A field-based characterization of conductivity in areas of minimal alteration: A case example in the Cascades of northwestern United States.

ABSTRACT: The concentration of salts in streams is increasing world-wide making freshwater a declining resource. Developing thresholds for freshwater with low specific conductivity (SC), a measure of dissolved ions in water, may protect high quality resources that are refugia for aquatic life and that dilute downstream waters. In this case example, methods are illustrated for estimating protective levels for streams with low SC. The Cascades in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America was selected for the case study because a geophysical model indicated that the SC of freshwater streams was likely to be very low. Also, there was an insufficient range in the SC data to accurately derive a criterion using the 2011, US Environmental Protection Agency field-based extirpation concentration d

SUBMITTER: Cormier SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6880308 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature