These metadata sets present the comprehensive geochemical composition of solid and water samples from the site of a 11.4ML (million liters) wastewater spill discovered in January, 2015. Analyses of a pipeline sample (analyses of select analytes), supplied by the North Dakota Department of Health are also included. The spill was near Blacktail Creek, north of Williston, ND. The leak was from a pipeline located approximately 70m from Blacktail Creek. The creek flows 17km before entering the Little Muddy River, a tributary to the Missouri River. The study included samples collected in waters upstream and downstream from Blacktail Creek in February and June 2015, June 2016, and June 2017. These data sets include field measurements of pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, sulfide and specific conductance; laboratory analyses of major ions, trace elements, alkalinity, ammonium, delta deuterium and delta oxygen-18 of water, strontium and radium isotopes; non-volatile dissolved organic carbon (NVDOC), low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOA), and hydrocarbons at surface-water sites. Geomorphic characteristics and watershed similarity tables are included. Sediments were collected in February and June 2015, June 2016, and June 2017 for analysis of carbon, nitrogen, radium and uranium isotopes and extractable ammonium, strontium, and barium. Duplicate water samples and field blanks were collected during each sampling campaign. Two groundwater seep sites were sampled in June 2017 for a select number of analytes. This data release includes twelve data tables provided in two zip folders both as Excel (*.xlxs) and machine readable 'comma-separated values' format (*.csv): 1) data dictionary; 2) descriptions of sampling site locations; 3) summary of field sampling procedures; 4) field measurements, NVDOC, ammonium, alkalinity, strontium isotopes, deuterium and oxygen-18 isotopes, LMWOA and hydrocarbons; 5) concentrations of major anions, cations and trace elements; 6) radiochemistry for sediment samples; 7) extractable ammonium, barium, and strontium concentrations from sediment samples; 8) measured and computed composition of water extracts and pore water concentrations; 9) carbon and nitrogen from sediments; 10) geomorphic characteristics; 11) watershed similarity analysis; and 12) Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC). This metadata publication’s citation will be added to “Geochemical Indicators of Oil and Gas Wastewater can Trace Potential Exposure Pathways Following Releases to Surface Waters”, Cozzarelli et al., USGS ScienceBase associated manuscript in review, summer of 2020.

Sediment samples from sites affected by environmental releases of wastewater from oil and gas production were examined to determine sorbed versus mineral structure associations of barium, radium, strontium, and other elements. Archive samples were used from work at Blacktail Creek, North Dakota and Wolf Creek, West Virginia. The Blacktail Creek samples are described in publications and associated supplemental information by Cozzarelli et al. (2017, 2021), and in a USGS data release by Jaeschke et al. (2020). The Wolf Creek samples are described in a publication and supplemental information from Akob et al. (2016). Samples were reanalyzed by gamma spectroscopy for radium-226, and then extracted using buffered ammonium chloride solution. The experimental design included duplicate samples from some sites, laboratory duplicates from split samples from the field, and experimental duplicates for extractions. Each extraction was performed using about 10 to 15 grams of sediment. Each aliquot of sediment was extracted three times in series. Each of the three extraction steps lasted about 24 hours while on a mechanical twirler. After each extraction step, samples were centrifuged, and supernatant was collected. After the final extraction had its supernatant removed, samples were rinsed with ultrapure water and centrifuged again to remove remaining extractant, and the sediment pellet was collected and dried and analyzed by gamma spectroscopy for radium-226. Supernatant from the three extraction steps was analyzed for major and trace elements by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy. Dried post-extraction sediment was also analyzed for surface area using a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. This data release contains radium-226 in sediment for pre- and post-extraction of sediment samples, the mass of major and trace elements solubilized in each extraction step, a calculation for total mass extracted for major and trace elements, and surface area of post-extraction sediment.

This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data Release is focused on the geochemistry of wastewater (including flowback and produced water) samples, co-produced with natural gas, collected from the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) site. MSEEL is a long-term field site and laboratory at the Northeast Natural Energy LLC (NNE) production facility, adjacent to the Monongahela River, located in western Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA. NNE began drilling two horizontal production wells, MIP (Morgantown Industrial Park) -5H and MIP-3H, in the Marcellus Shale in 2014. The wells were completed in December 2015. Large volumes of wastewater are generated with natural gas production. These wastewaters contain organic and inorganic chemical constituents from fracturing fluids used during drilling and stimulation of gas in host rocks/shale, as well as chemical compounds that are derived from formation water and the solid shale. Many of the organic and inorganic substances in the wastewater are potentially toxic and could pose an environmental risk if released due to spills, leaks, or unsafe disposal practices. Hydraulic fracturing fluid, field blanks, wastewater, and water from the Monongahela River stored in a lined holding pond adjacent to the MIP well pad, were collected from November 2015 through April 2019. The on-site storage tank was sampled from April 2017 through April 2019. Wastewater from the MIP-5H Separator Tank was collected daily at the beginning of the study to annually by the end of the study. One sample was collected from the MIP-3H Separator Tank in May 2018. This data release includes field measurements of temperature, specific conductance, total dissolved solids (TDS), and density; laboratory measurements of pH, non-volatile dissolved organic carbon (NVDOC), alkalinity, major ions, ammonia nitrogen, trace elements, low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOA), semi-volatile hydrocarbons, radium isotopes, and stable isotopes. There are seven files (*.xlsx and .csv) in this dataset: T1_DataDictionary, T2_RestonGeochemistry, T3_Mercury, T4_MenloGeochemistry, T5_pH_Buffers, T6_QAQC, and T7_Stable_Isotopes.

This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data Release is focused on the geochemistry of wastewater (including flowback and produced water) samples, co-produced with natural gas, collected from the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) site. MSEEL is a long-term field site and laboratory at the Northeast Natural Energy LLC (NNE) production facility, adjacent to the Monongahela River, located in western Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA. NNE began drilling two horizontal production wells, MIP (Morgantown Industrial Park) -5H and MIP-3H, in the Marcellus Shale in 2014. The wells were completed in December 2015. Large volumes of wastewater are generated with natural gas production. These wastewaters contain organic and inorganic chemical constituents from fracturing fluids used during drilling and stimulation of gas in host rocks/shale, as well as chemical compounds that are derived from formation water and the solid shale. Many of the organic and inorganic substances in the wastewater are potentially toxic and could pose an environmental risk if released due to spills, leaks, or unsafe disposal practices. Hydraulic fracturing fluid, field blanks, wastewater, and water from the Monongahela River stored in a lined holding pond adjacent to the MIP well pad, were collected from November 2015 through April 2019. The on-site storage tank was sampled from April 2017 through April 2019. Wastewater from the MIP-5H Separator Tank was collected daily at the beginning of the study to annually by the end of the study. One sample was collected from the MIP-3H Separator Tank in May 2018. This data release includes field measurements of temperature, specific conductance, total dissolved solids (TDS), and density; laboratory measurements of pH, non-volatile dissolved organic carbon (NVDOC), alkalinity, major ions, ammonia nitrogen, trace elements, low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOA), semi-volatile hydrocarbons, radium isotopes, and stable isotopes. There are seven files (*.xlsx and .csv) in this dataset: T1_DataDictionary, T2_RestonGeochemistry, T3_Mercury, T4_MenloGeochemistry, T5_pH_Buffers, T6_QAQC, and T7_Stable_Isotopes.

The extraction of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) resources often produces highly saline waste waters, which can be released to the river corridor environment during spills and pipe leakage. In North Dakota, USA more than 8,000 spills were recorded from 2008-2015, and more than half of those spills were related to pipelines. Data collected for this study were related to UOG wastewater leakage from a pipeline into a creek in the Williston Basin, North Dakota discovered on the January 6th, 2015. Although the spill was followed by extensive remediation efforts, we conducted geophysical surveys in June 2017 to assess the potential for waste water retention along the Blacktail Creek corridor as part of a larger evaluation of the post-spill period. This public data release is divided into (2) child items, one that contains and describes frequency domain electromagnetic induction (EMI) data, and another that contains electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data. Both geophysical methods are highly sensitive to shallow saline groundwater.

The extraction of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) resources often produces highly saline waste waters, which can be released to the river corridor environment during spills and pipe leakage. In North Dakota, USA more than 8,000 spills were recorded from 2008-2015, and more than half of those spills were related to pipelines. Data collected for this study were related to UOG wastewater leakage from a pipeline into a creek in the Williston Basin, North Dakota discovered on the January 6th, 2015. Although the spill was followed by extensive remediation efforts, we conducted geophysical surveys in June 2017 to assess the potential for waste water retention along the Blacktail Creek corridor as part of a larger evaluation of the post-spill period. This public data release is divided into (2) child items, one that contains and describes frequency domain electromagnetic induction (EMI) data, and another that contains electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data. Both geophysical methods are highly sensitive to shallow saline groundwater.

This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data release contains stream water chemistry and streamflow data collected in late August and early September, 2021 from 28 sites located throughout Colorado, USA. The sampled streams all drain high-elevation mountain watersheds in areas where the bedrock is hydrothermally altered and contains abundant sulfide minerals. Most sampled streams are therefore affected by natural acid-rock drainage. All sites had been sampled in prior years so that the 2021 data could be used to evaluate potential changes in stream water chemistry in recent decades. Streamflow was also quantified at most sites using data from a sodium chloride slug addition wherein specific conductivity readings were used as a surrogate for the tracer concentration.

This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data release contains stream water chemistry and streamflow data collected in late August and early September, 2021 from 28 sites located throughout Colorado, USA. The sampled streams all drain high-elevation mountain watersheds in areas where the bedrock is hydrothermally altered and contains abundant sulfide minerals. Most sampled streams are therefore affected by natural acid-rock drainage. All sites had been sampled in prior years so that the 2021 data could be used to evaluate potential changes in stream water chemistry in recent decades. Streamflow was also quantified at most sites using data from a sodium chloride slug addition wherein specific conductivity readings were used as a surrogate for the tracer concentration.

Assessment of biogeochemical processes and transformations at the aquifer-estuary interface and measurement of the chemical flux from submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) zones to coastal water bodies are critical for evaluating ecosystem service, geochemical budgets, and eutrophication status. The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Delaware measured rates of SGD and concentrations of dissolved constituents, including nitrogen species, from recirculating ultrasonic and manual seepage meters, and in nearshore groundwater, on the southern shore of Guinea Creek, an estuarine tributary of Rehoboth Bay, in Millsboro, Delaware, in June, August, and October of 2015. A novel oxygen- and light-regulated seepage meter and a standard seepage meter were deployed as an adjacent pair and sampled at 0.5- to 2-hour intervals across the majority or entirety of single tidal cycles (8 to 12 hours). SGD rate was measured within an attached collection bag (0.5- to 2-hour intervals), or with an ultrasonic flow sensor (1-second intervals). Groundwater samples were collected at multiple depths (5 to 83 centimeters) in shore-perpendicular transects extending across the nearshore subtidal SGD zone. Constituents and other parameters measured in seepage meters and groundwater included: dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, oxidation/reduction potential, temperature, nitrate, ammonium, phosphate, dissolved organic and inorganic carbon, stable isotopic ratios of carbon species, trace elements, and alkalinity. These data can be used to evaluate biogeochemical conditions and extent of chemical transformation in the upper coastal aquifer and surface sediments and to calculate fluxes of nitrogen and other constituents carried by SGD across the aquifer-estuary interface.

This data release is the result of a hydrogeochemical sampling campaign during summer 2021 to investigate whether high resolution geochemical analysis of waters for element chemistry can be used as an exploration tool for identifying gold-rich occurrences in parts of the Big Delta B-1 and B-2 quadrangles, within the Yukon-Tanana Upland region, Alaska. Historical USGS conventional stream sediment geochemical data yielded variable indications of geochemical anomalies in conventional stream sediment geochemistry results, probably related to relative exposure of mineralized rock. Previous studies of waters in the Pogo area (western part of current study) utilized conventional analytical methods not capable of measuring low concentrations of many elements (Wang et al., 2005). In the current study, water samples were collected from 36 stream sample sites, with a focus on streams around Black Mountain to the east and the Pogo Au deposit area to the west. Both areas have known gold-rich mineral occurrences. In the eastern Black Mountain area, this included the Gray Lead, Blue Lead, and Michigan prospects, among others (U.S. Geological Survey, 1996). Sampling in the Pogo area was restricted to streams outside Leise Creek area due to anthropogenic disturbance as part of mining. Stream water samples were collected in 2021 and analyzed for cation and anion concentrations using high-resolution ICP-MS for cations and ion chromatography (IC) for anions.