Preston Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: Preston 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 1,956 sediment and 1,108 water samples were collected from 1,999 locations in the Wyoming portion of Driggs, Preston, and Ogden quadrangles during September and October of 1976. These samples were collected by a private contractor under the direction of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL). Within the Preston quadrangle, 707 sediment and 461 water samples were collected. The samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and the data released in the GJBX-70(78) report.

LASL sent 702 sediment and 410 water samples from the Wyoming portion of the Preston quadrangle to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant for multielement analyses. These data were released by Oak Ridge as the Preston Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study GJBX-325(81) report.

In 1977, the entire NURE HSSR program changed from a study area basis (State, County, or geomorphic province) to a 1° x 2° quadrangle basis. As a result of this decision, the responsibility for the Idaho portion of the Preston quadrangle was reassigned to the LASL. According to the last LASL NURE progress report [GJBX-5(80)], this area was scheduled to be sampled during 1980. Apparently though, no samples for this Idaho area were subsequently collected or analyzed by LASL before the NURE program ended.

The following is a list of sample types collected for the Preston quadrangle study.

*Summary of Preston quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	370	Streams	373
Dry Streams	247	Wells	21
Wet Springs	60	Springs	54
Wet Natural Ponds	4	Natural Ponds	4
Wet Artificial Ponds	10	Artificial Ponds	9
Dry Artificial Ponds	16
Total Sediments	707	Total Waters	461

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

Sediment Samples

LA1: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting 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

LA6-DN: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of waters for U.
LA6-FL: Los Alamos Fluorometry Analysis of waters for U.
OR13: 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.)

Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of records from the GJBX-70(78) report combined with records from the GJBX-325(81) report. Each sample is represented by a single composite record. Any problems found during the reformatting process 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).

Preston Quadrangle Sediment Data - 707 records
Preston Quadrangle Water Data - 461 records

Notes for Data Users

None at this time.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Preston Quadrangle

The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation conducted a study of three topaz-bearing rhyolite domes north of Soda Springs, Idaho in the Preston quadrangle. Eight rock samples were collected and analyzed for eK, eU, and eTh by closed-can gamma-ray spectroscopy and were also analyzed for several additional elements using emission spectroscopy, atomic absorption, X-ray fluorescence, fluorometry, inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy, ion selective electrode, and wet chemical techniques. Sample descriptions and analytical values are found only as tables in the published GJBX-1(84) report.

The Bendix Field Engineering Corporation identified and ranked 269 uranium anomalies from 23 quadrangles in and adjacent to Wyoming. These anomalies were based on an evaluation of the NURE HSSR data, aerial radiometric reconnaissance surveys and, to a lesser extent, geologic evaluations. This report [GJBX-3(83)] lists 3 uranium anomalies that were identified in the Preston quadrangle. No additional data for any samples accompanies this report.

Preston Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Broxton, D.E., and Nunes, H.P., 1978, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance data release for the Wyoming portions of the Driggs, Preston, and Ogden NTMS quadrangles: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-7181-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-70(78), 93 p.
Dayvault, R.D., Rush, S.M., and Ludlam, J.R., 1984, Evaluation of uranium potential in a topaz-bearing rhyolite, China Hat Dome, southeastern Idaho, in Goodknight, C.S., compiler, Reports on field investigations of uranium anomalies: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-1(84), p. II-1 - II-26.
Goodknight, C.S., Ludlam, J.R., Burger, J.A., Dickson, R.E., Dayvault, R.D., Dexter, J.J., and Anderson, J.R., 1982, Uranium anomalies in Wyoming and parts of adjacent states: U.S. Department of Energy, Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-3(83), 11 p.
Morris, W.A., Bunker, M.E., Waterbury, G.R., and Waller, R.A., 1979, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation Program; Semiannual progress report April-September 1979; Primarily for the Rocky Mountain states of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana and the state of Alaska: U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-5(80), 11 p.
Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1981, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Preston quadrangle, Wyoming; Idaho: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-368, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-325(81), 113 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

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

Page written by 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_prestn.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:14 EDT 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)