Goldfield Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: Goldfield 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)

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 925 sediment and 121 water samples were collected in the Goldfield quadrangle between February and May, 1980 as part of the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) Goldfield Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The water samples were analyzed by SRL for uranium and 9 other elements. They were then sent to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for "supplemental" analyses of up to 29 elements. Neither the SRL results nor the supplemental results were released as an individual quadrangle report for Goldfield.

A total of 790 sediment samples from SRL were sent to ORGDP and analyzed for uranium and up to 31 additional elements. These data were released by Oak Ridge in the GJBX-418(81) report. (Note: The "Explanation of Codes Used" appendix to the ORGDP GJBX-418(81) 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, SRL released a summary report and data files for 50 quadrangles in the Western United States. This report, GJBX-132(82), contains the analytical data from both the SRL analyses and the ORGDP supplemental analyses of the Goldfield water samples. The report contains only site information for the Goldfield sediment samples.

SRL analyses of light hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propane, and butane) in ground waters were released in the GJBX-131(82) summary report for 44 western quadrangles and 3 eastern quadrangles within the United States. This report includes data for 45 of the Goldfield quadrangle ground water samples.

The following is a general listing of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Goldfield 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 Goldfield quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	12	Streams	11
Dry Streams	644	Wells	38
Soils	237	Springs	70
Playa	32	Other	2
Total Sediments	925	Total Waters	121

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

Sediment Samples

OR2: Oak Ridge Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for U.
OR7: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Sc, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.

Water Samples

SR4: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis - Neutron Counting of waters for U.
SR6: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis of waters for Al, Br, Cl, Dy, F, Mg, Mn, Na, and V.
SR-HE: Savannah River Helium Analysis of waters.
SR-GC: Savannah River Gas Chromatography of waters for light hydrocarbons.
OR13: Supplemental Analyses by Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Sc, Si, Sr, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr. (Note: Nb and Th may be included in this method.)
OR17: Supplemental Analyses by Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of waters for As and Se.

Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of records from all of the above reports. The site information for every record in the GJBX-418(81) 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.

In the water data file the SRL analyses and supplemental analyses could NOT be combined because of overlapping determinations for 5 elements. Therefore each sample that was analyzed by both labs has two separate records - one for the SRL analysis and one for the ORGDP supplemental analysis.

Hydrocarbon data from the GJBX-131(82) report were added to fields in the appropriate ground water records and this addition was noted for each record 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).

Goldfield Quadrangle Sediment Data - 925 records
Goldfield Quadrangle Water Data - 230 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 Goldfield Quadrangle

None found.

Goldfield Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Cook, J.R., and Fay, W.M., 1982, Data report: Western United States: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-146-28, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-132(82), 33 p.
Dromgoole, E.L., 1982, Report of analyses for light hydrocarbons in ground water: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-141-19, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-131(82), 14 p.
Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1981, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Goldfield quadrangle, California; Nevada: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-418, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-418(81), 87 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Nevada NURE data
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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U.S. Department of the Interior \| U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_goldfd.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:12 EST 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)