpretation methods of the available orthophotomaps form 2006 and 2012, mainly using the professional GIS softwares TNT Mips 7.2., ArcGIS 10.2 and Global Mapper 11. The changes have lead on the one hand to the conversion of the former industrial areas and thus, the urban regeneration, but also to the periurbanization phenomenon, with major functional and structural effects.

Urban Public Transportation System Changes, in Post Communist Period in Iasi Municipality

Urban public transportation system changes, in post-communist period in Iasi municipality. During the transition period, from the communist era to the market economy, the Romanian cities suffered important mutations such as deindustrialization, urban sprawl, changes in functional areas, the increase in cars number, etc. These changes required a quick adaptation of the urban public transportation system. This paper tries to reveal if these changes happened in the proper manner, taking into consideration the fact that Iasi city is one of the most polluted in the country. In the communist era, the city of Iasi has experienced a great development, becoming an important industrial, educational and medical center. The transportation system is the effect of the historical context of overall urban development of the city of Iasi. From the public transport point of view, adaptation to external transformations in the post-communist era is difficult, because suburbanization is not sustained by the development of an adequate transport infrastructure, which means for the home owners higher transportation costs and a higher motorization degree. The lack of public transport routes from these areas leads to higher traffic values in the city which remains the main polarization center of the region. Nowadays there is a series of major deficiencies in the level of polarization of the transport network in the urban space. Adapting supply to demand transport consists of qualitative restructuring of public transport.

FREQUENCY OF THERMAL INVERSIONS BETWEEN SIRET AND PRUT RIVERS IN 2013

Abstract Temperature inversions represent complex phenomena, specific for depression forms of relief which introduce changes in vertical zoning (Apăvăloae, Apostle, Pîrvulescu, 1986 by stable air stratification (Erhan, 1981), because of their morphological features, this is due to the interdependence of general movement and characteristics of the active surface, being the cause of their production (Apăvăloae, et. al., 1984, 1986, 1987). The generation of thermal inversions, their intensity and frequency is a consequence of altitude topography, morphology, fragmentation, orientation and degree of closure to external drives. (Apăvăloae, Apostle, Pîrvulescu, 1988). Thermal inversions represent complex phenomena, specific to depression landforms that introduce changes within the vertical zoning (Apăvăloae, Apostol, Pîrvulescu, 1986) by stable air stratification (Matveev, 1958, Erhan, 1981, Yinghui Liu, 2002) where vertical thermal gradient is negative (Matveev, 1958), due to their morphological features, also as a consequence of the interdependance of general circulation and characteristics of the active surface, the cause of their generation (Apăvăloae, et. al., 1984, 1986, 1987).