The distribution of bioavailable copper in Puget Sound surface waters

Abstract

Surface water samples were collected from distinct locations throughout Puget Sound and from the Lake Washington-Lake Union-ship canal area. Samples were analyzed using ICP-MS and CLE/AdCSV for particulate copper, dissolved copper, free copper, and organic copper-binding ligands. Copper concentrations were highest in South Sound and the shore of Portage Bay and lowest in Admiralty Inlet. Admiralty Inlet had the lowest concentrations of ligands, leaving a greater proportion of its dissolved copper in the free, toxic form relative to dissolved copper in South Sound and at the shore of Portage Bay. Relative to the pelagic North Pacific Ocean, only Admiralty Inlet showed similar concentrations of particulate copper while particulate copper in South Sound and the shore of Portage Bay was nearly ten times higher.