Boerngen, Josephine G.
Shacklette, Hansford T.
1981
Chemical analyses of soils and other surficial materials of the
conterminous United States
tabular data
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report
81-197
Denver, CO
U.S. Geological Survey
This data set contains geochemical data from soils and other
regoliths collected and analyzed by Hans Shacklette and
colleagues beginning in 1958 and continuing until about 1976.
Geochemical point-symbol maps were plotted from these data and
published as U.S.G.S. Professional Paper 1270 entitled "Element
Concentrations in Soils and Other Surficial Materials of the
Conterminous United States". The samples were collected at a
depth of about 20 cm from sites that, insofar as possible, had
surficial materials that were very little altered from their
natural condition and that supported native plants. The sample
material at most sites could be termed "soil" because it was a
mixture of disintegrated rock and organic matter. Some of the
sampled deposits, however, were not soils as defined above, but
were other regolith types. These included desert sands, sand
dunes, some loess deposits, and beach and alluvial deposits that
contained little or no visible organic material. The samples
were chemically analyzed by a variety of techniques in the U.S.
Geological Survey laboratories in Denver, CO.
These data provide an ultra-low-density geochemical baseline for
soils and other surficial materials in the conterminous United
States. The data set contains 1,323 samples for a sampling
density of approximately 1 sample per 6,000 square kilometers.
The data set is currently the only national geochemical data set
collected and analyzed according to standardized protocols. The
data are most appropriately used to provide information on
background concentrations of elements in soil. The major
drawback with the data set is its extremely low number of samples
for the entire conterminous US.
1958
1976
ground condition
None planned
-125
-67
49
25
None
soil
soil geochemistry
None
United States of America
None
None
Smith, David B.
U.S. Geological Survey
Research Geologist
Mailing address
U.S. Geological Survey
Box 25046, MS 973
Denver
Colorado
80225-0046
United States of America
303-236-1849
303-236-3200
dsmith@usgs.gov
The soil samples were chemically analyzed by a variety of
techniques over a period of time from the mid-1960's to the late
1970's. Details of the methods are given in the references
listed in USGS Open-File Report 81-197 and USGS Professional
Paper 1270.
In summary, the methods used were:
1) Emission spectrography (Myers and others, 1961; Neiman, 1976) for Al, Ba, Be, B, Ca, Ce, Cr, Co, Cu, Ga, Fe, La, Pb, Mg, Mn, Mo, Nd, Ni, Nb, P, K, Sc, Na, Sr, Ti, V, Yb, Y, Zn, and Zr;
2) EDTA titration for Ca;
3) colorimetric methods for P and Zn (Ward and others, 1963);
4) flame photometry for K (Ward and others, 1963);
5) flame atomic absorption (Huffman and Dinnin, 1976) for Hg, Li, Mg, Na, Rb, and Zn;
6) flameless atomic absorption for Hg (Vaughn, 1967);
7) X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (Wahlberg, 1976) for Ca, Ge, Fe, K, Se, Ag, S, and Ti;
8) Combustion (Huffman and Dinnin, 1976) for total carbon; and neutron activation (Millard, 1975, 1976) for U and Th.
The accuracy varies with the analytical methodology and with the
concentration of the element being analyzed. A small portion of
the database contains qualified data. The types of qualifiers in
this data set are:
"N", meaning that the element was not detected at concentrations above the detection limit-this is shown in the data set as, for example, 5.000N meaning that the element was not detected at a concentration of 5 concentration units (ppm or %), the detection limit of the technique.
"L", meaning that the element was detected by the technique, but at a level below the detection limit-this is shown in the data set as, for example, 1.000L meaning that the element was detected by the instrument, but at a level that could not be quantified at or above the detection limit, 1 concentration unit.
"B", meaning that there is no data for that particular element in a given sample-this is shown in the data set as .0000B.
"G", meaning that the element was measured at a concentration greater than the upper determination limit for the technique-this is shown in the data set as, for example, 10.0000G, meaning that the element was measured at a concentration greater than 10 concentration units.
USGS Open-File Report 81-197 gives analytical values for 46
elements analyzed by a variety of methods. For some elements, the
methods of chemical analysis were the same throughout the study,
while for others, the methods changed as analytical technology
improved. However, all the methods used were specifically designed
to give the total contents of the element analyzed. Therefore, the
results of earlier analysis should be comparable with results of
more recent analyses.
Where chemical data is lacking for a given element in a given
sample, ".0000B" is shown as the concentration value. Virtually
every element in the data set has some samples in which the element
was not analyzed. This may have been a conscious decision on the
part of the investigators or it may have been the result of
insufficient sample to complete all the analytical procedures.
This lack of data is most common for the elements Br, C, Ge, I, Rb,
S, Sb, Si, Sn, Th, and U.
Sample locations were determined from USGS topographic maps of
various scales. The sites are estimated to be accurate to the
nearest minute of latitude and longitude.
The data were generated by the analytical laboratories of the
USGS over several years, beginning in the early-mid 1960's when
data were not stored in digital databases. In about 1980, upon
completion of the sampling and analysis, the data were
keypunched and stored in the PLUTO database. At about this
same time, the data were put into .CIM format. In about 1996,
a copy the data in .CIM was converted to .dbf format. In 1998,
the data in .dbf format was converted to Microsoft ACCESS
format (.mdb) and then to ARC-INFO format.
1960 to 1999
Point
Entity point
1 minute
1 minute
Decimal degrees
Geochemical sample
Table rows consist of information about each sample and its
chemical composition.
PRIME_ID
Primary ID or field number
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
GCxxxxxx
Field number
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
GC000250
GC280550
SECND_ID
Secondary ID. Unique identification number assigned by the laboratory.
This attribute is blank for this data set.
LAT_DMS
Latitude in degrees, minutes, seconds (blank for this data set).
Degrees, minutes, seconds.
LON_DMS
Longitude in degrees, minutes, seconds (blank for this data set).
Degrees, minutes, seconds.
State
State in which sample was collected.
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
XX
2-letter state abbreviation
FIPS 5-2
County
County in which sample was collected.
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
LAT
Latitude of sample site in decimal degrees.
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
25.8333
44.7000
Decimal degrees.
LONG
Longitude of sample site in decimal degrees.
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
67.2833
124.4000
Decimal degrees.
Date Collected
Date the sample was collected.
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
MM/YY
month (MM) and year (YY)
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
AL_
Aluminum concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
0.07
>10
Per cent
195810
197611
AS_PPM
Arsenic concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.10
97
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
B_PPM
Boron concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<20
300
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
BA_PPM
Barium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
10
5,000
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
BE_PPM
Beryllium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<1
15
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
BR_PPM
Bromine concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.50
10.8
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
C_
Total carbon concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
0.06
37
Per cent
195810
197611
CA_
Calcium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
0.01
32
Per cent
195810
197611
CE_PPM
Cerium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<150
300
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
CO_PPM
Cobalt concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<3
70
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
CR_PPM
Chromium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
1
2,000
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
CU_PPM
Copper concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<1
700
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
F_
Fluorine concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.001
0.37
Per cent
195810
197611
FE_
Iron concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
0.01
>10
Per cent
195810
197611
GA_PPM
Gallium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<5
70
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
GE_PPM
Germanium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.1
2,500
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
HG_PPM
Mercury concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.01
4.6
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
I_PPM
Iodine concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.5
9.6
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
K_
Potassium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
0.005
6.3
Per cent
195810
197611
LA_PPM
Lanthanum concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<30
200
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
LI_PPM
Lithium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<5
140
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
MG_
Magnesium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
0.005
>10
Per cent
195810
197611
MN_PPM
Manganese concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<2
7,000
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
MO_PPM
Molybdenum concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<3
15
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
NA_
Sodium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.05
10
Per cent
195810
197611
NB_PPM
Niobium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<10
100
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
ND_PPM
Neodymium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<70
300
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
NI_PPM
Nickel concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<5
700
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
P_
Phosphorus concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.002
0.68
Per cent
195810
197611
PB_PPM
Lead concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<10
700
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
RB_PPM
Rubidium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<20
210
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
S_
Sulfur concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.08
4.78
Per cent
195810
197611
SB_PPM
Antimony concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<1
8.8
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
SC_PPM
Scandium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<5
50
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
SE_PPM
Selenium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.1
4.3
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
SI_
Silicon concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
1.69
44.9
Per cent
195810
197611
SN_PPM
Tin concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<0.1
10.2
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
SR_PPM
Strontium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<5
3,000
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
TI_
Titanium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
0.007
2.0
Per cent
195810
197611
TH_PPM
Thorium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
2.15
30.8
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
U_PPM
Uranium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
0.29
10.7
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
V_PPM
Vanadium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<7
500
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
Y_PPM
Yttrium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<10
200
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
YB_PPM
Ytterbium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<1
50
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
ZN_PPM
Zinc concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<5
2,900
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
ZR_PPM
Zirconium concentration
USGS Open-File Report 81-197
<20
2,000
Parts per million (PPM)
195810
197611
Smith, David B.
U.S. Geological Survey
Research Geologist
Mailing address
Box 25046, MS 973
Denver Federal Center
Denver
Colorado
80225-0046
United States of America
303-236-1849
303-236-3200
dsmith@usgs.gov
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides these data "as is". The
USGS makes no guarantee or warranty concerning the accuracy of
information contained in the geographic data. The USGS further
makes no warranties, either expressed or implied as to any other
matter, whatsoever, including, without limitation, the condition of
the product, or its fitness for any particular purpose. The burden
for determining fitness for use lies entirely with the user.
ESRI shapefile
1.0
Geochemical sample locations and analytic results
unzip
0.125 megabytes
http://tin.er.usgs.gov/ussoils/ussoils.zip
none
19990129
Smith, David B.
U.S. Geological Survey
Research Geologist
Mailing address
Box 25046, MS 973
Denver Federal Center
Denver
Colorado
80225-0046
United States of America
303-236-1849
303-236-3200
dsmith@usgs.gov
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998