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Unsaturated flow and transport through a fault embedded in fractured welded tuff
Author(s) -
Salve Rohit,
Liu HuiHai,
Cook Paul,
Czarnomski Atlantis,
Hu Qinhong,
Hudson David
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2003wr002571
Subject(s) - fault (geology) , geology , bromide , lithium bromide , diffusion , water flow , vadose zone , matrix (chemical analysis) , aquifer , precipitation , radionuclide , tracer , groundwater , geotechnical engineering , hydrology (agriculture) , materials science , chemistry , seismology , composite material , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , heat exchanger , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , meteorology , nuclear physics , thermodynamics
To evaluate the importance of matrix diffusion as a mechanism for retarding radionuclide transport in the vicinity of a fault located in unsaturated fractured rock, we carried out an in situ field experiment in the Exploratory Studies Facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This experiment involved the release of ∼82,000 L of water over a period of 17 months directly into a near‐vertical fault under both constant positive head (at ∼0.04 m) and decreasing fluxes. A mix of conservative tracers (pentafluorobenzoic acid (PFBA) and bromide (applied in the form of lithium bromide)) was released along the fault over a period of 9 days, 7 months after the start of water release along the fault. As water was released into the fault, seepage rates were monitored in a large cavity excavated below the test bed. After the release of tracers, seepage water was continuously collected from three locations and analyzed for the injected tracers. Observations of bromide concentrations in seepage water during the early stages of the experiment and bromide and PFBA concentrations in the seepage water indicate the significant effects of matrix diffusion on transport through a fault embedded in fractured, welded rock.