Fig. 3.

Correlations between a variety of stream solutes are compared for the mainstem and eight MTM-impacted tributaries. Sulfate, magnesium, and calcium concentrations are strongly correlated to conductivity in both the mainstem (R² = 0.93, 0.90, 0.88, respectively; p < 0.0001) (A) and in the affected tributaries (R² = 0.83, 0.78, 0.81, respectively; p < 0.0001) (B). Total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) and selenium are strongly related to conductivity in the mainstem (R² = 0.57, 0.69, respectively; p < 0.0001) (C) but not across the MTM-impacted tributaries (D). TDN and selenium concentrations are more strongly associated with strontium in both the mainstem (R² = 0.81, 0.76, respectively; p < 0.0001) (E) and the MTM-impacted tributaries (R² = 0.76, 0.69, respectively; p < 0.0001) (F). Differences in sample size are a result of there being 15 mainstem sites and eight tributary sites each sampled four times.