Assessments of hydrogeologic features within the unsaturated zone, Yucca Mountain, Nevada
- Geological Survey, Denver, CO (USA)
The unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, ranges from 500 to 750 meters thick and consists of a sequence of welded ash-flow tuffs and nonwelded, bedded tuffs of Miocene age. The welded tuffs tend to be considerably more fractured than the nonwelded tuffs, and both tuffs have undergone varying degrees of chemical alteration. The hydrologic state and dynamics of the unsaturated-zone hydrogeologic system at Yucca Mountain are incompletely known and quantified. Several features of the hydrogeologic system that may be important to the design and performance of a mined, geologic repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste within the unsaturated zone have been identified during the development of a provisional conceptual model for the hydrogeologic system. These features are discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 137920
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-890207--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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