Sediment Quality in Puget Sound Year 1: Northern Puget Sound.

摘要

As a component of a three-year cooperative effort of the Washington State Department of Ecology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sediments from 100 locations in northern Puget Sound were tested to determine their relative quality. The purpose of this survey was to determine the quality of sediments in terms of the severity, spatial patterns, and spatial extent of chemical contamination, toxicity, and alterations to benthic infauna. The survey area encompassed the region from Port Gardner Bay north to the US/Canada border, excluding the San Juan Islands. Surficial sediments were tested and analyzed from each of the 100 locations. Data from the chemical analyses indicated that toxicologically significant contamination was restricted in scope to a relatively small portion of the region. The spatial extent of relatively severe contamination varied considerably among chemicals; however, less than 2% of the area was considered 'contaminated' for most substances. Sediments from several sampling locations within Everett Harbor often had the highest chemical concentrations.