A Hydrostrat Model and Alternatives for Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport Model of Corrective Action Unit 99: Rainer Mesa-Shoshone Mountain, Nye County, Nevada

Abstract

The three-dimensional hydrostratigraphic framework model for the Rainier Mesa-Shoshone Mountain Corrective Action Unit was completed in Fiscal Year 2006. The model extends from eastern Pahute Mesa in the north to Mid Valley in the south and centers on the former nuclear testing areas at Rainier Mesa, Aqueduct Mesa, and Shoshone Mountain. The model area also includes an overlap with the existing Underground Test Area Corrective Action Unit models for Yucca Flat and Pahute Mesa. The model area is geologically diverse and includes un-extended yet highly deformed Paleozoic terrain and high volcanic mesas between the Yucca Flat extensional basin on the east and caldera complexes of the Southwestern Nevada Volcanic Field on the west. The area also includes a hydrologic divide between two groundwater sub-basins of the Death Valley regional flow system. A diverse set of geological and geophysical data collected over the past 50 years was used to develop a structural model and hydrostratigraphic system for the model area. Three deep characterization wells, a magnetotelluric survey, and reprocessed gravity data were acquired specifically for this modeling initiative. These data and associated interpretive products were integrated using EarthVision{reg_sign} software to develop the three-dimensional hydrostratigraphic framework model. Crucial steps in the model building process included establishing a fault model, developing a hydrostratigraphic scheme, compiling a drill-hole database, and constructing detailed geologic and hydrostratigraphic cross sections and subsurface maps. The more than 100 stratigraphic units in the model area were grouped into 43 hydrostratigraphic units based on each unit's propensity toward aquifer or aquitard characteristics. The authors organized the volcanic units in the model area into 35 hydrostratigraphic units that include 16 aquifers, 12 confining units, 2 composite units (a mixture of aquifer and confining units), and 5 intrusive confining units. The underlying pre-Tertiary rocks are divided into six hydrostratigraphic units, including three aquifers and three confining units. Other units include an alluvial aquifer and a Mesozoic-age granitic confining unit. The model depicts the thickness, extent, and geometric relationships of these hydrostratigraphic units ('layers' in the model). The model also incorporates 56 Tertiary normal faults and 4 Mesozoic thrust faults. The complexity of the model area and the non-uniqueness of some of the interpretations incorporated into the base model made it necessary to formulate alternative interpretations for some of the major features in the model. Four of these alternatives were developed so they can be modeled in the same fashion as the base model. This work was done for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office in support of the Underground Test Area Subproject of the Environmental Restoration Project.