Chemical data for rock, sediment, biological, precipitate, and water samples from abandoned copper mines in Prince William Sound, Alaska

In the early 20th century, approximately 6 million metric tons of
copper ore were mined from numerous deposits located along the
shorelines of fjords and islands in Prince William Sound, Alaska. At
the Beatson, Ellamar, and Threeman mine sites (fig. 1), rocks
containing Fe, Cu, Zn, and Pb sulfide minerals are exposed to
chemical weathering in abandoned mine workings and remnant waste
piles that extend into the littoral zone. Field investigations in
2003 and 2005 as well as analytical data for rock, sediment,
precipitate, water, and biological samples reveal that the oxidation
of sulfides at these sites is resulting in the generation of acid
mine drainage and the transport of metals into the marine
environment