James Island Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: James Island Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

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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.]

South Carolina
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 3,618 stream-sediment and 3,945 ground-water samples within 46 counties from South Carolina as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during June - October 1976; April 1977; and January - April 1978, and water samples were collected during December 1976 - July 1977 and January - September 1978. Sample coverage included portions of the Athens, Augusta, Charlotte, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, James Island, Knoxville, Savannah, and Spartanburg 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 9 stream-sediment and 28 ground-water samples were collected within the James Island quadrangle.) These samples were sent to SRL for analysis of uranium and additional elements (16 in sediments and 9 in waters). SRL was able to analyze 3,581 sediments and 3,941 waters from South Carolina; this includes all 9 sediment and all 28 water samples from the James Island quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all South Carolina samples were released in the North and South Carolina Data Report [GJBX-102(82)].

SRL sent 2,483 sediment samples from South Carolina to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 2,476 of these samples in the North and South Carolina Data Report [GJBX-102(82)]. The digital data file accompanying this report include Supplemental Analyses for 6 South Carolina sediment samples within the James Island quadrangle.

SRL: James Island Quadrangle
SRL did not release a separate report for the James Island quadrangle.

Gold Analyses
Data for gold analyses of sediments by SRL neutron activation were released in the GJBX-135(82) summary report. The introduction of that report states:

"This report contains previously unreported neutron-activation analyses of gold in sediment samples determined at SRL. These data were not included in the standard SRL NURE data reports because the gold spectrum was not measured in the original analytical procedure and the report format was designed without the gold analyses being included. Gold analyses became available as the analytical procedure was refined, but the report format was not modified to incorporate these data."

Only those sediment samples that had detectable concentrations of gold by neutron activation analysis were given in the GJBX-135(82) report. Sediment samples with concentrations below detection limits were not reported and can only be ascertained by identifying which samples were actually analyzed by neutron activation at SRL.

Summary Tables
Because of the various laboratories and analytical methods used, some SRL samples may have been analyzed once, twice, or not at all. The following table summarizes the analysis of James Island quadrangle samples.

*Combination of laboratories that analyzed samples for the James Island quadrangle.*
Laboratory Analysis	Sediments	Waters
Only SRL	3	28
Only Supplemental Lab	0	0
Both SRL and Supplemental Labs	6	0
None	0	0
Total Samples	9	28
Total Data Records	9	28

The following is a list of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the James Island quadrangle.

*Summary of James Island quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	9	Wells	28
Total Sediments	9	Total Waters	28

These James Island quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:

Sediment Samples

SR1: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis - Neutron Counting of sediments for U.
SR2: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for Al, Ce, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Sc, Sm, Th, Ti, V, and Yb. (Note: Au values were reported later for this method.)
SR3-AA: Savannah River (Supplemental Analysis by contract Laboratory) Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of sediments for Ag, Ba, Be, Co, Cr, Cu, Mg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sn, Sr, Y, and Zn.
SR3-CA: Savannah River (Supplemental Analysis by contract Laboratory) Colorimetric Analysis of sediments for Nb, P, and W.
SR3-FE: Savannah River (Supplemental Analysis by contract Laboratory) Flame Emission Analysis of sediments for K and Li.
SR3-XU: Savannah River (Supplemental Analysis by contract Laboratory) Analysis of sediments for hot acid extractable U. (Exact method undetermined)
SR3-XX: Savannah River (Supplemental Analysis by contract Laboratory) Analysis of sediments for As, Se, and Ca. (Exact method undetermined)

Water Samples

SR4: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis - Neutron Counting of waters for U.
SR5: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis of waters for Al, Br, Cl, Dy, F, Mn, Na, and V. (Note: Mg may also be reported by this method.)

Discussion of the Reformatting Process for James Island Quadrangle

Sediment Records
The James Island quadrangle sediment data consist of reformatted records from the South Carolina portion of the North and South Carolina [GJBX-102(82)] Data Report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the James Island quadrangle sediment data:

During reformatting, contamination codes for "residential" and "recreation" were found to be missing from each State's CONTAMC field. The presence of one of these two codes was indicated only by a "." (period). The missing codes were assigned a value of "unknown" in the CONTAMC field within the final sediment data file.
Some of the supplemental analysis records were identified with an SRLID value beginning with SCBR. However, all of these samples plotted in Berkeley County, South Carolina (SCBK). A comparison of data records from other analyses revealed that these were actually Berkeley County samples and that the SRLID values should begin with SCBK. These values were changed, the records were combined with other corresponding data records, and the erroneous value was noted in the REFORMAT comment field.
Gold concentrations from the GJBX-135(82) report were added to the appropriate sediment records. A value of -0.01 (<0.01 ppm Au) was added to all other sediment samples determined to have been analyzed by SRL neutron activation. This value was chosen because 0.01 is the lowest reported gold concentration in the entire report.

Water Records
The James Island quadrangle water data consist of reformatted records from the South Carolina portion of the North and South Carolina [GJBX-102(82)] Data Report. There were no problems found during the reformatting stages for the James Island quadrangle water data.

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).

James Island Quadrangle Sediment Data - 9 records
James Island Quadrangle Water Data - 28 records

Notes for Data Users

In the eastern United States, SRL collected samples primarily by county. Often, not all counties within a quadrangle were completely sampled. Sample coverage in the James Island quadrangle is complete and includes samples from Berkeley and Charleston Counties in South Carolina. The laboratory and analytical methods used also may vary by county such that adjacent counties often have very different analytical coverages.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the James Island Quadrangle

None found.

James Island Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Fay, W.M., and Cook, J.R., 1982, Gold analyses by neutron activation from SRL NURE samples: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-141-38, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-135(82), 45 p.
Sargent, K.A., Cook, J.R., and Fay, W.M., 1982, Data report: North and South Carolina: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-146-22, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-102(82), 45 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to South Carolina NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE Data
Home Page: USGS National Geochemical Database - NURE HSSR data

Page written by Bryan G. Moravec and Steven M. Smith.
Contact: Steven M. Smith (smsmith@usgs.gov)
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 2006

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U.S. Department of the Interior \| U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_jameis.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:13 EDT 2016

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)