Chidsanuphong Chartasa

1
Space/Time Analysis of Copper in NC Surface Water

• Chidsanuphong Chart-asa
• Dec 10, 2009

2
Copper in Surface Water

• Sources
• Natural decaying plants, windblown dusts, forest
  fires, and volcanic eruptions
• Human activities mining, smelting,
  manufacturing, farming with chemical fertilizers
  and pesticides, etc.
• Toxicity
• Aquatic organisms mortality, and reduction in
  survival and reproduction
• Human health irritation, nausea, and diarrhea

3
Copper Standard

• Hardness Dependent Metals
• Increasing hardness has the effect of decreasing
  the toxicity of metals.
• Hardness Adjusted Criteria (HAC) Equation
• Acute exp(0.942ln(hardness)-1.700)0.96
• Chronic exp(0.855ln(hardness)-1.702)0.96
• NC Standard (at 25 mg/L hardness)
• Current 7 ?g/L for chronic
• Proposed 2010 4 ?g/L for chronic, and 3 ?g/L for
  acute.

4
Copper data
Hardness data
BME Estimation
HAC Equations
Copper Map
Acute Std. Map
Chronic Std. Map
Potentially Impaired Rivers
5
BME Estimation Materials

• USGS NWIS and USEPA STORET database
• The samples were collected at various times in
  2002-2007 with no standardized pattern between
  stations.
• Copper 306 stations
• Hardness 64 stations

6
BME Estimation Data Distribution

• Copper

• Hardness

• Copper

• Hardness

7
BME Estimation Covariance Model

• Copper

8
BME Estimation Covariance Model

• Hardness

9
NC Boundary
10
NC Boundary
11
Potentially Impaired Rivers
12
NC Boundary
13
NC Boundary
14
Discussion/Future Work/ Conference

• In 2007, slightly over standards in west area,
  even copper concentrations are not over 3 ?g/L,
  due to very low hardness
• The Copper Biotic Ligand Model
• Considering more factors related to toxicity pH,
  alkalinity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and
  hardness
• 2010 WRRI Annual Conference and NCWRA Symposium,
  March 30-31, 2010 (McKimmon Center, Raleigh, NC)