Geochemical and mineralogic investigation of elevated arsenic and trace element concentrations in glauconitic soils and sediments of the New Jersey Inner Coastal Plain

The U.S. Geological Survey New Jersey Water Science Center (USGS NJWSC) in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has assembled this data release in support of ongoing USGS and NJDEP evaluations related to the occurrence and distribution of elevated trace elements, particularly arsenic (As) and vanadium (V), in Inner Coastal Plain soils and sediments of New Jersey.

The data for four sediment cores are presented, and the data types include:

1. Site locations and general characteristics for the four sediment cores collected during the study;
2. Lithologic descriptions of each sediment core;
3. Portable handheld X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) data for each sediment core (every 6 inches) to qualitatively evaluate the environmental occurrence and vertical distribution of arsenic (As), vanadium (V), and lead (Pb). The pXRF data were used as a screening tool to identify sediments with elevated concentrations of these elements for further chemical and mineralogical analysis;
4. Chemical analysis of a subset of selected sediment core samples for 22 trace elements;
5. Quality-assurance and quality-control (QA/QC) data to evaluate the quality of the data collected by the sampling team and to validate the precision and quality of the data generated by the laboratory analysis;
6. Semi-quantitative (with clay) whole rock mineralogy by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis for selected sediment core samples; and
7. Analysis of selected sediment sample splits using a scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer to identify distinct As or V enriched mineral phases or zones within mineral grains.

The information and data presented herein are relevant to the NJDEP, other state and federal agencies, site-remediation professionals, and others evaluating elevated trace-element concentrations in soils and sediments of the New Jersey Inner Coastal Plain.