Selected meteorological and micrometeorological data for an arid site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, calendar year 1992

Abstract

Selected meteorological, soil-temperature, and soil-heat-flux data were collected at a study site adjacent to a low-level radioactive-waste burial facility near Beatty, Nevada, for calendar year 1992. Data were collected in support of ongoing studies to estimate the potential for downward movement of radionuclides into the unsaturated sediments beneath waste-burial trenches at the arid facility. Data collected for the whole year include air temperature, relative humidity, vapor pressure, incident solar radiation, windspeed, wind direction, barometric pressure, and precipitation. Net radiation, soil temperature, and soil-heat flux data also were collected for part of the year. The data are summarized in tables and graphs. Instrumentation used at the site is discussed. The discussion includes the type, reported accuracy, and the mounting height of each sensor. During 1992, the hourly and 20-minute mean air temperatures ranged from-8.6 degrees Celsius, in January, to 42.3 degrees Celsius, in July. Hourly and 20-minute mean relative humidity ranged from 2 percent to 100 percent. Hourly and 20-minute mean vapor pressures ranged from 0.07 to 2.47 kilopascals. Daily maximum incident solar radiation values ranged from 115 to 1,021 watts per square meter. Daily maximum netradiation values ranged from 195 to 632 watts per square meter. Daily mean windspeed ranged from 0.6 to 8.1 meters per second. Wind direction was primarily from the northwest in fall, winter, and spring and was from the southeast, southwest, or northwest during the summer. Barometric pressures ranged from 100.16 kilopascals to 103.38 kilopascals. Total precipitation for 1992 was 165.3 millimeters, with more than 50 percent in February and March. Daily mean soil temperatures at a depth from 2 to 6 centimeters ranged from 10.7 to 39.1 degrees Celsius between June and October. Daily mean soil-heat flux at a dep*h of 8 centimeters ranged from-13.4 to 12.2 watts per square meter during the same period.

Soil‐water movement under natural‐site and waste‐site conditions: A multiple‐year field study in the Mojave Desert, Nevada

“…The waste facility has been used for the burial of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) Precipitation and air temperature data presented in this paper were continuously monitored at the study-site weather station [e.g., Wood, 1996 were installed during trench construction; the tubes were placed into holes that were hand-augered below the trench floor prior to backfilling. Larger-diameter access tubes (140-mm OD, 6.4-mm wall thickness) were installed at the vegetated-soil site (July 1984) and the nonvegetated-soil site (September 1988) using a pneumatically driven downholehammer system [Tyler, 1988].…”

“…The site is in one of the most arid areas of the United States. On the basis of disposalfacility records (R. Marchand, personal communication, 1991) and data collected at the study site [Wood, 1996], annual pre-cipitation during 1981-1992 averaged 108 mm and ranged from 14 mm during 1989 to 225 mm during 1983. About 70% of the precipitation that falls is associated with frontal systems that cover large areas during October through April, when temperature and potential evapotranspiration are least.…”

“…Depth to the water table ranges from 85 to 115 m below land surface [Fischer, 1992]. Sediments are primarily fluvial deposits [Nichols, 1987] Precipitation and air temperature data presented in this paper were continuously monitored at the study-site weather station [e.g., Wood, 1996].…”

Selected micrometeorological and soil-moisture data at Amargosa Desert Research Site in Nye County near Beatty, Nevada, 1998-2000

“…Both daily and hourly mean and maximum solar-radiation data in this report are based on a 10-second sampling interval. Previous ADRS publications (Wood andFischer, 1991, 1992;Wood and others, 1992;Wood andAndraski, 1992, 1995;Wood, 1996) also reported hourly mean and maximum solar radiation based on a 10-second sampling interval, but reported daily mean and maximum solar radiation derived from hourly mean values.…”

“…Instrumentation used to collect the data is described. This report is the seventh in a series of meteorological reports published for this site (Wood andFischer, 1991, 1992;Wood and others, 1992;Wood andAndraski, 1992, 1995;Wood, 1996). These previous reports include meteorological data collected during a 7-year period .…”