Alliance Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: Alliance 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: Hot Springs Quadrangle
Within the Alliance quadrangle, a total of 523 stream-sediment samples were collected under contract by Biospheric Consultants International during October of 1979 and 543 ground-water samples were collected under contract by the Nebraska Geological Survey during May - July of 1979. These samples were analyzed by the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for uranium and other elements. The analytical data were released as the ORGDP Alliance Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study GJBX-219(80) report.

Summary Tables
The following is a list of sample types collected for NURE studies in the Alliance quadrangle.

*Summary of Alliance quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	80	Wells	542
Dry Streams	443	Springs	1
Total Sediments	523	Total Waters	543

These Alliance 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.
OR7: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, 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.
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.)
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 Alliance Quadrangle

The Alliance quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the Alliance Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-219(80) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for these data:

Sediment Records

An undefined replicate sample code (REPLC) was found for one stream-sediment sample. This value was removed from the REPLC field and noted as a comment in the REFORMAT field.
One stream-sediment sample originally had a latitude of exactly 43°N, the dividing line between the Alliance quadrangle and the Hot Springs quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Alliance Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-219(80) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Alliance quadrangle.

Water 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 were added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
One well-water sample originally had a longitude of exactly 102°W, the dividing line between the Alliance quadrangle and the Valentine quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Alliance Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-219(80) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Alliance 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).

Alliance Quadrangle Sediment Data - 523 records
Alliance Quadrangle Water Data - 543 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.)

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Alliance Quadrangle

Western Nebraska Uranium Exploration Targets
Oak Ridge released a report for the Alliance and Scottsbluff quadrangles that describes the use of statistical analysis on ground water samples to delineate uranium exploration targets [GJBX-113(82)]. This analysis was based on data from the Alliance and Scottsbluff HSSR quadrangle reports and no new analytical data were released as a part of this evaluation process.

Alliance Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Bard, C.S., 1982, Delineation of uranium exploration targets in western Nebraska by statistical analysis of groundwater geochemistry: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-48, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-113(82), 26 p.
National Uranium Resource Evaluation Program, 1980, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Alliance NTMS quadrangle, Nebraska; South Dakota: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-141, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-219(80), 38 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Nebraska NURE data
Back to South Dakota NURE data
Back to Wyoming 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/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_allinc.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:10 EST 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)