South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletins SDSU Agricultural Experiment Station 1945 Selenium in Glacial and Associated Deposits Walter V. Searight Alvin L. Moxon Follow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_tb Recommended Citation Searight, Walter V. and Moxon, Alvin L., "Selenium in Glacial and Associated Deposits" (1945). Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletins. 17. http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_tb/17 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the SDSU Agricultural Experiment Station at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletins by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Technical Bulletin No. 5 MARCH, 1945 ~-------------~ .. I SELENIUM In Glacial and Associated Deposits Department of Experiment Station Chemistry AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION South Dakota State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts Brookings, S. D. Table of Contents In trod u cti on _____________________ __ __________ ______ __ __ ______________ _____ ____________ ___ ___ _______ ________ ___ _____ _PAGE 1 Geologic History of the Area ____________ --------------------------------------------------------------·----- 1 Selenium Bearing Materials of Northeast South Dakota_________________________________ _ 5 1r Bedrock -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Pleistocene Deposits_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 N ebraskan Drift. ___________________ _.----- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Kansan Drift. ___________________ ____ ______________ ___________ ___ __________ ____ ________ ____________________________ _ 6 Wisconsin Drift.________ ___________________ ___ __ __________ ___________________ ______________________________________ _ 7 Selenium Content________________________________________________________________________________________________ _ 12 Selenium in Bedrock·------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Selenium in Glacial tills ____________ _________ __ _____________________ ______________ _____________________________________ 14 Selenium in Outwash, Valley Train, and Terrace Deposits _______________________________________ 15 Selenium in Arlington Loess _______________________ ____ ______ ________________________ _________________________ __ ___ 16 Selenium in Arlington Basin Loess and Loess-like Silts __ _________ ____________________ ____ __ ________ 16 Selenium in Glacial Lake Silts __ _________________________________ _______________ __ _____ ______________ _______ ___ __ __ 16 Selenium in Soils on the Arlington Basin Loess and Loess-like Silts _________ ---------------- 17 " Selenium in Ground Water________ __________ _____ __ _________________________________________________________________ 19 Selenium in Surface Water_________________________________ ___________________________________________ ____________ 23 Selenium in "Indicator'' Plants___________________________________________________ ________________________________ 28 Solubility of Selenium in Pleistocene Deposits__ _______________________ ____________________________ 29 Sources of Selenium in Pleistocene Deposits ___________ ___________ _______________ _______ _____ _______ 30 Summary ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ______ ____ __ 32 Bibliography ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________ 33 List of Illustrations Figure 1. Map of South Dakota showing area studied______________________________________________ _______ 2 Figure 2. Pleistocene Classification _________________ ________ _________________ ______ ___ __ __ ___ _-- --- ---------------------. 3 Figure 3. Particle size distribution of samples of Arlington loess, Arlington loess and loess-like silt, Peorian loess and Mobridge clay _______ __________ __ ______________ ___ _______________ 9 Figure 4. Cross-section showing four auger borings through silt and till in SWX SWX, Sec. 33, T. 111 N., R. 53 W., Kingsbury County, South Dakota __________ 18 Figure 5. Cross-section showing two auger borings through silt and till in NEX NEX, I Sec. 28, T. 112 N., R.-56 W., Kingsbury County, South Dakota________________________ 19 "1 Figure 6. Cross-section showing auger borings along north-south road east of Sec. 13, T.112 N., R. 54 W., Kingsbury County, South Dakota ____ _______ ____ ___ __ __________________ 21 Figure 7. Chart showing distribution of selenium in samples of materials separated into fractions of different particle size_---- ----------------------------------------------------------- 31 Plate I. Geologic Map and Geologic Section of Areas Showing Formations and Sample Locations ________________ ______ ____________________ __ _____________________ ----· ·-----------------------Center .. Selenium in Glacial and Associated Deposits WALTER V. SEARIGHT AND ALVIN L. MoxoN* Introduction The element selenium has been found to Counties, South Dakota. Analyses showed be the cause of poisoning of livestock and the presence of considerable amounts of poultry in several Great Plains states, in­ selenium in some of these plants. Field cluding South Dakota. Selenium poisoning studies of Pleistocene materials, soil, and is known locally under a number of de­ "indicator" plants were made in July and scriptive names, such as "alkali disease," August of 1942 in the localities of discov­ "frozen feet," "hoof rot," and "blind stag­ ery and in the surrounding area. These gers." An animal suffering from chronic studies were further expanded in July and poisoning is commonly said to be "alka­ August, 1944. Laboratory studies of glacial lied." Previous studies have been made in and associated materials, soils derived from South Dakota of the stratigraphic and geo­ them, and "indicator" plants were made to graphic distribution of selenium in Cretac- determine the amounts of selenium present. ~ eous and other rocks ( 1, 2). Certain hori­ In order to determine the geographic zons in the Cretaceous, particularly the distribution of selenium and its signficance, Niobrara formation and the upper part of the character and relations of Pleistocene the Virgin Creek member of the Pierre and deposits were investigated and their origin the Mobridge (Interior) member of the determined as far as possible. Bedrock was Pierre formation, have been found to be the also studied where it was thought to be re­ chief contributors of selenium in soils and lated to the occurrence of selenium in the plants of toxic areas (2). drifts and associated deposits. The occurrence of the element has been The area studied (Figure 1) extends recently noted in wheat grown on soils de­ from the Minnesota boundary westward rived from glacial materials in Saskatche­ somewhat beyond Brown, Spink, and Bea­ wan (3). Analyses of plants from glaciated dle Counties, South Dakota. The area ex­ areas in Montana, North Dakota, and Can­ tends from the latitude of Aberdeen, Brown ada indicate the occurrence of selenium in County, southward to the southern boun­ noteworthy amounts in glacial deposits a'nd in soils derived from them (4, 5, 6). daries of Beadle, Kingsbury, and Brook­ ._ The selenium "indicator" plant, Astragalus ings Counties. The most detailed work racemosus Pursh, was collected by one of was done in Brookings, Kingsbury, Ham­ the authors on soils derived from glacial lin, and Beadle Counties but observations and other Pleistocene deposits in the sum­ were also made outside the mapped area in mer of 1941 in Kingsbury and Beadle connection with this and related studies. Geologic History of the Area Eastern and northeastern South Dakota Cambrian rocks can be seen in outcrops be­ were last covered by Cretaceous seas which tween Sioux Falls and Mitchell, in South on retreating left a thick succession of sands Dakota, where the hard Sioux quartzite and shales over a surface previously eroded outcrops and east of Milbank, in Grant County, South Dakota, where the Milbank down into pre-Cambrian granite and •Geological consultant, Experiment Station, and Experiment t quartzite. Exposures of these ancient pre- Station Chemist, South Dakota State College respectively. 1 2 South Dakota Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 5 -· ,. .. .... IOI• -· .,,. COJnOI( Mf,WIISON 6/tOWN '.44.lllWllr t-c-----J IUNIUTT TODD 3JMJtlfOllf SOUTH DAKOTA ,01• -· ... ... Figure 1. Map of South Dakota showing area studied. granite is at the surface. During a long in­ river in Moody County, South Dakota, terval of erosion which followed the retreat probably were left by the Nebraskan gla­ of the Cretaceous seas, the Cretaceous rocks cier. Deposits left by this glacier are well were cut down into the Pierre shale over known in neighboring states, 'Iowa and most of the mapped area. In Roberts and Nebraska. Whatever may have been the Grant Counties, South Dakota, from Sisse­ extent and duration of Nebraskan icy in ton to Lake Traverse and