Sources and transport of surface sediment and metals in B.C. fjord, Tahsis Inlet

Abstract

[author abstract] Twenty surface sediment samples were collected from Tahsis Inlet, Nootka Sound, BC. An understudied region in Canada, Tahsis Inlet is a steep, narrow fjord with high tidal energy. Grain size distributions in Tahsis Inlet varied widely from very coarse (rocks, gravel, sand) around the sidewall delta to very fine (silt and clay) at both ends of the inlet. There were distinct patterns between different types of metals, where certain metals tended to co-vary along the sampling transect. Additionally, the toxic metal, arsenic, was detected at several of the Tahsis Inlet stations. The connections among metal concentrations and local mining activities, physical transport via currents and landslide deposition, and biological processes is described.