Atmospheric contributions to stream water chemistry in the North Cascade Range, Washington

Bulk precipitation contributes significant quantities of cations and trace metals to a subalpine catchment located in the North Cascade Range of Washington. Precipitation loadings account for 30% of the major and more than 50% of the minor element export from the catchment. Preliminary data from larger basins in the North Cascades suggest similar values. Calcium and potassium measured in bulk precipitation are largely derived from continental dusts, while sodium and magnesium originate as marine aerosols. Lead, copper, and arsenic, products of anthropogenic activity in the Puget Lowland, are deposited downwind in the Cascade Mountains; mean precipitation p H at the study site was 4.85 during 1974 and 1975. Elements contributed by precipitation become part of complex upland biogeochemical cycles. With the exception of highly mobile ions like sodium, elemental levels in streamflow reflect biologic and pedogenic cycling processes rather than direct precipitation influence.