New Ulm Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: New Ulm 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: New Ulm Quadrangle
A total of 674 sediment and 738 ground-water samples was collected, under contract with the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP), from the New Ulm quadrangle. Stream sediments were collected by Union Carbide Corp. (Nuclear Division) personnel between July - October of 1978 and ground waters were collected by the Minnesota Geological Survey between February - August of 1978. These samples were analyzed by ORGDP for uranium and other elements and the analytical data were released as the New Ulm Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study GJBX-120(79) report.

Summary Tables
The following is a list of sample types collected for the New Ulm quadrangle study.

*Summary of New Ulm quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	562	Wells	737
Dry Streams	111	Springs	1
Soils	1
Total Sediments	674	Total Waters	738

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

Sediment Samples

OR1: Oak Ridge Fluorescence Spectroscopy Analysis of sediments for U.
OR2: Oak Ridge Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for U.
OR6: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Sc, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.
OR8: Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of sediments for As and Se.

Water Samples

OR9-FL: Oak Ridge Fluorescence Spectroscopy Analysis of waters for U.
OR9-MS: Oak Ridge Mass Spectrometry Analysis of waters for U.
OR11: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Sc, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.
OR13: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Sc, Si, Sr, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr. (Note: Nb and Th may be included in this method.)
OR15: Oak Ridge Anion Optical Absorption (Technicon AutoAnalyzer) Analysis of waters for Sulfate only.
OR16: Oak Ridge Anion Optical Absorption (Technicon AutoAnalyzer) Analysis of waters for Cl and Sulfate.
OR17: Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of waters for As and Se.

Discussion of the Reformatting Process for New Ulm Quadrangle

The New Ulm quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the New Ulm Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-120(79) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for these data:

Sediment Records

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.
The one soil sample in the New Ulm quadrangle had a value of 'DRY' recorded for sediment condition (SEDCOND). Although this value may be true, it is an invalid choice for soil sample types. This value was removed from the SEDCOND field and added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
One stream-sediment sample originally had a longitude of exactly 94°W, the dividing line between the New Ulm quadrangle and the St. Paul quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the New Ulm Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-120(79) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the New Ulm quadrangle.
The latitude and longitude coordinates for 1 stream-sediment sample collected within the New Ulm 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

The record for one well-water sample was missing in the digital data but was partially recorded in the New Ulm Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-120(79) report. A similar record for this same sample was also found in the report for the adjacent Watertown quadrangle. The two records were compared and combined. The coordinates for this sample plot slightly within the New Ulm quadrangle and so the record was given a QUAD value of 'New Ulm'.
Six well-water samples originally had a latitude of exactly 44°N, the dividing line between the New Ulm quadrangle and the Fairmont quadrangle. The coordinates were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the New Ulm Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-120(79) report. This slight change places the samples clearly in the New Ulm 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).

New Ulm Quadrangle Sediment Data - 673 records
New Ulm Quadrangle Water Data - 738 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 +/- 365 feet (111 m) for latitude values and between +/- 280 feet (85 m) to +/- 259 feet (79 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 40° and 45°N, respectively.) Latitude-longitude values are reported to the nearest second in field records on microfiche accompanying the GJBX-120(79) report.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the New Ulm Quadrangle

New Ulm Quadrangle NURE Summary
A summary evaluation report was prepared for the New Ulm quadrangle by the Minnesota Geological Survey [PGJ/F-052(82)]. An additional 61 water samples were collected and analyzed for uranium and an additional 486 rocks and 30 soils were collected and analyzed for multiple elements. The analytical data were released only as appendices on microfiche accompanying the summary report.

New Ulm Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Southwick, D.L., Morey, R.S., and Beltrame, R.J., 1982, National Uranium Resource Evaluation, New Ulm quadrangle, Minnesota: Minnesota Geological Survey, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., PGJ/F-052(82), 26 p.
Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1979, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for New Ulm NTMS quadrangle, Minnesota: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-126, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-120(79), 145 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Minnesota 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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U.S. Department of the Interior \| U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/492/quad/q_newulm.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:27 EDT 2016

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)