User's Manual for the Graphical Constituent Loading Analysis System (GCLAS)

This manual describes the Graphical Constituent Loading Analysis System (GCLAS), an interactive cross-plat- form program for computing the mass (load) and average concentration of a constituent that is transported in stream water over a period of time. GCLAS computes loads as a function of an equal-interval streamflow time series and an equal- or unequal-interval time series of constituent concentrations. The constituent-concentration time series may be composed of measured concentrations or a combination of measured and estimated concentrations. GCLAS is not intended for use in situations where concentration data (or an appropriate surrogate) are collected infrequently or where an appreciable amount of the concentration values are censored.