U.S. Geological Survey

Cover image from OF95-416 (click for enlargement, 71 KB) Analytical Methods of the U.S. Geological Survey's New York District Water-Analysis Laboratory

by Gregory B. Lawrence, Tricia A. Lincoln, Debra A. Horan-Ross, Mark L. Olson, and Laura A. Waldron

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Open-File Report 95-416


ABSTRACT

The New York District of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Troy, N.Y., operates a water-analysis laboratory for USGS watershed-research projects in the Northeast that require analyses of precipitation and of dilute surface water and soil water for major ions; it also provides analyses of certain chemical constituents in soils and soil-gas samples.  

This report presents the methods for chemical analyses of water samples, soil-water samples, and soil-gas samples collected in watershed-research projects. The introduction describes the general materials and techniques for each method and explains the USGS quality-assurance program and data-management procedures; it also explains the use of cross reference to the three most commonly used methods manuals for analysis of dilute waters. The body of the report describes the analytical procedures for (1) solution analysis, (2) soil analysis, and (3) soil-gas analysis. The methods are presented in alphabetical order by constituent. The method for each constituent is preceeded by (1) reference codes for pertinent sections of the three manuals mentioned above, (2) a list of the method's applications, and (3) a summary of the procedure. The methods section for each constituent contains the following catagories; instrumentation and equipment, sample preservation and storage, reagents and standards, analytical procedures, quality control, maintenance, interferences, safety considerations, and references. Sufficient information is presented for each method to allow the resulting data to be appropriately used in environmental investigations. 


Citation: Lawrence, G.B., Lincoln, T.A., Horan-Ross, D.A., Olson, M.L., and Waldron, L.A., 1995, Analytical methods of the U.S. Geological Survey's New York District Water-Analysis Laboratory: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-416, 78 p.

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