USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

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

Maryland
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 1,322 stream-sediment, 837 surface-water, and 1,188 ground-water samples within 23 counties from Maryland as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during May - August 1978, and water samples were collected during May - June 1977; December 1977; and July - October 1978. Sample coverage included portions of the Baltimore, Chincoteague, Cumberland, Salisbury, Washington, and Wilmington 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 172 stream-sediment and 266 ground-water samples were collected within the Salisbury quadrangle.) These samples were sent to SRL for analysis of uranium and additional elements (16 in sediments and 9 in waters). SRL was able to analyze 1,286 sediments and 2,023 waters from Maryland; this includes 155 sediment and 266 water samples from the Salisbury quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all Maryland samples were released in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)].

Delaware
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 234 stream-sediment and 284 ground-water samples within 3 counties from Delaware as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during May - June 1978, and water samples were collected during July 1977, August 1978, and October 1978. Sample coverage included portions of the Salisbury and Wilmington 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 123 stream-sediment and 192 ground-water samples were collected within the Salisbury quadrangle.) These samples were sent to SRL for analysis of uranium and additional elements (16 in sediments and 9 in waters). SRL was able to analyze 226 sediments and 284 waters from Delaware; this includes 120 sediment and 192 water samples from the Salisbury quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all Delaware samples were released in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)].

New Jersey
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 748 stream-sediment, 378 surface-water, and 1,038 ground-water samples within 21 counties from New Jersey as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during August - November 1977 and June 1978, and water samples were collected during July - October 1977 and January - February 1978. Sample coverage included portions of the New York, Newark, Salisbury, Scranton, and Wilmington 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 5 stream-sediment and 3 ground-water samples were collected within the Salisbury quadrangle.) These samples were sent to SRL for analysis of uranium and additional elements (16 in sediments and 9 in waters). SRL was able to analyze 728 sediments and 1,414 waters from New Jersey; this includes 4 sediment and 3 water samples from the Salisbury quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all New Jersey samples were released in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York Data Report [GJBX-106(82)].

SRL sent 550 sediment samples from New Jersey to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 542 of these samples in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York Data Report [GJBX-106(82)]. The digital data file accompanying this report does not include Supplemental Analyses for any of the New Jersey sediment samples within the Salisbury quadrangle.

Virginia
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 5,667 stream-sediment, 2,598 surface-water, and 4,834 ground-water samples within 96 counties from Virginia as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during July - October 1976; August - September 1977; and April - November 1978, and water samples were collected during December 1976 - September 1977; April - October 1978; and June - August 1979. Sample coverage included portions of the Baltimore, Bluefield, Charlottesville, Chincoteague, Cumberland, Currituck Sound, Greensboro, Jenkins, Johnson City, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Salisbury, Washington, and Winston-Salem 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (One stream-sediment sample and one ground-water sample were collected within the Salisbury quadrangle.) These samples were sent to SRL for analysis of uranium and additional elements (16 in sediments and 9 in waters). SRL was able to analyze 5,522 sediments and 7,416 waters from Virginia; this includes the 1 sediment sample and 1 water sample from the Salisbury quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all Virginia samples were released in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)].

SRL sent 2,719 sediment samples from Virginia to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 2,711 of these samples in the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)]. The digital data file accompanying this report does not include Supplemental Analyses for any of the Virginia sediment samples within the Salisbury quadrangle.

SRL: Salisbury Quadrangle
SRL did not release a separate report for the Salisbury quadrangle.

ORGDP: Salisbury and Wilmington Quadrangles
SRL sent several New Jersey sediment samples to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for analysis of uranium and 31 additional elements. ORGDP released the analytical data for 28 samples in the Salisbury and Wilmington Quadrangles GJBX-81(82) Data Report (One sample was from the Salisbury quadrangle). The site coding information for this data set was summarized in the GJBX-51(82) report.

Gold Analyses
Data for gold analyses of sediments by SRL neutron activation were released in the GJBX-135(82) summary report. The introduction of that report states:

"This report contains previously unreported neutron-activation analyses of gold in sediment samples determined at SRL. These data were not included in the standard SRL NURE data reports because the gold spectrum was not measured in the original analytical procedure and the report format was designed without the gold analyses being included. Gold analyses became available as the analytical procedure was refined, but the report format was not modified to incorporate these data."

Only those sediment samples that had detectable concentrations of gold by neutron activation analysis were given in the GJBX-135(82) report. Sediment samples with concentrations below detection limits were not reported and can only be ascertained by identifying which samples were actually analyzed by neutron activation at SRL.

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

The following is a list of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Salisbury quadrangle.

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

Sediment Samples

• SR1: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis - Neutron Counting of sediments for U.
• SR2: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for Al, Ce, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Sc, Sm, Th, Ti, V, and Yb. (Note: Au values were reported later for this method.)
• OR2: Supplemental Analyses by Oak Ridge Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for U.
• OR7: Supplemental Analyses by 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.
• SR5: Savannah River Neutron Activation Analysis of waters for Al, Br, Cl, Dy, F, Mn, Na, and V. (Note: Mg may also be reported by this method.)

Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Salisbury Quadrangle

Sediment Records
The Salisbury quadrangle sediment data consist of reformatted records from the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia portions of the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)], and reformatted records from the New Jersey portion of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York Data Report [GJBX-106(82)]. These records were compared and combined with records from the ORGDP Salisbury Quadrangle GJBX-81(82) Data Report. Site descriptive information and coordinates were compared for all corresponding records.

The following problems were addressed and corrected during the reformatting process of the Salisbury quadrangle sediment data:

1. The original ORGDP files for the Salisbury and Wilmington quadrangles did not include all of the information about the character of the sample location. This missing information includes observations taken at each site on the stream width, depth, and flow, water color, surrounding vegetation, local relief, weather, and possible contaminants. In addition, the longitude coordinate reported in the ORGDP file only had 3 decimal places instead of the 4 decimal places found in the corresponding records from SRL State files. The missing site descriptive data and the complete longitude value were added to ORGDP records from the corresponding SRL State file records. Sources of data and any problems found are described in the REFORMAT comment field.
2. Within Atlantic, Cape May, and Gloucester Counties of New Jersey, several stream-sediment samples were collected at a single site. These different samples are identified by a different suffix on the SRLID site number (S1, S6, S7, S8, or S9). Elsewhere, SRL has defined S1 samples as the fraction of sediment that has passed through a 100-mesh sieve. However, no definition has been found for what the suffixes S6, S7, S8, or S9 mean.
3. During reformatting, contamination codes for "residential" and "recreation" were found to be missing from each State's CONTAMC field. The presence of one of these two codes was indicated only by a "." (period). The missing codes were assigned a value of "unknown" in the CONTAMC field within the final sediment data file.
4. An analysis of latitude-longitude site coordinates identified several stream-sediment samples that were missing coordinates, did not plot within expected state, county, or map boundaries, or had differing coordinates in corresponding records. To correct or confirm sample coordinates, the original field collection maps for Kent County, Delaware were obtained and re-digitized. The newly re-digitized coordinates were added to the database and the coordinates from the original file(s) were recorded in the COORDPRB comment field. When the newly re-digitized coordinates were not significantly different, that confirmation of the site location was also noted in the COORDPRB comment field.
5. After re-digitizing, one stream-sediment sample from Kent County, Delaware originally located in the Wilmington quadrangle now plots in the adjacent Salisbury quadrangle.
6. Gold concentrations from the GJBX-135(82) report were added to the appropriate sediment records. A value of -0.01 (<0.01 ppm Au) was added to all other sediment samples determined to have been analyzed by SRL neutron activation. This value was chosen because 0.01 ppm is the lowest reported gold concentration in the entire report.

Water Records
The Salisbury quadrangle water data consist of reformatted records from the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia portions of the Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Data Report [GJBX-103(82)], and reformatted records from the New Jersey portion of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York Data Report [GJBX-106(82)]. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Salisbury quadrangle water data:

1. An analysis of latitude-longitude site coordinates identified several ground-water samples that were missing coordinates, did not plot within expected state, county, or map boundaries, or had differing coordinates in corresponding records. To correct or confirm sample coordinates, the original field collection maps for Kent and Sussix Counties, Delaware were obtained and re-digitized. The newly re-digitized coordinates were added to the database and the coordinates from the original file(s) were recorded in the COORDPRB comment field. When the newly re-digitized coordinates were not significantly different, that confirmation of the site location was also noted in the COORDPRB comment field.
2. After re-digitizing, one well-water sample from Kent County, Delaware originally located in the Wilmington quadrangle now plots in the adjacent Salisbury 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).

Salisbury Quadrangle Sediment Data - 301 records
Salisbury Quadrangle Water Data - 462 records

Notes for Data Users

In the eastern United States, SRL collected samples primarily by county. Often, not all counties within a quadrangle were completely sampled. Sample coverage in the Salisbury quadrangle complete and includes samples from Kent and Sussex Counties in Delaware; Caroline, Dorchester, Queen Annes, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties in Maryland; Cape May County in New Jersey; and Accomack County in Virginia. The laboratory and analytical methods used also may vary by county such that adjacent counties often have very different analytical coverage.

Twenty stream-sediment samples within the Salisbury quadrangle were not analyzed by any of the various laboratories. The following table summarizes the locations of those unanalyzed samples.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Charlotte Quadrangle

None found.

Charlotte Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

• Cook, J.R., Fay, W.M., and Sargent, K.A., 1982, Data report: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-146-26, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-106(82), 44 p.
• Fay, W.M., and Cook, J.R., 1982, Gold analyses by neutron activation from SRL NURE samples: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-141-38, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-135(82), 45 p.
• Fay, W.M., Sargent, K.A., and Cook, J.R., 1982, Data report: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-146-23, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-103(82), 43 p.
• Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1982, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for the Wilmington and Salisbury quadrangles, Maryland; Delaware; Pennsylvania; New Jersey: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-436, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-81(82), 6 p.
• Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1982, Supplement to hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data reports K/UR-405 and K/UR-408 through K/UR-443 [GJBX-52(82) through GJBX-88(82)]: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-412, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-51(82), 25 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Maryland NURE data
Back to Delaware NURE data
Back to New Jersey NURE data
Back to Virginia NURE data
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning NURE 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 1.41: February 23, 2006

AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad/q_salisb.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:15 EDT 2016