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Geochemical Data for Core and Bottom-Sediment Samples Collected in 2007 from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Northeast Oklahoma

By David L. Fey, Mark F. Becker, and Kathleen S. Smith

Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees is a large reservoir in northeast Oklahoma, below the confluence of the Neosho and Spring Rivers, both of which drain the Tri-State Mining District to the north. The Tri-State district covers an area of 1,200 mi2 (3,100 km2) and comprises Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc deposits. A result of 120 years of mining activity is an estimated 75 million tons of processed mine tailings (chat) remaining in the district. Concerns of sediment quality and the possibility of human exposure to cadmium and lead through eating fish have led to several studies of the sediments in the Tri-State district. In order to record the transport and deposition of metals from the Tri-State district by the Spring and Neosho Rivers into Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, the U.S. Geological Survey collected 11 sediment cores and 15 bottom-sediment samples in September 2007. Subsamples from five selected cores and the bottom-sediment samples were analyzed for major and trace elements and forms of carbon. The sediment samples collected from the sediment-water interface had larger average concentrations of zinc, cadmium, and lead than local background. The core collected from the Spring River had the largest concentrations of mining-related elements. A core collected just south of Twin Bridges State Park, at the confluence of the Spring and Neosho Rivers, showed a mixing zone with more mining-related elements coming from the Spring River side. The element zinc showed the most definitive patterns in graphs depicting concentration-versus-depth profiles. A core collected from the main body of the reservoir showed affected sediment down to a depth of 85 cm (33 in). This core and two others appear to have penetrated to below mining-affected sediment.

First posted December 27, 2010 Report PDF (3.4 MB) Downloads Directory Contains the tables of analytical data in Excel format. For additional information contact: USGS Central Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center Box 25046, Mail Stop 973 Denver, CO 80225 http://minerals.cr.usgs.gov/ This report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.

Suggested citation:

Fey, D.L., Becker, M.F., and Smith, K.S., Geochemical data for core and bottom-sediment samples collected in 2007 from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, northeast Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1298, 70 p.

Contents

Introduction

Methods

Results

Summary and Conclusion

Acknowledgments

References

Appendix 1. Analytical Data

Appendix 2. Data Quality Control and Quality Assessment

Tables

1. Field numbers, sample localities, dates, and site descriptions for core and reservoir bottom-sediment samples taken from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, September 2007

2. Field numbers, water depths, and visual sample descriptions for core and reservoir bottom-sediment samples taken from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, September 2007

3. Field numbers and mineralogy by X-ray diffraction for subsamples from cores GLOC-2, GLOC-3, and GLOC-7 from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees

4. Crustal abundance values for elements analyzed in this report

1–1. Elements analyzed, instrument used, reporting limits, and mean of eight procedure blanks for four-acid digestion procedure

1–2. Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees bottom-sediment sample analyses

1–3. Core sediment background sample analyses for GLOC-9, Elk River arm of Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees

1–4. Core sediment sample analyses for GLOC-2, Neosho River upstream from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees

1–5. Core sediment sample analyses for GLOC-3, Spring River upstream from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees

1–6. Core sediment sample analyses for GLOC-7, Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees 4 kilometers downstream from Highway 2 bridge

1–7. Core sediment sample analyses for GLOC-8, Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees at confluence of Spring and Neosho Rivers

2–1. Summary statistics for assessing analytical precision for carbonate carbon, total carbon, and 26 elements by ICP-AES/MS

2–2. Summary statistics for assessing analytical variation and accuracy for the standard reference material NIST 2709

2–3. Summary statistics for assessing analytical variation and accuracy for the standard reference material NIST 2711

2–4. Summary statistics for assessing analytical variation and accuracy for the standard reference material NIST 8704

2–5. Summary statistics for assessing analytical variation and accuracy for the standard reference material CCRMP SO-3

2–6. Summary statistics for assessing analytical variation and accuracy for the standard reference material USGS DGPM-1

2–7. Summary statistics for assessing analytical variation and accuracy for the reference material USGS GSP-QC

2–8. Summary statistics for assessing analytical variation and accuracy for the reference material USGS SAR-L

2–9. Summary statistics for assessing analytical variation and accuracy for the reference material USGS SAR-M