OFR 97-492: Clinton 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.]

Oklahoma Pilot Geochemical Survey
In 1976, a pilot geochemical survey was undertaken to sample a small but regionally and geologically representative area within the Lawton and Clinton quadrangles. This survey was designed to act as a guide for understanding geologic factors which control the chemistry of samples. A total of 103 stream-sediment, 7 rock, 77 ground-water, 90 surface-water, and 316 plant samples were collected between April and June of 1976 from parts of the Lawton and Clinton quadrangles in Oklahoma. Of these, only 9 sediment, 7 surface-water, and 15 plant samples were collected within the borders of the Clinton quadrangle. All field sampling was done by Uranium Resource Evaluation (URE) Project personnel of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP). These samples were analyzed by the ORGDP for uranium and other elements and the analytical data were released as the Oklahoma Pilot Geochemical Survey GJBX-46(79) report.

ORGDP: Clinton Quadrangle
Totals of 688 stream-sediment and 699 ground-water samples were reportedly collected from the Clinton quadrangle as part of the ORGDP Clinton Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The stream-sediment sampling was conducted by ORGDP personnel between June and August of 1978. Ground-water was sampled, under contract, by personnel of the Oklahoma Geologic Survey between August and December of 1978. These samples were analyzed by the ORGDP for uranium and other elements. The analytical data were released as the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report.

Wichita Uplift Region Detailed Geochemical Survey
ORGDP conducted a detailed study of the Wichita Uplift Region to characterize the hydrogeochemistry, stream sediment geochemistry, and radiometric patterns of known or potential uranium occurrences. Samples were collected by ORGDP personnel between June and July, 1979. A total of 221 stream-sediment samples, 135 rock samples, and 385 ground-water samples were collected from parts of the Lawton and Clinton quadrangles in Oklahoma. (Within the Clinton quadrangle, 9 sediment, 3 rock, and 58 water samples were collected.) A filtered water sample was analyzed for uranium in the field and the results were used to indicate areas of higher potential so that sampling efforts could be focused. Another water sample was often collected and shipped to Furman University, Greenville, S.C. for helium and neon analyses. ORGDP analyzed all of the samples for uranium and additional elements and released the analytical data as the Wichita Uplift Region Detailed Geochemical Survey GJBX-66(80) report.

Summary Tables
The following is a total listing of the sample types collected within the Clinton quadrangle for all three NURE studies.

Summary of Clinton quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type No. of Samples Water Sample Type No. of Samples Plant Sample Type No. of Samples
Wet Streams 309 Streams 7 Deciduous Tree (5 types) 15
Dry Streams 395 Wells 749    
Rocks 3        
Total Sediments 707 Total Waters 756 Total Plants 15

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

Sediment (and Rock) Samples

Water Samples

Plant Samples


Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Clinton Quadrangle

The Clinton quadrangle data consist of records from the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report plus Clinton quadrangle records from the Oklahoma Pilot Geochemical Survey GJBX-46(79) report and the Wichita Uplift Region Detailed Geochemical Survey GJBX-66(80) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Clinton quadrangle data:

Sediment Records

  1. Twenty-one stream-sediment records were found in the digital data file but were missing in the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report. Additionally, none of these samples had analytical chemistry data. Each of these records can be identified by a comment in the REFORMAT field.
  2. Three sediment records were not included in the original digital data file for the Clinton quadrangle. These records were manually entered from the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report.
  3. An unlikely sample collection date was found for one sample. This date was removed from the SAMPDAT field and the original SAMPDAT value with the most likely correct value was added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
  4. The data appendices in the Wichita Uplift Region Detailed Geochemical Survey GJBX-66(80) report include partial data for 30 sediment samples previously collected as part of the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report. However, these data were not repeated in the digital file for the Wichita Uplift Detailed Study. Since no additional data for these samples were reported in the Detailed Study files, these records were not changed or identified.

Water Records

  1. An unlikely sample collection date was found for one sample. This date was removed from the SAMPDAT field and the original SAMPDAT value with the most likely correct value was added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
  2. Partial data records for 8 water samples were found only in published appendices in the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report. No additional data for these records were found in the field notes on microfiche. These partial records were manually added to the water data files. Later it was determined that 5 of these water records had erroneous coordinates and were actually reported again as having been collected in the Ardmore quadrangle. Two more of these water records had latitude coordinates that plotted exactly on the border between the Clinton and Lawton quadrangle; complete records were found for these two samples while reformatting the Lawton quadrangle data. The data records for these 7 samples were compared and combined into single records per sample and now are found in the Ardmore and Lawton quadrangle data. The one other well-water sample entered from the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report can be identified by a comment in the REFORMAT field.
  3. Two separate well-water samples in this quadrangle have the same latitude-longitude coordinates. These samples were collected on different dates and for different studies. It is unclear whether this represents a pair of samples collected at the same site or samples collected at separate sites so close together that the coordinate precision was insufficient to distinguish.
  4. Four well-water samples originally had a latitude of exactly 35°N, the dividing line between the Clinton quadrangle and the Lawton quadrangle. The coordinates were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report or the Wichita Uplift Region Detailed Geochemical Survey GJBX-66(80) report. This slight change places the samples clearly in the Clinton quadrangle.
  5. The original latitude and longitude coordinates for 1 well-water sample collected within the Clinton quadrangle incorrectly placed the sample location in the Austin quadrangle. Correct coordinates were found and added to the record for this sample from the field notes on microfiche accompanying the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report.
  6. One well-water sample collected and reported for the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study was apparently collected just outside and north of the Clinton quadrangle border in Woodward quadrangle. Although no field maps were found to confirm this, the coordinate values were checked and confirmed in the field notes on microfiche accompanying the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report. The data record for this sample can be accessed from the Woodward quadrangle web page.
  7. The data appendices in the Wichita Uplift Region Detailed Geochemical Survey GJBX-66(80) report include partial data for 20 water samples previously collected as part of the Clinton Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-62(79) report. However, these data were not repeated in the digital file for the Wichita Uplift Detailed Study. Since no additional data for these samples were reported in the Detailed Study files, these records were not changed or identified.

Rock Records

  1. When rock samples were collected, the site descriptive data commonly utilized the same field formats found for stream-sediment samples. When analyzed, the analytical methods were also the same methods used for stream-sediment or soil samples. Because of these similarities, rock sample data were reformatted with and are now reported in the sediment database.
  2. Three records were identified in the SAMPTYP field as rock sample data. A closer examination of these records reveal that the sample data are actually Gamma Spectrometer field analyses for equivalent potassium (eK), equivalent uranium (eU), and equivalent thorium (eTh). It appears that these measurements were taken at the sample site and that no rock sample was actually collected for laboratory analysis. The Gamma Spectrometer field data for these sample sites are listed in the REFORMAT comment field.

Plant Records

  1. The Oklahoma Pilot Geochemical Survey GJBX-46(79) report includes data for 15 plant samples collected in the Clinton 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).

Clinton Quadrangle Sediment Data - 707 records
Clinton Quadrangle Water Data - 756 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 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 +/- 280 feet (86 m) to +/- 259 feet (79 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 35° and 40°N, respectively.)

Twenty-one stream-sediment samples collected in the Clinton quadrangle were not analyzed by any method.


Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Clinton Quadrangle

Clinton Quadrangle NURE Summary
A summary evaluation of the Clinton quadrangle was conducted by the Oklahoma Geological Survey (1978 to 1980) under contract to the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation. For this evaluation, no additional chemical analyses of samples were listed in the PGJ/F-096(82) report. Also, no chemical data could be found within the appendices on microfiche accompanying the report. The results of this investigation suggest that five areas within the Clinton quadrangle may be favorable for uranium deposits. Two of these areas include the coastal-plain facies of the Upper Permian Doxey Shale. Two other areas include the marginal basin facies of the late Permian Cloud Chief and Rush Springs Formations. The fifth area, in the southern part of the quadrangle, is characterized by arkosic alluvial-fan and alluvial facies of Late Pennsylvanian and Early Permian age.


Clinton Quadrangle NURE Bibliography


Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Oklahoma NURE data
Back to Texas NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE HSSR 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 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 2006

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