OFR 97-492: Manhattan 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.]

ORGDP: Manhattan Quadrangle
A total of 718 stream-sediment and 675 well-water samples was collected from the Manhattan quadrangle by Environmental Systems, Inc. for the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) Manhattan Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. Sediment and ground-water samples were collected between September and October of 1978. These samples were analyzed by the ORGDP for uranium and other elements. The analytical data were released as the Manhattan Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-134(79) report.

Summary Tables
The following is a listing of the sample types collected for the Manhattan quadrangle study.

Summary of Manhattan quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type Number of Samples Water Sample Type Number of Samples
Wet Streams 503 Wells 675
Dry Streams 215    
Total Sediments 718 Total Waters 675

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

Sediment Samples

Water Samples


Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Manhattan Quadrangle

The Manhattan quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the Manhattan Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-134(79) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for these data:

Sediment Records

  1. 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.
  2. Four sediment records were missing significant site descriptive data. These data were also missing in the Manhattan Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-134(79) report. A comment noting this problem was added to the REFORMAT field.
  3. One stream-sediment sample originally had a latitude of exactly 39°N, the dividing line between the Hutchinson quadrangle and the Manhattan quadrangle. Similar records for this one sample were reported in published reports for both quadrangles. The coordinates were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Hutchinson quadrangle report. This slight change places the sample slightly into the Hutchinson quadrangle.
  4. The latitude and longitude coordinates for 1 stream-sediment sample collected within the Manhattan quadrangle were not found in the data during the reformatting process. The record for this sample cannot be retrieved on a geographical basis.

Water Records

  1. Four well-water records were missing significant site descriptive data. These data were also missing in the Manhattan Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-134(79) report. A comment noting this problem was added to the REFORMAT field.
  2. One well-water sample originally had a longitude of exactly 96°W, the dividing line between the Manhattan quadrangle and the Kansas City quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Manhattan Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-134(79) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Manhattan quadrangle.
  3. The latitude and longitude coordinates for 1 well-water sample collected within the Manhattan quadrangle were not found in the data during the reformatting process. The record for this sample cannot be retrieved on a geographical basis.

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).

Manhattan Quadrangle Sediment Data - 717 records
Manhattan Quadrangle Water Data - 674 records


Notes for Data Users

The 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 +/- 300 feet (91 m) to +/- 280 feet (85 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 35° and 40°N, respectively.)


Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Manhattan Quadrangle

Manhattan Quadrangle NURE Summary
A summary evaluation report was prepared for the Manhattan quadrangle by Wichita State University in 1982 [PGJ/F-097(82)]. As part of this study, 26 rocks, 18 stream sediments, and 103 waters were sampled within the Manhattan quadrangle. All samples were analyzed for uranium by fluorometry. The stream sediments were also analyzed for 29 other elements by an undocumented method and the water samples were additionally analyzed for Mo and V by an undocumented method. These data are found only as tables on the microfiche accompanying the report.


Manhattan Quadrangle NURE Bibliography


Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Kansas NURE data
Back to Nebraska 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 1.10: 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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