Water and Sediment Quality in the Yukon River and Its Tributaries Between Atlin, British Columbia, Canada, and Eagle, Alaska, USA, 2004
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Water and Sediment Quality in the Yukon River and its Tributaries Between Atlin, British Columbia, Canada, and Eagle, Alaska, USA, 2004 Edited by Douglas R. Halm and Mark M. Dornblaser Open-File Report 2007-1197 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DIRK KEMPTHORNE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Mark D. Myers, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 2007 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. Suggested citation: Halm, D.R., and Dornblaser, M.M., 2007, Water and sediment quality in the Yukon River and its tributaries between Atlin, British Columbia, Canada, and Eagle, Alaska, USA, 2004: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1197, 120 p. ii Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 2 Intensive Sampling...................................................................................................................... 3 Purpose and Scope..................................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................... 6 Historical Background of Canadian Water Quantity and Quality Programs in the Yukon River Basin........................................................................................................................................... 7 A Brief History of Hydrometric Monitoring Stations in the Yukon River Basin ................ 7 A Brief History of Environment Canada’s Water-Quality Monitoring Program in the Yukon River Basin........................................................................................................................ 8 Site Descriptions and Hydrology................................................................................................... 10 Nares River ................................................................................................................................. 11 Atlin River.................................................................................................................................... 13 Yukon River above Takhini River............................................................................................. 15 Takhini River ............................................................................................................................... 17 Teslin River ................................................................................................................................. 19 Big Salmon River........................................................................................................................ 21 Little Salmon River..................................................................................................................... 23 Yukon River at Carmacks, Yukon Territory............................................................................ 24 Nordenskiold River.................................................................................................................... 25 Pelly River ................................................................................................................................... 27 Yukon River above White River............................................................................................... 29 White River ................................................................................................................................. 30 Stewart River.............................................................................................................................. 32 Sixtymile River............................................................................................................................ 34 Klondike River............................................................................................................................. 36 Fortymile River............................................................................................................................ 38 Yukon River at Eagle, Alaska, USA......................................................................................... 40 Methods ............................................................................................................................................. 42 Sample Collection and Processing ........................................................................................ 42 Laboratory Analyses ................................................................................................................. 42 Water and Sediment Quality and Water Discharge................................................................... 44 Water Discharge and Field Water Quality ............................................................................ 44 Suspended Sediment................................................................................................................ 47 Particulate Carbon and Particulate Nitrogen....................................................................... 50 Suspended Sediment Chemistry............................................................................................. 53 Tritium.......................................................................................................................................... 55 Major Cations and Dissolved Trace Elements ..................................................................... 58 Anions.......................................................................................................................................... 71 Deuterium and Oxygen Isotopes............................................................................................. 74 Chlorophyll a............................................................................................................................... 77 iii Dissolved Organic Carbon and Fractionation....................................................................... 80 Dissolved Carbon Gases and Carbon Isotopes.................................................................... 83 Mercury....................................................................................................................................... 86 Uranium ....................................................................................................................................... 89 Nutrients...................................................................................................................................... 92 Carbon Isotope Composition of Dissolved Organic and Inorganic Carbon .................... 95 Sediment Mineralogy................................................................................................................ 97 Quality Assurance and Quality Control ........................................................................................ 99 References Cited ............................................................................................................................ 117 Figures 1. Location of the Yukon River Basin in Canada and Alaska, USA ......................................... 2 2. Study watersheds and sampling sites..................................................................................... 4 3. Nares River ................................................................................................................................. 11 4. Bennett Lake water level and sampling dates..................................................................... 12 5. Atlin River.................................................................................................................................... 13 6. Hydrograph and sampling dates, Atlin River ........................................................................ 14 7. Yukon River above Takhini River............................................................................................. 15 8. Hydrograph and sampling dates, Yukon River at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory............. 16 9. Takhini River ............................................................................................................................... 17 10. Hydrograph and sampling dates, Takhini River ................................................................... 18 11. Teslin River ................................................................................................................................. 19 12. Hydrograph and sampling dates, Teslin River...................................................................... 20 13. Big Salmon River.......................................................................................................................