Phase I Contaminant Transport Parameters for the Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport Model of Corrective Action Unit 99: Rainier Mesa/Shoshone Mountain, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, Revision 1

Bryant, Nathan

doi:10.2172/932410

Cited by 1 publication

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“…2). Overburden thickness at the test locations varies with surface topography and ranges from 348 to 424 m asl (Stoller-Navarro Joint Venture, 2008a). Stratigraphic units Ton1/To and Tl/Tlt are situated below the test locations and consist of older, undiferentiated and clay-altered ash-fall tuf units with some colluvium.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Calibration of Dual‐Permeability Flow Models with Discontinuous Fault Networks

Reeves

Parashar

Pohlmann

et al. 2014

Vadose Zone Journal

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A sophisticated dual‐permeability flow model of the T‐tunnel complex, Rainier Mesa, Nevada National Security Site, was developed and calibrated to facilitate predictions of radionuclide transport from underground nuclear tests within a perched zone of saturation downward through a series of variably saturated, sparsely fractured and faulted Tertiary tuff units to a regional flow system. The hydrogeologic complexity of the site necessitated a multistage calibration effort to capture the dominant flow characteristics of the site including: laterally and vertically extensive saturation in the Tertiary volcanics, pressure heads consistent with water level measurements, variably saturated flow conditions involving a thin unsaturated zone situated between two saturated zones, unsaturated Paleozoic carbonates located immediately adjacent to saturated Tertiary volcanic units, and fracture saturations congruent with field observations that range from fully saturated to dry. The incorporation of discontinuous fault networks into the dual‐permeability model played a key role in reproducing the salient hydrologic features of the site. Successful model reproduction of observed cumulative tunnel discharge volume and tunnel discharge rates before tunnel sealing served as a novel transient test of the ability of the discontinuous fault networks to realistically honor field‐scale fault network connectivity and permeability. The excellent reproduction of field observations by the numerical model, and the uniqueness of the primary parameters used to calibrate the model, demonstrate the advantage of incorporating discontinuous fault networks over equivalent fracture properties in sparsely fractured, dual‐permeability media.

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Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Calibration of Dual‐Permeability Flow Models with Discontinuous Fault Networks

Reeves

Parashar

Pohlmann

et al. 2014

Vadose Zone Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Phase I Contaminant Transport Parameters for the Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport Model of Corrective Action Unit 99: Rainier Mesa/Shoshone Mountain, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada, Revision 1

Abstract: We thank the many individuals who assisted in the creation of this report and especially appreciate the efforts of the document production staff for their support in preparing this document for publication. We also thank Greg Ruskauff for his contributions and thorough review.

Cited by 1 publication

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Development and Calibration of Dual‐Permeability Flow Models with Discontinuous Fault Networks

Development and Calibration of Dual‐Permeability Flow Models with Discontinuous Fault Networks

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