Mount McKinley Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: Mount McKinley 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.]

Totals of 554 sediment and 582 water samples were collected at 600 locations, using standardized field procedures developed by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL), within the Mount McKinley quadrangle during July and August of 1977 as part of the Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) phase. LASL analyzed the samples for uranium and other elements (42 additional elements in sediments and 12 additional elements in waters), and released the data in the GJBX-30(79) report.

During the HSSR sampling effort for the adjacent Healy quadrangle, one sediment and one water sample was collected from a lake site that was actually located within the Mount McKinley quadrangle. These 2 Healy HSSR samples are included in the descriptions and data files given below.

The following is a list of sample types collected for the Mount McKinley quadrangle study.

*Summary of Mount McKinley quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	95	Streams	97
Dry Streams	9	Lakes	486
Wet Lakes	445
Dry Lakes	6
Total Sediments	555	Total Waters	583

These Mount McKinley 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.
LA2: Los Alamos Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of sediments for Ag, Bi, Cd, Cu, Nb, Ni, Pb, Sn, and W.
LA4: Los Alamos Arc-Source Emission Spectrography Analysis of sediments for Be and Li.
LA5: Los Alamos Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for Al, Au, Ba, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, V, Yb, and Zn.

Water Samples

LA6-DN: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of waters for U.
LA6-FL: Los Alamos Fluorometry Analysis of waters for U.
LA7: Los Alamos Plasma-Source Emission Spectrography Analysis of waters for Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Ti, and Zn.

Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of reformatted records from the GJBX-30(79) report plus the aforementioned sediment and water samples collected at a single lake site during the Healy quadrangle HSSR sample collection phase. Any problems found during the reformatting process are noted in the REFORMAT comment field.

Values for dissolved oxygen in 466 samples were added from the GJBX-30(79) report and can be found in the O_DISS field.

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 websites, 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).

Mount McKinley Quadrangle Sediment Data - 555 records
Mount McKinley Quadrangle Water Data - 583 records

Notes for Data Users

Water samples from this quadrangle are reported to have been acidified with nitric acid but NOT filtered in the field.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Mount McKinley Quadrangle

A summary evaluation report was prepared for the Mount McKinley quadrangle by C.C. Hawley and Associates of Anchorage, Alaska [PGJ/F-054(82)]. Additional samples of 539 stream sediments, 378 rocks, 8 waters, and 5 soils were collected in the quadrangle to "identify geologic environments favorable for the occurrence of uranium deposits." All of the stream sediment and rock samples were analyzed for uranium oxide by fluorometry; 24 of the stream sediment samples and 38 of the rock samples were analyzed for 29 additional elements by semi-quantitative emission spectrography, and 12 of the rock samples also underwent gamma spectrometry for eK, eU, and eTh. The water samples were analyzed for uranium oxide and 5 other constituents, and the soil samples for uranium oxide by unspecified methods. These data were released only as microfiche appendices accompanying the summary report.

Three statistical analyses of HSSR data that were performed by personnel from LASL and Bendix Field Engineering Corporation of Grand Junction, Colorado were published in the GJBX-138(82) report. The study was conducted within parts of the Mount McKinley, Talkeetna, and Tyonek quadrangles. The first GJBX-138(82) study was based on 683 LASL stream and lake sediment samples from all three quadrangles and included samples from the GJBX-30(79) Mount McKinley quadrangle report. "The data were analyzed by multielement correlation and factor analyses on raw data and log-transformed data" to identify mineral associations and occurrences within the study area. The specific samples used in the study were plotted on a plate accompanying the GJBX-138(82) report. No data for geochemical analyses were included in the report. Sediment samples from the Mount McKinley quadrangle can be found in the GJBX-30(79) quadrangle report and in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files as noted above.

The second GJBX-138(82) study was "an analysis of the potential for uranium occurrences in and associated with the Tertiary granitic plutons of the area." The "granitic matrix" used in the study consisted of 49 sediment samples that were located downstream from 6 granitic plutons in the Mount McKinley and Talkeetna quadrangles. The study consisted of factor, correlation, and cluster analyses to investigate the mineral associations and occurrences in the 6 granitic plutons. Partial chemical analyses for 13 of the samples can be found in Table B-IV, and complete analytical results for all 49 samples can be found in Appendix B-II. These sediment samples were previously published in the Mount McKinley and Talkeetna quadrangle reports. Sediment samples from the Mount McKinley quadrangle can be found in the GJBX-30(79) report and in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files as noted above.

The third GJBX-138(82) study consists of "a discussion of indications of a uranium-nickel-copper association" on the "northwestern slopes of Mt. McKinley." The report treats 14 stream and lake sediment samples that are plotted and identified on Figure C-1. No geochemistry accompanies this report but the sediment samples were previously published in the GJBX-30(79) Mount McKinley quadrangle report and can also be found in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files as noted above.

Personnel from the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation (BFEC) and the Department of Energy investigated uranium and thorium anomalies that had been detected by aerial gamma-spectrometer surveys of the Mount McKinley quadrangle. The summary report for this investigation was included in the GJBX-222(82) publication compiled by BFEC. The study included areas within Kantishna River, Medfra, Mount McKinley, and Ruby quadrangles where 22 sites were examined and 7 rock samples taken. While the study area included the northwest corner of Mount McKinley quadrangle, none of the sampling sites were located within Mount McKinley quadrangle. Results of radiometric readings, uranium oxide determination, and whole rock analyses for the sample sites and rock samples from the other 3 quadrangles can be found in tables in the report.

LASL compiled all of the regional HSSR data from Alaskan NURE studies and produced a report [GJBX-32(83)] that graphically displays the distribution of selected elements for most of the State. No additional geochemical data were released with this report.

Mount McKinley Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Beyth, M., McInteer, C., Averett, W.R., and Stablein, N.K., 1982, Analysis of hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance data for the Alaska Project Matrix: in Three applications of hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance data interpretation for a selected region in south-central Alaska: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-8465-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-138(82), p. A(i)-A25.
Beyth, M., McInteer, C., Averett, W.R., and Stablein, N.K., 1982, Evaluation of potential for uranium mineral occurrences in Tertiary granitic plutons of the Alaska Range: in Three applications of hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance data interpretation for a selected region in south-central Alaska: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-8465-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-138(82), p. B(1)-B54.
Beyth, M., McInteer, C., Averett, W.R., and Stablein, N.K., 1982, Indications of a uranium-nickel-copper association in the Mt. McKinley Area: in Three applications of hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance data interpretation for a selected region in south-central Alaska: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-8465-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-138(82), p. C(i)-C6.
Gridley, W.A., Anderson, J.R., and Farley, W.G., 1982, Evaluation of radioactivity anomalies in the Sischu Creek Area, central Alaska, in Goodknight, C.S., and Burger, J.A., compilers, Reports on Investigations of Uranium Anomalies: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-222(82), p. 17-28.
Hinderman, T.K., 1982, National Uranium Resource Evaluation, Mt. McKinley Quadrangle, Alaska: C.C. Hawley and Associates, Inc., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., PGJ/F-054(82), 22 p.
Weaver, T.A., Freeman, S.H., Broxton, D.E., Bolivar, S.L., and others, 1983, The geochemical atlas of Alaska: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N.M., LA-9897-MS, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-32(83), 57 p.
Van Eeckhout, E.M., Warren, R.G., and Hill, D.E., 1979, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the Medfra and Mt. McKinley NTMS quadrangles, Alaska, including concentrations of forty-three additional elements: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-7351-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-30(79), 210 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

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

Page written by Andrew W. Holt and Steven M. Smith
Contact: Steven M. Smith (smsmith@usgs.gov)
Version 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.40: January 13, 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_ak/q_mtmckn.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:18 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)