OFR 97-492: Brownfield 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.]

Northwest Texas Pilot Geochemical Survey
The Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) conducted a pilot study of a area in northwestern Texas for the purpose of determining:

  1. Trace elements which are indicative of various types of uranium mineralization.
  2. Relationships between samples of stream water, stream sediment, and tree branches, and the relative importance of these sample types.
  3. Range of geochemical concentrations from mineralized areas to background area.
  4. Adequacy of laboratory sensitivity for analysis of necessary elements in the various types of samples.

For this study, 133 sediment, 1 rock, 197 water, and 116 plant samples were collected in parts of the Lubbock, Brownfield, and Big Spring 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. Of these, 3 water and 3 plant samples were collected near the eastern border of the Brownfield quadrangle. These samples were sent to ORGDP and analyzed for uranium and additional elements. The analytical data were released as part of the Northwest Texas Pilot Study GJBX-60(76) report.

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 Brownfield quadrangle, 353 sediment and 649 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: Brownfield Quadrangle
At a later date, LASL sent 351 sediment and 452 water samples from the Brownfield quadrangle to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for multielement analyses. These data were released by ORGDP as the Brownfield Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-319(81) report.

LASL: Eastern Half of the Brownfield 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 Brownfield quadrangle was reassigned 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 Brownfield quadrangle.

Summary of Brownfield quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type No. of Samples Water Sample Type No. of Samples Plant Sample Type No. of Samples
Dry Streams 42 Wells 613 Deciduous Tree (1 type) 3
Wet Natural Ponds 21 Natural Ponds 22    
Dry Natural Ponds 241 Artificial Ponds 17    
Wet Artificial Ponds 17        
Dry Artificial Ponds 32        
Total Sediments 353 Total Waters 652 Total Plants 3

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

Sediment Samples

Water Samples

Plant Samples


Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Brownfield Quadrangle

Sediment Records
The Brownfield quadrangle sediment data consist of reformatted records from the LASL Hobbs and Brownfield NURE HSSR GJBX-103(78) report combined with records from the ORGDP multielement Brownfield Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-319(81) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Brownfield quadrangle sediment data:

  1. 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.
  2. A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the Brownfield 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 Brownfield Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-319(81) reports. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, and sample containers.
  3. The LASL and the ORGDP Laboratory each analyzed and reported data records for the same 351 sediment samples from the Brownfield quadrangle. Because there were no overlapping data fields, these corresponding records were compared and combined into a single composite record for each sample.
  4. One sediment sample was not included in the original digital data file for Brownfield quadrangle. This record was manually entered from the ORGDP Brownfield Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-319(81) report.

Water Records
The Brownfield quadrangle 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 Brownfield Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-319(81) report. The three water sample records from the Northwest Texas Pilot Study GJBX-60(76) were also added to the water data file. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Brownfield quadrangle water data:

  1. A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the Brownfield 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 Brownfield Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-319(81) reports. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, and sample containers.
  2. The LASL and the ORGDP Laboratory each analyzed and reported data records for the same 452 water samples from the Brownfield quadrangle. Because there were no overlapping data fields, these corresponding records were compared and combined into a single composite record for each sample.
  3. One water sample was not included in the original digital data file for Brownfield quadrangle. This record was manually entered from the ORGDP Brownfield Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-319(81) report.
  4. Unlikely sample collection dates were found for two samples. These dates were removed from the SAMPDAT field. For each record, the original SAMPDAT value and the most likely correct value was added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
  5. Four records in the digital data files for this quadrangle had at least one analytical result value of 99999. These values were confirmed in the published quadrangle report. It is not clear if these values represent a valid value, a null value, or a value indicating that the analytical result was greater than the upper limit of determination. These values were left in the data record and noted in the REFORMAT comment field.
  6. One well-water sample originally had a longitude of exactly 102°W, the dividing line between the Brownfield quadrangle and the Lubbock quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Northwest Texas Pilot Study GJBX-60(76) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Brownfield quadrangle.

Plant Records

  1. The Northwest Texas Pilot Study GJBX-60(76) report includes data for 3 plant samples collected in the Brownfield quadrangle.
  2. At the time of this Open-File release (v. 1.41), the ORGDP plant data have not been completely reformatted and released for downloading. See the ORGDP Plant Data page for a more detailed description of the data format and plant data availability.

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).

Brownfield Quadrangle Sediment Data - 353 records
Brownfield Quadrangle Water Data - 652 records


Notes for Data Users

The ORGDP water samples were reportedly collected in the field without any filtering or acidification. (See the SAMPTYP coding explanation in the On-Line Manual for USGS-Reformatted NURE HSSR Data Files for descriptions of different Sample Types). However, the samples were filtered later in the laboratory through a 0.45 micron membrane filter before analysis. Therefore, the samples were not true "untreated water" samples and the analytical data may not be directly comparable for other quadrangle water samples of the same SAMPTYP when collected by a different laboratory. Since this was the standard procedure for Oak Ridge, water data from other Oak Ridge quadrangles should be comparable.

Latitude-longitude coordinates were reported in the ORGDP original data files, as decimal degrees, to only 3 decimal places. Therefore, the precision of these coordinates is limited to +/- 0.001 degrees or +/- 3.6 seconds. This translates to a minimum precision of +/- 364 feet (111 m) for latitude values and between +/- 317 feet (97 m) to +/- 300 feet (91 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 30° and 35°N, respectively.)


Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Brownfield Quadrangle

None found.


Brownfield Quadrangle NURE Bibliography


Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Texas NURE data
Back to New Mexico 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

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