OFR 97-492: Dallas Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

  About USGS /  Science Topics /  Maps, Products & Publications /  Education / Publication: FAQ

 

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: Dallas Quadrangle
Totals of 545 stream-sediment and 284 ground-water samples were collected from the Dallas quadrangle as part of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) Dallas Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. Field sampling was conducted by personnel of BCI Geonetics, Inc. under contract to the ORGDP, between November and December of 1979. These samples were analyzed by the ORGDP for uranium and other elements. The analytical data were released as the Dallas Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-318(81) report.

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

Summary of Dallas quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type Number of Samples Water Sample Type Number of Samples
Wet Streams 252 Wells 283
Dry Streams 293 Springs 1
Total Sediments 545 Total Waters 284

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

Sediment Samples

Water Samples



Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Dallas Quadrangle

The Dallas quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the Dallas Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-318(81) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for these data:

Sediment Records

  1. Unlikely sample collection dates were found for three 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.
  2. One stream-sediment sample record apparently had the sample date (SAMPDAT) value and the sample hour (SAMPHR) value reversed. These values were changed and the correction was noted as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
  3. Two separate stream-sediment samples in this quadrangle have the same latitude-longitude coordinates. It is unclear whether this represents a pair of samples collected at the same site or samples collected at separate sites so close together that the coordinate precision was insufficient to distinguish.
  4. Two stream-sediment samples originally had a latitude of exactly 32°N, the dividing line between the Dallas quadrangle and the Waco quadrangle. The coordinates for these samples were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Dallas Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-318(81) report. This slight change places these samples clearly in the Dallas quadrangle.

Water Records

  1. 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.
  2. One well-water sample originally had a longitude of exactly 96°W, the dividing line between the Dallas quadrangle and the Tyler quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Dallas Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-318(81) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Dallas 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).

Dallas Quadrangle Sediment Data - 545 records
Dallas Quadrangle Water Data - 284 records



Notes for Data Users

The ORGDP 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 +/- 363 feet (111 m) for latitude values and between +/- 317 feet (97 m) to +/- 300 feet (91 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 30° and 35°N, respectively.)



Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Dallas Quadrangle

None found.



Dallas Quadrangle NURE Bibliography



Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Texas NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE HSSR 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 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 2006

USA.gov logo