OFR 97-492: Valdosta Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

  About USGS /  Science Topics /  Maps, Products & Publications /  Education / Publication: FAQ
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.]

Georgia
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 6,092 stream-sediment, 14 surface-water, and 5,990 ground-water samples within 142 counties from the northern two-thirds of Georgia as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during June - December 1976, April 1977, and April - September 1978, and water samples were collected during January - December 1977 and March - November 1978. Sample coverage included portions of the Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Brunswick, Dothan, Greenville, Macon, Phenix City, Rome, Savannah, Valdosta, and Waycross 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 27 ground-water samples were collected within the Valdosta 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 5,958 sediments and 5,989 waters from Georgia; this includes all 27 water samples from the Valdosta quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all Georgia samples were released in the Alabama and Georgia Data Report [GJBX-403(81)].

SRL sent 2,956 sediment samples from Georgia to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 2,951 of these samples in the Alabama and Georgia Data Report [GJBX-403(81)]. The digital data file accompanying this report does not include Supplemental Analyses for any Georgia sediment samples within the Valdosta quadrangle.

Florida
The NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program was never completed. Several quadrangles were not sampled and apparently most of Florida, including the Florida portion of the Valdosta quadrangle, was an area for which no reconnaissance samples were collected or analyzed.

SRL: Dothan, Waycross, and Brunswick Quadrangles
SRL released a separate quadrangle report for the Dothan, Waycross, and Brunswick NTMS quadrangles, which includes data for 201 stream-sediment and 1,224 ground-water samples. Although it was not mentioned in the report title, data were also included for 27 ground-water samples from the Valdosta quadrangle. With minor differences, these sample data are the same as the those for corresponding samples found in the state reports. SRL released the analytical data as the Dothan, Waycross, and Brunswick Quadrangles GJBX-27(81) Data Report (Abbreviated). The site coding information for this data set is summarized within the text of this report.

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

Summary of Valdosta quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type Number of Samples Water Sample Type Number of Samples
    Wells 27
Total Sediments 0 Total Waters 27

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

Water Samples



Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Valdosta Quadrangle

Water Records
The Valdosta quadrangle water data consist of reformatted records from the Dothan, Waycross, and Brunswick Quadrangles GJBX-27(81) Data Report. These records were compared with corresponding sample records from the Georgia portion of the Alabama and Georgia [GJBX-403(81)] Data Report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Valdosta quadrangle water data:

  1. The analytical values for many Al, Br, Dy, and Mn determinations differed slightly between the Valdosta quadrangle files and the Georgia State files. These variations are apparently due only to differences in rounding versus truncation of reported values or to differences in the number of recorded significant digits. Since the variation was insignificant, only one set of the values was retained for the affected elements.
  2. For 14 records, analytical values for Mg were found in the Georgia State files that were missing in the corresponding records from the Valdosta quadrangle files. These values were added and that change was noted for each affected record in the REFORMAT comment field.


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).

Valdosta Quadrangle Water Data - 27 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 Valdosta quadrangle is limited to Clinch, Lanier, and Ware Counties in Georgia. These counties are found along the northern border of the Valdosta quadrangle. The laboratory and analytical methods used also may vary by county such that adjacent counties often have very different analytical coverage.



Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Valdosta Quadrangle

None found.



Valdosta Quadrangle NURE Bibliography



Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Georgia NURE data
Back to Florida 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

USA.gov logo