The geologic structures observed in drillhole DOE-2 and their possible origins: Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Technical Report · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:6066112

Borns, D J

Questions remain as the origins of evaporite deformation within the Salado and Castile formations. Two miles north of the WIPP site, a stacked sequence of depressions was indicated by shallow boreholes. Such structures raise questions regarding the role of dissolution and gravity tectonics at the WIPP site. To investigate these structures, DOE drilled hole DOE-2 north of the WIPP site. At DOE-2, the downward displacement of stratigraphic markers in the Salado confirmed the presence of stacked depressions, which were the primary target of the drilling program. The halitic units between the marker beds were thickened compared to the average section determined from basin-wide drilling. The remaining question is whether dissolution occurred in the underlying Castile and resulted in the deformation of the Salado. Markers in the anhydrite units indicate recumbent structures and thickening of the anhydrite units by folding. As a consequence, the Castile Formation is nearly its average thickness, with the folded thickness of anhydrite compensating for the missing halite. The nearby thickening of halite within the Castile, the absence of relic anhydrite laminae in the attenuated halite units, and the high strain fabric of the remaining halite suggest that dissolution was not the dominant process in the Castile. The favored hypothesis for the Castile structures is salt flow in response to gravity inversion of the anhydrite and halite units of the Castile. 21 refs., 18 figs.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6066112
• Report Number(s): SAND-86-1495; ON: DE88000267
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
DEFORMATION
DISSOLUTION
EVAPORITES
FEDERAL REGION VI
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
HALIDE MINERALS
HALITE
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PILOT PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
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SITE SURVEYS
STORAGE FACILITIES
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
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WASTES
WIPP