ClimaLAND is a collaborative research project that aims to enrich the global picture of geomorphic responses to recent climate changes, zooming in two contrasting, but equally sensitive environments: the Romanian Carpathians and the Danube Delta.

Little attention has been paid so far to climate change impact on landforms dynamics for the Carpathian region. The original results of this research will provide a baseline holistic picture on the past and present behaviour of Carpathians main geomorphologic processes by applying in premiere a multidisciplinary and complementary approach consisting in drillings and coring, geophysical measurements, thermal monitoring, dendrochronology, surface exposure dating, SAR interferometry, TLS monitoring. The first boreholes drilled in the Romanian Carpathians for monitoring the long-term thermal state of permafrost and active layer of rock glaciers will set the specific area of marginal permafrost in Europe in the wide database of permafrost monitoring in Europe. Finally, the insights on the climate-induced geomorphologic hazards in the Carpathian Mountains facing the variability of future climate change can become the basis for addressing optimal land management actions in this region.

Comparatively, the Danube Delta is one of the few large river deltas worldwide the evolution of which still faces major gaps. The multi-proxy (geochronological, sedimentological, geochemical and paleoecological) analyses planned for the new cores will enhance an even more detailed reconstruction and therefore major progress in understanding the past episodes of delta drowning due to sea level rise associated with the positive eustatism trend from Early and Mid-Holocene. Finally, this project will allow to assess for the first time how resilient the Danube delta can be to sea-level rise and to propose critical thresholds for SLR rates depending on the river sediment input (which is necessary for predicting the future adaptation to climate change). This is based on the first accurate estimation of delta plain subsidence combining direct high-resolution measurements for the present (InSAR and the interpretation of GNSS stations active since 2013) with vertical evolution of the delta plain reconstructed from the multi-proxy analysis of the cores stratigraphy.

Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe