Award Date

1-1-1990

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Geoscience

Number of Pages

209

Abstract

Yucca Mountain, in southern Nevada, is being studied by the Department of Energy and the State of Nevada as the site of high-level nuclear waste repository. Geochemical and isotopic modeling were used in this thesis to define the relationship of the volcanic tuff aquifers and aquitards to the underlying regional carbonate ground-water system. The chemical evolution of aground water as it passes through a hypothetical tuffaceous aquifer was developed using computer models PHREEQE, WATEQDR and BALANCE. The tuffaceous system was divided into five parts, with specific mineralogies, reaction steps and temperatures. The initial solution was an analysis of a soil water from Rainier Mesa. The ending solution in each part became the initial solution in the next part. Minerals consisted of zeolites, smectites, authigenic feldspars and quartz polymorphs from described diagentic mineral zones. Reaction steps were ion exchange with zeolites. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).

Keywords

Block; Geochemical; Groundwater; Model; Mountains; Nuclear; Nuclear Waste; Regional; Relationship; Repository; System; Waste; Yucca

Controlled Subject

Geochemistry; Geophysics

File Format

pdf

File Size

7618.56 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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