Romanian Index for Hydrodynamics Assessment in Transitional and Coastal Waters on the North-Western Black Sea Coast

Under European regulations, like the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC), the member states should achieve the Good Ecological Potential (GEP) for all seawater bodies. Direct connections between the ecological status and hydrological conditions were not developed yet on the Romanian Black Sea coast. Using the Hydromorphological Quality Index (HQI) assessment tool developed by the European Protection Agency we assess the ecological risks objectives and detect the possible changes that may affect this status based on hydrodynamical features analysis. Long-term data series to establish the class boundaries for the period 2015 - 2018 year are used. Overall, the main trends likely to affect marine morphology are: climate change and associated sea-level rise, and the effect these have on coastal areas. For the Romanian Black Sea Coast, no water bodies were assessed as bad using the HQI.