OFR 97-492: Georgetown 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.]

South Carolina
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 3,618 stream-sediment and 3,945 ground-water samples within 46 counties from South Carolina as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during June - October 1976; April 1977; and January - April 1978, and water samples were collected during December 1976 - July 1977 and January - September 1978. Sample coverage included portions of the Athens, Augusta, Charlotte, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, James Island, Knoxville, Savannah, and Spartanburg 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 279 stream-sediment and 525 ground-water samples were collected within the Georgetown quadrangle.) These samples were sent to SRL for analysis of uranium and additional elements (16 in sediments and 9 in waters). SRL was able to analyze 3,581 sediments and 3,941 waters from South Carolina; this includes 279 sediment and 524 water samples from the Georgetown quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all South Carolina samples were released in the North and South Carolina Data Report [GJBX-102(82)].

SRL sent 2,483 sediment samples from South Carolina to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 2,476 of these samples in the North and South Carolina Data Report [GJBX-102(82)]. The digital data file accompanying this report include Supplemental Analyses for 107 South Carolina sediment samples within the Georgetown quadrangle.

North Carolina
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 6,666 stream-sediment, 295 surface-water, and 5,778 ground-water samples within 100 counties from North Carolina as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during June - December 1976; July - August 1977; and April - May 1978, and water samples were collected during December 1976 - August 1977 and June - July 1978. Sample coverage included portions of the Beaufort, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Currituck Sound, Florence, Georgetown, Greensboro, Greenville, Johnson City, Knoxville, Manteo, Norfolk, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Rome, Spartanburg, and Winston-Salem 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 19 stream-sediment and 44 ground-water samples were collected within the Georgetown quadrangle.) These samples were sent to SRL for analysis of uranium and additional elements (16 in sediments and 9 in waters). SRL was able to analyze 6,597 sediments and 6,040 waters from North Carolina; this includes all 19 sediment and all 44 water samples from the Georgetown quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all North Carolina samples were released in the North and South Carolina Data Report [GJBX-102(82)].

SRL sent 4,677 sediment samples from North Carolina to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 4,660 of these samples in the North and South Carolina Data Report [GJBX-102(82)]. The digital data file accompanying this report does not include any Supplemental Analyses for the North Carolina sediment samples within the Georgetown quadrangle.

SRL: Georgetown Quadrangle
SRL did not release a separate report for the Georgetown quadrangle.

Gold Analyses
Data for gold analyses of sediments by SRL neutron activation were released in the GJBX-135(82) summary report. The introduction of that report states:

"This report contains previously unreported neutron-activation analyses of gold in sediment samples determined at SRL. These data were not included in the standard SRL NURE data reports because the gold spectrum was not measured in the original analytical procedure and the report format was designed without the gold analyses being included. Gold analyses became available as the analytical procedure was refined, but the report format was not modified to incorporate these data."

Only those sediment samples that had detectable concentrations of gold by neutron activation analysis were given in the GJBX-135(82) report. Sediment samples with concentrations below detection limits were not reported and can only be ascertained by identifying which samples were actually analyzed by neutron activation at SRL.

Summary Tables
Because of the various laboratories and analytical methods used, some SRL samples may have been analyzed once, twice, or not at all. The following table summarizes the analysis of Georgetown quadrangle samples.

Combination of laboratories that analyzed samples for the Georgetown quadrangle.
Laboratory Analysis Sediments Waters
Only SRL 191 568
Only Supplemental Lab 0 0
Both SRL and Supplemental Labs 107 0
Second SRL analysis on sample 0 0
None 0 1
Total Samples 298 569
Total Data Records 298 569

The following is a list of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Georgetown quadrangle.

Summary of Georgetown quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type Number of Samples Water Sample Type Number of Samples
Wet Streams 298 Wells 569
Total Sediments 298 Total Waters 569

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

Sediment Samples

Water Samples



Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Georgetown Quadrangle

Sediment Records
The Georgetown quadrangle sediment data consist of reformatted records from the North and South Carolina portions of the North and South Carolina [GJBX-102(82)] Data Report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Georgetown quadrangle sediment data:

  1. During reformatting, contamination codes for "residential" and "recreation" were found to be missing from each State's CONTAMC field. The presence of one of these two codes was indicated only by a "." (period). The missing codes were assigned a value of "unknown" in the CONTAMC field within the final sediment data file.
  2. Some of the supplemental analysis records were identified with an SRLID value beginning with SCBR. However, all of these samples plotted in Berkeley County, South Carolina (SCBK). A comparison of data records from other analyses revealed that these were actually Berkeley County samples and that the SRLID values should begin with SCBK. These values were changed, the records were combined with other corresponding data records, and the erroneous value was noted in the REFORMAT comment field.
  3. Gold concentrations from the GJBX-135(82) report were added to the appropriate sediment records. A value of -0.01 (<0.01 ppm Au) was added to all other sediment samples determined to have been analyzed by SRL neutron activation. This value was chosen because 0.01 is the lowest reported gold concentration in the entire report.

Water Records
The Georgetown quadrangle water data consist of reformatted records from the North and South Carolina portions of the North and South Carolina [GJBX-102(82)] Data Report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Georgetown quadrangle water data:

  1. Records for three water samples with coordinates slightly east of 78°W longitude were included in the Georgetown quadrangle.
  2. One stream-water sample was collected at a longitude of exactly 80°W, the dividing line between the Augusta quadrangle and the Georgetown quadrangle. The data record for this sample was assigned to the Georgetown quadrangle.


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).

Georgetown Quadrangle Sediment Data - 298 records
Georgetown Quadrangle Water Data - 569 records



Notes for Data Users

In the eastern United States, SRL collected samples primarily by county. Often, not all counties within a quadrangle were completely sampled. Sample coverage in the Georgetown quadrangle is limited to Brunswick, Columbus, and New Hanover Counties in North Carolina; Berkeley, Charleston, Clarendon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Sumpter, and Williamsburg Counties in South Carolina. These counties are include all of the land portion of Georgetown quadrangle. The laboratory and analytical methods used also may vary by county such that adjacent counties often have very different analytical coverage.

One well sample within Florence County, South Carolina does not appear to have been analyzed by any of the various laboratories.



Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Georgetown Quadrangle

Characteristics of the Southeastern Piedmont
Bendix Field Engineering Corporation released a report that contains stream-sediment, hydrogeochemical, and aeromagnetic data for 16 contiguous NTMS quadrangles in the eastern United States [GJBX-40(83)]. This compilation report is limited in scope to features that have specific interest to the geoscience community. Included in the report are aeromagnetic and geochemical maps, and tectonic and igneous rock distribution maps. When used together, these maps show geochemical, tectonic, and magnetic features unique to many of the geologic and physiographic provinces in the region. This report primarily covers the Southeastern Piedmont region and includes the Athens, Augusta, Bluefield, Charlotte, Florence, Georgetown, Greensboro, Greenville, Knoxville, Norfolk, Raleigh, Richmond, Roanoke, Rocky Mount, Spartanburg and Winston-Salem 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. The color maps are in 35mm-slide format. No digital data files accompany this report.



Georgetown Quadrangle NURE Bibliography



Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to South Carolina NURE data
Back to North Carolina NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE 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 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 2006

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