Preliminary petrological and geochemical results from the Salton Sea Geothermal Field, California: A near-field natural analog of a radioactive waste repository in salt: Topical report No. 2

Technical Report · Sat Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:7133117

Elders, W A; Cohen, L H; Williams, A E; Neville, S; Collier, P; Oakes, C

High concentrations of radionuclides and high temperatures are not naturally encountered in salt beds. For this reason, the Salton Sea Geothermal Field (SSGF) may be the best available geologic analog of some of the processes expected to occur in high level nuclear waste repositories in salt. Subsurface temperatures and brine concentrations in the SSGF span most of the temperature range and fluid inclusion brine range expected in a salt repository, and the clay-rich sedimentary rocks are similar to those which host bedded or domal salts. As many of the chemical processes observed in the SSGF are similar to those expected to occur in or near a salt repository, data derived from it can be used in the validation of geochemical models of the near-field of a repository in salt. This report describes preliminary data on petrology and geochemistry, emphasizing the distribution of rare earth elements and U and Th, of cores and cuttings from several deep wells chosen to span a range of temperature gradients and salinities. Subsurface temperature logs have been augmented by fluid inclusion studies, to reveal the effects of brines of varying temperature and salinity. The presence of brines with different oxygen isotopic signatures also indicate lack of mixing. Whole rock major, minor and trace element analyses and data on brine compositions are being used to study chemical migration in these sediments. 65 refs., 20 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Battelle Memorial Inst., Columbus, OH (USA). Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation; California Univ., Riverside (USA). Inst. of Geophysics and Planetary Physics
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-87CH10290; AC06-76RL01830; AC02-83CH10140
• OSTI ID: 7133117
• Report Number(s): BMI/ONWI/C-149; UCR/IGPP-84/12; ON: DE88014892
• 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
BRINES
CHEMISTRY
GEOCHEMISTRY
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC MODELS
GEOLOGY
GEOTHERMAL FIELDS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PETROLOGY
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SALT DEPOSITS
SALTON SEA GEOTHERMAL FIELD
SIMULATION
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES