Open-File Report 03-148
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2003-148, 166 pages (Published 2003)
By R. Blaine McCleskey, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Judy I. Steiger, Briant A. Kimball, and Philip L. Verplanck
Prepared in Cooperation with the New Mexico Environment Department
This report is available online in pdf format: USGS OFR 03-148 (13 MB)
Water analyses are reported for 259 samples collected from the Red River, New Mexico, and its tributaries during low-flow (2001) and spring snowmelt (2002) tracer studies. Water samples were collected along a 20-kilometer reach of the Red River beginning just east of the town of Red River and ending at the U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging station located east of Questa, New Mexico. The study area was divided into three sections where separate injections and synoptic sampling events were performed during the low-flow tracer study. During the spring snowmelt tracer study, three tracer injections and synoptic sampling events were performed bracketing the areas with the greatest metal loading into the Red River as determined from the low-flow tracer study. The low-flow tracer synoptic sampling events were August 17, 20, and 24, 2001. The synoptic sampling events for the spring snowmelt tracer were March 30, 31, and April 1, 2002.
Stream and large inflow water samples were sampled using equal-width and depth-integrated sampling methods and composited into half-gallon bottles. Grab water samples were collected from smaller inflows. Stream temperatures were measured at the time of sample collection. Samples were transported to a nearby central processing location where pH and specific conductance were measured and the samples processed for chemical analyses. Cations, trace metals, iron redox species, and fluoride were analyzed at the U.S. Geological Survey laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. Cations and trace metal concentrations were determined using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Arsenic concentrations were determined using hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry, iron redox species were measured using ultraviolet-visible spectrometry, and fluoride concentrations were determined using an ion-selective electrode. Alkalinity was measured by automated titration, and sulfate, chloride, and bromide were analyzed by ion chromatography at the U.S. Geological Survey laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Abstract
Introduction
Purpose and scope
Acknowledgments
Sample locations
Methods of sample collection, treatment, and analysis
Synoptic sample collection
Sample treatment
Analytical methods
Quality assurance
Intercomparison between filtration methods
Water-chemistry data from low-flow and snowmelt synoptic/tracer studies
Chemical and physical relations
Downstream profiles
References cited
This report is available online in pdf format: USGS OFR 2003-148 (13 MB)
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McCleskey, R. Blaine; Nordstrom, D. Kirk; Steiger, Judy I.; Kimball, Briant A.; Verplanck, Philip L.., 2003, Questa Baseline and Pre-Mining Ground-Water Quality Investigation. 2. Low-Flow (2001) and Snowmelt (2002) Synoptic/Tracer Water Chemistry for the Red River, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2003–148
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