Karst in evaporites in southeastern New Mexico

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:5947512

Bachman, G O

Permian evaporites in southeastern New Mexico include gypsum, anhydrite, and salt, which are subject to both blanket and local, selective dissolution. Dissolution has produced many hundreds of individual karst features including collapse sinks, karst valleys, blind valleys, karst plains, caves, and breccia pipes. Dissolution began within some formations during Permian time and has been intermittent but continual ever since. Karst features other than blanket deposits of breccia are not preserved from the early episodes of dissolution, but some karst features preserved today - such as breccia pipes - are remnants of karst activity that was active at least as early as mid-Pleistocene time. Rainfall was much more abundant during Late Pleistocene time, and many features visible today may have been formed then. The drainage history of the Pecos River is related to extensive karstification of the Pecos Valley during mid-Pleistocene time. Large-scale stream piracy and dissolution of salt in the subsurface resulted in major shifts and excavations in the channel. In spite of intensive groundwater studies that have been carried out in the region, major problems in near-surface evaporite karst remain to be solved. Among these are determination of recharge areas and time of recharge. 109 refs., 31 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Bachman (George O.), Albuquerque, NM (USA); Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 5947512
• Report Number(s): SAND-86-7078; ON: DE88001315
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
510300 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CAVES
CAVITIES
DISSOLUTION
EVAPORITES
FEDERAL REGION VI
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS
GEOLOGIC STRATA
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
GROUND WATER
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PILOT PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
ROCK CAVERNS
ROCKS
SALT DEPOSITS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
WIPP