During 1966, 1.8 × 1014 liters of water; 8.3 × 107, 2.1 × 109, and 2.7 × 1010 moles of phosphate, nitrate, and reactive silicate; 1.9 × 1011 equivalents of alkalinity; and 1.9 × 1011 moles of total carbon dioxide passed through Clatskanie, 87 km above the mouth of the Columbia River into the Astoria estuary and the Pacific Ocean. Along the main stream, phosphate, nitrate, and silicate concentrations show a definite seasonal change; their maxima occur in winter and minima in summer. On‐stream primary production greatly affects the formation of the summer minima. At Clatskanie, the nitrate: phosphate ratio is 3:1 during summer months and over 19:1 at other seasons.
Bicarbonate ion is the major dissolved carbon dioxide species in the entire Columbia River system, where water pH measured at 20C ranges from 6.63 to 8.68. The major portion of the river system is undersaturated with respect to calcite solubility. Along the main stream, the river is supersaturated with respect to the atmospheric carbon dioxide pressure of 320 ppm.
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