OFR 97-492: Green Bay 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)

Brief History and Description of Data

[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]

Green Bay Quadrangle Pilot Study
Between July and September of 1976, the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) conducted a pilot geochemical survey in the north central portion of the Green Bay quadrangle. ORGDP collected 88 stream sediments (including 16 duplicate samples), 124 ground waters (including 32 duplicate samples), 51 surface waters, and 209 plants for chemical analysis as part of this pilot study. No separate report describing the results of this pilot study was apparently released.

ORGDP: Green Bay Quadrangle
A total of 458 stream-sediment, 571 ground-water, and 350 surface-water samples were collected throughout the Green Bay quadrangle (except within the Menominee Indian Reservation) as part of the ORGDP Green Bay Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The stream sediment and water sampling was performed by personnel of the Uranium Resource Evaluation Project of the ORGDP, Oak Ridge, Tennessee between June and October of 1977. These HSSR samples plus the samples from the 1976 pilot study were analyzed by the ORGDP for uranium and other elements. The analytical data were released as the Green Bay Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-93(78) report.

Summary Tables
Because of the various analytical methods used, some ORGDP samples may have been analyzed once, twice, or not at all. The following table summarizes the analysis of Green Bay quadrangle samples.

Combination of laboratories that analyzed samples for the Green Bay quadrangle.
Laboratory Analysis Sediments Waters Plants
ORGDP 544 1,096 113
Second ORGDP Analysis 1 0 50
None 2 0 0
Total Samples 546 1,096 209
Total Data Records 547 1,096 259

The following is a listing of the sample types collected within the Green Bay quadrangle.

Summary of Green Bay quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type No. of Samples Water Sample Type No. of Samples Plant Sample Type No. of Samples
Wet Streams 408 Streams 401 Deciduous Tree (9 types) 153
Dry Streams 138 Wells 694 Conifer (3 types) 16
    Springs 1 Bush (3 types) 40
Total Sediments 546 Total Waters 1,096 Total Plants 209

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

Sediment Samples

Water Samples

Plant Samples



Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Green Bay Quadrangle

The Green Bay quadrangle sediment, water and plant data consist of reformatted records from the Green Bay Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-93(78) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for these data:

Sediment Records

  1. One sediment sample was apparently analyzed twice by slightly different multielement methods. To avoid losing data for elements analyzed by both methods, this sample is represented by two records in the sediment data.
  2. One stream-sediment sample was collected at a latitude of exactly 44°N, the dividing line between the Green Bay quadrangle and the Madison quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Green Bay Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-93(78) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Green Bay quadrangle.
  3. One sediment sample was missing a value for Sample Type (SAMPTYP field). A SAMPTYP value was assigned to this sample based on information found in the COMMENT field. A comment noting this change was added to the REFORMAT field.
  4. 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.

Water Records

  1. One stream-water and six well-water samples were collected at a latitude of exactly 44°N, the dividing line between the Green Bay quadrangle and the Madison quadrangle. The coordinates for these samples were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Green Bay Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-93(78) report. This slight change places these samples clearly in the Green Bay quadrangle.
  2. An undocumented, and most likely incorrect, value found in the WLDPTCNF field was removed from one water sample record. This change and the original value were recorded in the REFORMAT comment field.
  3. 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.
  4. During the Green Bay Quadrangle Pilot Study, 32 water samples were acidified in the field prior to shipment back to the laboratory. The Sample Type (SAMPTYP value) was changed for these 32 water samples to accurately reflect the original sample type. A comment noting this change was added to the REFORMAT field for each affected sample.

Plant Records

  1. The Green Bay Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-93(78) report does not mention anything about the plant samples collected during the Green Bay Quadrangle Pilot Study. These plant data were found only in the accompanying digital data file.
  2. Fifty plant samples were apparently analyzed twice by different multielemement methods. To avoid losing data for elements analyzed by both methods, these samples are each represented by two records in the plant data.
  3. At the time of this Open-File release (v. 1.41), the ORGDP plant data have not been completely reformatted and released for downloading. See the ORGDP Plant Data page for a more detailed description of the data format and plant data availability.


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).

Green Bay Quadrangle Sediment Data - 547 records
Green Bay Quadrangle Water Data - 1,096 records
Green Bay Pilot Study Plant Data - 259 records



Notes for Data Users

The 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.

The duplicate well water samples collected as part of the 1976 Green Bay Quadrangle Pilot Study were acidified and therefore may not be directly comparable with other water samples in the quadrangle. These samples are identified with a B in the REPLC field and a value of "ACIDIFIED ONLY" in the WTRTREAT field. Although not stated, it is also possible that these samples were filtered later in the laboratory through a 0.45 micron membrane filter before analysis.

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 +/- 364 feet (111 m) for latitude values and between +/- 280 feet (85 m) to +/- 259 feet (79 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 40° and 45°N, respectively.)

Two wet stream-sediment samples samples collected in the Green Bay quadrangle were not analyzed by any method.



Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Green Bay Quadrangle

Green Bay Quadrangle NURE Summary
An evaluation of the Green Bay quadrangle was conducted by Golder Associates, Inc., under subcontract to Bendix Field Engineering Corporation [PGJ/F-093(82)]. During this evaluation, 195 rock and 130 ground water samples were collected within the quadrangle. The rock samples were analyzed for uranium plus 28 other elements and the water samples were analyzed for uranium using a fluorometry method. Data tables were released only on appendices on microfiche accompanying the report. The results of this investigation suggest that several plutons within the Precambrian Y Wolf River Batholith are favorable for the occurrence of pegmatitic-, autometasomatic-, and contact metasomatic-type uranium deposits. The three plutons of major interest are the Waupaca quartz monzonite, the Red River porphyritic quartz monzonite, and the Wolf River granite-quartz monzonite. Further subsurface evaluation to adequately determine their favorability was recommended.



Green Bay Quadrangle NURE Bibliography



Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Wisconsin 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 1.10: July 29, 1999
Version 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 2006

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