We would like to invite you to
the 8th Conference on Continental Climate and Environmental Dynamics:
IMPACT, RISKS AND MITIGATION
(CCE2024)
VATRA DORNEI, SUCEAVA COUNTY, ROMANIA, 10-13 OCTOBER 2024
Link for online access:
http://meet.google.com/iwn-gywr-bda
Suceava University in collaboration with the Applied Geography Association Geoconcept and various prestigious international scientific associations (Past Global Changes / PAGES, International Union For Quaternary Research / INQUA, Mountain Research Initiative / MRI, Carpathian Convention / CC), and with the support of the Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, is organizing an international conference dedicated to climate and environmental change in Europe, especially Central and Eastern Europe.
Among the main objectives of this conference are: supporting young researchers in the European space, supporting research in developing countries and outside the European Union (Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, etc.). ) or from countries with limited financial resources for research and innovation (Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey), promoting exchanges of experience with internationally recognised researchers, establishing collaborations between senior researchers and young researchers (early-career researchers: ECR), and promoting scientific contributions from Central and Eastern Europe at continental and global level, including the publication of a Web of Science volume dedicated to this scientific event, and the production of a scientific report with importance for regional, national and continental territorial and resource management.
In the period 2011-2023, Suceava University together with Geoconcept Association of Applied Geography organized as coordinators 7 international conferences dedicated to climate and environmental change in SE Europe, Carpathian-Balkan region, Black Sea basin and Carpathian basin.
Timescales covered
Late Pleistocene, Holocene and Anthropocene. The goal of the conference is to bring forward multi-proxy, as well as instrumental and spatial data for climate and environmental changes and reconstruction focusing on the Late Pleistocene, Holocene and Anthropocene in Europe.
Topics of interest
of CCE 2024 include, but are not limited to, the following scientific subjects:
Variability of the past climate in Europe based on proxies and multiproxies (glacial deposits, lake and marine sediments, pollen, cave records, loess deposits, tephra, tree rings etc.)
Sea level changes and deltaic system dynamics
Geoarchaeology, geohistory and landscape archaeology
Climate variations and fluvial dynamics
Novel climate change modeling techniques
Human impact and pollution history
Land-use/land-cover changes and climate – modeling and analysis
Impact of past, current and future climate shifts on population and economic activities
Climate change and environmental risks
Climate change and mitigation
Format
Hybrid (on-site and online)
The conference will bring together leading researchers and experts in Earth Science and Life Science from Europe, as well as scientists from the international community.
We welcome both oral presentations (onsite or online) and posters.
The event will feature keynote lectures from well-respected scientists providing state-of-the-art overviews on topics of interest for this conference.
Keynote speakers
Dr. Juliana NOGUEIRA. With a Ph.D. in Geosciences, Juliana Nogueira is a Brazilian researcher specializing in paleoclimatology and paleoenvironment studies in diverse environments, including East Europe, South America, Antarctica and North Africa. By combining paleo studies and remote sensing data, Juliana seeks to deepen the knowledge of climate dynamics that could support the resolution of real-world environmental and societal challenges in the future. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague and an associated researcher at the Rio de Janeiro State University. As an engaged scientist, Juliana is part of the Scientific Steering Committee of the FutureEarth international project PAGES (Past Global Changes) and a Steering Committee member of the associated Early Career Network, where she advocates for young researchers and their role in climate change studies and as future leaders.
Dr. William KEETON is a Full Professor of Forest Ecology and Forestry at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont, USA, where he directs the Carbon Dynamics Laboratory and is a Fellow in the Gund Institute for Environment. He also serves as Chair of the IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organizations) Working Group on Old-growth Forests and Reserves. His research focuses on forest disturbance dynamics, riparian ecology, forest carbon, old-growth forests, ecological silviculture, and sustainable forest management in the US Northeast and Pacific Northwest, but also travels frequently to Central and Eastern Europe where he serves on the board for Science for the Carpathians and as a Fulbright Specialist. He has ongoing research also in Chilean Patagonia and Bhutan as well. In the US, he serves on the Board of Trustees for the Vermont Land Trust and on the science advisory committee for the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative. Dr. Keeton has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including 70 journal papers. His new co-edited book“ Ecology and Recovery of Eastern Old-Growth Forests” is published by Island Press (Washington, DC). He holds a BSc in Natural Resources from Cornell University (1990), a Masters in Conservation Biology and Policy from Yale University (1994), and a PhD in Forest Ecology from the University of Washington (2000).
Dr. Emmanuel CHAPRON is profesor in Physical Geography at the GEODE laboratory, University of Toulouse, France.
Emmanuel does research in subaquatic sedimentary processes, glacial geomorphology, paleoseismology, climatology and human impact on hydrosystems. Current projects are focusing on sedimentary processes in natural and artificial lakes in order to track environmental changes in mid latitude mountain ranges (Pyrenees, Auvergne, Alps, Andes, Kerguelen).
Dr. Sorin CHEVAL is a climatologist, senior scientist at the National Meteorological Administration of Romania, associate professor and doctoral advisor affiliated at the Babeș-Bolyai University, Geography Doctoral School, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Areas of research focus on urban climate, climate hazards, and climate variability. He has been a coordinator and investigator of many national and international projects, including the ongoing Horizon Europe projects OPTimising FORest management decisions for a low-carbon, climate resilient future in Europe (OptFor-EU), Climate-Resilient Development Pathways in Metropolitan Regions of Europe (CARMINE), and Cross-
Dr. Alfred VESPREMEANU-STROE is a Professor of Physical Geography and Geomorphology at the University of Bucharest (Faculty of Geography), where he coordinates the GEODAR Research Center for Geomorphology, Geoarchaeology and Paleoenvironments and the Sf. Gheorghe Marine & Fluvial Research Station. Most of his research deals with the human-landscape interactions and landforms dynamics at different timescales, from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene, applied mainly in coastal, deltaic, fluvial and mountain environments.
Dr. Heitor EVANGELISTA is a Professor at the Department of Biophysics and Biometrics at the Rio de Janeiro State University in Brazil. His work focuses mainly on multidisciplinary geosciences addressing the links between the tropics and the polar regions and Quaternary paleoclimatology. Prof. Evangelista has participated in 25 scientific missions to Antarctica during his 35 years of work with the Brazilian Antarctic Program. He is also a member of the Brazilian Panel on Climate Change and Antarctic Research Committee, as well an expert of the United Nation – IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and FAO on Global Climate Change Programs.
Dr. Remus PRAVALIE is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, Romania. He is currently conducting interdisciplinary teaching and research activities aimed at global environmental issues, especially climate change, land degradation and environmental pollution. He is also interested in global solutions to combat planetary environmental issues, which are linked to renewable energies or nuclear energy, as low-carbon technology. He completed a doctorate and two post- doctoral stages at the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, in the Geography domain, Environmental Geography sub-domain. He is the (first or sole) author of more than 20 scientific studies published in prestigious international journals (Q1 category), of which 10 geographical studies have a global spatial coverage. At present, he is involved in several national and international research projects, which mainly deal with the complex land degradation issue in Europe.
Dr. Guillaume JOUVE is Geosciences Business Development Manager at Exail (La Ciotat, France). He is a sedimentologist and limnogeologist interested in paleoenvironments and paleoclimates derived from lacustrine sediments. He is working on flood magnitude and intensity reconstructions, Holocene paleo-earthquake reconstruction, hydrological variability in the Mediterranean basin and past changes in the Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds intensity since the last Glacial using low and high frequency sub-bottom profilers (shallow water to deep sea environments), delph Geo software, sediment coring (UWITEC platform, Russian corer, etc.), microstructure analyses of soft sediments, XRF and XRD.
Sub-Bottom Profiler Training
by Dr. Guillaume JOUVE
We are launching at this event a new sub-bottom profiler (Echoes Compact), very compact (one-man portable solution) for shallow water environments and small embarkation such as USV or inflatable boat. This system can penetrate of about 10 to 40m deep in sediment up to 400m of water depth with a vertical resolution of 7.5 cm. Also we have a complete geophysical software suite for acquisition & post-processing of seismic data: Echoes Compact (the SBP) + Delph Geo (geophysical software suite).
BUCOVINA PEACE PARK Initiative
Environmental Diplomacy for cross-border ecological security and peace
speakers
Marcel MINDRESCU
(University of Suceava, Romania)
Dariia KHOLIAVCHUK
(Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine)
Saleem ALI
(University of Delaware, USA)
William KEETON
(University of Vermont, USA)
Gabriel PAUN
(Agent Green, Romania)
Special guest
Dr. Saleem H. ALI is Chair and Distinguished Professor at the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware (USA) and also the Lead for Critical Minerals and Inclusive Energy Transitions at the United Nations University. He has been a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas for over a decade and also served on the Science Panel for the Global Environment Facility. With field experience in over 170 countries, Prof. Ali is a National Geographic Explorer and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
A few words about
BUCOVINA PEACE PARK Initiative
Environmental Diplomacy for cross-border ecological security and peace
Current conflicts across Europe from the migration crisis to the war in Ukraine are also having a major impact on ecological systems. At the end of the Cold War, there was a realization that we could consider ways of using ecology for peacebuilding through a series of transboundary conservation areas. Some of these areas built on historic forested regions while others transformed buffer zones into greenbelts. We will consider how we might move to the next step of using such zones instrumentally for peace-building through the much more deliberate notion of “peace parks.”
The concept of jointly preserving the environment of borderland areas has been founded to help mitigate the issues around political borders between neighboring countries. As such, Peace Parks (or Transboundary Conserved Areas) have been created in various sensitive borderland regions in order to protect the environmental resources and biodiversity across political borders, and to enhance international cooperation through harmonizing resource management approaches. Although there are various forms of Peace Parks created around the world (particularly in Africa), this concept is still novel in Eastern European countries and in Europe in general.
Our initiative evaluates the borderland area between Romania and Ukraine in terms of the potential for establishing a new Peace Park between the two countries (Bucovina Peace Park) for which we have full support from our colleagues in Ukraine. The designation of the cross-border area as a Peace Park will integrate functions of the existing national parks as well as create new functions in accordance with the type of protected area we will agree upon with our partners.
Based on the analysis of the historical, geographical, and geopolitical context of the Carpathian – Black Sea Region, we consider that the historical region of Bucovina is appropriate for the establishment of the first cross-border park (Peace Park) at the EU and NATO border. This border has separated the territory of the USSR from Romania for five decades after World War II, and after the lifting of the Iron Curtain, following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became the delineation between the Russian area of influence and the Romanian territory which progressively became part of NATO and the European Union.
While the demise of the USSR and the independence of Ukraine were momentous for environmental planners as there had been serious concerns about the impact of large-scale, state-run industrial plants built by communist regimes in terms of air, water, and soil pollution / contamination, the new political and economic context also created challenges for the newly democratic and/or independent states, whose economies faced de-structuration in the process of transition to capitalism and free market. This lengthy transition left its mark on the region of Bucovina on both sides of the border, with little progress being made in terms of social, economic, and environmental development, which led to significant migration of the local population to Western European countries.
Throughout the existence of the USSR, the territory of Ukraine was separated from Romania by a barbed wire fence regarded as a “barrier to stop the dangerous ideas of dissidence and democracy” from coming through. Moreover, this fence stopped people and wildlife (big mammals and carnivores) from moving freely between the countries. Even though the Cold War has long been over, there is still mutual distrust, and this barrier has yet to come down, physically and metaphorically. Therefore, considering the historical background and geopolitical context, the borderlands that had once separated the Soviet Union from the rest of the world are an appropriate spot to build a Peace Park.
The recent conflict generated by the Russian invasion in Ukraine reopened territorial disputes in the former Soviet states, but also sparked revisionist discussion in the entire former area of influence of the USSR (i.e. the former communist block of Eastern Europe, comprising the signatory states of the Warsaw Pact), which are most often initiated, directed, and supported by the Russian Federation. In this delicate context, we believe it would be beneficial to overcome discussion of territorial revisionism in this part of Eastern Europe by setting up a good example and establishing a cross-border park in the Carpathian Mountains, between Ukraine – a former Soviet state, today independent but at war for democratic values, and Romania – a former communist country and current member of the European Union and of NATO.
In the period that will follow the end of the conflict in Ukraine (the post-conflict European era), this initiative could be a model of environmental diplomacy that will lead both to long-term peace and reconciliation and to better collaboration in terms of environmental protection and sustainable management of resources at regional scale. Other fields which could benefit from such an initiative include the developing tourist infrastructure, economic partnerships, academic exchanges, and joint scientific contributions. Finally, this cross-border park has the potential to set an example of good practice for other countries in Eastern Europe that have gone through totalitarian regimes, political and military conflicts, and overall underdevelopment and environmental neglect.
BPP
in Romanian
BPP
in English
Registration and abstract submission
For registration
please send an email including the title, authors and abstract of your presentation at mindrescu@atlas.usv.ro
For any questions and details
please contact us by email at mindrescu@atlas.usv.ro
Registration dates:
Deadline registration – 1st October 2024
Abstract instructions:
Abstracts will be submitted upon registration (deadlines: 1st September 2024 for early-bird registration or 1st October 2024 for late registration).
Acceptance notifications will be sent to participants after submission by email.
Abstracts will range from 1 to 4 pages (extended abstracts) for both oral and poster submissions.
Authors are advised to use the following formatting settings:
- Font: Times Roman, 12 point (text, figure and table captions, references etc.)
- Line spacing: double-spaced
- Page size: A4
- Margins: 1 inch on all sides
- Paragraph indentation: 0.5 inches (or press Tab once)
- For extended abstracts, electronic artwork and tables will be embedded in text.
All accepted abstracts will be published in a book of abstracts as a special issue of Geoconcept Journal: https://geoconcept-journal.com/index.php/geo and will also be available online.
Registration fee
The onsite conference registration fee for CCE 2024 covers:
- registration costs (conference materials)
- all costs for accommodation, meals, and coffee breaksfor the duration of the conference (except field trip).
Registered participants will only need to cover their transportation.
Amount:
On-site participants
- EUR 60 (RON 300) for registration (by 1 October 2024)
Online participants
- EUR 30 (RON 150) (by 1 October 2024)
Early-career researchers (ECR) can apply for financial support for participation at CCE 2024.
The registration fee can be paid using one of the options provided below:
- Paypal (EUR)
- Revolut (RON)
- Bank transfer (EUR)
IBAN: RO07BTRL03404201198285XX
Bank name: BANCA TRANSILVANIA.
Bank BIC/SWIFT Code: BTRLRO22
Account holder: Marcel MINDRESCU - Bank transfer (RON)
IBAN: IBAN RO68 PIRB 3500 7469 9300 1000
Bank name: First Bank
Bank BIC/SWIFT Code: PIRBROBU
Account holder: ASOCIATIA DE GEOGRAFIE APLICATA GEOCONCEPT
On-site at arrival in Vatra Dornei (RON and EUR)
Important
Early-career researcher (ECR) grants
We offer partial or full financial support for early-career researchers (under 35) who apply to participate in CCE 2024. The number of grants will range depending on the number of applicants and the quality of their submitted work.
Applicants for grants (covering registration fee and/or transportation costs) are required to specify their age and to submit the title and abstract of their presentation no later than 1 September 2024.
Official Language
The official language of the conference is English. Translation facilities will only be provided by request or for other planned events/visits involving the local community.
Publication
As regards the publication of relevant contributions presented at CCE 2024, we have established an preliminary agreement with Web of Science Journal (WoS) to publish a volume dedicated to this conference.
Based on our experience from previous conferences and workshops, we expect that, provided a sufficient number of high-quality contributions are submitted for the conference, we will be able to publish a special volume with a Web of Science Journal. We have had a successful collaboration with Quaternary International in the past which enabled us to publish three volumes comprising contributions to our scientific events.
Details of article submission, editorial requirements and scientific ethics guidelines will be sent to participants once we have obtained an agreement with a WoS journal, which according to industry practice, can only be determined after the conference is over, and depending on the scientific titles submitted to the conference. The guest editors of the volume will be selected from the conference scientific committee. So far we have contacted several WoS (Clarivate) journals that are interested in publishing the important contributions of our scientific event.
All abstracts (book of abstracts) and part of the papers will be published in the Romanian journal Geoconcept Journal, internationally indexed (BDI): http://geoconcept-journal.com/index.php/geo
Special requests
Participants who have specific dietary restrictions or requirements are kindly asked to communicate this upon registration.
We would like to inform you that we provide accommodation in twin rooms. Participants who prefer to occupy a single room will pay a supplementary accommodation fee. However, we do not encourage this due to the limited number of rooms available at the venue.
If supplementary rooms are necessary, we will make arrangements with hotels located in the vicinity. However, these costs are not included in the registration fee and will be paid separately.
How to get there
Distance Education and Long-Life learning Office Vatra Dornei, University of Suceava
Centrul de Pregatire si Formare Continua Vatra Dornei, Universitatea Suceava
Address:
Strada Parcului 2, Vatra Dornei 725700, Suceava county, Romania.
Coordinate: 47.3418816, 25.3574445
WEB
Preliminary program
| 10 October 2024 | Arrival and check-in. Registration. |
| 11 – 12 October 2024 | Presentations and field activity |
| 13 October 2024 | Check-out and departure |
Further information
concerning the detailed program of the conference, the field trip costs and other details of interest will be included in the Second Circular or provided on request by email as soon as they are available.
Detailed information regarding the accommodation arrangements per rooms will be provided by email.
Conference Organizing Committee
Chairman
Marcel MINDRESCU
Department of Geography, University of Suceava, Romania, and Geoconcept Association of Applied Geography
+40 742 051 475
mindrescu@atlas.usv.ro
Vice Chairmen
Laura BOURIAUD
Forestry Department, University of Suceava, Romania.
laura.bouriaud@usm.ro
Dr. Sorin Cheval
National Meteorological Administration of Romania
Secretary
Ionela GRADINARU
Geoconcept Association of Applied Geography, Romania
ionela.gradinaru@gmail.com
Diana ISTRATE, Department of Geography, “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava,
rotidia@yahoo.com
Anisoara FILIP, Department of Geography, “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Romania,
anisoarafilip990@gmail.com
IT Manager
Valentin DIMA, president Validsoftware
https://validsoftware.ro/
Audio-Video Manager
Adrian PURDEL, Department of Geography, “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Romania, adrian.purdel@student.usv.ro
Scientific Committee
Dr. Sorin CHEVAL, National Meteorological Administration of Romania, sorincheval@yahoo.com
Dr. Philip HUGHES, University of Manchester, UK, philip.hughes@manchester.ac.uk
Dr. Simon HUTCHINSON, University of Salford, Manchester, UK, s.m.hutchinson@salford.ac.uk
Dr. Juliana NOGUEIRA, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic, snogueira.j@gmail.com
Dr. Heitor EVANGELISTA, Department of Biophysics and Biometrics at the Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil, evangelista.uerj@gmail.com
Dr. Angelica FEURDEAN, Goethe University, Germany, angelica.feurdean@gmail.com
Dr. William KEETON, Rubenstein School for Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, USA, William.Keeton@uvm.edu
Dr. Emmanuel CHAPRON, Toulouse-Jean Jaurès University, Department of Geography, France, emmanuel.chapron@univ-tlse2.fr
Dr. Sjoerd J. KLUIVING, Faculty of Humanities, Department Art and Culture, History, Antiquity, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands, s.j.kluiving@vu.nl
Dr. Dariia KHOLIAVCHUK, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Chernivtsi, Ukraine, xodarka@gmail.com
Dr. Slobodan MARKOVIĆ, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Corresponding member of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Serbia, baca.markovic@gmail.com
Dr. Bogdan RIDUSH, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Chernivtsi, Ukraine, bridush@gmail.com
Dr. Remus PRAVALIE, University of Bucharest, Romania, pravalie_remus@yahoo.com
Dr. Piotr KŁAPYTA, Jagiellonian University, Poland, woytastry@gmail.com
Dr. Aritina HALIUC, Department of Geography, University of Suceava, Romania, aritinahaliuc@gmail.com
Dr. Gabriela FLORESCU, Department of Geography, “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Romania, gabriella.florescu@yahoo.com
Dr. Laura BOURIAUD, Forestry Department, University of Suceava, Romania, bouriaud@gmail.com
Dr. Marcel MINDRESCU, Department of Geography, University of Suceava, Romania, Department of Geography, mindrescu@atlas.usv.ro
Supported by:
