Martin A.A. Schoonen | USGS Science

USGS2001

Water-Chemistry and On-Site Sulfur-Speciation Data for Selected Springs in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 1996-1998

Fifty-eight water analyses are reported for samples collected from 19 hot springs and their overflow drainages and one ambient-temperature acid stream in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) during 1996-98. These water samples were collected and analyzed as part of research investigations on microbially mediated sulfur oxidation in stream waters and sulfur redox speciation in hot springs in YNP and chemical changes in overflow drainages that affect major ions, redox species, and trace elements. The research on sulfur redox speciation in hot springs is a collaboration with the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Northern Arizona University, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). One ambient-temperature acidic stream system, Alluvium Creek and its tributaries in Brimstone Basin, was studied in detail. Analyses were performed adjacent to the sampling site, in an on-site mobile laboratory truck, or later in a USGS laboratory, depending on stability and preservability of the constituent. Water temperature, specific conductance, pH, Eh, dissolved oxygen (D.O.), and dissolved H2S were determined on-site at the time of sampling. Alkalinity and F were determined within a few days of sample collection by titration and by ion-selective electrode, respectively. Concentrations of S2O3 and SxO6 were determined as soon as possible (minutes to hours later) by ion chromatography (IC). Concentrations of Cl, SO4, and Br were determined by IC within a few days of sample collection. Concentrations of Fe(II) and Fe(total) were determined by ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometry within a few days of sample collection. Densities were determined later in the USGS laboratory. Concentrations of Li, Na, and K were determined by flame atomic absorption (Li) and emission (Na, K) spectrometry. Concentrations of Al, As(total), B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe(total), Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Si, Sr, V, and Zn were determined by inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Trace concentrations of Cd, Se, As(total), Ni, and Pb were determined by Zeeman-corrected graphite-furnace atomic-absorption spectrometry. Trace concentrations of As(total) and As(III) were determined by hydride generation using a flow-injection analysis system.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2000

Heavy minerals and sedimentary organic matter in Pleistocene and Cretaceous sediments on Long Island, New York, with emphasis on pyrite and marcasite in the Magothy aquifer

Abundance and distribution of iron-bearing and other heavy minerals in sediments of Long Island, N.Y., were examined to identify sources and sinks of dissolved iron and other ground-water constituents along a deep flow path from the ground-water divide to the southern shore along the Nassau-Suffolk County border. The occurrence and reactivity of many iron-bearing minerals in the aquifer system are affected by terminal electron-accepting processes, which are a function of depth below land surface, distance from the ground-water divide, and organic-matter content of the sediment. The lateral distribution of heavy minerals within lithologic sediments is not uniform throughout Long Island, or even along the 30-kilometer study section at the Nassau-Suffolk County border. Mineralogy and mineral abundance in Pleistocene units differ from those in Cretaceous sediments, and some of the trends vary with depth as well as from north to south. Major heavy minerals in the Cretaceous sediments at the study sites include pyrite, marcasite, muscovite, leucoxene, ilmenite, rutile, staurolite, chloritoid, and aluminosilicates (Al2SiO5); those in the overlying Pleistocene deposits at one site include iron oxides, leucoxene, zircon, garnet, ilmenite, aluminosilicates, and hornblende. Pyrite, marcasite, garnet, hornblende, and tourmaline were found locally in the Cretaceous sediments. Pyrite and marcasite were detected less frequently in borehole samples from near the ground-water divide, where the ground water is generally oxic, than in those from near the southern shore of Long Island, but were found in sulfate- reducing zones throughout the Magothy aquifer. Glauconite was present in Cretaceous and Pleistocene deposits, but only in the marine or transitional units. The most abundant and potentially reactive of the iron-bearing minerals found were iron (hydr)oxides, leucoxene, glauconite, chlorite, pyrite, and marcasite. The presence and morphology of pyrite and marcasite can be indicative of the microbial and geochemical environments. Pyrite generally was found in association with lignite or as interstitial cement. Marcasite was found as interstitial cement and is associated with the oxidation of iron-sulfide minerals upgradient. Pyrite crystals were octahedral, cubic, cubo-octahedral, and framboidal, and many samples showed more than one generation of crystal growth. Marcasite cement, which consisted of platey crystals in most samples, probably forms only under nonmarine conditions.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗