OFR 97-492: Adel 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)
Under Construction This page is currently being rewritten to the Version 1.41 format.

Brief History and Description of Data

[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]

Totals of 1,277 sediment and 186 water samples were collected in the Adel quadrangle during June and July, 1980 as part of the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) Adel Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The water samples were analyzed by SRL for uranium and 9 other elements and then sent on to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for "supplemental analyses" (31 elements in waters). SRL apparently did not analyze the sediment samples and subsequently did not release an individual quadrangle report for Adel.

A total of 1,249 sediment samples from SRL were sent to ORGDP and analyzed for uranium and up to 31 additional elements. These data were released on microfiche by Oak Ridge as an abbreviated quadrangle report (GJBX-57(82)). The site coding information for Adel quadrangle was summarized with several other western quadrangles in the Oak Ridge GJBX-51(82) report.

In 1982, ORGDP released the data from supplementary analyses of a selection of the SRL water samples from 3 quadrangles in southern Oregon and Idaho in the GJBX-170(82) abbreviated report (on microfiche only). This report includes the supplemental data for up to 29 elements in 186 of the Adel water samples. The site coding information for this data set was summarized in the GJBX-164(82) report.

In 1982, SRL released a summary report and data files for 50 quadrangles in the Western United States. This report, GJBX-132(82), contains the analytical data from the Adel water samples, but contains only site information for the Adel sediment samples. The introduction section of the GJBX-132(82) summary report states:

"The data in the present report may not be identical to those reported previously. This is due to the use of different "scrub" procedures for the preparation of the data for release. The differences should be minor."

SRL analyses of light hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propane, and butane) in ground waters were released in the GJBX-131(82) summary report for 44 western quadrangles and 3 eastern quadrangles within the United States. This report includes data for 181 of the Adel quadrangle ground water samples.

The following is a general listing of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Adel quadrangle. The actual number of records in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files may be greater because of the multiple records needed to preserve all the data.

Summary of Adel quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type Number of Samples Water Sample Type Number of Samples
Dry Streams 8 Wells 44
Soils 1,258 Springs 142
Talus 7
Other (may include mine tailings) 4
Total Sediments 1,277 Total Waters 186

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

Sediment Samples

Water Samples



Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of records from all of the above reports. The site information for every record in the GJBX-57(82) and GJBX-170(82) quadrangle reports was checked against the "equivalent" record in the GJBX-132(82) western U.S. summary report and any major differences were noted in the REFORMAT comment field.

In the water data file the SRL analyses and supplemental analyses could NOT be combined because of overlapping determinations for 5 elements. Therefore each sample that was analyzed by both labs has two separate records - one for the SRL analysis and one for the ORGDP analysis.

Hydrocarbon data from the GJBX-131(82) report were added to fields in the appropriate ground water records and this addition was noted for each record in the REFORMAT comment 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).

Adel Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,277 records
Adel Quadrangle Water Data - 372 records



Notes for Data Users

Many records contain analytical values with insignificant digits. Most data should only have 2 or 3 significant digits. Differences after the second or third digit should be ignored.



Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Adel Quadrangle

None found.



Adel Quadrangle NURE Bibliography



Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Oregon NURE data
Back to Nevada NURE data
Back to California 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 1.10: July 29, 1999
Version 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.40: January 13, 2006

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