The characteristics of the chemical flow within the Motru catchment area, south — west Romania

The present paper, with reference to the Motru catchment area, contributes to the hydrochemical studies at an international level and to the completion of the characteristics regarding the chemical flow in Romania. In this regard, it emphasizes once again the dependence between the content of dissolved salts (fixed residue — mg/l) on the one hand and the lithological conditions, human activity, flow and the surface of the catchments on the other hand. The calculation and the analysis of the chemical flow for the Motru catchment area (located in the south-west of Romania) was performed on the basis of two parameters: the average flow of dissolved chemical substances (mg/s) and specific average chemical flow (t/kmp year) recorded at the monitoring stations on the Motru River and its tributaries during the period 2005–2009. The values obtained (for example: 2.63 mg/s and 47.7 t/km 2 year, at the Fata Motrului station, on the Motru River, in 2009) confirm the importance of the areal factors of natural background in the analysis of chemical flow as a morpho-dynamic process and implicitly for the chemical quality of surface waters.