Modeling the decrease in dissolved copper in Puget Sound during the early 1980s

Abstract

The oceanic, riverine, geochemical, atmospheric, maritime, industrial, and municipal sources of dissolved Cu were applied to a two-layer, segmented-box model incorporating the major features of the circulation in Puget Sound. In seven out of eight regions during 1986, the results of this independent model were comparable to the observed dissolved Cu concentrations. The discrepancy between the results from observations and the model in the most landward region was used to infer the strength of a previously unidentified source. The model also correctly predicted a decrease in the dissolved Cu concentration observed in a region off Seattle between 1981 and 1986 as a consequence of decreased loadings realized from municipal and industrial pollution abatement programs