Yucca Mountain Region Research Articles

Erosional decay of the Yucca Mountain crest, Nevada

A simple numerical landscape evolution model is used to investigate the rate of erosional decay of the Yucca Mountain crest in Nevada, USA — a location proposed as a permanent repository for high level radioactive waste. The model is based on a stream power approach in which we assume that the rate of erosion is proportional to the size of the catchment as a proxy for water flux and to the square of the topographic gradient. The proportionality constants in the model are determined using the structural history of the region: extensional tectonics has dissected the region into a series of well-defined tilt blocks in the last 11 my and the ratio of fault displacement and gully incision during this time is used to scale the model. Forward predictions of our model into the future show that the crest will denude to the level of the proposed site between 500,000 years and 5 my. This prediction is based on conservative estimates for all involved parameters. Erosion may be more rapid if other processes are involved. For example, our model does not consider continuing uplift or catastrophic surface processes as they have been recorded in the region. We conclude that any “total system performance analysis” (TSPA — as has been performed for the Yucca Mountain region to predict geological events inside the ridge) must consider erosion as an integral part of its predictions.

P wave velocity structure in the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, region

We have performed a crustal tomographic inversion using over 250,000 P arrival times from local earthquake sources and surface explosions in the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, region. Within the shallowest 2–3 km, topographic features tend to dominate the structure with high velocities imaged under Bare Mountain, the Funeral Mountains, and higher terrain to the east of Yucca Mountain and low velocities imaged under Crater Flat, Jackass Flat, the Amargosa Desert, and the caldera complexes. Imaged shallow velocities also show correlation with several known gravity and aeromagnetic anomalies. Below the basins (∼2–3 km depth), velocities vary between 5.5 and 6.5 km/s and lose many of the correlations seen in the shallowest layers; however, a few major structures, such as the Bare Mountain block, can be traced to at least 10 km depth. Additionally, we image structures that may be associated with the Wahmonie intrusion and pre‐Tertiary structural trends. Yucca Mountain itself is underlain by a high‐velocity upper crustal‐scale structure similar to other structures in the region such as Bare Mountain and may represent a Basin and Range style back‐tilted block, which may provide a structural explanation for Yucca Mountain's topographic expression. Additionally, the imaged, relatively low velocity basement under Crater Flat may provide a preferred conduit for magma intrusion into Crater Flat compared to Yucca Mountain, accounting for the lack of post‐Miocene volcanism observed at the mountain proper. We explore our tomographic results in the context of four major tectonic models that have been proposed for the Yucca Mountain region.

Climatic Forecasting of Net Infiltration at Yucca Mountain Using Analogue Meteorological Data

At Yucca Mountain, NV, future changes in climatic conditions will probably alter net infiltration, drainage below the bottom of the evapotranspiration zone within the soil profile, or flow across the interface between soil and the densely welded part of the Tiva Canyon Tuff. The objectives of this study were to: (i) develop a semiempirical model and forecast average net infiltration rates, using the limited meteorological data from analog meteorological stations, for interglacial (present day), and future monsoon, glacial transition, and glacial climates over the Yucca Mountain region; and (ii) corroborate the computed net infiltration rates by comparing them with the empirically and numerically determined groundwater recharge and percolation rates through the unsaturated zone from published data. This study approached calculations of net infiltration, aridity, and precipitation‐effectiveness indices using a modified Budyko's water‐balance model, with reference‐surface potential evapotranspiration determined from the radiation‐based Penman formula. Results of calculations show that net infiltration rates are expected to generally increase from the present‐day climate to monsoon climate, to glacial transition climate, and then to the glacial climate, following a power law relationship between net infiltration and precipitation. The forecasting results indicate the overlap between the ranges of net infiltration for different climates. Forecasting of net infiltration for different climate states is subject to numerous uncertainties associated with selecting climate analog sites, using relatively short analog meteorological records, neglecting the effects of vegetation and surface runoff and run‐on on a local scale, as well as possible anthropogenically induced climate changes.

Uncovering buried volcanoes at Yucca Mountain

The hazard posed by small‐volume basaltic volcanism to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada has been a topic of scientific debate for well over a decade. In the past few years, debate has focused on the extent and age of buried volcanoes in alluvial‐filled basins of the Yucca Mountain region (YMR) and their potential impact on volcanic hazard estimates.To address this issue, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has sponsored an exceptionally high resolution aeromagnetic survey completed in 2004, and a presently ongoing drilling program to characterize the location, age, volume, and chemistry of buried basalt in the YMR (Figure 1). DOE has convened an expert panel that will use this information to update probabilistic volcanic hazard estimates originally obtained by experts in 1996. Partly on the basis of the unknown extent of buried volcanoes, Smith and Keenan [2005] suggested that volcanic hazard estimates might be 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than estimated by the 1996 expert elicitation.

The geohydrologic setting of Yucca Mountain, Nevada

This paper provides a geologic and hydrologic framework of the Yucca Mountain region for the geochemical papers in this volume. The regional geologic units, which range in age from late Precambrian through Holocene, are briefly described. Yucca Mountain is composed of dominantly pyroclastic units that range in age from 11.4 to 15.2 Ma. The principal focus of study has been on the Paintbrush Group, which includes two major zoned and welded ash-flow tuffs separated by an important hydrogeologic unit referred to as the Paintbrush non-welded (PTn). The regional structural setting is currently one of extension, and the major local tectonic domains are presented together with a tectonic model that is consistent with the known structures at Yucca Mountain. Streamflow in this arid to semi-arid region occurs principally in intermittent or ephemeral channels. Near Yucca Mountain, the channels of Fortymile Wash and Amargosa River collect infrequent runoff from tributary basins, ultimately draining to Death Valley. Beneath the surface, large-scale interbasin flow of groundwater from one valley to another occurs commonly in the region. Regional groundwater flow beneath Yucca Mountain originates in the high mesas to the north and returns to the surface either in southern Amargosa Desert or in Death Valley, where it is consumed by evapotranspiration. The water table is very deep beneath the upland areas such as Yucca Mountain, where it is 500–750 m below the land surface, providing a large thickness of unsaturated rocks that are potentially suitable to host a nuclear-waste repository. The nature of unsaturated flow processes, which are important for assessing radionuclide migration, are inferred mainly from hydrochemical or isotopic evidence, from pneumatic tests of the fracture systems, and from the results of in situ experiments. Water seeping down through the unsaturated zone flows rapidly through fractures and more slowly through the pores of the rock matrix. Although capillary forces are expected to divert much of the flow around repository openings, some may drip onto waste packages, ultimately causing release of radionuclides, followed by transport down to the water table.

Geologic factors controlling patterns of small‐volume basaltic volcanism: Application to a volcanic hazards assessment at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

The proposed high‐level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, is located within an active volcanic field. Probabilistic volcanic hazard models for future eruptions through the proposed repository depend heavily on our understanding of the spatial controls on volcano distribution at a variety of scales. On regional scales, Pliocene‐Quaternary volcano clusters are located east of the Bare Mountain fault. Extension has resulted in large‐scale crustal density contrast across the fault, and vents are restricted to low‐density areas of the hanging wall. Finite element modeling indicates that this crustal density contrast can result in transient pressure changes of up to 7 MPa at 40 km depth, providing a mechanism to generate partial melts in areas where mantle rocks are already close to their solidus. On subregional scales, vent alignments, including one alignment newly recognized by ground magnetic mapping, parallel the trends of high‐dilation tendency faults in the Yucca Mountain region (YMR). Forty percent of vents in the YMR are part of vent alignments that vary in length from 2 to 16 km. Locally, new geological and geophysical data show that individual vents and short vent alignments occur along and adjacent to faults, particularly at fault intersections, and left‐stepping en echelon fault segments adjacent to Yucca Mountain. Conditions which formed these structures persist in the YMR today, indicating that volcanism will likely continue in the region and that the proposed repository site is within an area where future volcanism may occur. On the basis of these data the probability of volcanic disruptions of the proposed repository is estimated between 10−8/yr and 10−7/yr.

Magmatic and hydromagmatic conduit development during the 1975 Tolbachik Eruption, Kamchatka, with implications for hazards assessment at Yucca Mountain, NV

Xenoliths in pyroclastic fall deposits from the 1975 Tolbachik eruption constrain the timing and development of subsurface conduits associated with basaltic cinder cone eruptions. The two largest Tolbachik vents contain xenoliths derived from magmatic and hydromagmatic processes, which can be correlated with observed styles of eruption activity. Although many basaltic eruptions progress from early hydromagmatic activity to late magmatic activity, transient hydromagmatic events occurred relatively late in the 1975 eruption sequence. Magmatic fall deposits contain 0.01–0.3 vol.% xenoliths from <3-km-deep rocks, likely derived from 6–15-m-wide and 1.7–2.8-km-deep conduits. Intervals that supported the highest tephra columns (i.e., droplet flow regime) produced few of these xenoliths; most were derived from intervals with relatively lower columns and active lava flows (i.e., annular 2-phase flow). Several periods of decreased eruptive activity resulted in inflow of groundwater from >500 m depth into the dry-out zone around the conduit, disrupting and ejecting 10 5–10 6 m 3 of wall-rock through hydromagmatic processes with conduits widening to 8–48 m. Hydromagmatic falls contain 60–75 vol.% of highly fragmented xenoliths, with juvenile clasts displaying obvious magma-water interaction features. During the largest hydromagmatic event, unusual breccia-bombs formed containing a wide range of fresh and pyrometamorphic xenoliths suspended in a quenched basaltic matrix. Hydromagmatic activity during the 1975 Tolbachik eruption occurred below likely fragmentation depths for a basalt containing 2.2 wt.% magmatic water. This activity is more likely related to conduit-wall collapse rather than variations in conduit-flow pressure. In contrast, larger volume silicic eruptions may have transient hydromagmatic events in response to conduit flow dynamics above the magma fragmentation depth. The 1975 Tolbachik volcanoes are reasonably analogous to Quaternary basaltic volcanoes in the Yucca Mountain region and can guide interpretations of their poorly preserved deposits. The youngest basaltic volcanoes near Yucca Mountain have cone deposits characterized by elevated xenolith abundances and distinctive xenolith breccia-bombs, remarkably similar to 1975 Tolbachik deposits. Extrapolation of 1975 Tolbachik data suggests conduits for some Yucca Mountain basaltic volcanoes may have widened locally on the order of 50 m in response to late-stage hydromagmatic events.

Estimates of Barometric Pumping of Moisture Through Unsaturated Fractured Rock

We present a theory for the motion of water vapor at depth in a discretely fractured permeable medium induced by atmospheric barometric pressure fluctuations, or ‘barometric pumping’. The theory involves multiphase mass and energy transport in a fracture/matrix system, with discrete representation of the fracture system. The barometric pressure fluctuations are approximated as periodic in time, with amplitude corresponding to measured values. To simplify the analysis, a ‘single-horizon’ approximation is applied in which the time-mean gradient is used to evaluate the vertical advective flux in the fractures. Time-periodic solutions are obtained numerically, enabling the calculation of the net efflux of moisture per cycle. The model is applied to material representative of the Yucca Mountain region of southwestern Nevada. The results indicate that the efflux of moisture carried upward from significant depths by barometric pumping is much less than the near surface efflux that is commonly estimated by assuming that air enters the medium dry and is returned to the atmosphere fully saturated with water vapor. This near surface efflux consists primarily of moisture discharged from the upper layer which is frequently replenished by precipitation. Of greater interest to nuclear waste repository design and estimations of net infiltration in arid regions is the fraction of the total moisture efflux that comes from significant depths. This deep transport is quantified by the fracture/matrix transport model described here. Although the transport by barometric pumping from depth is small compared to the total moisture expelled from the surface layer, it is an order of magnitude greater than the vertical moisture flux carried from depth by diffusion.

A spatial-temporal/3-D model for volcanic hazard assessment : Application to the Yucca Mountain region, Nevada

We present a 3-D Poisson model that permits identification and quantification of volcanic phenomena distributed through space and evolving in time (i.e., spatiotemporal data). Specifically, the model: (1) is volcanologically informative in solving problems of volcanic risk/hazard which depends on the location and time of future events; (2) contains model fitting computation algorithms that are efficient; and (3) is flexible enough to handle a large class of volcanic risk/hazard studies. Furthermore, we apply the model fitting techniques developed in this paper to the volcanic data from the Yucca Mountain project to demonstrate a unified volcanic hazard analysis. This study also evaluates the sensitivity of the statistical models developed by experts who have addressed the volcanic hazard/risk assessment problem near the Yucca Mountain region.

Stochastic Radionuclide Distributions After a Basaltic Eruption for Performance Assessments of Yucca Mountain

The assessment of long-term isolation performance for a geologic repository requires the use of mathematical models that consider the probability and consequences of postulated disruptive scenarios. In the case of the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, volcanism is one of the important disruptive scenarios being considered in site evaluation. A stochastic modeling approach is developed for use in simulating the airborne release of radioactive particulates associated with the basaltic volcanism scenario. The modeling approach considers such factors as the eruption energetics, eruption duration, wind velocity, and particle properties to compute the activity areal density as a function of spatial location. Various components of the model are based on empirical relationships and data that are reported for observed and monitored cinder cone eruptions analogous to those that likely occurred in the Yucca Mountain region in the past. Illustrative applications of the stochastic model are presented for the cases of a single-event realization and a multiple-event average realization.

Volcanic hazard assessment incorporating expert knowledge: Application to the yucca mountain region, Nevada, USA

Multiple-expert hazard/risk assessments have considerable precedent, particularly in the Yucca Mountain site characterization studies. A certain amount of expert knowledge is needed to interpret the geological data used in a probabilistic data analysis. As may be the situation in science, experts disagree on crucial points. Consequently, lack of consensus in some studies is a sure outcome. In this paper, we present a Bayesian approach to statistical modeling in volcanic hazard assessment for the Yucca Mountain site. Specifically, we show that the expert opinion on the site disruption parameterp is incorporated into the prior distribution, π(p), based on geological information that is available. Moreover, π(p) can combine all available geological information motivated by conflicting but realistic arguments (e.g., simulation, cluster analysis, structural control, ..., etc.). The incorporated uncertainties about the probability of repository disruptionp eventually will be averaged out by taking the expectation over π(p). We use the following priors in the analysis: (1) priors selected for mathematical convenience: Beta (r,s) for (r,s) = (2, 2), (3, 3), (5, 5), (2, 1),(2, 8), (8, 2), and (1, 1);and (2) three priors motivated by expert knowledge. Sensitivity analysis is performed for each prior distribution. Our study concludes that estimated values of hazard based on the priors selected for mathematical simplicity are uniformly higher than those obtained based on the priors motivated by expert knowledge. And, the model using the prior, Beta (8, 2), yields the highest hazard (=2.97 × 10-2 . The minimum hazard is produced by the “three-expert prior” (i.e., values of p are equally likely for p = 10-3, 10-2,and 10-1 . The estimate of the hazard is 1.39 × 10-3, which is only about one order of magnitude smaller than the maximum value. The term, “hazard, ” is defined as the probability of at least one disruption of a repository at the Yucca Mountain site by basaltic volcanism for the next 10,000 years.

Age and character of basaltic rocks of the Yucca Mountain region, southern Nevada

Volcanism in the Yucca Mountain region of southern Nevada in the last 5 m.y. is restricted to moderate‐to‐small volumes of subalkaline basaltic magmas, produced during at least 6 intervals, and spanning an age range from 4.6 Ma to about 125 ka. Where paleomagnetic evidence is available, the period of volcanism at individual eruptive centers apparently was geologically short‐lived, even where multiple eruptions involved different magma types. K‐Ar studies are consistent with most other geochronologic information, such as the minimum ages of exposure‐dating techniques, and show no evidence of renewed volcanism after a significant quiescence at any of the centers in the Yucca Mountain region. A volcanic recurrence interval of 860 ± 350 kyr is computed from a large K‐Ar data set and an evaluation of their uncertainties. Monte Carlo error propagations demonstrate the validity of uncertainties obtained for weighted‐mean ages when modified using the goodness of fit parameter, MSWD. Elevated 87Sr/86Sr initial ratios (Sri) in the basalts, nearly constant at 0.707, combined with low SiO2 and Rb/Sr ratios indicate a subcontinental, lithospheric mantle source, previously enriched in radiogenic Sr and depleted in Rb. Beginning with eruptions of the most voluminous eruptive center, the newly dated Pliocene Thirsty Mountain volcano, basaltic magmas have decreased in eruptive volume, plagioclase‐phenocryst content, various trace element ratios, and TiO2, while increasing in light rare earth elements, U, Th, P2O5, and light REE/heavy REE ratios. These time‐correlated changes are consistent with either increasing depths of melting or a decreasing thermal gradient in the Yucca Mountain region during the last 5 m.y.

Three nonhomogeneous Poisson models for the probability of basaltic volcanism: Application to the Yucca Mountain region, Nevada

The distribution and timing of areal basaltic volcanism are modeled using three nonhomogeneous methods: spatio‐temporal nearest neighbor, kernel, and nearest‐neighbor kernel. These models give nonparametric estimates of spatial or spatio‐temporal recurrence rate based on the positions and ages of cinder cones and related vent structures and can account for migration and shifts in locus, volcano clustering, and development of regional vent alignments. The three methods are advantageous because (1) recurrence rate and probability maps can be made, facilitating comparison with other geological information; (2) the need to define areas or zones of volcanic activity, required in homogeneous approaches, is eliminated; and (3) the impact of uncertainty in the timing and distribution of individual events is particularly easy to assess. The models are applied to the Yucca Mountain region (YMR), Nevada, the site of a proposed high‐level radioactive waste repository. Application of the Hopkins F test, Clark‐Evans test, and K function indicates volcanoes cluster in the YMR at the &gt;95% confidence level. Weighted‐centroid cluster analysis indicates that Plio‐Quaternary volcanoes are distributed in four clusters: three of these clusters include cinder cones formed &lt;1 Ma. Probability of disruption within the 8 km2 area of the proposed repository by formation of a new basaltic vent is calculated to be between 1 × 10−4 and 5 × 10−4 in 104 years (the kernel and nearest‐neighbor kernel methods give a maximum probability of 5 × 10−4 in 104 years), assuming regional recurrence rates of 5–10 volcanoes/m.y. An additional finding, illustrating the strength of nonhomogeneous methods, is that maps of the probability of volcanic eruption for the YMR indicate the proposed repository lies on a steep probability gradient: volcanism recurrence rate varies by more than 2 orders of magnitude within 20 km. Insight into this spatial scale of probability variation is a distinct benefit of application of these methods to hazard analysis in areal volcanic fields.

Late Quaternary geomorphology and soils in Crater Flat, Yucca Mountain area, southern Nevada

Crater Flat is an alluvium-filled structural basin on the west side of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, which is under consideration for a high-level nuclear waste repository. North-trending, late Quaternary faults offset alluvium in Crater Flat both along the canyons of the western flanks of Yucca Mountain and out on the piedmont slope. We believe the initial lack of young offsets at Yucca Mountain was in part due to unrecognized late Quaternary stratigraphy. We hypothesize that alluviation in the Yucca Mountain region was more active during the late Quaternary than previously thought. Several techniques were tried to test this hypothesis. Results are compared with previous soils and surface-exposure dating studies, and correlated to stratigraphy of other late Quaternary units in the southern Nevada, Death Valley, and Mojave Desert areas, and provide new stratigraphic data relevant to understanding climatic-alluvial processes in the Basin and Range Province during the late Quaternary. 76 refs., 7 figs., 6 tabs.

Relict colluvial boulder deposits as paleoclimatic indicators in the Yucca Mountain region, southern Nevada

Early to middle Pleistocene boulder deposits are common features on southern Nevada hillslopes. These darkly varnished, ancient colluvial deposits stand but in stark contrast to the underlying light-colored bedrock of volcanic tuffs, and they serve as minor divides between drainage channels on modern hillslopes. To demonstrate the antiquity of these stable hillslope features, six colluvial boulder deposits from Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada, were dated by cation- ratio dating of rock varnish accreted on boulder surfaces. Estimated minimum ages of these boulder deposits range from 760 to 170 ka. Five additional older deposits on nearby Skull and Little Skull Mountains and Buckboard Mesa yielded cation-ratio minimum-age estimates of 1.38 Ma to 800 ka. An independent cosmogenic chlorine-36 surface exposure date was obtained on one deposit, which confirms an estimated early to middle Quaternary age. These deposits have provided the oldest age estimates for unconsolidated hillslope deposits in the southwestern United States. We suggest that the colluvial boulder deposits were produced during early and middle Pleistocene glacial/pluvial episodes and were stabilized during the transition to drier interglacial climates. By comparison to modern periglacial environments, winter minimum monthly temperatures of -3 to -5 °C were necessary to initiate freeze-thaw conditions of such vigor to physically weather relatively large volumes of large boulders from the upper hillslopes of the Yucca Mountain area. These conditions imply that early and middle Pleistocene glacial winter temperatures were at least 1 to 3 °C colder than existed during the last Pleistocene glacial episode and 7 to 9 °C colder than present. We conclude that at least several early and middle Pleistocene glacial episodes were colder, and perhaps wetter, than glacial episodes of the late Pleistocene in the southern Great Basin. Geomorphic processes necessary to form these colluvial boulder deposits are not active on modern hillslopes in the southern Great Basin. In addition, the lack of young, relatively unvarnished colluvial boulder deposits on these hillslopes suggests that boulder-forming conditions did not exist during the late Pleistocene in this region. Modern semiarid hillslope processes primarily erode colluvium during infrequent high-intensity storms. The preservation of old, thin hillslope deposits and the less-than-2-m incision by hillslope runoff adjacent to these deposits, however, indicate that extremely low denudation rates have occurred on resistant volcanic hillslopes in the southern Great Basin during Quaternary time.

Time trend analysis of basaltic volcanism for the Yucca Mountain site

Abstract The possible recurrence of volcanic activity near the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, U.S.A. is evaluated by estimating the instantaneous recurrence rate using a nonhomogeneous Poisson process with Weibull intensity and by using a homogeneous Poisson process to predict future eruptions. Analysis on the post-6-Ma volcanism near the Yucca Mountain region indicates a moderate developing time trend ( p -value = 0.01) of volcanic activity. A similar time trend is obtained by trimming the observation period to 3.7 Ma and younger (period of the youngest episode). Data from the Quaternary basaltic volcanism also show a slight developing time trend, although the developing volcanic activity is not significant at the 0.05 level. Thus, it would oversimplify the assessment of the volcanic risk to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository site if a simple Poisson model were used to model the volcanism. Based on the Quaternary data, the estimated instantaneous recurrence rate is about 5.5 × 10 −6 /yr. An estimate of the mean time to the next eruption is about 1.8 × 10 5 years from now, if it is assumed that the intensity remains constant thereafter. Also, the risk (probability of at least one major eruption during the projected time frame) increases approximately linearly with the time frame chosen as the required interval for radioactive waste to decay to an acceptable level. Our study concludes that the estimated risk for an isolation time of 10 4 years is about 5%, which increases to 42% if 10 5 years is used as the required isolation time.

The Importance of Transuranium Solids in Solubility Studies for Nuclear Waste Repositories

ABSTRACTSolids obtained from laboratory solubility experiments in two different groundwaters from the Yucca Mountain region, Nevada, are described. The solubility study provided limiting solubility concentrations for neptunium(V), plutonium(IV), and americium(III) in groundwaters from Wells J-13 and UE-25p#l. The solubility-controlling solids are compared to relevant radionuclide compounds that are reported in the literature. The preparations and some characteristics of published solids that possibly may form in actinide-groundwater systems are described. The solids formed in the experiments are sodium neptunium(V) carbonates, polymeric Pu(IV) that contained small amounts of carbonate, and hexagonal or orthorhombic americium(III) hydroxycarbonates.

Basic Research for Assessment of Geologic Nuclear Waste Repositories: What Solubility and Speciation Studies of Transuranium Elements Can Tell US

ABSTRACTSolubility and speciation data are important in understanding aqueous radionuclide transport through the geosphere. They define the source term for transport retardation processes such as sorption and colloid formation. Solubility and speciation data are useful in verifying the validity of geochemical codes that are part of predictive transport models. Results from solubility and speciation experiments of 237NpO2+, 239Pu4+, and 241Am3+/Nd3+ in J-13 groundwater (from the Yucca Mountain region, Nevada, which is being investigated as a candidate high-level nuclear waste disposal site) at three different temperatures (25°, 60°, and 90°C) and pH values (6, 7, and 8.5) are presented and compared with published modeling calculations. The comparison results indicate that there is a great need for experimental data on the solubility and speciation of transuranium elements under a wide range of conditions, for example, pH, Eh, temperature, and composition of groundwaters. Additionally, the influence of alpha radiation and the radiolysis of the secondary transuranium solids on solubility and speciation should be studied. Solubility studies and model calculations should be extended to other important long-lived nuclear waste radionuclides such as nickel, zirconium, cadmium, radium, and thorium.

Scanning electron microscope method for rock-varnish dating

Research Article| October 01, 1987 Scanning electron microscope method for rock-varnish dating Charles D. Harrington; Charles D. Harrington 1Earth and Space Sciences Division, MS D462, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar John W. Whitney John W. Whitney 2U.S. Geological Survey, MS 913, Box 25046, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Charles D. Harrington 1Earth and Space Sciences Division, MS D462, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 John W. Whitney 2U.S. Geological Survey, MS 913, Box 25046, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1987) 15 (10): 967–970. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1987)15<967:SEMMFR>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Charles D. Harrington, John W. Whitney; Scanning electron microscope method for rock-varnish dating. Geology 1987;; 15 (10): 967–970. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1987)15<967:SEMMFR>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Rock-varnish coatings on cobbles from geomorphic surfaces and exposed deposits in arid environments are an effective medium for dating over a time range of several thousand to a few million years. A new analytical method for dating of rock varnish is presented wherein the varnish cation ratio (VCR) is determined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDAX).The experimental SEM method is a nondestructive technique that has several potential advantages over the original method of analysis, described by R. I. Dorn, that uses particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) of varnish scraped from rock surfaces. The SEM method can potentially eliminate analytical errors due to contamination from rock substrate because variations in varnish thickness and irregularities on the substrate surface are examined before cation ratios are determined. Because varnish surfaces remain intact, varnish sites that yield anomalous results may be reanalyzed or verified. In addition, the general accessibility of scanning electron microscopes will make rock-varnish dating more widely available for use in Quaternary studies.Cation ratios were calculated for rock varnish from Española Basin, New Mexico, and the Yucca Mountain region, Nevada, and were used to construct rock-varnish dating curves for these areas. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.