Casper Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: Casper 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.]

LASL: Casper Quadrangle
Totals of 1,370 sediment and 536 water samples were collected from 1,553 locations in the Casper quadrangle between August and November, 1977 as part of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) Casper Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. Sediment samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and up to 42 additional elements. Water samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium only. These data were released in the Casper Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-144(80) report.

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

*Summary of Casper quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	161	Streams	165
Dry Streams	981	Wells	148
Wet Springs	198	Springs	223
Dry Springs	30
Total Sediments	1,370	Total Waters	536

These Casper quadrangle samples were analyzed by the following methods:

Sediment Samples

LA1: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of sediments for U.
LA2: Los Alamos Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of sediments for Ag, Bi, Cd, Cu, Nb, Ni, Pb, Sn, and W.
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.

Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Casper Quadrangle

The Casper quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the Casper Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-144(80) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Casper quadrangle data:

Sediment Records

During the NURE sample collection phase, LASL sites and samples were initially assigned a 6-digit integer Identification Number (LASLID) starting with 000001. After 1977, most LASL sites were reassigned a new 1-letter+5-digit Identification Number starting with A00001. All LASL samples and the early LASL reports use the 6-digit integer LASLID. Most of the later reports only use the 1-letter+5-digit LASLID. Although both sets of numbers were usually assigned sequentially, they do not correspond one to one with each other: 100001 does not equal C00001, etc. Whenever possible, the 1-letter+5-digit LASL Identification Number was saved in the LASLID field. When the corresponding 6-digit site number could be determined from sample number translation key lists or other sources, this Identification Number was saved in the SITE field.
A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the Casper quadrangle sediment samples. The 1-letter+5-digit LASL Identification Number was saved in the LASLID field and the corresponding 6-digit site number was manually added to the SITE field. Therefore, the LASLID field contains the Identification Number found in the Casper Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-144(80) report. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, and sample containers.

Water Records

A LASL Identification Number translation key was found for the Casper quadrangle water samples. The 1-letter+5-digit LASL Identification Number was saved in the LASLID field and the corresponding 6-digit site number was manually added to the SITE field. Therefore, the LASLID field contains the Identification Number found in the Casper Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-144(80) report. The SITE field contains the corresponding LASL Identification Number used to label the original field maps, field notes, and sample containers.
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.

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).

Casper Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,370 records
Casper Quadrangle Water Data - 536 records

Notes for Data Users

None at this time.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Casper Quadrangle

Casper Quadrangle NURE Summary
The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation produced a summary evaluation report for the Casper quadrangle [PGJ/F-033(82)]. During this evaluation an additional 244 rock and 13 water samples were collected. The rocks were analyzed for U and several other elements while water was only analyzed for U. These data were released only as appendices on microfiche accompanying the summary report.

Uranium Anomalies in Wyoming
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 12 uranium anomalies that were identified in the Casper quadrangle. No additional geochemical data accompany this report.

Great Divide Basin Potential Tonnage Assessment
The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation conducted a study to determine tonnage of potential uranium resources in fine-grained carbonaceous rocks from the Great Divide Basin area, which includes parts of the Casper, Lander, Rawlins, and Rock Springs quadrangles. This assessment was based primarily on data from some 600 boreholes. The report of this study [GJBX-225(82)] also includes appendices on microfiche that list data for analyses of drill core or cuttings for uranium (231 samples by fluorometric chemical analysis) and 18 selected elements (160 samples by emission spectroscopy analysis).

Red Desert Multidisciplinary Studies
The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation was involved in a detailed study of a small area in the Red Desert of Wyoming (about 13 square miles on the border between the Casper and Lander quadrangles) to investigate methods for identifying mineral halos associated with a known sandstone-type uranium deposit [GJBX-1(83)]. The text discusses the results of geochemical surveys that generated multielement data for 437 soil samples and 994 composited sections from drillholes. Although included tables give statistical summaries and figures show element distribution, none of the raw data for these samples were found or referenced in the text.

Casper Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Burger, J.A., Roe, L.M., II, Hacke, C.M., and Mosher, M.M., 1982, Uranium resources in fine-grained carbonaceous rocks of the Great Divide Basin, south-central Wyoming: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-225(82), 45 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.
Griffin, J.R., and Milton, E.J., 1982, National Uranium Resource Evaluation, Casper quadrangle, Wyoming: Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., PGJ/F-033(82), 65 p.
LaDelfe, C.M., Davis, J., Minor, M.M., Gallimore, D.L., Hansel, J.M., Martinez, R.G., and Jackson, C.J., 1980, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the Casper NTMS quadrangle, Wyoming, including concentrations of forty-two additional elements: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-7511-MS Supplement, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-144(80), 171 p.
Wayland, T.E., and Sayala, D., 1983, Multidisciplinary studies of uranium deposits in the Red Desert, Wyoming: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-1(83), 402 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

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_casper.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:11 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)