OFR 97-492: Prince Rupert Quadrangle NURE HSSR Study
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[See History of NURE HSSR Program for a summary of the entire program.]
During August of 1978 the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) collected samples for the NURE Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) study of the Dixon Entrance quadrangle and the Prince Rupert D-6 quadrangle. Standard LASL sampling procedure called for the collection of samples from the center of flowing streams. Sediment samples were to be sieved to collect the <100 mesh fraction and water samples were to be acidified. Since many streams in Alaska are fast flowing and deep, LASL was concerned that field personnel would be unable to sample the center of streams and that sediments collected from stream centers would contain insufficient <100 mesh material to analyze. For this study, LASL set out to examine the variation in elemental concentrations due to different sample treatments. This was done to determine if alternate sample treatments could substitute for the standard sampling methodology. Sampling was conducted at 203 sites. Each sediment sample was sieved into as many as 5 fractions for analysis to determine the variation of elemental concentrations due to grain size. Variation, due to sampling different locations within a stream, was examined by collecting from both the stream center and from the stream bank at 24 sediment sample sites. To determine the effects of sample treatment on elemental concentrations in waters, 2 samples were collected from each water sampling site. One water sample was filtered and acidified, and one was only acidified. In all, 950 sediment samples and 404 water samples were collected from the 203 sites sampled. A total of 51 sediment samples and 14 water samples from 7 locations were collected from the portion of Prince of Wales Island that lies within the Prince Rupert D-6 quadrangle. All samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and the sediment samples were analyzed for up to 42 additional elements. The analytical results and the evaluation of variation due to sample treatments were compiled and published by LASL in the GJBX-257(80) report.
During September of 1979, LASL collected an additional 89 sediment and 84 water samples from 89 locations within the remainder of Prince Rupert quadrangle to complete the Prince Rupert Quadrangle NURE HSSR study. The sediment samples were analyzed by LASL for uranium and up to 45 additional elements, but LASL was unable to complete the Prince Rupert 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-3(82) report. This report does not give any details on the sample collection or analytical methods used on these samples.
LASL sent the 84 water samples from the Prince Rupert 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-194(81) report.
The following is a list of NURE sample types collected for these studies in the Prince Rupert quadrangle.
| Sediment Sample Type | Number of Samples | Water Sample Type | Number of Samples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wet Streams (< 40 mesh) | 6 | Streams (acidified) | 50 |
| Wet Streams (< 80 mesh) | 6 | Streams (acidified and filtered) | 6 |
| Wet Streams (< 100 mesh) | 52 | Lakes (acidified) | 41 |
| Wet Streams (< 170 mesh) | 3 | Lakes (acidified and filtered) | 1 |
| Wet Streams (< 230 mesh) | 3 | ||
| Wet Lakes (< 40 mesh) | 1 | ||
| Wet Lakes (< 80 mesh) | 1 | ||
| Wet Lakes (< 100 mesh) | 42 | ||
| Wet Lakes (< 170 mesh) | 1 | ||
| Wet Lakes (< 230 mesh) | 1 | ||
| Stream Bank (< 40 mesh) | 5 | ||
| Stream Bank (< 80 mesh) | 5 | ||
| Stream Bank (< 100 mesh) | 5 | ||
| Stream Bank (< 170 mesh) | 5 | ||
| Stream Bank (< 230 mesh) | 4 | ||
| Total Sediments | 140 | Total Waters | 98 |
These Prince Rupert quadrangle samples were analyzed by one or more of the following methods:
Sediment Samples
Water Samples
The sediment data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of 51 reformatted sediment records from the LASL Dixon Entrance/Prince Rupert D-6 GJBX-257(80) report and 89 reformatted sediment records from the Bendix Prince Rupert quadrangle GJBX-3(82) report. The water data in the NEW-FORMAT NURE data files consist of 14 reformatted water records from the LASL Dixon Entrance/Prince Rupert D-6 GJBX-257(80) report and 84 reformatted water records from the ORGDP Prince Rupert quadrangle GJBX-194(81) report. Any changes in the data or problems found are noted in the REFORMAT comment field.
In the Dixon Entrance/Prince Rupert D-6 study [GJBX-257(80)], LASL assigned new SAMPTYP codes to each of the different sediment sieve fractions. Although these SAMPTYP codes were unique within this study, they overlapped SAMPTYP codes defined differently in other LASL NURE special studies. This overlap of SAMPTYP codes was resolved by reassigning the Dixon Entrance/Prince Rupert D-6 SAMPTYP codes, as defined in Appendix II-C of the GJBX-257(80) report, to equivalent SAMPTYP codes used elsewhere. When no equivalent code was available, the SAMPTYP was reassigned to a new code value not found in any other NURE study. Records where the SAMPTYP was reassigned are noted in the REFORMAT comment field. The description of the SAMPTYP codes used in the New-Format NURE data files can be found in the On-Line Manual for New-Format NURE HSSR Data Files.
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).
Prince Rupert Quadrangle Sediment Data - 135 records
Prince Rupert Quadrangle Water Data - 98 records
In other LASL Alaska quadrangle HSSR studies, water samples are reported to have been acidified with nitric acid but NOT filtered in the field. In the Dixon Entrance/Prince Rupert D-6 study water samples were reported to have been acidified but NOT filtered in the field, OR acidified AND filtered in the field. These different sample treatments can be identified using the SAMPTYP code and the corresponding definition in the On-Line Manual for New-Format NURE HSSR Data Files.
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.
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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