OFR 97-492: Cumberland Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study
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[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]
Maryland
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 1,322 stream-sediment, 837 surface-water, and 1,188 ground-water samples within 23 counties from Maryland as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during May - August 1978, and water samples were collected during May - June 1977; December 1977; and July - October 1978. Sample coverage included portions of the Baltimore, Chincoteague, Cumberland, Salisbury, Washington, and Wilmington 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 167 stream-sediment, 158 surface-water, and 199 ground-water samples were collected within the Cumberland 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 1,286 sediments and 2,023 waters from Maryland; this includes 167 sediment and 357 water samples from the Cumberland quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all Maryland samples were released in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)].
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 499 stream-sediment, 485 surface-water, and 583 ground-water samples were collected within the Cumberland 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 497 sediment and 1,066 water sample from the Cumberland 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)].
Pennsylvania
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 4,499 stream-sediment, 4,401 surface-water, and 5,734 ground-water samples within 49 counties from Pennsylvania as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during September - October 1976; July - December 1977; and July - August 1978, and water samples were collected during May - December 1977 and July - August 1978. Sample coverage included portions of the Baltimore, Canton, Clarksburg, Cleveland, Cumberland, Elmira, Harrisburg, Newark, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Warren, Williamsport, and Wilmington 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 296 stream-sediment, 291 surface-water, and 376 ground-water samples were collected within the Cumberland 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 4,287 sediments and 10,100 waters from Pennsylvania; this includes 294 sediment and 666 water samples from the Cumberland quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all Pennsylvania samples were released in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York Data Report [GJBX-106(82)].
SRL sent 3,851 sediment samples from Pennsylvania to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 3,842 of these samples in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York Data Report [GJBX-106(82)]. The digital data file accompanying this report include Supplemental Analyses for 21 Pennsylvania sediment samples within the Cumberland quadrangle.
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 79 stream-sediment, 76 surface-water, and 97 ground-water samples were collected within the Cumberland 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 79 sediment and 173 water samples from the Cumberland 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 does not include Supplemental Analyses for any of the Virginia sediment samples within the Cumberland quadrangle.
SRL: Cumberland and Pittsburgh Quadrangles
SRL released a separate quadrangle report for the Cumberland and Pittsburgh NTMS quadrangles, which includes data for 1,042 stream-sediment, 1,012 stream-water, and 1,240 ground-water samples. With minor differences, these sample data are the same as that for corresponding samples found in the Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia State reports. SRL released the analytical data as the Cumberland and Pittsburgh Quadrangles GJBX-287(81) Abbreviated Data Report. The site coding information for this data set is summarized within the text of this report.
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 Cumberland quadrangle samples.
Laboratory Analysis | Sediments | Waters |
---|---|---|
Only SRL | 1,017 | 2,262 |
Both SRL and SRL Supplemental Labs | 20 | 0 |
Only SRL Supplemental Lab | 1 | 0 |
None | 3 | 3 |
Total Samples | 1,041 | 2,265 |
Total Data Records | 1,041 | 2,265 |
The following is a list of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Cumberland quadrangle.
Sediment Sample Type | Number of Samples | Water Sample Type | Number of Samples |
---|---|---|---|
Wet Streams | 1,041 | Streams | 1,010 |
Wells | 813 | ||
Springs | 442 | ||
Total Sediments | 1,041 | Total Waters | 2,265 |
These Cumberland quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:
Sediment Samples
Water Samples
Sediment Records
The Cumberland quadrangle sediment data consist of reformatted records from the Cumberland and Pittsburgh Quadrangles GJBX-287(81) Abbreviated Data Report. These records were compared with corresponding sample records from Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia portions of the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)], and reformatted records from the Pennsylvania portion of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York Data Report [GJBX-106(82)]. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Cumberland quadrangle sediment data:
Water Records
The Cumberland quadrangle water data consist of reformatted records from the Cumberland and Pittsburgh Quadrangles GJBX-287(81) Abbreviated Data Report. These records were compared with corresponding sample records from Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia portions of the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)], and reformatted records from the Pennsylvania portion of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York Data Report [GJBX-106(82)]. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Cumberland 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).
Cumberland Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,041 records
Cumberland Quadrangle Water Data - 2,252 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 Cumberland quadrangle is complete and includes samples from Allegany, Garrett, and Washington Counties in Maryland; Bedford, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, and Somerset Counties in Pennsylvania; Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties in Virginia; and Barbour, Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Marion, Mineral, Monongalia, Morgan, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, 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.
Three stream-sediment and three water samples within the Cumberland 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pennsylvania | Fayette | Sediment | 1 | 83 |
Pennsylvania | Fayette | Water | 1 | 178 |
West Virginia | Berkeley | Water | 1 | 69 |
West Virginia | Hampshire | Sediment | 2 | 89 |
West Virginia | Preston | Water | 1 | 198 |
None found.
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Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE Data
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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