Date of Award

5-7-2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Geosciences

First Advisor

Katie Price

Abstract

Utilizing geochemical and geospatial data to explore the spatial variability of metals within streambed sediment of a local waterway may help to identify anthropogenic input of copper, lead, and zinc in urbanized streams. Utoy Creek is an urbanized stream located just southwest of downtown Atlanta. Baseline trace metal values and a reference site were used to determine if copper, lead, and zinc concentrations were higher or lower than baseline or reference site values. The Atlanta Metro Region (AMR) had over 2,100 miles of impaired streams listed on the 2008 303(d) list. This type of study can be used as a proxy to help determine how "impaired" local urbanized streams really are and to identify areas of interest for future studies. For this study, 42 sites were selected for streambed sediment collection, chemical analysis was preformed, and GIS and statistical analysis were preformed. This study shows that several areas in Utoy Creek show elevated metal concentrations of copper, lead, and zinc.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/8514515

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