Constraints on the hydrology of the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, NV from three-dimensional models of chloride and strontium geochemistry

Journal of Contaminant Hydrology

Volumn 38, Issue 1-3, 1999, Pages 107-156

  Sonnenthal, Eric L ^a   Bodvarsson, Gudmundur S ^a  

^a LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

Author keywords

Chloride; Modeling; Strontium; Unsaturated zone; Yucca Mountain

Indexed keywords

STRONTIUM;

MODELING; POREWATER; UNSATURATED MEDIUM;

CHLORIDE; FLOW MODELING; GEOCHEMISTRY; STRONTIUM; THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING; UNSATURATED ZONE;

ARTICLE; CHLORIDE TRANSPORT; DRUG TRANSPORT; GEOLOGY; HYDRODYNAMICS; MODEL; PRIORITY JOURNAL; RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL; UNITED STATES;

UNITED STATES;

LOESELIASTRUM; YUCCA;

EID: 0032959070     PISSN: 01697722     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S0169-7722(99)00013-3     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Ahlers, C.F., Bandurraga, T.M., Bodvarsson, G.S., Chen, G., Finsterle, S., Wu, Y.S., 1995. Performance Analysis of the LBNL/USGS Three-Dimensional Unsaturated-Zone Site-Scale Model. Yucca Mountain Project Level 4 Milestone 3GLM105M. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
2. Ahlers, C.F., Bandurraga, T.M., Bodvarsson, G.S., Chen, G., Finsterle, S., Wu, Y.S., 1995. Summary of Model Calibration and Sensitivity Studies Using the LBNL/USGS Three-Dimensional Unsaturated-Zone Site-Scale Model. Yucca Mountain Project Level 4 Milestone 3GLM107M. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
3. Altman, S.J., Arnold, B.W., Barnard, R.W., Barr, G.E., Ho, C.K., McKenna, S.A., Eaton, R.R., 1996. Flow calculations for Yucca Mountain groundwater travel time (GWTT-95). SAND96-0819. Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM.
4. Anna, L.O., 1997. Preliminary Three-Dimensional Discrete Fracture Model of the Topopah Spring tuff in the Exploratory Studies Facility, Yucca Mountain Area, Nye County, Nevada. U.S. Geol. Surv. Open File Rep. 97-834, Denver, CO.
5. Bandurraga, T.M., Bodvarsson, G.S., 1997. Calibrating matrix and fracture properties using inverse modeling. In: Bodvarsson, G.S., Bandurraga, T.M. (Eds.), Development and Calibration of the Three-Dimensional Site-Scale Unsaturated-Zone Model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Milestone. Report LBNL-40376, Chap. 6. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, pp. 191-231.
6. Bandurraga, T.M., 1996. Geological model development and vertical layering scheme for the numerical grid. In: Bodvarsson, G.S., Bandurraga, M. (Eds.), Development and Calibration of the Three-Dimensional Site-Scale Unsaturated-Zone Model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Milestone. Report LBNL-39315, Chap. 2. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, pp. 31-61.
7. Bandurraga, T.M., Wu, Y.S., Ritcey, A.C., Sonnenthal, E., Ahlers, C.F., Haukwa, C., Bodvarsson, G.S., 1997. UZ Site-Scale Model Calibration, FY97. Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Milestone SP924UFM4. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
8. Bodvarsson, G.S., Shan, C., Htay, A., Ritcey, A., Wu, Y.S., 1997. Estimation of Percolation Flux from Temperature Data. In: Bodvarsson, G.S., Bandurraga, T.M., Wu, Y.S. (Eds.), The Site-Scale Unsaturated-Zone Model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the Viability Assessment. Yucca Mountain Project Level 4 Milestone SP24UFM4, LBNL-40376, Chap. 11, UC-814. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
9. Buesch, D.C., Spengler, R.W., Moyer, T.C., Geslin, J.K., 1995. Revised stratigraphic nomenclature and macroscopic identification of lithostratigraphic units of the Paintbrush group exposed at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. U.S. Geol. Surv. Open File Report 94-469. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
10. Dettenger M.D. Reconnaissance estimates of natural recharge to desert basins in Nevada, USA, by using chloride-mass balance calculations. J. Hydrol. 106:1989;55-87.
11. Doughty, C., Bodvarsson, G.S., 1997. Investigation of conceptual and numerical approaches for evaluating moisture flow and chemical transport. In: Bodvarsson, G.S., Bandurraga, T.M., Wu, Y.S. (Eds.), The Site-Scale Unsaturated-Zone Model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the Viability Assessment. Yucca Mountain Project Level 4 Milestone SP24UFM4; LBNL-40376, Chap. 5. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
12. Edwards, A.L., 1972. TRUMP: A Computer Program for Transient and Steady-State Temperature Distributions in Multidimensional Systems. National Technical Information Service, National Bureau of Standards, Springfield, VA.
13. Fabryka-Martin, J.T., Wightman, S.J., Robinson, B.A., Vestal, E.W., 1994. Infiltration processes at Yucca Mountain inferred from chloride and chlorine-36 distributions. Los Alamos Report LA-CST-TIP-94-O22. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
14. Fabryka-Martin, J., Wolfsberg, A.V., Dixon, P.R., Levy, S., Musgrave, J., Turin, H.J., 1996. Summary report of chlorine-36 studies: sampling, analysis and simulation of chlorine-36 in the Exploratory Studies Facility. Los Alamos National Laboratory Milestone Report 3783M. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
15. Fabryka-Martin, J.T., Flint, A.L., Sweetkind, D.S., Wolfsberg, A.V., Levy, S.S., Roach, J.L., Woldegabriel, G., Wolfsberg, L.E., 1997. Evaluation of Flow and Transport Models of Yucca Mountain, Based on Chlorine-36 Studies for FY97. Los Alamos Report LA-CST-TIP-97-010, LANL Milestone SP2224M3. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
16. Fabryka-Martin, J., Wolfsberg, A.V., Roach, J.L., Winters, S.T., Wolfsberg, L.E., 1998. Using chloride to trace water movement in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain. In: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on High-Level Radioactive Waste Management. American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, IL, pp. 264-267.
17. Fairley, J., Sonnenthal, E., 1996. Preliminary conceptual model of flow pathways based on Cl-36 and other environmental isotopes. In: Bodvarsson, G.S., Bandurraga, M. (Eds.), Development and Calibration of the Three-Dimensional Site-Scale Unsaturated-Zone Model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Milestone. Report LBNL-39315, Chap. 10. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Chapter, Berkeley, CA, pp. 380-415.
18. Faure, G., 1977. Principles of Isotope Geology. Wiley, New York.
19. Flint, L.E., 1998. Characterization of hydrogeologic units using matrix properties, Yucca Mountain, Nevada. U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Resour. Invest. 97-4243. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
20. Flint, L.E., Flint, A.L., 1990. Preliminary Permeability and Water-retention Data for Nonwelded and Bedded Tuff Samples, Yucca Mountain Area, Nye County, Nevada. U.S. Geol. Surv. Open File Rep. 90-569. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
21. Flint, A.L., Flint, L.E., 1994. Spatial distribution of potential near surface moisture flux at Yucca Mountain. In: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual International Conference on High Level Radioactive Waste Management, Vol. 4. American Nuclear Society, Las Vegas, NV, pp. 2352-2358.
22. Flint, L.E., Flint, A.L., Hevesi, J.A., 1994. Shallow infiltration processes in arid watersheds at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual International Conference High Level Radioactive Waste Management, Vol. 4. American Nuclear Society, Las Vegas, NV, pp. 2315-2322.
23. Flint, A.L., Hevesi, J.A., Flint, L.E., 1996. Conceptual and Numerical Model of Infiltration for the Yucca Mountain Area, Nevada. Milestone 3GU1623M. U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Res. Invest. Rep. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
24. Geomatrix Consultants, 1997. Unsaturated Zone Flow Model Expert Elicitation Project, Yucca Mountain, NV, GMX No. 3997.
25. Harrar, J.E., Carley, J.F., Isherwood, W.F., Raber, E., 1990. Report of the committee to review the use of J-13 well water in Nevada nuclear waste storage investigations. UCID-21867. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA.
26. Haukwa, C., Wu, Y.S., 1997. Grid generation and analysis. In: Bodvarsson, G.S., Bandurraga, T.M., Wu, Y.S., (Eds.), The Site-Scale Unsaturated Zone Model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the Viability Assessment. Yucca Mountain Project Milestone Report SP24UFM4, Chap. 4. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, pp. 1-14.
27. Hevesi J.A., Flint A.L., Istock J.D. Precipitation estimation in mountainous terrain using multivariate geostatistics: Part II. Isohyetal maps. Journal of Applied Meteorology. 31:1992;677-688.
28. Holser, W.T., 1979. Mineralogy of evaporites. In: Burns, R.G. (Ed.), Marine Minerals, Mineralogical Society of America Short Course Notes, Vol. 6. Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, DC, pp. 211-294.
29. Johnson T.M., DePaolo D.J. Interpretation of isotopic data in groundwater systems: model development and application to Sr isotopic data from Yucca Mountain. Water Resour. Res. 30:1994;1571-1587.
30. LeCain, G.D., 1997. Air-injection testing in vertical boreholes in welded and nonwelded tuff, Yucca Mountain, Nevada. U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Resour. Invest. Rep. 96-4262. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
31. Levy, S.S., Sweetkind, D.S., Fabryka-Martin, J.T., Dixon, P.R., Roach, J.L., Wolfsberg, L.E., Elmore, D., Sharma, P., 1997. Investigations of structural controls and mineralogic associations of chlorine-36 fast pathways in the ESF. Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Milestone SP2301M4. Los Alamos Report Number LA-EES-1-TIP-97-004. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
32. Marshall, B.D., Futa, K., Peterman, Z.E., 1997. Hydrologic Inferences from Strontium Isotopes in Pore Water from the Unsaturated Zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, Presented to the American Geophysical Union, Washington DC.
33. Meijer, A., 1995. Modeling and Experimental Results on Saturated Zone Water Chemistry. LANL Milestone 3387. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
34. McKinley, P.W., Oliver, T.A., 1994. Meteorological, Stream-Discharge, and Water Quality Data for Water Year 1992 from Two Basins in Central Nevada. U.S. Geol. Surv. Open File Rep. 93-651. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
35. McKinley, P.W., Oliver, T.A., 1995. Meteorological, Stream-Discharge, and Water Quality Data Water Year 1992 from Two Small Basins in Central Nevada. U.S. Geol. Surv. Open File Rep. 94-456. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
36. Montazer, P., Wilson, W.E., 1984. Conceptual hydrologic model of flow in the unsaturated zone, Yucca Mountain, Nevada. U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Resour. Invest. Rep. 84-4355. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
37. Narasimhan, T.N., Witherspoon, P.A., 1976. An Integrated Finite Difference Method for Analyzing Fluid Flow in Porous Media. Water Resour. Res. 12 (1) 57-64. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.
38. Oldenburg, C.M., Pruess, K., 1995. EOS7R: Radionuclide Transport for TOUGH2. Report 34868. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
39. Paces, J.B., Newmark, L.A., Marshall, B.D., Whelan, J.F., Peterman, Z.E., 1996. Ages and origins of subsurface secondary minerals in the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF). Letter Report, 1996. Milestone Report 3GQH450M. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
40. Paces, J.B., Marshall, B.D., Whelan, J.F., Neymark, L.A., 1997. Geochronology of fracture fill material, ESF and estimated past water fluxes. USGS Level 4 Milestone SPC23FM4. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
41. 238U beneath Yucca Mountain: evidence of local recharge? In: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on High-Level Radioactive Waste Management. American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, IL, pp. 185-188.
42. Patterson, G.L., Weeks, E.P., Rousseau, J.P., Oliver, T.A., 1996. Interpretation of Pneumatic and Chemical Data from the Unsaturated Zone near Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Yucca Mountain Project Report 3GGP605M. U.S. Geological Survey. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
43. Patterson, G.L., Peterman, Z.E., Paces, J.B., 1998. Hydrochemical evidence for the existence of perched water at USW WT-24, Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on High-Level Radioactive Waste Management. American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, IL, pp. 277-278.
44. Pruess, K., 1991. TOUGH2 - A General Purpose Numerical Simulator for Multiphase Fluid and Heat Flow. Report LBL-29400. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
45. Pruess, K., Simmons, A., Wu, Y.S., Moridis, G.J., 1996. TOUGH2 software qualification report. Report LBNL-38383. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
46. Ritcey, A.C., Wu, Y.S., Sonnenthal, E.L. Haukwa, C., Bodvarsson, G.S., 1998. Final Predictions of Ambient Conditions along the East-West Cross Drift Using the 3-D Site-Scale Model. Yucca Mountain Project Level 4 Milestone SP33ABM4. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
47. Robinson, B.A., Wolfsberg, A.V., Viswanathan, H.S., Gable, C.W., Zyvoloski, G.A., Turin, H.J., 1996. Modeling of flow radionuclide migration and environmental isotope distributions at Yucca Mountain. Los Alamos National Laboratory Milestone 3672. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
48. Robinson, B.A., Wolfsberg, A.V., Viswanathan, H.S., Bussod, G., Gable, C.W., Meijer, A., 1997. The Site-Scale Unsaturated Zone Transport Model of Yucca Mountain. LANL Milestone SP25BM3. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
49. Rousseau, J.P., Kwicklis, E.M., Gillies, D.C. (Eds.), 1996. Hydrogeology of the Unsaturated Zone, North Ramp Area of the Exploratory Studies Facility, Yucca Mountain, Nevada. USGS-WRIR-98-4050 Yucca Mountain Project Milestone 3GUP667M. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
50. Sonnenthal, E.L., Bodvarsson, G.S., 1998. Percolation flux estimates from geochemical and thermal modeling. In: Proceedings of the Eighth International conference on High-Level Radioactive Waste Management. American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, IL, pp. 130-132.
51. Sonnenthal, E.L., Ahlers, C.F., Bodvarsson, G.S., 1997a. Fracture and fault properties for the UZ site-scale flow model. In: Bodvarsson, G.S., Bandurraga, T.M., Wu, Y.S. (Eds.), The Site-Scale Unsaturated Zone Model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the Viability Assessment. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Report Number 40376, Chap. 7. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, pp. 1-32.
52. Sonnenthal, E.L., DePaolo, D.J., Bodvarsson, G.S., 1997b. Modeling the Strontium Geochemistry and Isotopic Ratio in the Unsaturated Zone. In: Bodvarsson, G.S., Bandurraga, T.M., Wu, Y.S. (Eds.), The Site-Scale Unsaturated Zone Model of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for the Viability Assessment, Chapter 17. Yucca Mountain Project Level 4 Milestone SP24UFM4, Report LBNL-40376, UC-814. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
53. Sweetkind, D.S., Barr, D., Polacsek, D., Anna, L., 1997. Integrated Fracture Data in Support of Process Models. Yucca Mountain, Nevada. YMP Report SPG32M3, Administrative Report to the U.S. Department of Energy. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
54. Triay, I.R., Meijer, A., Conca, J.L., Kung, K.S., Rundberg, R.S., Streitelmeier, E.A., 1996. Summary and synthesis report on radionuclide retardation for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project. Milestone 3784M. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.
55. Tyler S.W., Chapman J.B., Conrad S.H., Hammermeister D.P., Blout D.O., Miller J.J., Sully M.J., Ginanni J.M. Soil-water flux in the Southern Great Basin, United States: temporal and spatial variations over the last 120,000 years. Water Resour. Res. 32(6):1996;1481-1499.
56. Vaniman D.T., Chipera S.J. Paleotransport of lanthanides and strontium recorded in calcite compositions from tuffs at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 60:1996;4417-4433.
57. Vaniman, D.T., Whelan, J.F., 1994. Inferences of Paleoenvironment from Petrographic, Chemical, and Stable-Isotope Studies of Calcretes and Fracture Calcites. Proceedings of the Fifth International High Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference, Vol. 4. American Nuclear Society, Las Vegas, NV, pp. 2730-2737.
58. Weeks, E.P., 1997. Major pathways for flow through Yucca Mountain - preliminary thoughts. In: Unsaturated zone flow model expert elicitation workshop, February 3-4, 1997. Amargosa Valley, NV.
59. Wu, Y.S., Ahlers, C.F., Fraser, P., Simmons, A., Pruess, K., 1996. Software Qualification of Selected TOUGH2 Modules. Report LBNL-39490. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
60. Wu, Y.S., Ritcey, A.C., Ahlers, C.F., Hinds, J.J., Mishra, A.K., Haukwa, C., Liu, H.H., Sonnenthal, E.L., Bodvarsson, G.S., 1998. 3-D UZ Site-Scale Model for Abstraction in TSPA-VA. Yucca Mountain Project Level 4 Milestone SLX01LB3. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
61. Yang, I.C., Turner, A.K., Sayre, T.M., Montazer, P., 1988. Triaxial-compression extraction of pore water from unsaturated tuff, Yucca Mountain, Nevada. U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Resour. Invest. Rep. 88-4189. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
62. Yang, I.C., Rattray, G.W., Yu, P., 1996. Interpretations of chemical and isotopic data from boreholes in the unsaturated-zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Water-Resources Invest. Rep. 96-4058. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.
63. Yang, I.C., Yu, P., Rattray, G.W., Thorstenson, D.C., 1996. Hydrochemical Investigations and Geochemical Modeling in Characterizing the Unsaturated Zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigation Report. U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.