USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

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

ORGDP: Scottsbluff Quadrangle
A total of 402 stream-sediment and 567 ground-water samples was collected, under contract with the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, from the Scottsbluff quadrangle. The stream sediments were collected by personnel of Biospheric Consultants International during October of 1979 and the ground waters were collected by the Nebraska Geological Survey between July and September of 1979. These samples were analyzed by Oak Ridge for uranium and other elements and the analytical data were released as the Scottsbluff Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study GJBX-145(81) report.

Summary Tables
The following is a list of sample types collected for the Scottsbluff quadrangle study.

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

Sediment Samples

• OR1: Oak Ridge Fluorescence Spectroscopy Analysis of sediments for U.
• OR2: Oak Ridge Neutron Activation 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.
• OR8: Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of sediments for As and Se.

Water Samples

• OR9-FL: Oak Ridge Fluorescence Spectroscopy 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.)
• OR16: Oak Ridge Anion Optical Absorption (Technicon AutoAnalyzer) Analysis of waters for Cl and Sulfate.
• OR17: Oak Ridge Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis of waters for As and Se.

Discussion of the Reformatting Process for Scottsbluff Quadrangle

The Scottsbluff quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the Scottsbluff Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-145(81) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for these data:

Sediment Records

1. One stream-sediment sample originally had a latitude of exactly 41°N, the dividing line between the Scottsbluff quadrangle and the Sterling quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Scottsbluff Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-145(81) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Scottsbluff quadrangle.
2. One stream-sediment sample originally had a longitude of exactly 102°W, the dividing line between the Scottsbluff quadrangle and the North Platte quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Scottsbluff Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-145(81) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Scottsbluff quadrangle.

Water Records

1. Two well-water samples originally had a longitude of exactly 102°W, the dividing line between the Scottsbluff quadrangle and the North Platte quadrangle. The coordinates were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Scottsbluff Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-145(81) report. This slight change places the samples clearly in the Scottsbluff quadrangle.
2. One spring-water sample was found only in the Scottsbluff Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-145(81) report and not in the accompanying digital data file. This record was added and that fact was 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 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).

Scottsbluff Quadrangle Sediment Data - 402 records
Scottsbluff Quadrangle Water Data - 567 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.

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 +/- 365 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.) Latitude and longitude values are reported to the nearest second on field records on microfiche accompanying the GJBX-145(81) report.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Scottsbluff Quadrangle

Western Nebraska Uranium Exploration Targets
Oak Ridge released a report for the Alliance and Scottsbluff quadrangles that describes the use of statistical analysis on ground water samples to delineate uranium exploration targets [GJBX-113(82)]. This analysis was based on data from the Alliance and Scottsbluff HSSR quadrangle reports and no new analytical data were released as a part of this evaluation process.

Scottsbluff Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

• Bard, C.S., 1982, Delineation of uranium exploration targets in western Nebraska by statistical analysis of groundwater geochemistry: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-48, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-113(82), 26 p.
• Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1981, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Scottsbluff NTMS quadrangle, Nebraska and Colorado: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-147, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-145(81), 147 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Nebraska NURE data
Back to Colorado NURE data
Back to Wyoming 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 1.41: 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_scotsb.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:15 EDT 2016