OFR 97-492: Vya Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study
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[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]
Totals of 1,339 sediment and 484 water samples were collected in the Vya quadrangle from July of 1979 through August of 1980 as part of the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) Vya Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The samples were analyzed by SRL for uranium and other elements (16 additional elements in sediments and 9 in waters) and the analytical data were released in the Vya NURE HSSR quadrangle GJBX-285(81) report. The water samples were then sent to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for "supplemental analyses" (31 elements). No supplemental analyses were done for the sediment samples. Neither ORGDP nor SRL released these supplemental analytical data as a separate report.
SRL sent 409 Vya sediment sample to ORGDP for additional analyses. ORGDP released these analytical results for uranium and 31 other elements as one of a series of microfiche abbreviated reports (Vya quadrangle GJBX-56(82)). The site coding information for this series of data releases was summarized in the ORGDP GJBX-51(82) supplement report.
In 1982, SRL released a summary report and data files for 50 quadrangles in the Western United States. This report, GJBX-132(82), contains the SRL analytical data from the Vya quadrangle and the supplemental analytical data for the water samples but not the additional ORGDP analytical data for sediments. Some of the concentration values differ slightly from those reported in the GJBX-285(81) quadrangle report. The introduction section of the GJBX-132(82) summary report states:
"The data in the present report may not be identical to those reported previously. This is due to the use of different "scrub" procedures for the preparation of the data for release. The differences should be minor."
SRL analyses of light hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propane, and butane) in ground waters were released in the GJBX-131(82) summary report for 44 western quadrangles and 3 eastern quadrangles within the United States. This report includes data for 156 of the Vya quadrangle ground water samples.
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.
The following is a list of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Vya quadrangle. The actual number of records in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files may be greater because of the multiple records needed to preserve all the data.
| Sediment Sample Type | Number of Samples | Water Sample Type | Number of Samples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wet Streams | 116 | Streams | 115 |
| Dry Streams | 886 | Wells | 69 |
| Soils | 170 | Springs | 299 |
| Playa | 156 | Other | 1 |
| Volcanic Neck | 2 | ||
| Talus | 1 | ||
| Other (may include mine tailings) | 8 | ||
| Total Sediments | 1,339 | Total Waters | 484 |
These Vya quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:
Sediment Samples
Water Samples
The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of records from all of the above reports. For every sediment sample that was analyzed by both SRL and ORGDP, each record in the Western U.S. summary GJBX-132(82) report was checked against the "equivalent" record in the ORGDP GJBX-56(82) additional analyses report and any major differences were noted in the REFORMAT comment field.
The data from the SRL Vya quadrangle GJBX-285(81) report were apparently not released as a separate digital file. The data from this published report were compared with the data from the Western U.S. summary GJBX-132(82) file and only slight differences were noted. These slightly different data can be found on microfiche appendices that accompany the Vya quadrangle GJBX-285(81) report. Except as noted below, no attempt was made to digitally recover the slightly different data from these extra records.
In the water data file, many of the Al and Dy values were missing from the Western U.S. summary GJBX-132(82) file. The missing values were hand-entered from appendices in the Vya quadrangle GJBX-285(81) publication. These additions were noted in the REFORMAT comment field for each affected record.
The SRL analyses and the supplemental analyses could NOT be combined into a single record for each sample because of overlapping determinations for 12 elements in sediments and for 5 elements in waters. Each sample may therefore have 2 separate records - one for the SRL analysis and one for the ORGDP supplemental analysis.
Hydrocarbon data from the GJBX-131(82) report were added to fields in the appropriate ground water records and this addition was noted for each record in the REFORMAT comment field.
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.
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 websites, 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).
Vya Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,744 records
Vya Quadrangle Water Data - 712 records
Many records contain analytical values with insignificant digits. Most data should only have 2 or 3 significant digits and differences after the second or third digit should be ignored.
A summary evaluation report was prepared for the Vya quadrangle by the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation [PGJ/F-135(82)]. Additional samples of 442 rocks, and 392 waters were collected in the quadrangle from "all geological environments thought to be favorable for uranium deposits." All samples were analyzed for uranium oxide by fluorometry. Of the rock samples, 122 were analyzed for 34 elements, 102 were analyzed for 17 elements, and 27 underwent whole rock analysis for major element oxides. These data were released only as microfiche appendices accompanying the summary report.
A report on the geology and mineral resources of the Vya quadrangle prepared for the Savannah River Laboratory can be found in the GJBX-7(83) report. No geochemistry accompanies this publication.
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Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE HSSR Data
Home Page: USGS National Geochemical Database - NURE HSSR data
Page written by Andrew W. Holt 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 1.40: January 13, 2006
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