OFR 97-492: Fresno 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)
Under Construction 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 1,042 sediment and 735 water samples were collected in the Fresno quadrangle during August and September of 1980 as part of the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) Fresno Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The water samples were analyzed by SRL for uranium and 9 other elements and then sent on to Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant for "supplemental analyses" (28 elements in waters). SRL apparently did not analyze the sediment samples and subsequently did not release an individual quadrangle report for Fresno.

A total of 1,038 sediment samples from SRL were sent to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant and analyzed for uranium and up to 31 additional elements. These data were released by Oak Ridge in the GJBX-24(82) report. (Note: The "Explanation of Codes Used" appendix to the ORGDP GJBX-23(82) report gives the SRL eastern U.S. site description coding scheme but all other indications suggest that the samples were actually collected and described using the SRL western U.S. site description coding scheme.)

In 1982, ORGDP released the data from supplementary analyses of a selection of the SRL water samples from the Death Valley and Fresno quadrangles in the GJBX-167(82) abbreviated report (on microfiche only). This report includes the supplemental data for up to 28 elements in 734 of the Fresno water samples. The site coding information for this data set was summarized in the GJBX-164(82) report.

In 1982, SRL released a summary report and data files for 50 quadrangles in the Western United States. For the Fresno quadrangle, this report (GJBX-132(82)) contains the SRL analytical data for the water samples only. The sediment sample records only contained site information but no analytical values.

The following is a general listing of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Fresno quadrangle. The actual number of records in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files may be greater because of the multiple records needed to preserve all the data.

Summary of Fresno quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type Number of Samples Water Sample Type Number of Samples
Wet Streams 4 Streams 4
Dry Streams 2 Wells 675
Soils 1,023 Springs 56
Talus 13
Total Sediments 1,042 Total Waters 735

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

Sediment Samples

Water Samples



Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE water data file consist of records from the GJBX-132(82) western U.S. summary report and the Oak Ridge GJBX-167(82) abbreviated report. In this file, the SRL analyses and supplemental analyses could NOT be combined because of overlapping determinations for 5 elements. Each water sample may therefore have 2 separate records - one for the SRL analysis and one for the supplemental analysis. The site information for every record in the GJBX-167(82) quadrangle report was checked against the "equivalent" record in the GJBX-132(82) western U.S. summary report and any major differences were noted in the REFORMAT comment field.

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE sediment file consist of records from both the GJBX-132(82) western U.S. summary report and the Oak Ridge GJBX-24(82) abbreviated report. Samples which had records in both reports were combined to create a single record for each sample. Problems noted in either of the original records are noted in the REFORMAT comment 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 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).

Fresno Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,031 records
Fresno Quadrangle Water Data - 1,469 records



Notes for Data Users

Many records contain analytical values with insignificant digits. Most data should only have 2 or 3 significant digits. Differences after the second or third digit should be ignored.



Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Fresno Quadrangle

None found.



Fresno Quadrangle NURE Bibliography



Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to California NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE HSSR Data
Home Page: USGS National Geochemical Database - NURE HSSR data



Page written by Andrew W. Holt and Steven M. Smith
Contact: 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 1.40: January 13, 2006

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