Academic career

Since 2004, Laura has been carried out teaching and research activities at the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography. Her current academic degree is assistant professor (senior lecturer) in geography and geology, with skills and expertise in geomorphology, karst science,  sedimentology, and Quaternary geology.

2016-2018: MSc in Engineering geology, Assessment of sedimentary basins and mineral resources (University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geology and Geophysics)

2004-2011: PhD in Geomorphology (University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography)

2003-2004: MSc in Geography, Sustainable development of geographic landscape through regional planning (Univ. of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography)

1999-2003: BSc in Geography, Environmental Science (University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography)

Research topics

• Geology and geomorphology of caves and karst
• Tectonic geomorphology
• Cave sediments and speleothems
• Cave monitoring
• Paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on karst studies
• Carbonate microfacies

Current research

• Geology and geomorphology of karst terrains
• Cave sediments
• Stable isotope variability in natural environment
• Speleothem microstratigraphy and geochemistry

Research projects

• PN-IV-P2-2.1-TE-2023-0654: Middle-Upper Paleolithic environments and human presence in a cave site from Western Carpathians, Romania (PACT). University of Bucharest, Project leader (2025-2026);
• SEE-RO-NO-2018-0126: Climate Archives in Karst (KARSTHIVES2). Emil Racoviță Institute of Speleology in Bucharest, PI: CSI PhD Silviu Constantin. Team member - Geomorphologist (2022-2023); https://sites.google.com/site/karsthives2/home;
• The dietary shift of Late Pleistocene bears from the Romanian Carpathians as a response to climate variability (PaleoTrace), PI: CS III Dr. Ionuț-Cornel Mirea. Collaborator, https://www.paleotrace.com/team-3;
• The palaeoecology and the extinction of MIS 3–1 large mammal of the Romanian Carpathians: an integrative approach (INTEGRATE), PI: CSII PhD Marius Robu, Collaborator (2022-2024); https://www.eris-integrate.com/collaborators;
• ICUB Young Researcher Grant 13055/14.06.2017, Lithologic and structural controls on marble karst development in the central Făgăraș Mountains, South Carpathians (2017-2018), Project leader;
• LIFE13 NAT/RO/00148, Conservation of  habitat 8310 in the Cheile Nerei - Beușnița Natura 2000 site. Team member - GIS expert (2016-2023);
• IFA-CEA Project C4-08/2014-2016, Climate change teleconnections between Western and Eastern Europe based on speleothem records of the Last Interglacial in France and Romania (FREem), Collaborator;
• CNCSIS Grant No. 588/2006, Assessment of geomorphic risk in Vâlcea Subcarpathians, focused on phenomena and related processes in the Olănești drainage basin (2006-2008), Project leader.

Courses and laboratories

• Physical Geology
• Geography of America, Africa and Antarctica
• Physical Geography of Romania
• Strategies for the reconstruction of degraded environments

Relevant publications

• Tîrlă, M-L., Mirea, I.-C., Faur, L., Constantin, S. Karst landforms of Banat, Mehedinți, and Northern Oltenia. In: Micu, M., Tătui, F. (Eds), Landscapes and Landforms of Romania. Springer (in press).
• Drăgușin V., Tîrlă, M-L., Mârza, A., Mirea, I.-C., The karst of Dobrogea: geology, geomorphology and sedimentary infill. In: Micu, M., Tătui, F. (Eds), Landscapes and Landforms of Romania. Springer Int. Publishing, Cham (in press).
• Tîrlă, M-L., Roban, R.-D., Munteanu, I., Drăgușin, V., Vlaicu, M., Mirea, I.-C., 2024. From nappe stacking to strike-slip deformation: Alpine structural overprints refined by cave and karst geology in the Danubian thin-skinned units (Southern Carpathians, Romania). Tectonophysics 884, 230404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2024.230404.
• Feher, R., Bădăluță, C.-A., Brad, T., Drăgan, C., Drăgușin, V., Măntoiu, D.Ș., Perșoiu, A., Tîrlă, M.-L., 2024. Stable Isotope Hydrology of Karst Groundwaters in Romania. Water 16(11), 1489. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16111489.
• Tîrlă, M-L., 2023. Physical Geography of North America, South America, Africa and Antarctica (in Romanian). Bucharest University Press, Bucharest, p. 268, ISBN 978-606-16-1413-4.
• Tîrlă, M.-L., Pologea, A., Dolcan, O., Constantinescu, G., 2022. Geomorphology of Ponorul Suspendat Cave (Southern Carpathians, Romania): Interplay between thrust tectonics, faulting, and karstification. Karstologia Mémoires, 24. Proceedings of the 18th Congress of Speleology, Savoie Technolac, France, p. 13-16.
• Tîrlă, M.-L., Bădescu, B., Țîțan, G., 2022. Cave restoration and depollution: Towards a favourable conservation status of the 8310 habitat (ROSCI0031, SW Romania). Karstologia Mémoires, 21. Proceedings of the 18th Congress of Speleology, Savoie Technolac, France, p. 137-140.
• Gillieson, D., Gunn, J., Auler, A., Bolger, T. (Eds), Didonna, F., Eberhard, R., Eberhard, S., Gerstner, H., Komericki, A., Matias, D., Moreira, J., Reboleira, A.S., Schindel, G., Tîrlă, M.-L., Vogel, B., Wuest, B. (contrib.), 2022. Guidelines for cave and karst protection (2nd edition). Int. Union of Speleology (UIS) and Int. Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Gland, Switzerland, 106 p., ISBN 978-0-646-84911-9. https://uis-speleo.org/index.php/2022/04/13/the-uis-guidelines-for-cave-and-karst-protection-are-now-available/.
• Faur, L., Drăgușin, V., Dimofte, D., Forray, F.L., Ilie, M., Marin, C., Mănăilescu, C., Mirea, I.-C., Panaiotu, C.G., Soare, B., Timar-Gabor, A., Tîrlă, M.L., 2021. Multi-proxy study of a Holocene soil profile from Romania and its relevance for speleothem-based paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Minerals, 11(8), 873. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11080873.
• Tîrlă, L., Drăgușin, V., Bajo, P., Covaliov, S., Cruceru, N., Ersek, V., Hanganu, D., Hellstrom, J., Hoffmann, D., Mirea, I., Sava, T., Sava, G., Şandric, I., 2020. Quaternary environmental evolution in the South Carpathians reconstructed from glaciokarst geomorphology and sedimentary archives. Geomorphology 354, 107038 (IF: 3.681). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107038
• Bădescu, B., Tîrlă, L., 2020. Harta carstului din România. Ed. Pro Marketing, Reșița, 51 p., ISBN 978-606-8022-44-4.
• Tîrlă, M.-L., 2019. Evaporite karst of Romania. In: Ponta, G.M.L., Onac, B.P. (Eds), Caves and Karst Systems of Romania. Springer, Cham, pp. 443-450. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90747-5_50
• Drăgușin V., Mirea I., Nae, A., Tîrlă, M.-L., 2019. Caves of the Făgăraș Mountains. In: Ponta, G.M.L., Onac, B.P. (Eds), Caves and Karst Systems of Romania. Springer, Cham, pp. 79-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90747-5_11
• Drăgușin, V., Tîrlă, L., Cadicheanu, N., Ersek, V., Mirea, I.-C., 2018. Caves as observatories of atmospheric thermal tides: an example from Ascunsă Cave, Romania. International Journal of Speleology 47 (1), 113-117 (IF=1.559). https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.47.1.2180 
• Drăgușin V., Balan S., Blamart D., Forray F.L., Marin C., Mirea I., Nagavciuc V., Orășeanu I., Perșoiu A., Tîrlă L., Tudorache A., and Vlaicu M., 2017. Transfer of environmental signals from the surface to the underground at scunsă Cave, Romania. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5357-5373. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5357-2017
• Tîrlă L., Mirea I., Vijulie I. Geomorphological and structural patterns of the scarp-related steep dry valleys in limestone ridges: A case study from South Carpathians, Romania. Geomorphologie: relief, processus, environnement, 22 (4), 399-408. https://doi.org/10.4000/geomorphologie.11528
• Tîrlă L., Drăgușin V., Mirea I., Cojocaru T., 2016. Speleomorphology of M3-R2 – The highest cave in SE Carpathians. Revista de Geomorfologie, 18, 54-62. 
• Tîrlă L., Vijulie I., 2013. Structural–tectonic controls and geomorphology of the karst corridors in alpine limestone ridges: Southern Carpathians, Romania. Geomorphology, 197 (1), 123-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.05.003
• Tîrlă L., 2012. Olănești drainage basin: A geomorphology study. Bucharest University Press, Bucharest, 381 p. ISBN 978-606-16-0172-1
• Tîrlă L., 2012. Elaboration of climatic maps using GIS. Case study: Olănești drainage basin, Romania. Journal of Environmental Biology, 33 (3), 449-454
• Ene M., Osaci-Costache G., Tîrlă L., 2009. The caving-ins at Ocnele Mari in the Vâlcea Subcarpathians, Romania. Geografia Fisica e Dinamica Quaternaria, 32 (1), 67-72

Membership

• Since 2007: member of the Association of the Romanian Geomorphologists (AGR) and International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG)
• Since 2008: member of the Geographical Society of Romania (SGR) and International Geographical Union (IGU)
• Since 2016: member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), ”Exploratorii” Speleological Association (ASE), and Romanian Federation of Speleology (FRS)
• Since 2021: member of the Silex Brașov Caving Club