Ashton Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: Ashton 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)

This page is currently being rewritten to the Version 1.41 format.

Brief History and Description of Data

[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]

Totals of 1,500 sediment and 1,141 water samples were collected from 1,539 locations in the Ashton quadrangle as part of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) Ashton Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. Samples were collected in Montana between September and November of 1976, and in Idaho and Wyoming between July and September of 1978. The samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and up to 42 additional elements and the analytical data were released in the GJBX-189(80) report.

Totals of 1,933 sediment and 1,240 water samples were collected from the Montana portions of Dillon, Dubois, and Elk City quadrangles between August and October, 1976 as part of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) Southwestern Montana NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. During this study, 8 sediment samples and 1 water sample was collected just east of the defined study area in the Ashton quadrangle. These samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and the analytical data were released in the GJBX-28(78) report.

The following is a list of NURE sample types collected in the Ashton quadrangle.

*Summary of Ashton quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	1,050	Streams	1,054
Dry Streams	391	Wells	27
Wet Springs	52	Springs	55
Dry Springs	11	Natural Ponds	3
Wet Natural Ponds	3	Artificial Ponds	1
Wet Artificial Ponds	1	>Other (identified as Marsh)	2
Total Sediments	1,508	Total Waters	1,142

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

Sediment Samples

LA1: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of sediments for U.
LA3: Los Alamos Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of sediments for Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Nb, Ni, Pb, Se, Sn, W, and Zr.
LA4: Los Alamos Arc-Source Emission Spectrography Analysis of sediments for Be and Li.
LA5: Los Alamos Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for Al, Au, Ba, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, V, Yb, and Zn.

Water Samples

LA6-DN: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of waters for U.
LA6-FL: Los Alamos Fluorometry Analysis of waters for U.

Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of reformatted records from the GJBX-189(80) report plus the 8 sediment records and 1 water record from the GJBX-28(78) report.

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 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).

Ashton Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,508 records
Ashton Quadrangle Water Data - 1,142 records

Notes for Data Users

The data in the water database includes samples collected by 3 different methods with respect to filtering and acidification (See the SAMPTYP coding explanation in the On-Line Manual for New-Format NURE HSSR Data Files for descriptions of different Sample Types. Analytical data may not be directly comparable for water samples collected by different methods.

Previous users of the Ashton quadrangle water database have also noted that the pH values are distinctly different between the samples collected in 1976 (Montana) and those collected in 1978 (Idaho and Wyoming).

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Ashton Quadrangle

A summary evaluation report was prepared for the Ashton quadrangle by Meiiji Resource Consultants of Lawton, Utah [PGJ/F-074(82)]. An additional 191 rock and 114 water samples were collected from all parts of the quadrangle except for the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway and Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. The samples were analyzed and the multielement analytical data were released only as microfiche appendices accompanying the summary report.

The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation identified and ranked 269 uranium anomalies from 23 quadrangles in and adjacent to Wyoming. These anomalies were based on an evaluation of the NURE HSSR data, aerial radiometric reconnaissance surveys and, to a lesser extent, geologic evaluations. This report [GJBX-3(83)] lists 10 uranium anomalies that were identified in the Ashton quadrangle. No additional data for any samples accompanies this report.

Ashton Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Broxton, D.E., 1978, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance in southwestern Montana: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-6981, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-28(78), 95 p.
Goodknight, C.S., Ludlam, J.R., Burger, J.A., Dickson, R.E., Dayvault, R.D., Dexter, J.J., and Anderson, J.R., 1982, Uranium anomalies in Wyoming and parts of adjacent states: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-3(83), 11 p.
Shannon, S.S., Jr., Sandoval, W.F., Gallimore, D.L., Hansel, J.M., Hensley, W.K., Pirtle, J., and Macdonell, C.J., 1980, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance data release for the Ashton NTMS quadrangle, Idaho/Montana/Wyoming, including concentrations of forty-two additional elements: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-8009-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-189(80), 166 p.
Suekawa, H.S., Merrick, D., Clayton, J., and Rumba, S., 1982, National Uranium Resource Evaluation, Ashton Quadrangle, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming: Meiiji Resource Consultants, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., PGJ/F-074(82), 24 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Idaho NURE data
Back to Montana 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 1.00: September 11, 1998
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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U.S. Department of the Interior \| U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_ashton.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)