The Cimmerian Dobrogea Aspiring Geopark from Romania: raising awareness on the geological heritage

The Cimmerian Dobrogea Aspiring Geopark territory, located in the eastern part of Romania, covers an area of approximately 2,500 km², overlapping 28 localities. It is a region with unique natural and cultural heritage, that includes an early alpine folding (Cimmerian), starting in the Upper Triassic, which reworks Paleozoic formations with a Hercynian history. The Geopark territory includes two paleontological reserves and 94 geosites, one of the most important being Deșli Caira Hill, a candidate for the international stratotype (GSSP) of the base of Anisian. The cultural heritage includes tumuli (isolated or grouped), fortresses and castra along the fortified border of the Roman Empire in the province of Moesia inferior, inner fortresses, but also many other archaeological sites, which prove a continuous habitation in this region since the Paleolithic. To raise awareness on the geological heritage, the Geopark team started a dialogue with local administration officials and school representatives to emphasize the exceptional value of the territory, by the integration of the geological, natural, and cultural elements. Thus, to highlight the geoheritage, plans are in motion to create a museum that will exhibit the geopark's most representative geological assets. In order to support the growth of this awareness campaign, our newly created Citizen Science Platform will be used. Citizen Science encourages the participation of non-professional citizens in scientific research that helps generate knowledge and information. The concept encompasses scientific activities that use volunteer "citizen researchers" for data collection, analysis, and dissemination of science, thereby consolidating their knowledge about geological heritage values.