Waco Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: Waco Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

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

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: Texas Wide-Spaced Uranium Geochemical Survey
Early in the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program, personnel from the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) sampled several areas with a wide-spaced sample coverage (Phase I sampling). Phase I samples were generally collected in stream basins averaging 250 square kilometers in area and from wells at about a 16 km spacing. The purpose of the Phase I sampling was to define uranium provinces that warranted additional sampling at a higher density (Phase II sampling). These samples were sent to the ORGDP and analyzed for uranium and other elements. For many 1:250,000-scale 2-degree quadrangles, Phase I samples were included with later Phase II samples and utilized in the individual HSSR basic data quadrangle reports. Some Phase I samples were never utilized in basic data quadrangle reporting. ORGDP issued the Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Wide-Spaced Sample Basic Data Release for Texas GJBX-131(81) report for several of these Phase I samples. This report includes data for 261 stream sediment and 406 water samples collected during 1976-77 in the Abilene, Austin, Brownwood, Corpus Christi, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Houston, Llano, San Angelo, Sonora, and Waco quadrangles. The Wide-Spaced Sample Basic Data Release for Texas GJBX-131(81) report only contains data tables for Phase I samples; no explanatory text accompanies this report. The Wide-Spaced Sample Basic Data Release for Texas GJBX-131(81) report includes data records for 50 stream-sediment samples and 94 water samples collected within the borders of the Waco quadrangle.

ORGDP: Waco Quadrangle
Totals of 614 stream-sediment and 218 water samples were collected from the Waco quadrangle as part of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) Waco Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. Field sampling was conducted by BCI Geonetics Inc. personnel between January and February, 1980. These samples were analyzed by the ORGDP for uranium and other elements. The analytical data were released as the Waco Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-366(81) report.

Summary Tables
The following is a list of NURE sample types collected in the Waco quadrangle.

*Summary of Waco quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams	499	Streams	49
Dry Streams	165	Wells	260
		Springs	3
Total Sediments	664	Total Waters	312

These Waco 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 - Neutron Counting of Sediments for U.
OR4: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of sediments for Ag, B, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Pt, Sc, Th, Ti, V, Y, Zn, and Zr.
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.
OR11: Oak Ridge Emission Spectrochemical Analysis of waters for Ag, Al, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Sc, Ti, V, Zn, and Zr.
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.)
OR15: Oak Ridge Anion Optical Absorption (Technicon AutoAnalyzer) Analysis of waters for Sulfate only.
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 Waco Quadrangle

The Waco quadrangle sediment and water data consist of reformatted records from the Texas Wide-Spaced Survey GJBX-131(81) report plus reformatted records from the Waco Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-366(81) report. The following problems were found and addressed during the comparison and reformatting stages for the Waco quadrangle data:

Sediment Records

Unlikely sample collection dates were found for two 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.
One stream-sediment sample originally had a latitude of exactly 31°N, the dividing line between the Waco quadrangle and the Austin quadrangle. The coordinates for this sample were changed slightly to values found in tables on microfiche within the Waco Quadrangle NURE HSSR study GJBX-366(81) report. This slight change places the sample clearly in the Waco quadrangle.

Water Records

Two sample records contained an invalid value of 'P' for the well depth confidence (WLDPTCNF). It appears that the column was miscoded with values from an adjacent field on the original field note sample sheet. The correct values were not found. These values were removed from the WLDPTCNF field and added as a comment to the REFORMAT field.
Unlikely sample collection dates were found for four 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.

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).

Waco Quadrangle Sediment Data - 664 records
Waco Quadrangle Water Data - 312 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 +/- 364 feet (111 m) for latitude values and between +/- 317 feet (97 m) to +/- 300 feet (91 m) for longitude values (calculated at latitudes of 30° and 35°N, respectively.)

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Waco Quadrangle

None found.

Waco Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Grimes, J.G., 1981, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment wide-spaced sample basic data release for Texas: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-47, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-131(81), 77 p.
Uranium Resource Evaluation Project, 1981, Hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance basic data for Waco NTMS quadrangle, Texas: Union Carbide Corporation, Nuclear Division, Oak Ridge Gaseous Plant, Oak Ridge, Tenn., K/UR-158, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-366(81), 122 p.

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

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies 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_waco.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:16 EST 2016

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)