Yellowstone as an Analog for Thermal-Hydrological-Chemical Processes at Yucca Mountain
Enhanced water-rock interaction resulting from the emplacement of heat-generating nuclear waste in the potential geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, may result in changes to fluid flow (resulting from mineral dissolution and precipitation in condensation and boiling zones, respectively). Studies of water-rock interaction in active and fossil geothermal systems (natural analogs) provide evidence for changes in permeability and porosity resulting from thermal-hydrological-chemical (THC) processes. The objective of this research is to document the effects of coupled THC processes at Yellowstone and then examine how differences in scale could influence the impact that these processes may have on the Yucca Mountain system. Subsurface samples from Yellowstone National Park, one of the largest active geothermal systems in the world, contain some the best examples of hydrothermal self-sealing found in geothermal systems. We selected core samples from two USGS research drill holes from the transition zone between conductive and convective portions of the geothermal system (where sealing was reported to occur). We analyzed the core, measuring the permeability, porosity, and grain density of selected samples to evaluate how lithology, texture, and degree of hydrothermal alteration influence matrix and fracture permeability.
- Research Organization:
- Yucca Mountain Project, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 786565
- Report Number(s):
- MOL.20010827.0044; DC 28990; TRN: US0502237
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 29 May 2001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Natural alteration in the cooling Topopah Spring tuff, Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as an analog to a waste-repository hydrothermal regime
A Natural Analogue for Thermal-Hydrological-Chemical Coupled Processes at the Proposed Nuclear Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Related Subjects
15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
BOILING
BOREHOLES
DISSOLUTION
FLUID FLOW
GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS
GRAIN DENSITY
HYDROTHERMAL ALTERATION
LITHOLOGY
PERMEABILITY
POROSITY
POSITIONING
PRECIPITATION
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
TEXTURE
YUCCA MOUNTAIN
Geothermal Legacy