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Diffusion‐controlled tracer retention in crystalline rock on the field scale
Author(s) -
Cvetkovic V.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2010gl043445
Subject(s) - tracer , diffusion , geology , sorption , scale (ratio) , parametrization (atmospheric modeling) , field (mathematics) , soil science , mineralogy , chemical physics , chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , optics , adsorption , mathematics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , nuclear physics , pure mathematics , radiative transfer
Tracer retention is a key process for the barrier function of crystalline rock to any contaminant. Here we investigate the nature of retention mechanisms and their field‐scale parametrization using results of a comprehensive tracer transport experiment in crystalline rock on the field scale (Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory, Sweden). A method for identifying dominant retention mechanisms and inferring key parameters on the site scale is presented. Taking advantage of multiple tracer tests with a wide range of sorption affinities, retention is shown to be diffusion‐controlled. For the considered site, robust features of tracer migration can be reasonably well predicted within a rock volume on at least 200 m scale, by combining independent information with a simple model.