OFR 97-492: Charlottesville Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study
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[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]
Virginia
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 5,667 stream-sediment, 2,598 surface-water, and 4,834 ground-water samples within 96 counties from Virginia as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during July - October 1976; August - September 1977; and April - November 1978, and water samples were collected during December 1976 - September 1977; April - October 1978; and June - August 1979. Sample coverage included portions of the Baltimore, Bluefield, Charlottesville, Chincoteague, Cumberland, Currituck Sound, Greensboro, Jenkins, Johnson City, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Salisbury, Washington, and Winston-Salem 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 844 stream-sediment, 747 surface-water, and 557 ground-water samples were collected within the Charlottesville 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 5,522 sediments and 7,416 waters from Virginia; this includes 840 sediment and 1,301 water samples from the Charlottesville quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all Virginia samples were released in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)].
SRL sent 2,719 sediment samples from Virginia to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 2,711 of these samples in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)]. The digital data file accompanying this report includes Supplemental Analyses for 198 Virginia sediment samples within the Charlottesville quadrangle.
West Virginia
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 2,965 stream-sediment, 2,910 surface-water, and 4,060 ground-water samples within 55 counties from West Virginia as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during May - November 1978 and August - September 1979; water samples were collected during April - August 1977; May - September 1978; and July 1980. Sample coverage included portions of the Baltimore, Bluefield, Canton, Charleston, Charlottesville, Clarksburg, Columbus, Cumberland, Huntington, and Jenkins 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 296 stream-sediment, 324 surface-water, and 288 ground-water samples were collected within the Charlottesville 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 2,919 sediments and 6,965 waters from West Virginia; this includes 296 sediment and 611 water samples from the Charlottesville quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all West Virginia samples were released in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)].
SRL: Charlottesville Quadrangle
SRL released a separate quadrangle report for the Charlottesville NTMS quadrangle. The abstract reports that 1,196 stream-sediment, 1,071 stream-water and 823 ground-water samples were collected but the report includes data for only 1,140 stream-sediment, 1,071 stream-water and 823 ground-water samples. SRL released the analytical data as the Charlottesville Quadrangle GJBX-175(81) Abbreviated Data Report. Although these data are given on microfiche that accompanies the report, no digital data files were found for this reformatting effort. A cursory comparison of the [GJBX-175(81)] data suggests that there are some differences between this set of HSSR data and that found for corresponding samples in the Virginia and West Virginia State reports. One minor difference is that analytical data values found in the digital state files are slightly different from the hard copy tables. 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.
Gold Analyses
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.
Summary Tables
Because of the various laboratories and analytical methods used, some SRL samples may have been analyzed once, twice, or not at all. The following table summarizes the analysis of Charlottesville quadrangle samples.
Laboratory Analysis | Sediments | Waters |
---|---|---|
Only SRL | 938 | 1,912 |
Both SRL and Supplemental Labs | 198 | 0 |
None | 4 | 4 |
Total Samples | 1,140 | 1,916 |
Total Data Records | 1,140 | 1,916 |
The following is a list of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Charlottesville quadrangle.
Sediment Sample Type | Number of Samples | Water Sample Type | Number of Samples |
---|---|---|---|
Wet Streams | 1,140 | Streams | 1,071 |
Wells | 571 | ||
Springs | 274 | ||
Total Sediments | 1,140 | Total Waters | 1,916 |
These Charlottesville quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:
Sediment Samples
Water Samples
Sediment Records
The Charlottesville quadrangle sediment data consist of reformatted records from the Virginia and West Virginia portions of the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)]. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Charlottesville quadrangle sediment data:
Water Records
The Charlottesville quadrangle water data consist of reformatted records from the Virginia and West Virginia portions of the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)]. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Charlottesville quadrangle water 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).
Charlottesville Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,140 records
Charlottesville Quadrangle Water Data - 1,913 records
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 Charlottesville quadrangle is complete and includes samples from Albemarle, Augusta, Bath, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Highland, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Page, Rappahannack, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties in Virginia; and Barbour, Grant, Hardy, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker Counties in West Virginia. The laboratory and analytical methods used also may vary by county such that adjacent counties often have very different analytical coverage.
Four sediment and four water samples within the Charlottesville quadrangle were not analyzed by any of the various laboratories. The following table summarizes the locations of those unanalyzed samples.
State | County | Sample Media | Unanalyzed Samples | Total Samples |
---|---|---|---|---|
Virginia | Albemarle | Water | 1 | 77 |
Virginia | Augusta | Sediment | 4 | 167 |
Virginia | Bath | Water | 2 | 121 |
West Virginia | Grant | Water | 1 | 37 |
Charlottesville Quadrangle NURE Summary
A summary evaluation investigation was conducted by the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation to identify environments and delineate areas favorable for the occurrence of uranium deposits within the Charlottesville quadrangle [PGJ/F-114(82)]. This report contains elemental analyses for 161 rock, soil, and water samples listed within tables. In addition, the report contains a summary of radiometric surveys, gamma spectrometry, and emission spectroscopy data collected within the quadrangle. This summation suggests that favorable environments include vein-type deposits in metamorphic rocks within highly sheared portions of the Precambrian Lovingston Formation, and for allogenic uranium deposits within the Cambrian metasediments along the margins of the Green Springs and Ellisville intrusives.
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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 1.41: February 23, 2006
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