Gulkana Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

OFR 97-492: Gulkana Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study

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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.]

During the summer of 1975, the Alaska State Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), conducted a uranium reconnaissance study within 13 Alaska quadrangles. Totals of 644 sediment and 601 water samples from 694 locations from this study were sent to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) for analysis. LASL analyzed these samples for uranium and the analytical data were released in the GJBX-79(78) report. This report includes results for 6 sediment samples and 4 water samples collected from 6 locations within the Gulkana quadrangle.

During July of 1976, the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska conducted a uranium reconnaissance study in the Susitna River Basin. Totals of 140 sediment samples, 71 replicate samples, and 141 water samples from 147 locations from this study were sent to LASL for analysis. LASL analyzed the samples for uranium and the results were released in the GJBX-31(77) report. This report includes results for 25 sediment samples, 3 replicate sediment samples, and 26 water samples from 29 locations within the Gulkana quadrangle.

Totals of 620 sediment and 737 water samples were collected from 737 locations between July and August of 1977 within the Gulkana quadrangle as part of the LASL Gulkana Quadrangle NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study. All samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and the sediment samples were analyzed for up to 43 additional elements. When LASL was unable to complete the Gulkana quadrangle data release report, the data were sent to the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation in Grand Junction, Colorado and subsequently published as the microfiche GJBX-202(81) report. This report only lists the analytical results for 574 lake sediment samples and 686 lake water samples and does not give any details on the sample collection or analytical methods used during the study.

The following is a list of sample types collected for NURE studies within the Gulkana quadrangle.

*Summary of Gulkana quadrangle sample types.*
Sediment Sample Type	Number of Samples	Water Sample Type	Number of Samples
Wet Streams (< 100 mesh)	60	Streams	67
Wet Streams (< 80 mesh)	4	Lakes	700
Dry Streams (< 80 mesh)	2
Wet Lakes (< 100 mesh)	588
Total Sediments	654	Total Waters	767

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

Sediment Samples

LA1: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of sediments for U.
LA2: Los Alamos Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of sediments for Ag, Bi, Cd, Cu, Nb, Ni, Pb, Sn, and W.
LA3: Los Alamos Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of sediments for Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Nb, Ni, Pb, Se, Sn, W and Zr.
LA4: Los Alamos Arc-Source Emission Spectrography Analysis of sediments for Be and Li.
LA5: Los Alamos Neutron Activation Analysis of sediments for Al, Au, Ba, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, V, Yb, and Zn.

Water Samples

LA6-DN: Los Alamos Delayed-Neutron Counting Analysis of waters for U.
LA6-FL: Los Alamos Fluorometry Analysis of waters for U.

Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist reformatted records for 620 sediment and 737 water samples from the HSSR quadrangle GJBX-202(81) report, 6 sediment and 4 water samples from the DGGS study GJBX-79(78) report, and 28 sediment and 26 water samples from the University of Alaska study GJBX-31(77) report. Any changes in the data or problems found are 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 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).

Gulkana Quadrangle Sediment Data - 654 records
Gulkana Quadrangle Water Data - 767 records

Notes for Data Users

Water samples from this quadrangle are reported to have been acidified with nitric acid but NOT filtered in the field.

Other NURE Geochemical Data for the Gulkana Quadrangle

Some of the reconnaissance survey data given in the LASL GJBX-79(78) report were previously published by the Alaska State Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) in the GJBX-28(77) Part 1 report. In order "to aid in determining the uranium potential of the state," DGGS conducted a "reconnaissance program in west-central Alaska and in the Copper River Basin-Chitina River Valley" that included parts of the Gulkana quadrangle. In GJBX-28(77) Part 1, DGGS reports tabulated analytical results for 916 stream-sediment samples, 427 bedrock samples, and 565 water samples that were collected for the study. The stream-sediment and bedrock samples were analyzed for U by LASL and Resource Associates of Alaska (RAA), and for Th and potassium-oxide by DGGS. The water samples were analyzed for U by LASL using a neutron counting method. This earlier report contains more samples and additional analyses that were not included in the later LASL GJBX-79(78) report. In addition, the sample identifier numbers were changed between publications. These data are only found in tabulated appendices within the GJBX-28(77) Part 1 report. The results that were published in the later GJBX-79(78) LASL report can be found in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files as noted above.

Part 2 of the same DGGS reconnaissance survey report also includes the U, Th, and potassium-oxide values for 119 of the rock samples described above. These data appear to be the same as the values given in Part 1. In addition, Part 2 tabulates results of modal analyses for 109 of the rock samples. These data can be found in the appendices to the GJBX-28(77) Part 2 DGGS 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.

Gulkana Quadrangle NURE Bibliography

Eakins, G.R., 1977, Part 1 - Reconnaissance Program, west-central Alaska and Copper River Basin: in Investigation of Alaska's uranium potential: Alaska State Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, College, Alaska, GJO-1639, U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-28(77), p. 1-E40.
Hill, D.E., 1977, Uranium concentrations in lake and stream waters and sediments from selected sites in the Susitna River Basin, Alaska: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-6730-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-31(77), 29 p.
Jones, B.K., and Forbes, R.B., 1977, Part 2 - Uranium and thorium in granitic and alkaline rocks in western Alaska: in Investigation of Alaska's uranium potential: Alaska State Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, College, Alaska, GJO-1639, U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-28(77), p. 2-1 - 2-66.
Sharp, R.R., Jr., and Hill, D.W., 1978, Uranium concentrations in stream waters and sediments from selected sites in the Eastern Seward Peninsula, Koyukuk, and Charley River Areas, and across south-central Alaska: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory informal report LA-6649-MS, Los Alamos, N.M., U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-79(78), 39 p.
Shettel, D.L., Jr., Langfeldt, S.L., Youngquist, C.A., D'Andrea, R.F., Jr., Zinkl, R.J., Hensley, W.K., Thomas, G.J., Martell, C.J., and Maassen, L.W., 1981, Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the Gulkana NTMS quadrangle, Alaska: Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-202(81), 77 p.
Weaver, T.A., Freeman, S.H., Broxton, D.E., Bolivar, S.L., and others, 1983, The geochemical atlas of Alaska: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N.M., LA-9897-MS, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colo., GJBX-32(83), 57 p.

Links Within Open-File Report 97-492

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 1.10: 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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U.S. Department of the Interior \| U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/quad_ak/q_gulkan.htm Questions or Assistance: USGS Web Contact Page Last Modified: Wed Dec 7 16:17 EDT 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)