Copper Transport Along a Sierra Nevada Stream

Abstract

Transport and cycling of micronutrients in streams are regulated by hydrologic, biologic and chemical processes. Simulation of these processes based on a copper and chloride injection experiment in an oligotrophic stream was conducted to determine the relative importance of these interdependent processes in the transport of copper, a micronutrient that can also be toxic to aquatic organisms at submicromolar concentrations. Results indicated that consideration of nonhydrologic processes (periphyton uptake and sediment sorption, for example) is essential in describing copper transport along the experimental reach.