Open AccessSolute travel time in the vadose zone under RWMC at INEL
Author(s) -
Jin-Cheng Liou,
Jianqing Tian
Publication year - 1995
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/188571
Subject(s) - vadose zone , water table , geology , groundwater , hydrology (agriculture) , sediment , table (database) , radioactive waste , soil science , geotechnical engineering , geomorphology , chemistry , nuclear chemistry , computer science , data mining
Solute transport in the vadose zone under the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) is considered. The objective is to assess the relative importance of variables involved in modeling the travel time of a conservative solute from ground surface to water table. The vadose zone under RWMC is composed of several layers of basalt flows interceded with sediment layers. The thickness of the layers varies with location. The hydraulic properties also vary. The extents of the variations are large, with standard deviations exceed mean in some instances. The vadose zone is idealized as composed of horizontal layers. Solute transport starts at the ground surface and moves vertically downwards to the water table. The perceived process is one-dimensional. This study used VS2DT, a computer code developed by the US Geological Survey, for simulating solute transport in variably saturated porous media