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Title: Hydraulic Property and Soil Textural Classification Measurements for Rainier Mesa, Nevada Test Site, Nevada

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/972215· OSTI ID:972215

This report presents particle size analysis, field-saturated hydraulic conductivity measurements, and qualitative descriptions of surficial materials at selected locations at Rainier Mesa, Nevada. Measurements and sample collection were conducted in the Rainier Mesa area, including unconsolidated sediments on top of the mesa, an ephemeral wash channel near the mesa edge, and dry U12n tunnel pond sediments below the mesa. Particle size analysis used a combination of sieving and optical diffraction techniques. Field-saturated hydraulic conductivity measurements employed a single-ring infiltrometer with analytical formulas that correct for falling head and spreading outside the ring domain. These measurements may prove useful to current and future efforts at Rainier Mesa aimed at understanding infiltration and its effect on water fluxes and radionuclide transport in the unsaturated zone.

Research Organization:
U. S. Geological Survey - Henderson, Nevada
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NA)
DOE Contract Number:
AI52-07NA28100
OSTI ID:
972215
Report Number(s):
OFR 209-1264; TRN: US201006%%491
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English