Many scientists link climate change to the increase of the extreme weather phenomena frequency, which combined with land use changes often lead to disasters with severe social and economic effects. ...Especially floods as a consequence of heavy rainfall can put vulnerable human and natural systems such as transboundary wetlands at risk. In order to meet the European Directive 2007/60/EC requirements for the development of flood risk management plans, the flood hazard map of Evros transboundary watershed was produced after a grid-based GIS modelling method that aggregates the main factors related to the development of floods: topography, land use, geology, slope, flow accumulation and rainfall intensity. The verification of this tool was achieved through the comparison between the produced hazard map and the inundation maps derived from the supervised classification of Landsat 5 and 7 satellite imageries of four flood events that took place at Evros delta proximity, a wetland of international importance. The comparison of the modelled output (high and very high flood hazard areas) with the extent of the inundated areas as mapped from the satellite data indicated the satisfactory performance of the model. Furthermore, the vulnerability of each land use against the flood events was examined. Geographically Weighted Regression has also been applied between the final flood hazard map and the major factors in order to ascertain their contribution to flood events. The results accredited the existence of a strong relationship between land uses and flood hazard indicating the flood susceptibility of the lowlands and agricultural land. A dynamic transboundary flood hazard management plan should be developed in order to meet the Flood Directive requirements for adequate and coordinated mitigation practices to reduce flood risk.
An approach combining monitoring and ecotoxicological data has been undertaken to assess pesticide loading in the drainage canals of two transboundary rivers of northeastern Greece near the ...Greek/Bulgarian/Turkish borders as well as the subsequent risk to non-target aquatic organisms. Aquatic risk assessment was based on the Risk Quotient (RQ=MEC/PNEC) regarding three trophic levels, algae, aquatic invertebrates and fish. Alachlor, atrazine, carbaryl, carbofuran, cypermethrin, DEA, DIA, diazinon, dimethoate, endosulfan, metolachlor, monilate, prometryn and trifluralin were the compounds detected at the highest concentrations on a regular basis. Extreme concentrations were observed just after high rainfall events during the month of pesticide application. Aquatic risk assessment revealed non-acceptable risk for 10 compounds when median concentrations were used as ΜEC values. However, should extreme concentrations be taken into account, 15 compounds were considered as likely to pose a threat to aquatic organisms. Conformity to EC environmental quality standards is also discussed.
This study presents an update of forensic accounting of the numbers and demographics of migrants found deceased in the Evros region of Greece in the years from 2015–22. Compared to data from 2000–14, ...this update reflects the mounting number of border‐related deaths in the region, as well as the changing demographic trends associated with the migrants who perish crossing the Greek‐Turkish border. Specifically, the paper documents a broadening of locations from which migrants originate, the increasing diversity of migrant death locations, and a shift in the leading causes of death. It contains important forensic accounting of the unique humanitarian crisis occurring along the Greek‐Turkish land border while also providing an additional context for the global migration crisis. The data presented here offer insights into other forensic stakeholders impacted by the global migration crisis, with respect to what factors contribute to and detract from identification rates, and can help stakeholders make informed policy decisions.
مستخلص
تهدف الدراسة إلى تقديم تحديث لمحاسبة جنائية لأعداد وتركيبة المهاجرين الذين تم العثور عليهم متوفين في منطقة إيفروس في اليونان خلال الفترة من عام 2015 حتى 2022، ومقارنةً ببيانات الفترة من عام 2000 حتى 2014، يعكس هذا التحديث العدد المتزايد للوفيات المرتبطة بالحدود في المنطقة، فضلاً عن الاتجاهات الديموغرافية المتغيرة للمهاجرين الذين يموتون أثناء عبورهم للحدود اليونانية التركية، وعلى وجه التحديد، توثق هذه الدراسة اتساع نطاق المواقع التي ينحدر منها المهاجرون، وزيادة تنوع مواقع وفاة المهاجرين، وتحولاً في الأسباب الرئيسية للوفاة، ويوفر هذا التحديث محاسبة جنائية مهمة للأزمة الإنسانية الفريدة التي تحدث على طول الحدود البرية اليونانية التركية مع توفير سياق إضافي لأزمة الهجرة العالمية، وتوفر البيانات المقدمة في هذه الدراسة نظرة ثاقبة لأصحاب المصلحة الآخرين في مجال الطب الشرعي المتأثرين بأزمة الهجرة العالمية حول العوامل التي تساهم في معدلات التحديد وتنتقص منها ويمكن أن تساعد أصحاب المصلحة على اتخاذ قرارات سياسية مستنيرة.
الكلمات الدالة: عبور الحدود، أوروبا، إيفروس، اليونان، البحر الأبيض المتوسط، وفاة المهاجرين، الهجرة
摘要
该研究旨在提供2015‐2022年期间在希腊埃夫罗斯地区被发现死亡的移民人数和人口统计的更新数据。与2000‐2014年的数据相比，本次更新反映了该地区与边境有关的死亡人数的增加，以及跨越希腊‐土耳其边境而死亡的移民人口趋势之变化。具体而言，该研究记录了移民来源地的扩大、移民死亡地点的多样性以及主要死亡原因的转移。本次更新对希腊‐土耳其陆地边界沿线发生的独特的人道主义危机进行了重要的统计，同时也为全球移民危机提供了更多背景信息。本研究中提供的数据为受全球移民危机影响的其他利益相关者提供了见解，使他们了解哪些因素会影响和减少识别率，并可以帮助利益相关者做出明智的政策决策。
关键词：跨越边境、欧洲、埃夫罗斯、希腊、地中海、移民死亡、移民
Data availability and the existence of exchange mechanisms are considered crucial issues for the management of water bodies shared among riparian countries. Moreover, common legislative and technical ...frameworks are assets that foster the management of transboundary waters in an integrated and sustainable manner. The River Basin Management Plans of the European Union’s Water Framework Directive implementation process not only incorporate a cooperative framework, but also include open access internet-based databases that can enhance cooperation and shed light on water-related conflicts among countries that share transboundary waters. The proposed methodological approach in this research is applied in four transboundary river basins, where Greece is the downstream country, and the upstream countries are not all member states of the European Union. The areas of dispute were found in the 2nd Water Convention Report. For each particular case study, data and information from the respective River Basin Management Plans were used to investigate the actual situation. The results demonstrated that significant conflict situations in the past, which involved both water quality and water quantity issues, could be resolved using continuous and reliable datasets included in the management plans. The use of freely available data sources renders the findings of this work useful for the sustainable management of shared waters.
We report on the isotopic compositions of the Jurassic supra-subduction zone Evros ophiolite mafic rocks exposed in the eastern Circum-Rhodope Belt of northeastern Greece. These mafic units consist ...of low-Ti gabbroic and basaltic rocks, whose Nd–Sr–Pb isotopes are compatible with dominant mantle-derived MORB component mixed with a detectable amount of crustal material and/or sediment invoved in their melt source in the subduction zone. These isotopic features are consistent with an intra-oceanic arc origin of the mafic ophiolite rocks, and the Evros ophiolite Nd and Pb isotopes are comparable to those of the counterpart mafic rocks from the Mandritsa unit in Bulgaria.
•The present article aims to depict the humanitarian disaster in Evros-northern Greece.•During the last nineteen years, 398 border-related fatalities have been recovered.•Identification and ...attribution of the deceased to their families is in the scope.•Three typical cases of border-related deaths are described in detail.•Issues as well as situational factors of influence are discussed.
The area of the regional unit of Evros in northern Greece is considered the main gateway to the East and marks the end of the European territory and the beginning of the Asian continent. The natural boundary of the Evros River has been the last major obstacle to overcome before entering the Schengen area for hundreds of thousands of migrants on the eastern Mediterranean route. The river stands, however, for the main place of death for thousands of people who try to enter the country, and therefore the European Union, illegally.
The international social, political and economic conditions that prevail at times often determine the flows of migration on the eastern Mediterranean route and eastern land border of Greece into the European Union.
On the Greek side of the Greek-Turkish border, for the last nineteen years, 398 cadavers of deceased migrants have been recovered. The majority of the illegal immigrants, or asylum seekers, who pass away in the Evros region are found after several days, weeks or even months. The diagnoses of the causes of death and the determination of the time of death are questions the coroner seeks to answer. Consequently, as the majority of the deceased are in an advanced state of putrefaction, the identification and attribution of the corpses to their relatives become matters of crucial importance and a high degree of difficulty. Until today, drowning in the Evros River remains the leading cause of death among border-related death incidents.
The present article aims to depict the humanitarian disaster as it unfolds in the regional unit of Evros in northern Greece and the easternmost land border of the European Union along the Mediterranean route as well as the contribution of forensic science to the possible extent.
The Evros deltaic plain (North Aegean Sea, Greece) covers an area of 188 km
2
and is shared by Greece and Turkey by its current main channel. This paper investigates deltaic plain evolution during ...the last seven decades (1945-2017), taking into consideration human interventions and their impacts on deltaic processes. Outcomes indicate that the construction of more than 25 major dams in the Evros River catchment resulted in >80% reduction in fluvial suspended load. Moreover, the alignment and relocation of the main distributary channel to the southeast was accompanied by the transformation of >40% of the deltaic plain to agricultural land. The combination of human interventions supports the coastline advance of the active main mouth (current rate of 3.9 *10
−3
km
2
/yr), retreat of the old (abandoned) Evros mouth (current rate 7.7 *10
−3
km
2
/yr), and signs of remarkable vulnerability in the middle mouth area.
Managing Protected Areas (PAs) is a challenging task, and globally many instruments have been utilised for this purpose. Existing research demonstrates that the effectiveness of these instruments is ...highly dependent on their social acceptability among local communities resident within PAs. Consequently, investigating local attitudes and perceptions of Protected Area (PA) policies has been emphasised in recent studies. Drawing on empirical work conducted in two National Parks including river delta ecosystems designated as Ramsar wetlands in northern Greece, this paper examines local residents' perceptions of three hypothesized policy options (regulatory, market-based and participatory) for Park management. The influence of social capital elements (social trust, institutional trust and social networks) on residents' perceptions is explored. The findings reveal a high degree of importance attached by resident communities to Park designation in both PAs, though residents' perceptions of the proposed management options varied. The regulatory option was regarded as the least restrictive, while the most restrictive was perceived to be the market-based option. However, greater benefits were identified by residents from the market-based option, while the fewest benefits were considered to arise from the proposed regulatory option. Furthermore, local residents' perceptions were significantly shaped by the proposed management and decision-making structure offered under each policy option. The influence of different social capital elements on residents' perceptions also varied in the study sample, with social trust and institutional trust positively correlated with the benefits that were perceived to arise from the different policy options. Moreover, when social capital was measured as an aggregate indicator at the level of the individual, it was positively correlated with perceived environmental benefits.
► Local residents' perceptions of three hypothesized policy options are explored. ► The regulatory option was regarded as the least restrictive. ► The most restrictive was perceived to be the market-based option. ► Greater benefits were identified by residents from the market-based option. ► Social capital was positively correlated with perceived environmental benefits.
A five-year groundwater monitoring program undertaken in Evros (north-east Greece), showed a diversification in the levels of pesticide residues detected in adjacent transboundary aquifers. During ...the first two years 37 wells, including irrigation, drinking water and artesian wells were monitored while the next three years the survey was focused on the 11 most contaminated wells. The presence of pesticide residues was also monitored in the phreatic horizon (shallow groundwater) of four experimental boreholes drilled in the respective margins of four fields. Among the compounds found alachlor, metolachlor, atrazine, desethylatrazine (DEA), desisopropylatrazine (DIA) and caffeine were constantly detected. Pesticide concentrations were much lower (up to 1.54μg/L) in the water of the monitored drinking water wells (deep groundwater aquifers) compared to those found in the phreatic horizon (experimental boreholes) of the respective areas (up to 5.20μg/L). DEA to atrazine concentration ratios (DAR) determined for the phreatic horizon of the three boreholes and respective wells were lower than 1, indicating that preferential flow was the cause of the fast downward movement of atrazine to the phreatic horizon. In contrast the DAR for the fourth borehole and the adjacent well were greater than 1 indicating the absence of preferential flow of atrazine. Catabolic processes of the soil converted atrazine to DEA which is more mobile than atrazine itself through chromatographic (darcian) flow.
This differential behavior of pesticides in adjacent aquifers (3km) was further investigated by determining the apparent age of water in the two wells. The apparent age of the water present in the first aquifer was 21.7years whereas the apparent age of that in the second aquifer was approximately 1.2years. The faster replenishing rate of the latter is an indication that this aquifer is very vulnerable to contamination with pollutants present in the infiltrated soil water.
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► 16 herbicides, 11 insecticides, 3 fungicides, and 2 acaricides were detected. ► Metolachlor was detected in 63% of wells, atrazine 61%, DEA 50%, alachlor 47%. ► Greater concentrations were detected in shallow groundwater compared to the deep. ► Chromatographic and preferential flow were identified in adjacent areas. ► DEA to atrazine ratios and the apparent age of groundwater were evaluated.
The incomplete Evros ophiolites in NE Greece form a NE–SW-oriented discontinuous belt in the Alpine orogen of the north Aegean. Field data, petrology and geochemistry are presented here for the ...intrusive section and associated mafic dykes of these ophiolites. Bodies of high-level isotropic gabbro and plagiogranite in the ophiolite suite are cross-cut by NE–SW-trending boninitic and tholeiitic–boninitic affinity dykes, respectively. The dykes fill tensile fractures or faults, which implies dyke emplacement in an extensional tectonic regime. The tholeiitic–transitional boninitic gabbro is REE- and HFS-depleted relative to N-MORB, indicating derivation from melting of a refractory mantle peridotite source. Associated boninitic dykes are slightly LREE-enriched, showing mineral and whole-rock geochemistry similar to the gabbro. The plagiogranite is a strongly REE-enriched high-silica trondhjemite, with textures and composition typical for an oceanic crust differentiate. Plagiogranite-hosted tholeiitic and transitional boninitic dykes are variably REE-enriched. Geochemical modelling indicates origin of the plagiogranite by up to 75 % fractional crystallization of basaltic magma similar to that producing the associated tholeiitic dykes. All mafic rocks have high LILE/HFSE ratios and negative Ta–Nb–Ti and Ce anomalies, typical for subduction zone-related settings. The mafic rocks show a similar trace-element character to the mafic lavas of an extrusive section in Bulgaria, suggesting they both form genetically related intrusive and extrusive suites of the Evros ophiolites. The field occurrence, the structural context, the petrology and geochemical signature of the studied magmatic assemblage provide evidence for its origin in a proto-arc (fore-arc) tectonic setting, thus tracing the early stages of the tectono-magmatic evolution of Jurassic arc-marginal basin system that has generated the supra-subduction type Evros ophiolites.
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