OFR 97-492: San Luis Obispo Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study
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This page is currently being rewritten to the Version 1.41 format.
[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]
Totals of 835 sediment and 300 water samples were collected in the San Luis Obispo quadrangle from September to November of 1979 as part of the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) San Luis Obispo Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. The water samples were analyzed by SRL for uranium and 9 other elements and then sent on to Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for "supplemental analyses" (28 elements in waters). At 28 of the sediment sampling locations, 2 sediment fractions were collected, the S1 fraction (<100 mesh) and the S0 fraction (>100 mesh and <18 mesh). The second fraction was presumably collected to avoid windblown dust contamination. SRL apparently did not analyze the sediment samples and subsequently did not release an individual quadrangle report for San Luis Obispo.
A total of 645 sediment samples from SRL were sent to the ORGDP and analyzed for uranium and up to 31 additional elements. These data were released by Oak Ridge in the GJBX-401(81) report. (Note: The "Explanation of Codes Used" appendix to this 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, ORGDP released the data from supplementary analyses of a selection of the SRL water samples from the San Luis Obispo and Monterey (formerly known as Santa Cruz) quadrangles in the GJBX-166(82) abbreviated report (on microfiche only). This report includes the supplemental data for up to 29 elements in all 300 of the San Luis Obispo water samples. The site coding information for this data set was summarized in the GJBX-164(82) report.
In 1982, SRL released a summary report and data files for 50 quadrangles in the Western United States. For the San Luis Obispo quadrangle, this report (GJBX-132(82)) contains the SRL analytical data for the water samples only. The sediment sample records only contained site information but no analytical values.
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 256 of the San Luis Obispo quadrangle ground water samples.
The following is a general listing of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the San Luis Obispo 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.
| Sediment Sample Type | Number of Samples | Water Sample Type | Number of Samples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wet Streams | 4 | Streams | 7 |
| Dry Streams (S1 fraction) | 705 | Wells | 225 |
| Dry Streams (S0 fraction) | 1 | Springs | 67 |
| Soils (S1 fraction) | 72 | Lakes | 1 |
| Soils (S0 fraction) | 24 | ||
| Talus (S1 fraction) | 18 | ||
| Talus (S0 fraction) | 3 | ||
| Other (may include mine tailings) | 8 | ||
| Total Sediments | 835 | Total Waters | 300 |
These San Luis Obispo quadrangle samples were analyzed one or more of the following methods:
Sediment Samples
Water Samples
The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE water data file consist of records from the GJBX-132(82) western U.S. summary report and the Oak Ridge GJBX-166(82) abbreviated report. In this file, the SRL analyses and supplemental analyses could NOT be combined because of overlapping determinations for 5 elements. Each water sample may therefore have two separate records - one for the SRL analysis and one for the supplemental analysis. The site information for every record in the GJBX-166(82) 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.
The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE sediment file consist of records from both the GJBX-132(82) western U.S. summary report and the Oak Ridge GJBX-401(81) abbreviated report. Samples which had records in both reports were combined to create a single record for each sample. Problems noted in either of the original records are noted in the REFORMAT comment field.
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.
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).
San Luis Obispo Quadrangle Sediment Data - 834 records
San Luis Obispo Quadrangle Water Data - 600 records
SRL reported results for two fractions for 28 of the sediment samples. Samples with a suffix of "S0" on the SRLID consist of the fraction of sediment which passed a 18-mesh but did not pass a 100-mesh sieve. Samples with a suffix of "S1" on the SRLID consist of the fraction of sediment which passed a 100-mesh sieve. Due to fractionation of some elements between discretely sized sediment particles, analytical data may not be directly comparable for sediment samples with different sieve fractions.
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.
None found.
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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