OFR 97-492: Circle Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study
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>> Pubs Warehouse > OF 97-492 > State Coverage > Alaska NURE data > Circle Quadrangle
[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]
Personnel of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Alaska Field Operations Center, Fairbanks, collected 416 rock and 1,584 sediment samples "in 6 project areas in central and northeastern Alaska." The samples were sent to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) for analysis (uranium and up to 42 other elements) and the results were released by Bendix Field Engineering Corporation of Grand Junction, Colo. in the GJBX-33(80) report. This report includes results for 33 rock samples and 48 sediment samples collected from within the Circle quadrangle. However, the report does not include any site description data, and sample locations could only be identified on plates accompanying the report.
Totals of 1,249 sediment and 1,321 water samples were collected from 1,339 locations in the Circle quadrangle as part of the LASL Circle Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. Samples were collected during July of 1978. The sediment samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and up to 43 additional elements, but LASL was unable to complete the Circle quadrangle data release report. The data were sent to and released by the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation in Grand Junction, Colorado only as a microfiche GJBX-186(82) report. This report does not give any details on the sample collection or analytical methods used for these samples.
LASL sent the 1,321 water samples from the Circle quadrangle to the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP) for analysis. These samples were analyzed for uranium and up to 27 additional elements and the results were released by ORGDP in the GJBX-220(81) report.
The following is a list of NURE sample types collected for these studies in the Circle quadrangle.
| Sediment Sample Type | Number of Samples | Water Sample Type | Number of Samples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wet Streams | 1,039 | Streams | 1,028 |
| Dry Streams | 1 | Lakes | 293 |
| Wet Lakes | 257 | ||
| Total Sediments | 1,297 | Total Waters | 1,321 |
These Circle Quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:
Sediment Samples
Water Samples
Rock Samples
The sediment data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of 1,249 reformatted sediment records from the GJBX-186(82) LASL sediment data report and 48 reformatted sediment records from the GJBX-33(80) U.S. Bureau of Mines report. The water data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of 1,321 reformatted water records from the GJBX-220(81) ORGDP water data report. The rock data consist of 33 reformatted rock records from the GJBX-33(80) U.S. Bureau of Mines report. Any changes in the data or problems found are noted in the REFORMAT comment field.
The site locations for samples from the U.S. Bureau of Mines studies could only be identified on plates that accompanied the U.S. Bureau of Mines GJBX-33(80) report. These locations were digitized from the plates and the coordinates added to the reformatted file. Occasionally, a sample site was plotted more than once or not at all. Problems with the coordinates for these samples are noted 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).
Circle Quadrangle Sediment Data - 1,297 records
Circle Quadrangle Water Data - 1,321 records
Circle Quadrangle Rock Data - circle_r.dbf.gz
Water samples from this quadrangle are reported to have been acidified with nitric acid but NOT filtered in the field.
The ORGDP fluorometric procedure for uranium required each water sample to be centrifuged before taking an aliquot for analysis. It is not clear whether water samples analyzed by emission spectrometry were also centrifuged prior to analysis.
Values of 99999 are as reported in the GJBX publications and may reflect values above determination limits.
Sediment samples from the U.S. Bureau of Mines GJBX-33(80) report were assigned a SAMPTYP of 12 but no information was available on whether these samples were wet or dry. Rock samples from the U.S. Bureau of Mines GJBX-33(80) report were crushed to <100 mesh and were assigned a SAMPTYP of 74.
A summary evaluation report was prepared for the Circle quadrangle by C.C. Hawley and Associates of Anchorage, Alaska [PGJ/F-107(82)]. Additional samples of 947 stream sediments, 189 soils, 574 rocks, 33 waters, 37 panned concentrates, and 2 mosses were collected in the quadrangle to "identify geologic environments and delineate areas that exhibit characteristics favorable for uranium deposits." All of the samples were analyzed for uranium oxide by fluorometry. Of these samples, 114 stream sediments, 113 rocks, 62 soils, and 35 panned concentrate were also analyzed for 29 additional elements by a spectrographic method. These data were released only as microfiche appendices accompanying the summary report.
Totals of 1,042 rock samples and 287 sediment samples were collected by personnel of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Alaska Field Operations Center, Fairbanks, Alaska, "in conjunction with various projects in central and eastern Alaska" from portions of the Beaver, Bettles, Black River, Chandalar, Charley River, Circle, Eagle, Fairbanks, Fort Yukon, Livengood, Melozitna, Tanacross, Tanana, Teller, and Wiseman quadrangles. These samples were sent to LASL for analysis and the results were released by Bendix Field Engineering Corporation of Grand Junction, Colorado and the U.S. Bureau of Mines in the GJBX-178(81) report. Samples were analyzed for uranium by delayed neutron activation, for 12 elements by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence, for Be and Li by arc-source emission spectrography, and for 30 elements by neutron activation. These data can only be found in tables in the summary report, and the sample locations can only be identified on the plates accompanying the report.
LASL compiled all of the regional HSSR data from Alaskan NURE studies and produced a report [GJBX-32(83] that graphically displays the distribution of selected elements for most of the State. No additional geochemical data were released with this report.
Back to Alaska 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 1.20: August 07, 2000
Version 1.30: September 11, 2001
Version 1.40: January 13, 2006
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