There is a widely recognized need for a better mechanistic understanding of freshwater-marine systems and associated transitional environments. This view is driven by the socio-economic value of these environments and their vulnerability to environmental change drivers; a view shared with scientists across Europe and internationally. DANUBIUS-RI is an initiative to develop a Pan-European Research Infrastructure dedicated to the study of river-sea systems and the opportunities and risks they represent to society. It seeks to enhance the capability of existing regional infrastructures and research programs, whilst galvanizing new research initiatives that have global reach and impact.The International Centre for Advanced Studies on River-Sea Systems (DANUBIUS-RI) is planed as a distributed pan-European research infrastructure to support interdisciplinary research on river-sea (RS) systems. It spans the environmental, social and economic sciences and brings together research on different environmental sectors. It will provide access to a range of RS systems, facilities and expertise, access to harmonized data and a platform for interdisciplinary research, education and training.

DANUBIUS-RI will have a Hub and Data Centre in Romania, Nodes that will cover Observation, Analysis, Modelling and Impact in the UK, Germany, Italy and Netherlands, a Technology Transfer Office in Ireland, and Supersites across Europe. Supersites are instrumented study sites that provide the focus for observation, analysis, research and modeling at locations of high scientific importance and opportunity across RS systems, from source to coastal sea. There is an initial suite of eight Supersites which includes the Danube Delta (Romania), Széchenyi (Hungary), Lake Lunz (Austria), Elbe Estuary (Germany), Ebro-Llobregat Deltaic System ( Spain), Nestos (Greece), Po Delta and North Adriatic Lagoons (Italy) and Thames Estuary (UK).

DANUBIUS-RI was accepted on the 2016 ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures) Roadmap and received initial funding by the European Commission Horizon 2020 program for a three-years Preparatory Phase project, in order to raise DANUBIUS-RI to the legal, financial and technical maturity required for successful implementation, development and long-term operation.