Guidelines for collecting and processing samples of stream bed sediment for analysis of trace elements and organic contaminants for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program

Abstract

Introduction 1 Overview of bed-sediment study design 2 Planning for sample collection 5 Site location and selection of depositional zones Adapting to local conditions 5 Equipment 7 Samplers 8 Sieves 8 Equipment cleaning 11 Sample collection 15 Wadeable zone 15 Guillotine sampler 15 Spoon, scoop, or spatula sampler 16 Nonwadeable zone 17 Sample processing 17 Sieving 17 Trace elements 17 Sieve-frame method 17 Bag method 18 Decanting 18 Organic contaminants 18 Particle size 18 Preparation for shipping 18 Field documentation 19 Final cleaning 19 Quality assurance and quality control 19 Control of contamination 19 Control of variability 20 Verification 20 References cited 20