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Mississippi
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 814 ground-water samples within 14 counties of southwest central Mississippi as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sampling effort was completed between August, 1978 and January, 1979 and included portions of the Hattiesburg, Jackson, Meridian, and Natchez 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (No samples were collected within the Mississippi portion of the Tupelo quadrangle.) These samples were sent to SRL for analysis of uranium and 16 additional elements. SRL was able to analyze all 814 Mississippi water samples. The analytical and site location data for all Mississippi water samples were released as a separate file in the Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas Data Report [GJBX-104(82)].

Alabama
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 4,499 stream-sediment, 1,486 surface-water, and 6,204 ground-water samples within 53 counties from the northern two-thirds of Alabama as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The sediment samples were collected during June - December, 1976 and March 1978 - January 1979, and water samples were collected during January - September, 1977 and December 1977 - March 1979. Sample coverage included portions of the Andalusia, Atlanta, Birmingham, Blytheville, Dothan, Gadsden, Hattiesburg, Meridian, Montgomery, Phenix City, Rome, Tupelo, and West Point 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (A total of 69 stream-sediment, 68 surface-water, and 116 ground-water samples were collected within the Tupelo 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 4,489 sediments and 7,677 waters from Alabama; this includes all 69 sediment and all 184 water samples from the Tupelo quadrangle. The analytical and site location data for all Alabama samples were released in the Alabama and Georgia Data Report [GJBX-403(81)].

SRL sent 1,476 sediment samples from Alabama to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 1,471 of these samples in the Alabama and Georgia Data Report [GJBX-403(81)]. The digital data file accompanying this report does not include Supplemental Analyses for any Alabama sediment samples within the Tupelo quadrangle.

Tennessee
Subcontractors for the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) collected at least 3,309 stream-sediment, 1,584 surface-water, and 3,574 ground-water samples within 58 counties from the eastern half and the northwestern corner of Tennessee as part of the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program. The samples were collected during June - December, 1976 and March - November, 1978 and included portions of the Blytheville, Chattanooga, Columbia, Corbin, Dyersburg, Gadsden, Johnson City, Knoxville, Nashville, Rome, and Winston-Salem 1:250,000-scale quadrangles. (No samples were collected within the Tennessee portion of the Tupelo 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 2,450 sediments and 5,149 waters from Tennessee. The analytical and site location data for all Tennessee samples were released in the Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio Data Report [GJBX-105(82)].

SRL sent 248 sediment samples from Tennessee to an unnamed contract laboratory for "Supplemental Analyses." Supplemental analytical determinations for up to 23 elements were reported for 247 of these samples in the Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio Data Report [GJBX-105(82)]. The digital data file accompanying this report does not include Supplemental Analyses for any Tennessee sediment samples within the Tupelo quadrangle.

SRL: Gadsden and Tupelo Quadrangles
Occasionally, SRL released abbreviated reports for quadrangles under their responsibility. These reports include neutron activation analyses done at SRL. An abbreviated report was released for the Gadsden and Tupelo quadrangles [GJBX-213(81)]. Data tables with analyses are included within the microfiche accompanying this report. Data found in this report appear to be the same data as that found in the state digital data-file. No separate digital data file accompanies this 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
The following is a list of all sample types collected and reported for NURE studies in the Tupelo quadrangle.

These Tupelo 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.)

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 Tupelo Quadrangle

Sediment Records
The Tupelo quadrangle sediment data consist of reformatted records from the Alabama portion of the Alabama and Georgia [GJBX-403(81)] Data Report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Tupelo Quadrangle sediment data:

1. 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 water data file.
2. 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 is the lowest reported gold concentration in the entire report.

Water Records
The Tupelo quadrangle water data consist of reformatted records from the Alabama portion of the Alabama and Georgia [GJBX-403(81)] Data Report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Tupelo quadrangle water data:

1. The original NURE format for surface-water files did not include much 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. This information is given in records for stream-sediment samples that were collected at the same locations. The available site descriptive information for stream-water sites were compared with the corresponding stream-sediment site records. The missing site descriptive data were then added to stream-water records from the corresponding stream-sediment sample records. Sources of data and any problems found are described 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).

Tupelo Quadrangle Sediment Data - 69 records
Tupelo Quadrangle Water Data - 184 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 Tupelo quadrangle is limited to the Colbert, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, and Marion Counties, Alabama. These counties are found on the eastern border of the Tupelo quadrangle. The laboratory and analytical methods used also may vary by county such that adjacent counties often have very different analytical coverage.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Tupelo Quadrangle

None found.

Tupelo Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

• Bennett, C.B., 1981, Gadsden and Tupelo 1° x 2° NTMS Areas, Alabama (abbreviated): E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-146-1, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-213(81), 17 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., 1981, Data report: Alabama and Georgia: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, S.C., SRL Internal Doc. DPST-81-146-21, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-403(82), 34 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

Back to Mississippi NURE data
Back to Alabama NURE data
Back to Tennessee 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 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.41: February 23, 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_tupelo.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:16 EDT 2016