William M. Benzel

First posted April 25, 2023 Director, California Water Science Center U.S. Geological Survey 6000 J Street, Placer Hall Sacramento, California 95819 Between 1952 and 1964, hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), was released into groundwater from a Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) compressor station in Hinkley, California, in the western Mojave Desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. In 2015, the extent of anthropogenic Cr(VI) in groundwater in Hinkley and Water Valleys was uncertain, but some Cr(VI) in groundwater may be naturally occurring from rock and aquifer material. To evaluate potential sources of natural Cr(VI), chromium and other selected trace-element concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), with multi-acid digestion, on 34 samples of surficial alluvium and core material from Hinkley and Water Valleys, California, and on 2 samples of alluvium from the mafic Sheep Creek fan to the southwest. Chromium concentrations in Hinkley and Water Valleys ranged from 2 to 110 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg), with a median concentration of 14 mg/kg; concentrations were highest in weathered mafic hornblende diorite associated with Iron Mountain. High chromium concentrations also were present within fine-textured materials and visually abundant iron- and manganese-oxide coatings on the surfaces of mineral grains. For comparison, chromium concentrations as high as 170 mg/kg were measured in mafic alluvium from the Sheep Creek fan. In contrast, chromium concentrations were lowest in Mojave-type deposits (Mojave River stream and lake margin deposits), with a median of 6 mg/kg. Chromium concentrations measured by ICP-MS compared favorably with concentrations measured by portable (handheld) X-ray fluorescence (pXRF; chapter B), on the basis of least-squares regression results and a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.97. Minerals in bulk samples and the heavy (dense) mineral fractions isolated from those samples were identified using optical techniques, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Quartz and feldspar were the most abundant minerals, especially within recent and older Mojave River deposits. Chromium concentrations were as high as 1,250 mg/kg in the heavy-mineral fraction, with specific gravity greater than 3.32. Chromium was not commonly detected in the light-mineral fraction, with specific gravity less than 2.85. Most chromium within the heavy-mineral fraction was substituted within magnetite mineral grains less than 100 micrometers (μm) in diameter, and almost no chromite was present within the heavy-mineral fraction. Although magnetite is resistive to weathering, weathering of magnetite to hematite was identified (1) in Miocene materials underlying unconsolidated deposits in the western subarea of Hinkley Valley and (2) in alluvium within Water Valley that contains weathered minerals eroded from Miocene rock. Less-dense, more easily weathered chromium-containing amphiboles, such as actinolite in older Mojave River alluvium and hornblende in locally derived alluvium from Iron Mountain, were identified optically. Magnetite was not identified in weathered hornblende diorite and was less abundant in locally derived materials and in Miocene materials than in Mojave-type deposits. A comparison of ICP-MS data and sequential extraction data shows that approximately 90 percent of chromium in aquifer material within Hinkley and Water Valleys was not extractable and was interpreted to reside within unweathered mineral grains. Most extractable chromium was within the strong acid extractable fraction. Chromium within the weakly sorbed, and specifically sorbed extractable fractions in oxide accumulations within the regulatory Cr(VI) plume is potentially mobile into groundwater with changes in ionic strength or pH. Although Hinkley and Water Valleys are regionally low in chromium, natural geologic sources of chromium may be present in aquifer materials penetrated by wells completed in (1) weathered hornblende diorite bedrock underlying the western subarea; (2) Miocene deposits underlying the western subarea and unconsolidated material in the northern subarea and Water Valley containing basalt or weathered minerals eroded from Miocene deposits; (3) unconsolidated material containing visually abundant iron- and manganese-oxide coatings on the surfaces of mineral grains that are present near the water table and near lithologic or geologic contacts; and (4) brown clay and mudflat/playa deposits in the northern subarea. Brown clay and mudflat/playa deposits in the eastern subarea near Mount General have a low-chromium, felsic mineralogy similar to Mojave River deposits and do not contain high concentrations of chromium; however, manganese(IV) oxides within these materials may facilitate oxidation of trivalent chromium, Cr(III), to Cr(VI).

We have assembled a library of spectra measured with laboratory, field, and airborne spectrometers. The instruments used cover wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the far infrared (0.2 to 200 microns [μm]). Laboratory samples of specific minerals, plants, chemical compounds, and manmade materials were measured. In many cases, samples were purified, so that unique spectral features of a material can be related to its chemical structure. These spectro-chemical links are important for interpreting remotely sensed data collected in the field or from an aircraft or spacecraft. This library also contains physically constructed as well as mathematically computed mixtures. Four different spectrometer types were used to measure spectra in the library: (1) Beckman™ 5270 covering the spectral range 0.2 to 3 µm, (2) standard, high resolution (hi-res), and high-resolution Next Generation (hi-resNG) models of Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) field portable spectrometers covering the range from 0.35 to 2.5 µm, (3) Nicolet™ Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) interferometer spectrometers covering the range from about 1.12 to 216 µm, and (4) the NASA Airborne Visible/Infra-Red Imaging Spectrometer AVIRIS, covering the range 0.37 to 2.5 µm. Measurements of rocks, soils, and natural mixtures of minerals were made in laboratory and field settings. Spectra of plant components and vegetation plots, comprising many plant types and species with varying backgrounds, are also in this library. Measurements by airborne spectrometers are included for forested vegetation plots, in which the trees are too tall for measurement by a field spectrometer. This report describes the instruments used, the organization of materials into chapters, metadata descriptions of spectra and samples, and possible artifacts in the spectral measurements. To facilitate greater application of the spectra, the library has also been convolved to selected spectrometer and imaging spectrometers sampling and bandpasses, and resampled to selected broadband multispectral sensors. The native file format of the library is the SPECtrum Processing Routines (SPECPR) data format. This report describes how to access freely available software to read the SPECPR format. To facilitate broader access to the library, we produced generic formats of the spectra and metadata in text files. The library is provided on digital media and online at https://speclab.cr.usgs.gov/spectral-lib.html. A long-term archive of these data are stored on the USGS ScienceBase data server (https://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7RR1WDJ).

Coastal communities are uniquely vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR) and severe storms such as hurricanes. These events enhance the dispersion and concentration of natural and anthropogenic chemicals and pathogenic microorganisms that could adversely affect the health and resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems in coming years. The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a strategy to define baseline and post-event sediment-bound environmental health (EH) stressors (hereafter referred to as the Sediment-Bound Contaminant Resiliency and Response [SCoRR] strategy). A tiered, multimetric approach will be used to (1) identify and map contaminant sources and potential exposure pathways for human and ecological receptors, (2) define the baseline mixtures of EH stressors present in sediments and correlations of relevance, (3) document post-event changes in EH stressors present in sediments, and (4) establish and apply metrics to quantify changes in coastal resilience associated with sediment-bound contaminants. Integration of this information provides a means to improve assessment of the baseline status of a complex system and the significance of changes in contaminant hazards due to storm-induced (episodic) and SLR (incremental) disturbances. This report describes the purpose and design of the SCoRR strategy and the methods used to construct a decision support tool to identify candidate sampling stations vulnerable to contaminants that may be mobilized by coastal storms.

First posted October 26, 2015 U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, Virginia 20192 http://www.usgs.gov/envirohealth/ Coastal communities are uniquely vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR) and severe storms such as hurricanes. These events enhance the dispersion and concentration of natural and anthropogenic chemicals and pathogenic microorganisms that could adversely affect the health and resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems in coming years. The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a strategy to define baseline and post-event sediment-bound environmental health (EH) stressors (hereafter referred to as the Sediment-Bound Contaminant Resiliency and Response [SCoRR] strategy). A tiered, multimetric approach will be used to (1) identify and map contaminant sources and potential exposure pathways for human and ecological receptors, (2) define the baseline mixtures of EH stressors present in sediments and correlations of relevance, (3) document post-event changes in EH stressors present in sediments, and (4) establish and apply metrics to quantify changes in coastal resilience associated with sediment-bound contaminants. Integration of this information provides a means to improve assessment of the baseline status of a complex system and the significance of changes in contaminant hazards due to storm-induced (episodic) and SLR (incremental) disturbances. This report describes the purpose and design of the SCoRR strategy and the methods used to construct a decision support tool to identify candidate sampling stations vulnerable to contaminants that may be mobilized by coastal storms.

First posted July 16, 2015 Director, Crustal Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center U.S. Geological Survey Box 25046, MS 964 Denver, CO 80225 http://crustal.usgs.gov/ This Data Series summarizes results from July 2013 sampling in the western Alaska Range near Mount Estelle, Alaska. The fieldwork combined in situ and camp-based spectral measurements of talus/soil and rock samples. Five rock and 48 soil samples were submitted for quantitative geochemi­cal analysis (for 55 major and trace elements), and the 48 soils samples were also analyzed by x-ray diffraction to establish mineralogy and geochemistry. The results and sample photo­graphs are presented in a geodatabase that accompanies this report. The spectral, mineralogical, and geochemical charac­terization of these samples and the sites that they represent can be used to validate existing remote-sensing datasets (for example, ASTER) and future hyperspectral studies. Empiri­cal evidence of jarosite (as identified by x-ray diffraction and spectral analysis) corresponding with gold concentrations in excess of 50 parts per billion in soil samples suggests that surficial mapping of jarosite in regional surveys may be use­ful for targeting areas of prospective gold occurrences in this sampling area.

This report describes a reconnaissance study of estuarine bed-sediment quality conducted June–October 2013 in New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 to assess the extent of contamination and the potential long-term human and ecological impacts of the storm. The study, funded through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (PL 113-2), was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. In addition to presenting the bed-sediment-quality data, the report describes the study design, documents the methods of sample collection and analysis, and discusses the steps taken to assure the quality of the data. Bed-sediment samples were collected from June to October 2013 from 167 estuarine sites extending from Cape May, New Jersey, to the New York Harbor and the eastern end of Long Island. Each sampling location and study region was characterized by using geographic information to identify potential contaminant sources. Characterizations included land cover, locations and types of businesses (industrial, financial, and others), spills (sewage, chemical, and others), bulk storage facilities, effluent discharges within 2 kilometers of the sampling point, and discharges within inundated and non-inundated regions near the sampling location. Samples were analyzed for particle size, total organic carbon, metals and trace elements, semivolatile organic compounds, wastewater compounds, hormones, and sediment toxicity. Samples were also screened using x-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. In addition, bioassays for endocrine disruptors and protein phosphatase 2A inhibition were conducted. The study was designed to provide the data needed to understand the extent and sources of contamination resulting from Hurricane Sandy, to compare the chemistry and toxicity of estuarine bed sediments before and after the storm, and to evaluate the usefulness of rapid screening and bioassay approaches in disaster settings.