CONTENTS 



Paga 



Abstract Gl 



Introduction 1 



Acknowledgments 1 



Isotopic composition of lake and river water 2 



Chemical composition of lake and river water 3 



Nature and causes of variations in composition 3 



General analyses 11 



North America 11 



St. Lawrence River basin 11 



Atlantic Coast drainage 12 



Eastern tributaries of the Gulf of Mexico.. 14 



Mississippi River drainage 14 



Rio Grande basin 15 



Colorado River basin 15 



North American closed basins 15 



Columbia River basin and other northwest- 

 ern waters 18 



Alaska waters 18 



Mackenzie and Hudson Bay drainages 19 



West Greenland 20 



Eurasia. 20 



New Zealand 27 



Australia 28 



Africa 31 



South America 36 



Global computations 37 



North America 38 



Europe 38 



Asia 39 



Africa 39 



Australia 39 



South America 40 



World summary 40 



Mean chemical composition of World river 



water 40 



Page 

 Chemical compositon of lake and river water — Con. 



Minor constituents G41 



General remarks 41 



Fluorine, bromine, and iodine 41 



Boron 42 



Lithium 43 



Rubidium 43 



Cesium 44 



Beryllium 44 



Strontium 44 



Barium 44 



Radium 45 



Selenium 45 



Arsenic, antimony, and bismuth 45 



The rare gases 46 



Gallium 46 



Gold 46 



Mercury 46 



Cadmium 47 



Copper 47 



Cobalt and nickel 47 



Silver 48 



Zinc 48 



Titanium 49 



Zirconium 49 



Tin 49 



Lead 49 



Vanadium 49 



Chromium 49 



Molybdenum 50 



Manganese 50 



Uranium 50 



Radioactive isotopes 51 



Stable isotopes 51 



Organic matter 51 



Bibliography 52 



Index 63 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Page 



Figure 1. Mean daily supply of chloride and sulfate plus nitrate in relation to wind direction. After Gorham, 1958 G4 



2. Relation of specific conductance to mean daily runoff of the Saline River. After Durum, 1953 5 



3. Seasonal changes in the chemical composition of Imikpuk, near the Arctic Ocean. After Boyd, 1959 9 



4. Diurnal pH changes in a small fresh-water lake. After Schiitle and Elsworth, 1954 9 



5. Diurnal oxygen change in Silver Springs, Florida. After Odum, 1956 9 



6. Redox potential near the mud-water interface and concentrations of dissolved substances in the water just over 



the mud surface of Esthwaite Water, England, during 1940. After Mortimer, 1941-42 11 



v 



