OFR 97-492: Mount Hayes 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 3 sediment samples collected from within the Mount Hayes quadrangle.

Totals of 909 sediment and 1,057 water samples were collected from 1,071 locations between July of 1977 within the Mount Hayes quadrangle as part of the LASL Mount Hayes 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. LASL was unable to complete the Mount Hayes 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-91(81) report. This report does not give any details on the sample collection or analytical methods used for these samples.

The following is a list of NURE sample types collected in the Mount Hayes quadrangle.

Summary of Mount Hayes quadrangle sample types.
Sediment Sample Type Number of Samples Water Sample Type Number of Samples
Wet Streams (< 100 mesh) 351 Streams 366
Dry Streams (< 100 mesh) 11 Lakes 690
Dry Streams (< 80 mesh) 3 Artificial Ponds 1
Wet Lakes (< 100 mesh) 546
Dry Lakes (< 100 mesh) 1
Total Sediments 912 Total Waters 1,057

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

Sediment Samples

Water Samples



Composition of the NEW-FORMAT NURE Data Files

The reformatted data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of 909 sediment records and 1,057 water records from the GJBX-91(81) report, and 3 sediment records from the GJBX-79(78) 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).

Mount Hayes Quadrangle Sediment Data - 912 records
Mount Hayes Quadrangle Water Data - 1,057 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 Mount Hayes 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 Mount Hayes 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 using unspecified methods. 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.



Mount Hayes Quadrangle NURE Bibliography



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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