Monitoring of the Danube river discharges at the northwestern Black Sea coast (Romanian sector) by indicator microorganisms

Abstract

In this study, results of three years (2003-2005) survey including microbiological indicators of water pollution (TC, FC, FS) in both Danube River and Black Sea coastal waters are evaluated. Spatial distribution of faecal bacteria displayed a continuous flow across Sulina branch with a gradual decreasing of microbial contamination towards the Black Sea coast. The permanent presence of microbiological indicators in marine waters demonstrates that the movement of high contaminated river waters (> 16 000 germs/100 mL) across the Sulina branch provides the main source of faecal pollution at the Black Sea coast with possible impact on human use of sea.

Keywords

• microbiological indicators
• Danube discharge
• Black Sea Romanian coastal waters