OFR 97-492: Hobbs Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study
National Geochemical Database—Reformatted Data from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) Program
By Steven M. Smith
Version 1.40 (2006)
Brief History and Description of Data
[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]
LASL: Western Half of the Brownfield and Hobbs Quadrangles
Between October 1976 and January 1977, a total of 914 sediment and 1,084 water samples were collected from 1,926 locations within the western half of the Brownfield and Hobbs 2° quadrangles. This sampling was done by contracted personnel for the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL). Within the Hobbs quadrangle, 561 sediment and 435 water samples were collected west of 103°W longitude. All of the samples were sent to LASL for uranium analyses and the data were then released in the Hobbs and Brownfield (New Mexico portions) NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) GJBX-103(78) report.
ORGDP: Hobbs Quadrangle
At a later date, LASL sent 559 sediment and 284 water samples from the Hobbs quadrangle to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for multielement analyses. These data were released by ORGDP as the Hobbs Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-288(81) report.
LASL: Eastern Half of the Hobbs Quadrangle
In 1977, the entire NURE HSSR program changed from a study area basis (State, County, or geomorphic provinces) to a 1° x 2° quadrangle basis. As a result of this decision, the responsibility for the Texas portion of the Hobbs quadrangle was reassigned from ORGDP to the LASL. According to the last LASL NURE progress report [GJBX-5(80)], this area was scheduled to be sampled during 1980. Apparently though, no additional samples for this Texas area were subsequently collected or analyzed by LASL before the NURE program ended.
Summary Tables
The following is a list of the NURE sample types collected for all studies within the Hobbs quadrangle.
Summary of Hobbs quadrangle sample types.
| Dry Streams |
112 |
Wells |
398 |
| Wet Springs |
1 |
Springs |
1 |
| Wet Natural Ponds |
19 |
Natural Ponds |
19 |
| Dry Natural Ponds |
281 |
Artificial Ponds |
17 |
| Wet Artificial Ponds |
17 |
|
|
| Dry Artificial Ponds |
131 |
|
|
| Total Sediments |
561 |
Total Waters |
435 |
These Hobbs quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:
Sediment Samples
- LA1: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of sediments for U.
- OR7: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Sc, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.
Water Samples
- LA6-DN: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of waters for U.
- LA6-FL: Los Alamos Fluorometry Analysis of waters for U.
- OR13: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Sc, Si, Sr, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr. (Note: Nb and Th may be included in this method.)
Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Hobbs Quadrangle
The Hobbs quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the LASL Hobbs and Brownfield NURE HSSR GJBX-103(78) report combined with records from the ORGDP multielement Hobbs Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-288(81) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Hobbs quadrangle data:
Sediment Records
- During the NURE sample collection phase, LASL sites and samples were initially assigned a 6-digit integer Identification Number (LASLID) starting with 000001. After 1977, most LASL sites were reassigned a new 1-letter+5-digit Identification Number starting with A00001. All LASL samples and the early LASL reports use the 6-digit integer LASLID. Most of the later reports only use the 1-letter+5-digit LASLID. Although both sets of numbers were usually assigned sequentially, they do not correspond one to one with each other: 100001 does not equal C00001, etc. Whenever possible, the 1-letter+5-digit LASL Identification Number was saved in the LASLID field. When the corresponding 6-digit site number could be determined from sample number translation key lists or other sources, this Identification Number was saved in the SITE field.
- A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the Hobbs quadrangle sediment samples. The 1-letter+5-digit LASL Identification Number was saved in the LASLID field and the corresponding 6-digit site number was manually added to the SITE field. Therefore, the LASLID field contains the Identification Number found in the LASL Hobbs and Brownfield NURE HSSR GJBX-103(78) and ORGDP Hobbs Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-288(81) reports. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, and sample containers.
- The LASL and the ORGDP Laboratory each analyzed and reported data records for the same 534 sediment samples from the Hobbs quadrangle. Because there were no overlapping data fields, these corresponding records were compared and combined into a single composite record for each sample.
Water Records
- A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the Hobbs quadrangle water samples. The 1-letter+5-digit LASL Identification Number was saved in the LASLID field and the corresponding 6-digit site number was manually added to the SITE field. Therefore, the LASLID field contains the Identification Number found in the LASL Hobbs and Brownfield NURE HSSR GJBX-103(78) and ORGDP Hobbs Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-288(81) reports. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, and sample containers.
- The LASL and the ORGDP Laboratory each analyzed and reported data records for the same 284 water samples from the Hobbs quadrangle. Because there were no overlapping data fields, these corresponding records were compared and combined into a single composite record for each sample.
Download The Data
The NURE HSSR data are now available online in two databases: The sediment database (also includes data for soils and some rocks) at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/nure/sediment/ and the water database at http://tin.er.usgs.gov/nure/water/. From these two web sites, NURE HSSR data can be selected, examined, summarized, and downloaded by political boundaries (State and County), by quadrangle (1:250,000-scale, 1:100,000-scale, and 1:63,360-scale for Alaska or 1:24,000-scale for the Lower 48 States), and by hydrologic unit (drainage region, subregion, river basin, or sub-basin). Selected data can be downloaded as a dBase file, a shapefile, an HTML table, or ASCII text (tab- or comma-delimited).
Hobbs Quadrangle Sediment Data - 561 records
Hobbs Quadrangle Water Data - 435 records
Notes for Data Users
None at this time.
Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Hobbs Quadrangle
None found.
Hobbs Quadrangle NURE Bibliography
- Morris, W.A., Bunker, M.E., Waterbury, G.R., and Waller, R.A., 1979, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation Program; Semiannual progress report April-September 1979; Primarily for the Rocky Mountain states of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana and the state of Alaska: U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-5(80), 11 p.
- Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1981, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Hobbs quadrangle, New Mexico; Texas: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-340, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-288(81), 97 p.
- Warren, R.G., and Nunes, H.P., 1978, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance data release for the New Mexico Portions of the Hobbs and Brownfield NTMS quadrangles, New Mexico/Texas: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-7182-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-103(78), 61 p.
Links Within Open-File Report 97-492
Back to New Mexico NURE data
Back to Texas NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE HSSR Data
Home Page: USGS National Geochemical Database - NURE HSSR data
Page written by Steven M. Smith (smsmith@usgs.gov)
Version 1.10: July 29, 1999
Version 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 2006
