OFR 97-492: San Antonio 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.]

ORGDP: San Antonio Quadrangle
Totals of 546 stream-sediment, 1 rock, 1,122 water, and 201 botanical samples were collected from the San Antonio quadrangle by Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) staff for the ORGDP San Antonio Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. Sampling took place intermittently between April and December of 1976 and between April and September of 1977. These samples were analyzed by the ORGDP for uranium and other elements. The analytical data were released as the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report.

Texas Gulf Coast Detailed Geochemical Survey
Between May and June of 1979, ORGDP conducted a detailed study along the outcrop of Lower Tertiary sediments of the Wilcox and Claiborne Groups in the Texas Gulf Coast area. A total of 125 stream-sediment samples and 821 ground-water samples were collected from the San Antonio, Seguin, Crystal City, and Del Rio quadrangles by ORGDP personnel. Of these samples, 51 sediments and 471 waters were collected within the San Antonio quadrangle. ORGDP analyzed these samples for uranium and several additional elements. Some ground-water samples were also shipped to Furman University, Greenville, S.C. for helium and neon analyses. The analytical data were released with the Texas Gulf Coast Detailed Study GJBX-34(80) 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 San Antonio quadrangle samples.

Combination of laboratories that analyzed samples for the San Antonio quadrangle.
Laboratory Analysis Sediments Waters Plants
ORGDP 595 1,591 26
Second ORGDP analysis on sample 0 117 0
None 3 2 175
Total Samples 598 1,593 201
Total Data Records 598 1,710 201

The following is a list of sample types collected for both NURE studies within the San Antonio quadrangle.

Summary of San Antonio quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type No. of Samples Water Sample Type No. of Samples Plant Sample Type No. of Samples
Wet Streams 265 Streams 339 Deciduous Tree (14 types) 187
Dry Streams 332 Wells 1,237 Conifer (4 types) 7
Rocks 1 Springs 17 Bush (2 types) 3
        Unspecified 4
Total Sediments 598 Total Waters 1,593 Total Plants 201

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

Sediment (and Rock) Samples

Water Samples

Plant Samples


Discussion of the Reformatting Process for San Antonio Quadrangle

The San Antonio quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report plus reformatted records from the Texas Gulf Coast Detailed Study GJBX-34(80) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the San Antonio quadrangle data:

Sediment Records

  1. Sixteen sediment records were found in the digital data file but were missing in the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report. A comment noting this problem was added to the REFORMAT field for each record.
  2. Four sediment records were not included in the original digital data file for the San Antonio quadrangle. These records were manually entered from the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report.
  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. Six separate stream-sediment samples in this quadrangle have the same three latitude-longitude coordinates. It is unclear whether this represents three pairs of samples collected at the same sites or samples collected at separate sites so close together that the coordinate precision was insufficient to distinguish.
  5. One stream-sediment sample originally had a latitude of exactly 30°N, the dividing line between the San Antonio quadrangle and the Llano quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the San Antonio quadrangle.
  6. Two stream-sediment samples originally had a longitude of exactly 98°W, the dividing line between the San Antonio quadrangle and the Seguin quadrangle. The coordinates for these samples were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report. This slight change places these samples clearly in the San Antonio quadrangle.

Water Records

  1. Twenty-nine water records were found in the digital data file but were missing in the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report. A comment noting this problem was added to the REFORMAT field for each record.
  2. Five water records were not included in the original digital data file for the San Antonio quadrangle. These records were manually entered from the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report.
  3. 117 water samples from the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report were apparently analyzed by two different ORGDP multielement analysis methods. Because of overlapping data fields, it was necessary to create two data records for each sample to preserve all the data. A comment in the REFORMAT field identifies each of these records.
  4. Unlikely sample collection dates were found for 7 samples represented by 8 records. 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.
  5. Sixteen separate water samples in this quadrangle have the same eight latitude-longitude coordinates. It is unclear whether this represents eight pairs of samples collected at the same sites or samples collected at separate sites so close together that the coordinate precision was insufficient to distinguish.
  6. One water sample that barely plots in the San Antonio quadrangle has a MAPCODE value and information in the COMMENTS field which indicate that the sample was originally collected as part of the adjacent Crystal City quadrangle study. It is unclear whether this sample has bad coordinate values or was actually collected just outside of the adjacent Crystal City quadrangle.
  7. One stream-water sample and one well-water sample originally had a latitude of exactly 30°N, the dividing line between the San Antonio quadrangle and the Llano quadrangle. The coordinates were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report. This slight change places the samples clearly in the San Antonio quadrangle.
  8. Two well-water samples originally had a latitude of exactly 29°N, the dividing line between the San Antonio quadrangle and the Crystal City quadrangle. The coordinates were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Texas Gulf Coast Detailed Study GJBX-34(80) report. This slight change places the samples clearly in the San Antonio quadrangle.
  9. One stream-water sample originally had a longitude of exactly 98°W, the dividing line between the San Antonio quadrangle and the Seguin quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the San Antonio quadrangle.
  10. The latitude and longitude coordinates for 3 water samples collected within the San Antonio quadrangle were not found in the data during the reformatting process. The records for these 3 samples cannot be retrieved on a geographical basis.

Plant Records

  1. The San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report includes data for 201 plant samples collected in the San Antonio quadrangle.
  2. 175 of the plant samples collected in the San Antonio quadrangle were not analyzed by any method.
  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.

Rock Records

  1. When rock samples were collected, the site descriptive data commonly utilized the same field formats found for stream-sediment samples. When analyzed, the analytical methods were also the same methods used for stream-sediment or soil samples. Because of these similarities, rock sample data were reformatted with and are now reported in the sediment database.
  2. A record for 1 rock sample was found in the digital data file but not listed in the San Antonio Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-96(78) report. The sample was not analyzed by ORGDP and the data record consists only of site information and comments.
  3. The one rock sample record contained values for the sediment sample condition (SEDCOND) and the sediment sample treatment (SEDTREAT). These parameters were not normally recorded for rock sample records. These values were removed and added as a comment to the corresponding REFORMAT field.
  4. The latitude coordinate value for 1 rock sample collected within the San Antonio quadrangle was not found in the data during the reformatting process. The record for this sample cannot be retrieved on a geographical basis.

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).

San Antonio Quadrangle Sediment Data - 597 records
San Antonio Quadrangle Water Data - 1,707 records


Notes for Data Users

The ORGDP 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.

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 +/- 363 feet (111 m) for latitude values and between +/- 343 feet (101 m) to +/- 331 feet (97 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 25° and 30°N, respectively.)

Three stream-sediment and two stream-water samples collected in the San Antonio quadrangle were not analyzed by any method.


Other NURE Geochemical Data for the San Antonio Quadrangle

Karnes County, Texas Orientation Study
The Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) conducted a NURE Orientation Study in Karnes County, Texas (located within the Beeville, Crystal City, San Antonio and Seguin quadrangles). This study targeted an area that contains known classic roll-front deposits that had been drilled but not yet mined at the time of the survey. A total of 51 ground-water, 16 stream-water, 16 suspended-sediment, and 38 stream-bed sediment samples were collected in Karnes County. Ground-water samples were analyzed for U by fluorometry and for an additional 30 elements; sediments samples were also analyzed for U and for 5 other elements. Some samples were also analyzed by the ORGDP for uranium by fluorometry and the results match closely with those obtained by SRL. The data (both SRL and ORGDP) are found as tables within the Karnes County, Texas Orientation Study GJBX-130(82) report.

San Antonio Quadrangle NURE Summary
A summary evaluation of the San Antonio quadrangle was prepared by Bendix Field Engineering Corporation [PGJ/F-126(82)]. As part of this process, 44 rock samples were collected and analyzed for U by fluorometry and for an additional 34 elements. Data are only found as tables in the appendices on microfiche accompanying the report. The results of this study suggest that there are 11 areas favorable for Texas roll-type uranium deposits within the San Antonio quadrangle. These areas include locations within the Queen City and Carrizo Formations and the Wilcox Group.


San Antonio Quadrangle NURE Bibliography


Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Texas 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 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 2006

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