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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1994

Chemical, geologic, and hydrologic data from the Little Colorado River basin, Arizona and New Mexico, 1988-91

In June 1988, The U.S. Geological Survey began a 4-year study of the occurrence and movement of radionuclides and other chemical constituents in ground water and surface water in the Little Colorado River basin in Arizona and New Mexico. Radionuclides and other chemical constituents occur naturally in water, rock, and sediment throughout the region; however, discharge of mine--dewatering effluents released by mining operations increased the quantity of radionuclides and other chemical contaminants. Additionally, in 1979, the failure of a tailings-pond dike resulted in the largest known single release of water contaminated by uranium tailings in the United States. Ground-water data and surface-water data were collected from July 1988 through September 1991. Sixty-nine wells were sampled, and collected data include well- construction information, lithologic logs, water levels and chemical analysis of water samples. The wells include 31 wells drilled by the U.S. Geological Survey, 7 wells drilled by the New Mexico Environment Department, 11 private wells, and 20 temporary drive-point wells; in addition, 1 spring was sampled. Data from nine continual-record and five partial-record stxeamflow-gaging stations include daily mean discharge, daily mean suspended-sediment concentration and discharge, and chemical analysis for discrete water and sediment samples. Precipitation data also were collected at the nine continual-record stations.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1989

Chemical, geologic, and hydrologic data from the study of acidic contamination in the Miami Wash-Pinal Creek area, Arizona, water years 1984-87

Occurrence and movement of acidic contamination in the aquifer and streams of the Pinal Creek basin near Globe, Arizona, is the focus of an ongoing study by the U.S. Geological Survey. Groundwater data from that study for water years 1984 to 1987 include location, construction information, and site plans for six groups of monitoring wells, mineralogic and particle-size analyses of drill cuttings, water level measurements, and chemical analyses of water samples from 39 wells. Surface water data for 13 sites in this study include discharge measurements and chemical analysis of water and streambed sediment samples. Monthly discharge data are presented for one site. Monthly precipitation amounts and statistics of long-term precipitation are presented for two sites. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS2014

Precise determination of δ 88 Sr in rocks, minerals, and waters by double-spike TIMS: A powerful tool in the study of chemical, geologic, hydrologic and biologic processes

We present strontium isotopic ( 88 Sr/ 86 Sr and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) results obtained by 87 Sr– 84 Sr double spike thermal ionization mass-spectrometry (DS-TIMS) for several standards as well as natural water samples and mineral samples of abiogenic and biogenic origin. The detailed data reduction algorithm and a user-friendly Sr-specific stand-alone computer program used for the spike calibration and the data reduction are also presented. Accuracy and precision of our δ 88 Sr measurements, calculated as permil (‰) deviations from the NIST SRM-987 standard, were evaluated by analyzing the NASS-6 seawater standard, which yielded δ 88 Sr = 0.378 ± 0.009‰. The first DS-TIMS data for the NIST SRM-607 potassium feldspar standard and for several US Geological Survey carbonate, phosphate, and silicate standards (EN-1, MAPS-4, MAPS-5, G-3, BCR-2, and BHVO-2) are also reported. Data obtained during this work for Sr-bearing solids and natural waters show a range of δ 88 Sr values of about 2.4‰, the widest observed so far in terrestrial materials. This range is easily resolvable analytically because the demonstrated external error (±SD, standard deviation) for measured δ 88 Sr values is typically ≤0.02‰. It is shown that the “true” 87 Sr/ 86 Sr value obtained by the DS-TIMS or any other external normalization method combines radiogenic and mass-dependent mass-fractionation effects, which cannot be separated. Therefore, the “true” 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and the δ 87 Sr parameter derived from it are not useful isotope tracers. Data presented in this paper for a wide range of naturally occurring sample types demonstrate the potential of the δ 88 Sr isotope tracer in combination with the traditional radiogenic 87 Sr/ 86 Sr tracer for studying a variety of biological, hydrological, and geological processes.

Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry↗
USGS1966

Soviet books and publications on geological and chemical oceanography, hydrology, and other subjects acquired during the second international oceanographic congress, Moscow, June 1966: titles and some translated contents and notes

The listed publications represent a selection, by no means complete, of recent Soviet work in geological and chemical oceanography. Some works on hydrogeology and hydrochemistry of the continents, as well as a few publications on other subjects, such as geology, geophysics, and biology, also are included.

Report↗
USGS1962

Rainwater as a chemical agent of geologic processes; a review

Chemical analyses of the rainwater collected at several localities are given to show the variations of the principal constitutents. In rock weathering and soil-forming processes, the chemical composition of rainwater has an important effect which has been evaluated for only a few arid areas. In humid regions the important amounts of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium added yearly by rain may be expected to influence the composition of the soil water and thereby the cations in the exchange positions of soil clay minerals. The acquisition of cations by clay minerals may slow down chemical weathering. The stability of soil clay minerals is influenced by the constant accession of cations from rainwater. Conversely, the clay minerals modify the amounts and kinds of cations that are leached out by drainage waters. The stability of micaceous minerals in soils may be partly due to accessions of K +1 ions from rainwater. The pH of rainwater in any area varies considerably and seems to form a seasonal and regional pattern. The recorded pH values range from 3.0 to 9.8.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1978

Uranium in waters and aquifer rocks at the Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada

Previous chemical, geological, and hydrological information describing the physical and chemical environment of the Nevada Test Site (a Federal reserve for the testing of nuclear explosive devices) has been combined with new radiochemical and isotope data for water and rock samples in order to explain the behavior of uranium during alteration of thick sequences of rhyolitic volcanic rocks and associated volcaniclastic sediments. A model is proposed in which uranium mobility is controlled by two competing processes. Uranium is liberated from the volcanic rocks through dissolution of the glassy constituents and is carried in solution as a uranyl carbonate complex. Uranium is subsequently removed from solution by adsorption on secondary oxides of iron, titanium, and manganese, as observed in fission-track maps of aquifer rocks. The model explains the poor correlation of dissolved uranium with depth within tuffaceous sequences in which percolation of ground water is predominantly downward. Good positive correlation of dissolved uranium with dissolved Na, total dissolved solids, and total carbonate supports the glass dissolution model, while inverse correlation of dissolved uranium with U 234 /U 238 ratios of waters implies uranium is being absorbed by a relatively insoluble, surficial phase. Alpha radioactivity of Test Site water is primarily caused by high U 234 contents, and beta activity is highly correlated with dissolved K (K 40 ). Small amounts of dissolved radium, Pb 210 , and Po 210 are present but no evidence was found for alpha activity sources related to nuclear testing (Pu, U 235 ). A filtered but unacidified carbonate solution of uranium was found to be stable (± 10 percent of original U concentration) for years when stored in acid-washed polyethylene bottles.

Nevada↗
USGS1989

Hydrogeologic and chemical data for the O-Field area, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

O-Field, located at the Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground , Maryland, was periodically used for disposal of munitions, waste chemicals, and chemical-warfare agents from World War II through the 1950' s. This report includes various physical, geologic, chemical, and hydrologic data obtained from well-core, groundwater, surface water, and bottom-sediment sampling sites at and near the O-Field disposal area. The data are presented in tables and hydrographs. Three site-location maps are also included. Well-core data include lithologic logs for 11 well- cluster sites, grain-size distributions, various chemical characteristics, and confining unit characteristics. Groundwater data include groundwater chemistry, method blanks for volatile organic carbon, available data on volatile and base/neutral organics, and compilation of corresponding method blanks, chemical-warfare agents, explosive-related products, radionuclides, herbicides, and groundwater levels. Surface-water data include field-measured characteristics; concentrations of various inorganic constituents including arsenic; selected organic constituents with method blanks; detection limits of organics; and a compilation of information on corresponding acids, volatiles, and semivolatiles. Bottom- sediment data include inorganic properties and constituents; organic chemistry; detection limits for organic chemicals; a compilation of information on acids, volatiles, and semivolatiles; and method blanks corresponding to acids, volatiles, and semivolatiles. A set of 15 water- level hydrographs for the period March 1986 through September 1987 also is included in the report. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS2005

Geochemistry and characteristics of nitrogen transport at a confined animal feeding operation in a coastal plain agricultural watershed, and implications for nutrient loading in the Neuse River basin, North Carolina, 1999-2002

Chemical, geologic, hydrologic, and age-dating information collected between 1999 and 2002 were used to examine the transport of contaminants, primarily nitrogen, in ground water and the pathways to surface water in a coastal plain setting in North Carolina. Data were collected from more than 35 wells and 4 surface-water sampling sites located in a 0.59 square-mile basin to examine detailed hydrogeology and geochemical processes affecting nutrient fate and transport. Two additional surface-water sampling sites were located downstream from the primary study site to evaluate basin-scale effects. Chemical and flow data also were collected at an additional 10 sites in the Coastal Plain portion of the Neuse River basin located between Kinston and New Bern, North Carolina, to evaluate loads transported in the Neuse River and primary tributary basins. At the Lizzie Research Station study site in North Carolina, horizontal flow is induced by the presence of a confining unit at shallow depth. Age-dating, chemical, and piezometric data indicate that horizontal flow from the surficial aquifer is the dominant source of ground water to streamflow. Nitrogen applied on cultivated fields at the Lizzie Research Station is substantially reduced as it moves from recharge to discharge areas. Denitrification in deeper parts of the aquifer and in riparian zones is indicated by a characterization of redox conditions in the aquifer and by the presence of excess nitrogen gas. Direct ground-water discharge of nitrate to surface water during base-flow conditions is unlikely to be significant because of strongly reducing conditions that occur in the riparian zones of these streams. Nitrate loads from a drainage tile at the study site may account for much of the nitrate load in the receiving stream, indicating that a major source of nutrients from ground water to this stream is artificial drainage. During base-flow conditions when the streams are not flowing, it is hypothesized that the mineralization of organic matter on the streambed is the source of nitrate and(or) ammonium in the stream. Base flow is a small contributor to nitrogen loads, because both flows and inorganic nitrogen concentrations are low during summer months. Effects of a confined hog operation on ground-water quality also were evaluated. The use of sprayed swine wastes to fertilize crops at the Lizzie Research Station study site since 1995 resulted in increased concentrations of nitrate and other chemical constituents in ground water beneath spray fields when compared to ground water beneath fields treated with commercial fertilizer. The nitrate concentration in ground water from the spray field well increased by a factor of 3.5 after 4 years of spray applications. Nitrate concentrations ranged from 10 to 35 milligrams per liter, and one concentration as high as 56 milligrams per liter was observed in water from this well in spring 2002. This finding is in agreement with findings of other studies conducted in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina that nitrate concentrations were significantly higher in ground water from cultivated fields sprayed with swine wastes than from fields treated with commercial fertilizer. Loads and yields of nitrogen and phosphorus in 14 streams in the Neuse River basin were evaluated for calendar years 2000 and 2001. Data indicate that anthropogenic effects on nitrogen yields were greatest in the first-order stream studied (yields were greater than 2 tons per square mile [ton/mi2] and 1 ton/mi2 or less in second- and higher-order streams) in the Little Contentnea Creek subbasin. Nitrogen yields in streams in the Contentnea Creek subbasin ranged from 0.59 to 2 ton/mi2 with typical yields of approximately 1 ton/mi2. Contentnea Creek near Evansdale had the highest yield (2 ton/mi2), indicating that a major source of nitrogen is upstream from this station. Nitrogen yields were lower at Contentnea Creek at Hookerton in 2000 and 2001 compared to previous yi

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2013

Factors related to occurrence and distribution of selected bacterial and protozoan pathogens in Pennsylvania streams

The occurrence and distribution of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and bacterial and protozoan pathogens are controlled by diverse factors. To investigate these factors in Pennsylvania streams, 217 samples were collected quarterly from a 27-station water-quality monitoring network from July 2007 through August 2009. Samples were analyzed for concentrations of Escherichia coli (EC) and enterococci (ENT) indicator bacteria, concentrations of Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts, and the presence of four genes related to pathogenic types of EC ( eae A, stx 2, stx 1, rfb O157 ) plus three microbial source tracking (MST) gene markers that are also associated with pathogenic ENT and EC ( esp , LTIIa, STII). Water samples were concurrently analyzed for basic water chemistry, physical measures of water quality, nutrients, metals, and a suite of 79 organic compounds that included hormones, pharmaceuticals, and antibiotics. For each sample location, stream discharge was measured by using standardized methods at the time of sample collection, and ancillary sample site information, such as land use and geological characteristics, was compiled. Samples exceeding recreational water quality criteria were more likely to contain all measured pathogen genes but not Cryptosporidium or Giardia (oo)cysts. FIB and Giardia density and frequency of eae A gene occurrence were significantly related to season. When discharge at a sampling location was high (>75th percentile of daily mean discharge), there were greater densities of FIB and Giardia , and the stx2 , rfb O157 , STII, and esp genes were found more frequently than at other discharge conditions. Giardia occurrence was likely related to nonpoint sources, which are highly influential during seasonal overland transport resulting from snowmelt and elevated precipitation in late winter and spring in Pennsylvania. When MST markers of human, swine, or bovine origin were present, samples more frequently carried the eae A, stx 2, stx 1, and rfb O157 genes, but no genes were related exclusively to an individual MST marker. The human source pharmaceuticals (HSPs) acetaminophen and caffeine were correlated with Giardia , and the presence of HSPs proved to be more useful than MST markers in distinguishing the occurrence of Giardia . The HSPs caffeine and carbamazepine were correlated with the sum total of pathogen genes detected in a sample, demonstrating the value of using HSPs as an indicator of fecally derived pathogens. Sites influenced by urban land use with less forest were more likely to have greater FIB and Giardia densities and sum of the array of pathogen genes. Sites dominated by shallow carbonate bedrock in the upstream catchment were likely to have greater FIB densities and higher sum totals of pathogen genes but no correlation with Giardia detection. Our study provides a range of specific environmental, chemical, geologic, and land-use variables related to occurrence and distribution of FIB and selected bacterial and protozoan pathogens in Pennsylvania streams. The information presented could be useful for resource managers in understanding bacterial and protozoan pathogen occurrence and their relation to fecal indicator bacteria in similar settings.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1993

A brief history of the American radium industry and its ties to the scientific community of its early twentieth century

Federally funded remedial action projects are presently underway in New Jersey and Colorado at sites containing 226Ra and other radionuclides from radium-uranium ore extraction plants that operated during the early twentieth century. They are but the latest chapter in the story of an American industry that emerged and perished in the span of three decades. Major extraction plants were established in or near Denver (CO), Pittsburgh (PA), and New York City (NY) to process radium from ore that came largely from the carnotite deposits of western Colorado and eastern Utah. The staffs of these plants included some of the finest chemists and physicists in the nation, and the highly-refined radium products found a variety of uses in medicine and industry. The discovery of high-grade pitchblende ores in the Belgian Congo and the subsequent opening of an extraction plant near Antwerp, Belgium, in 1992, however, created an economic climate that put an end to the American radium industry. The geologic, chemical, and engineering information gathered during this era formed the basis of the uranium industry of the later part of the century, while the tailings and residues came to be viewed as environmental problems during the same period.

Environment International↗
USGS2006

An improved model for the calculation of CO2 solubility in aqueous solutions containing Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, and SO42-

An improved model is presented for the calculation of the solubility of carbon dioxide in aqueous solutions containing Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, and SO42- in a wide temperature-pressure-ionic strength range (from 273 to 533 K, from 0 to 2000 bar, and from 0 to 4.5 molality of salts) with experimental accuracy. The improvements over the previous model [Duan, Z. and Sun, R., 2003. An improved model calculating CO2 solubility in pure water and aqueous NaCl solutions from 273 to 533K and from 0 to 2000 bar. Chemical Geology, 193: 257-271] include: (1) By developing a non-iterative equation to replace the original equation of state in the calculation of CO 2 fugacity coefficients, the new model is at least twenty times computationally faster and can be easily adapted to numerical reaction-flow simulator for such applications as CO2 sequestration and (2) By fitting to the new solubility data, the new model improved the accuracy below 288 K from 6% to about 3% of uncertainty but still retains the high accuracy of the original model above 288 K. We comprehensively evaluate all experimental CO2 solubility data. Compared with these data, this model not only reproduces all the reliable data used for the parameterization but also predicts the data that were not used in the parameterization. In order to facilitate the application to CO2 sequestration, we also predicted CO2 solubility in seawater at two-phase coexistence (vapor-liquid or liquid-liquid) and at three-phase coexistence (CO2 hydrate-liquid water-vapor CO2 [or liquid CO2]). The improved model is programmed and can be downloaded from the website http://www.geochem-model.org/programs.htm. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Marine Chemistry↗
USGS1973

Geologic setting and chemical characteristics of hot springs in central and western Alaska

Numerous hot springs occur in a variety of geologic provinces in central and western Alaska. Granitic plutons are common to all the provinces and the hot springs are spatially associated with the contacts of these plutons. Of 23 hot springs whose bedrock geology is known, all occur within 3 miles of a granitic pluton. The occurrence of hot springs, however, appears to be independent of the age, composition, or magmatic history of the pluton. Preliminary chemical and isotopic analyses suggest the hot springs waters belong to two groups. Most of the analyzed hot springs appear to have chemical and Isotopic compositions indicating they were derived from deeply circulating meteoric water. About 25 percent of the analyzed hot springs show a distinct saline character with high concentrations of chloride, sodium, potassium, and calcium indicating either much more complex water rock reactions than occurred in the other hot springs or the addition of another type of water. The present chemical and isotopic data are insufficient to determine the source of the constituents of the saline hot springs. Chemical geothermometers suggest subsurface temperatures in the general range of 100°C to 160°C. If the hot spring waters have derived their heat solely from deep circulation, the waters must have reached depths of 9,000 to 15,000 feet, assuming geothermal gradients of 30°C to 50°C/km. If hot magmatic water has been added to the geothermal systems or if dilution or mixing has occurred, temperatures of 100°C to 160°C may be reached at shallower depths. The geologic and chemical data are too preliminary to make an estimate of the potential of the hot springs as a geothermal resource. The data suggest, however, that most of the hot springs of central and western Alaska have relatively low subsurface temperatures and limited reservoir capacities in comparison with geothermal areas presently being utilized for electrical power generation.

Alaska↗
USGS1975

Geologic setting and chemical characteristics of hot springs in west-central Alaska

Numerous hot springs occur in a variety of geologic provinces in west-central Alaska. Granitic plutons are common to all the provinces, and the hot springs are spatially associated with the contacts of these plutons. Of 23 hot springs whose bedrock geology is known, all are within 4.8 km (3 mi) of a granitic pluton. The occurrence of hot springs, however, appears to be independent of the age, composition, or magmatic history of the pluton. Most of the analyzed hot springs appear to have chemical and isotopic compositions indicating that they were derived from deeply circulating meteoric water. About 25 percent of the analyzed hot springs show a distinct saline character with high concentrations of chloride, sodium, potassium, and calcium indicating either much more complex water-rock reactions than in the other hot springs or the addition of another type of water. Chemical geothermometers suggest subsurface temperatures in the general range of 70° to 160°C. If the hot spring waters have derived their heat solely from deep circulation, they must have reached depths of 2 to 5 km (6,000-15,000 ft), assuming geothermal gradients of 30° to 50°C/km. If a shallow igneous heat source exists in the area or if dilution or mixing has occurred, these depths may be shallower. The geologic and chemical data, although preliminary, suggest that most of the hot springs of west-central Alaska have relatively low subsurface temperatures and limited reservoir capacities in comparison with geothermal areas presently being utilized for electrical power generation. :The springs may, however, have some potential for limited power generation locally, if and when heat-exchange technology becomes available, as well as for space heating and agricultural uses.

Alaska↗