National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance data

The National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program was initiated by the Atomic Energy Commission (now the Department of Energy; DOE) in 1973 with a primary goal of identifying uranium resources in the United States. The Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) program was one of nine components of NURE. Planned systematic sampling of stream sediments, soils, groundwater, and surface water over the entire United States began in 1975 under the responsibility of four DOE national laboratories: Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL), Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL), Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP), and Savannah River Laboratory (SRL). Each DOE laboratory developed its own sample collection, analytical, and data management methodologies and hired contractors to collect the samples.
The NURE HSSR sampling program ended prematurely in 1980. The samples were analyzed and the resultant geochemical data were released on 9-track tapes and in a series of publications. By 1984, the NURE program was finished as Congressional funding disappeared. Out of a total of 625 2-degree quadrangles that cover the entire lower 48 States and Alaska, only 307 quadrangles were completely sampled and another 86 quadrangles were partially sampled. The HSSR data consisted of 894 separate data files stored on magnetic tape in 47 different file formats.
The University of Oklahoma's Information Systems Programs of the Energy Resources Institute (ISP) was contracted by the Department of Energy to enhance the accessibility and usefulness of the NURE HSSR data. ISP created a single standard-format master file to replace 894 original files. ISP converted only 817 of the 894 original files before their funding ended. Unfortunately, this conversion process was never completed and introduced several systematic errors into the database.
In 1985, the NURE HSSR sample archive, original field maps, field notes, and data tapes became the responsibility of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A copy of the ISP-formatted NURE HSSR database was released as two CD-ROM publications (Hoffman and Buttleman, 1994; 1996).
A new effort to recompile the NURE HSSR was begun by the USGS in 1995. All of the original 894 files have been examined, reformatted, and added to this USGS enhanced version of the NURE HSSR data. The data are contained in 2 major database files: one for water samples and one for sediment samples (which also includes soil and some rock samples.) An earlier version of this USGS enhanced version of the NURE HSSR data was released as an online Open-File Report at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/
References Cited
Hoffman, J.D., and Buttleman, Kim, 1994, National Geochemical Data Base: National Uranium Resource Evaluation data for the conterminous United States, with MAPPER display software by R.A. Ambroziak and MAPPER documentation by C.A. Cook: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS-0018-A, CD-ROM.
Hoffman, J.D., and Buttleman, Kim, 1996, National Geochemical Data Base: 1. National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) data for Alaska, formatted for GSSEARCH data base search software, 2. NURE HSSR data formatted as dBASE files for Alaska and the conterminous United States, 3. NURE HSSR data as originally compiled by the Department of Energy for Alaska and the conterminous United States, with MAPPER display software by R.A. Ambroziak and MAPPER documentation by C.A. Cook: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS-0018-B, CD-ROM.

国家铀资源评价（National Uranium Resource Evaluation, NURE）计划由美国原子能委员会（Atomic Energy Commission，现美国能源部，Department of Energy, DOE）于1973年启动，核心目标为探明美国境内的铀矿资源。水文地球化学与河流沉积物勘测（Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance, HSSR）计划是NURE计划的9个组成部分之一。

1975年，由四家美国能源部下属国家实验室牵头负责，启动了针对全美范围内河流沉积物、土壤、地下水与地表水的系统性规划采样工作，这四家实验室分别为：劳伦斯利弗莫尔实验室（Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, LLL）、洛斯阿拉莫斯科学实验室（Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, LASL）、橡树岭气体扩散工厂（Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, ORGDP）以及萨凡纳河实验室（Savannah River Laboratory, SRL）。每家实验室均制定了独立的样品采集、分析与数据管理方法，并聘请承包商完成样品采集工作。

NURE HSSR采样计划于1980年提前终止。所有样品均完成分析，所得地球化学数据以9轨磁带及系列出版物形式发布。至1984年，因国会停止拨款，NURE计划正式终结。在覆盖美国本土48州与阿拉斯加州的共计625个二度图幅中，仅307个图幅完成了完整采样，另有86个图幅完成了部分采样。HSSR数据集包含894个独立数据文件，以47种不同文件格式存储于磁带上。

俄克拉荷马大学能源资源研究所信息系统项目组（Information Systems Programs of the Energy Resources Institute, ISP）受美国能源部委托，旨在提升NURE HSSR数据集的可访问性与应用价值。ISP项目组拟创建单一标准格式主文件以替代原有的894个数据文件，但在项目经费耗尽前，仅完成了894个原始文件中的817个文件的格式转换工作。遗憾的是，该格式转换工作始终未能完成，且为数据集引入了多处系统性误差。

1985年，NURE HSSR样品档案、原始野外图件、野外记录及数据磁带的管理职责移交至美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey, USGS）。以ISP格式整理的NURE HSSR数据集副本以两张光盘出版物形式发布（Hoffman与Buttleman，1994；1996）。

美国地质调查局于1995年启动了NURE HSSR数据集的重新编译工作。项目组已对全部894个原始文件进行核查与格式重整，并整合至美国地质调查局优化后的NURE HSSR数据集中。该优化数据集包含两个主数据库文件：其一为水样数据文件，其二为沉积物样品数据文件（后者同时包含土壤及部分岩石样品数据）。美国地质调查局优化版NURE HSSR数据集的早期版本以在线公开报告形式发布，网址为http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1997/ofr-97-0492/。

参考文献
Hoffman, J.D. 与Buttleman, Kim，1994：《国家地球化学数据库：美国本土48州国家铀资源评价计划数据》，附带R.A. Ambroziak开发的MAPPER可视化软件及C.A. Cook编写的MAPPER使用文档：美国地质调查局数字数据系列DDS-0018-A，光盘版。
Hoffman, J.D. 与Buttleman, Kim，1996：《国家地球化学数据库：1. 适用于GSSEARCH数据库检索软件的阿拉斯加州国家铀资源评价（NURE）水文地球化学与河流沉积物勘测（HSSR）数据；2. 适用于阿拉斯加州及美国本土48州的dBASE格式NURE HSSR数据；3. 由美国能源部原始编译的阿拉斯加州及美国本土48州NURE HSSR数据》，附带R.A. Ambroziak开发的MAPPER可视化软件及C.A. Cook编写的MAPPER使用文档：美国地质调查局数字数据系列DDS-0018-B，光盘版。