Meteorological, stream-discharge, and water-quality data for 1986 through 1991 from two small basins in central Nevada

Abstract

andhydrologicconditionsisquestionable andnotcharacteristicof the climatic past. Quantifying potential Two small basins, measuring less than recharge under cooler and wetter climatic conditions is 2 square miles, were studied to determine the vol-important to the design of the potential repository and ume of precipitation available for recharge to the the modeling of future hydrologic conditions. ground water. The semiarid 3 Springs Basin is As part of the characterization of the Yucca located to the east of Kawich Peak in the Kawich Mountain site, the analog recharge project has been Range east of Tonopah, Nevada. Stewart Basin is designed to determine possible recharge to the ground a subalpine drainage basin north of Arc Dome in water under cooler and wetter climatic conditions. For the Toiyabe Range north of Tonopah, Nevada. the study,two small basins that are geologically similar This publication presents the meteorological, to the recharge area for YuccaMountain were chosen. stream-discharge, and water-quality data collected during the study. Meteorological data collected This report presents the meteorological, streaminclude air temperature, soil temperature, solar discharge, and water-quality data collected from the radiation, and relative humidity. Stream-discharge two study basins. The structure of the data tabulated in data were collected from the surface-water outlet this report is similar to that of a USGS annual data of each basin. Water-quality data are chemical report (Frisbie, et al., 1982). Modifications to the data analyses of water samples collected from surface-report format have been made to enhance the usefuland groundwater sources, ness of this ;eport. A list, by page number, of datacollection stations and type of data collected is Data were collected throughout the two basins. Each basin l.,ts a meteorological station included in the Table of Contents. Tables of the data located in the lower and upper reaches of the basin, follow the References. Hydrologic records include stream-discharge and The 3 Springs Basin is in the Kawich Range east water-quality data from the lower meteorological of Kawich Peak (fig. 1). Some basin statistics are listed site and water-quality data from springs within the in table 1. Vegetationis dominated by a pifion-juniper basins. Meteorological data are available from the forest, but includes large areas of willows, mountain lower sites from the winter of 1986 through the fall mahogany, and sage. The 3 Springs Creek is an interof 1991. Periods of data collection were shorter mittent creek at the basin outlet and is occasionally dry for additional sites in the basin, for the whole year. The major source of recharge is spring runoff; although, occasionally summer rain or INTRODUCTION heavy snow in the fall which then quickly melt are sufficient to cause the creek to flow. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Departmentof Energy,is investigat-East Stewart Basin is in the Toiyabe Range north ing the volcanic tufts of YuccaMountain, Nevada,...

The Impact of Climate Change on the Chemical Composition of Deep Vadose Zone Waters

“…In all simulations we assumed a constant temperature water table, which introduces a small error into the derived geothermal gradients described below. The infiltrating water was assumed to have the chemical composition of local rainwater (McKinley and Oliver, 1993). These simulations were run until steady state persisted for more than 20000 yr after perturbation.…”

Site characterization progress report: Yucca Mountain, Nevada, October 1, 1993--March 31, 1994

“…Meteorological, streamflow, and water-quality data collected from two small basins in central Nevada from 1986 through 1992 were used to develop estimates of average annual ground-water recharge for two study basins. The data were presented in two reports: the fust was entitled "Meteorological, Stream Discharge, and Water-Quality Data for 1986-91 from Two Basins in Central Nevada" (McKinley and Oliver, 1994); and the second, in review, entitled "Meteorological, Stream Discharge, and Water-Quality Data for 1992 from Two Basins in Central Nevada" (McKinley and Oliver). Results of the three modeling approaches utilizing the data support the conclusion that reasonably accurate estimates of average-annual recharge to ground water range from about 1 to 3 c d y r for 3-Springs Basin (the drier site), and from about 30 to 2.2-66 PROGRESS REPORT #10 32 cm/yr for East Stewart Basin (the wetter site).…”