Designing a cartographic online application in order to assess the Danube Delta evolution

Abstract

The Danube Delta, one of the most important wetlands in Europe, went through many transformations during the last century, mainly due to human interference. When analyzing the current state of this ecosystem, one must consider the historical changes that have a significant influence on the evolution of the delta. Written documents are, no doubt, valuable, but a fundamental contribution is given by the study of geospatial information (old maps, satellite images etc). These information depict the ecosystems components state at a specific time and analyzing them in a successive manner allows one to extract information, that otherwise would be difficult to perceive, such as patterns of evolution. Another important aspect that could be resolved through the use of historical maps is the evolution of human settlements and the toponymy