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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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2007

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Publications (YM)

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Articles 1 - 24 of 24

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Measurement Of The Parameter Kappa, And Reevaluation Of Kappa For Small To Moderate Earthquakes At Seismic Stations In The Vicinity Of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, Glenn Biasi, John G. Anderson, Amy J. Smiecinski, Nevada Seismological Laboratory Dec 2007

Measurement Of The Parameter Kappa, And Reevaluation Of Kappa For Small To Moderate Earthquakes At Seismic Stations In The Vicinity Of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, Glenn Biasi, John G. Anderson, Amy J. Smiecinski, Nevada Seismological Laboratory

Publications (YM)

We address two primary questions. First, what are the values of seismic spectral decay parameter kappa at stations on and around Yucca Mountain. Second, can small and/or moderate earthquakes provide estimates of kappa that are valid for conditions of strong ground motion.


Ground Water Level Measurements In Selected Boreholes Near The Site Of The Proposed Repository, H. Scott Page, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amy J. Smiecinski Nov 2007

Ground Water Level Measurements In Selected Boreholes Near The Site Of The Proposed Repository, H. Scott Page, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

The purpose of this report is to summarize the work and present conclusions of Project Activity Task FY-04-005 conducted under DE-FC28-04RW12232 between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). The work was conducted in the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies of the University of Nevada – Las Vegas from Oct 1, 2003 to Sept 30, 2007.


Seismicity In The Vicinity Of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, For The Period October 1, 2004 To September 30, 2006, Ken Smith, John G. Anderson, Amy J. Smiecinski Nov 2007

Seismicity In The Vicinity Of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, For The Period October 1, 2004 To September 30, 2006, Ken Smith, John G. Anderson, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

This report describes earthquake activity within approximately 65 km of Yucca Mountain site during the October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2006 time period (FY05-06). The FY05-06 earthquake activity will be compared with the historical and more recent period of seismic activity in the Yucca Mountain region. The relationship between the distribution of seismicity and active faults, historical patterns of activity, and rates of earthquakes (number of events and their magnitudes) are important components in the assessment of the seismic hazard for the Yucca Mountain site. Since October 1992 the University of Nevada has compiled a catalog of earthquakes in …


Seismicity In The Vicinity Of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, For The Period October 1, 2002 To September 30, 2003, Ken Smith, David Vin Seggern, John G. Anderson, Richard Quittmeyer, Amy J. Smiecinski Nov 2007

Seismicity In The Vicinity Of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, For The Period October 1, 2002 To September 30, 2003, Ken Smith, David Vin Seggern, John G. Anderson, Richard Quittmeyer, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

Earthquake activity in the Yucca Mountain from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003 (FY03) is assessed and compared with previous activity in the region. FY03 is the first reporting year since the 1992 M 5.6 Little Skull Mountain earthquake with no earthquakes greater than M 3.0 within 65 km of Yucca Mountain. In addition, FY03 includes the fewest number of earthquakes greater than M 2.0 in any reporting year since the LSM event. With 3075 earthquakes in the catalog, FY03 represents the second largest number of earthquakes (second to FY02) since FY96 when digital seismic network operations began. The …


Seismicity In The Vicinity Of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, For The Period October 1, 2003, To September 30, 2004, David Von Seggern, Ken Smith, John G. Anderson, Amy J. Smiecinski Oct 2007

Seismicity In The Vicinity Of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, For The Period October 1, 2003, To September 30, 2004, David Von Seggern, Ken Smith, John G. Anderson, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

This report describes the seismicity and earthquake monitoring activities within the Yucca Mountain region during fiscal year 2004 (FY2004 - October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004) based on operation of the Southern Great Basin Digital Seismic Network (SGBDSN). Network practices and earthquake monitoring conducted at the Nevada Seismological Laboratory (NSL) under DOE directives for prior fiscal years are covered in similar yearly reports (see references). Real-time systems, including regional data telemetry and data management at NSL, provide for the automatic determination of earthquake locations and magnitudes and notification of important earthquakes in the region to UNR staff and DOE …


Geostatistical And Stochastic Study Of Flow And Tracer Transport In The Unsaturated Zone At Yucca Mountain, Ming Ye, Feng Pan, Xiaolong Bill Hu, Jianting Zhu, Amy J. Smiecinski Aug 2007

Geostatistical And Stochastic Study Of Flow And Tracer Transport In The Unsaturated Zone At Yucca Mountain, Ming Ye, Feng Pan, Xiaolong Bill Hu, Jianting Zhu, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

Yucca Mountain has been proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy as the nation’s long-term, permanent geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste. The potential repository would be located in Yucca Mountain’s unsaturated zone (UZ), which acts as a critical natural barrier delaying arrival of radionuclides to the water table. Since radionuclide transport in groundwater can pose serious threats to human health and the environment, it is important to understand how much and how fast water and radionuclides travel through the UZ to groundwater. The UZ system consists of multiple hydrogeologic units whose hydraulic and geochemical properties …


Influence Of Lithophysal Geometry On The Uniaxial Compression Of Tuff-Like Rock, Douglas B. Rigby, Moses Karakouzian, Amy J. Smiecinski Jun 2007

Influence Of Lithophysal Geometry On The Uniaxial Compression Of Tuff-Like Rock, Douglas B. Rigby, Moses Karakouzian, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

The purpose of this report is to summarize the work and present conclusions of Project Activity Task ORD-FY04-013 conducted under Cooperative Agreement No. DEFC28- 04RW12232 between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). This document describes results of laboratory testing on analog lithophysal tuff (Hydro-StoneTB®) conducted in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) from 2004 to 2006.


Groundwater Characterization At Yucca Mountain Task 2: Surface Complexation And Solid Phase Sorption, Kenneth Czerwinski, Anthony Hechanova, Amy J. Smiecinski May 2007

Groundwater Characterization At Yucca Mountain Task 2: Surface Complexation And Solid Phase Sorption, Kenneth Czerwinski, Anthony Hechanova, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

The purpose and scope of this report is to present an overview of the experiments, methods, results, and conclusions from research performed for the project “Groundwater Characterization at Yucca Mountain Task 2: Surface Complexation and Solid Phase Dissolution”. The impact of surface complexation, alteration phase formation, and solution competition with metal ions on the solubility and speciation of actinide elements (U, Pu, Np) will be examined. In particular the role of iron (as Fe2+ and Fe3+) and silicate (as SO3 2-) concentrations on speciation, solubility, sorption, and secondary phase formation of actinides will be investigated. While a large body of …


Direct Analysis Of Solid Corrosion Products By Laser Ablation Icp-Ms: Method Development And The Interaction Of Aqueous Uranium, Gadolinium And Neodymium With Iron Shot And Iron (Iii) Oxide, James Cizdziel, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amy J. Smiecinski May 2007

Direct Analysis Of Solid Corrosion Products By Laser Ablation Icp-Ms: Method Development And The Interaction Of Aqueous Uranium, Gadolinium And Neodymium With Iron Shot And Iron (Iii) Oxide, James Cizdziel, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amy J. Smiecinski

Publications (YM)

The purpose of this report is to summarize the work and present conclusions of Project Activity Task ORD-RF-03 conducted under cooperative agreement number DE-FC28-04RW12237 between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). The work was conducted in the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies of the University of Nevada Las Vegas from October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2006. The purpose of the study was to develop a method using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) for the direct analysis of iron corrosion products, to evaluate its capabilities, advantages, and limitations, and …


Geochemical Modeling Of Solubility And Speciation Of Uranium, Neptunium, And Plutonium, Zhongbo Yu, Yuyu Lin, Karen Johannesson, Amy J. Smiecinski, Klaus J. Stetzenbach May 2007

Geochemical Modeling Of Solubility And Speciation Of Uranium, Neptunium, And Plutonium, Zhongbo Yu, Yuyu Lin, Karen Johannesson, Amy J. Smiecinski, Klaus J. Stetzenbach

Publications (YM)

The purpose of this study is to model the solubility, speciation, and transport of three actinides: uranium (U), neptunium (Np), and plutonium (Pu) by a geochemical modeling tool under possible repository environmental conditions upon waste package failure. The dissolution concentration of three actinides in the waste package, their aqueous speciation after dissolving in the unsaturated zone (UZ), and transport processes in the saturated zone (SZ) along the groundwater flow path at Yucca Mountain (YM) are simulated by geochemical modeling calculations using PHREEQC. This model report was prepared in fulfillment of Groundwater Characterization at Yucca Mountain, Task II: Surface Complexation and …


Control Of The Electronic Management Of Information, A. Boone, R. Szatmary Jr. Apr 2007

Control Of The Electronic Management Of Information, A. Boone, R. Szatmary Jr.

Publications (YM)

This procedure establishes the responsibilities and provides direction for developing and evaluating the adequacy of process controls on specific uses of electronically stored information. These uses include, but are not limited to, information used in design input, developed as design output, or developed as input to or output from scientific investigation or performance assessment modeling and analysis. This pertains to information that resides in an electronic information management system or on electronic media.


Procedure Planning For Science Activities, C. A. Schneider, W. W. Watson Mar 2007

Procedure Planning For Science Activities, C. A. Schneider, W. W. Watson

Publications (YM)

This procedure establishes responsibilities and process for preparation, review, approval, revision/cancellation, and distribution of work plans for scientific investigation activities, including modeling, scientific laboratory and field testing activities, scientific analyses, and other science related documents and technical products. Plans for other activities may be completed in accordance with the requirements of this procedure, as directed by management.


Basic Research Needs For Geosciences: Facilitating 21st Century Energy Systems, U.S. Department Of Energy, Office Of Basic Energy Sciences, Donald J. Depaolo, Franklin M. Orr Jr. Feb 2007

Basic Research Needs For Geosciences: Facilitating 21st Century Energy Systems, U.S. Department Of Energy, Office Of Basic Energy Sciences, Donald J. Depaolo, Franklin M. Orr Jr.

Publications (YM)

Executive Summary

Serious challenges must be faced in this century as the world seeks to meet global energy needs and at the same time reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Even with a growing energy supply from alternative sources, fossil carbon resources will remain in heavy use and will generate large volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2). To reduce the atmospheric impact of this fossil energy use, it is necessary to capture and sequester a substantial fraction of the produced CO2. Subsurface geologic formations offer a potential location for long-term storage of the requisite large …


Extreme Ground Motion Studies, James N. Brune, John G. Anderson Jan 2007

Extreme Ground Motion Studies, James N. Brune, John G. Anderson

Publications (YM)

Subtasks:

1. Constraints on Yucca Mountain extreme ground motion based on precariously balanced rocks, unstable precipitous cliffs, and un-fractured sandstone along the San Andreas fault.

2. Prepare summary report on large recorded ground motions.


Geodetic Monitoring Of The Yucca Mountain Region Using Continuous Gps Measurements, Geoff Blewitt, Jonathan Price, Nevada Geodetic Laboratory, Nevada Bureau Of Mines & Geology Jan 2007

Geodetic Monitoring Of The Yucca Mountain Region Using Continuous Gps Measurements, Geoff Blewitt, Jonathan Price, Nevada Geodetic Laboratory, Nevada Bureau Of Mines & Geology

Publications (YM)

What Task 3 is About: Monitor current crustal deformation at YM
– In the broader tectonic context of the NA-Pacific plate boundary
– In the regional context of the East California Shear Zone (ECSZ)
– In the geological context of specific fault activity
– Vertical motion associated with geophysical fluids

Using geodetic methods
– GPS – mature, proven
track the 3-D point-positions of 47 stations with < 1 mm precision
– InSAR – new, experimental
regional map of displacement along the line-of-sight (accuracy??)
proven capability: (1) co-seismic deformation; (2) local instabilities


Longbase Laser Strainmeter Measurements At Yucca Mountain, James N. Brune Jan 2007

Longbase Laser Strainmeter Measurements At Yucca Mountain, James N. Brune

Publications (YM)

Why Operate a Strainmeter? To monitor strain over a broader bandwidth and with much higher sensitivity than GPS (or other instruments):
– Measure strain from seismic, earth-tide, temperature and air pressure inputs--gives local rock properties, and changes in them.
– Independently constrains GPS results.

To directly measure in the Yucca Mountain Block:
– Sensitive to potential very local tectonic events, (including any triggered slip), or volcanic events.

To establish a baseline for future strain changes:
– E.g., events developing from loading and heating of the repository


Southern Great Basin Seismic Network Operations, John G. Anderson, Glenn Biasi, Ken Smith, Nevada Seismological Laboratory, University Of Nevada, Reno Jan 2007

Southern Great Basin Seismic Network Operations, John G. Anderson, Glenn Biasi, Ken Smith, Nevada Seismological Laboratory, University Of Nevada, Reno

Publications (YM)

Subtasks 1. Record and archive data from the permanent seismic network.
2. Process seismic data into a preliminary earthquake bulletin.
3. Maintain the seismic stations, the strong-motion stations, the telemetry network, and the computing lab.
4. Prepare and submit a seismicity report on a yearly basis
5. Maintain and collect data from 3 north-portal boreholes.
6. Report on borehole accelerometers.
7. Estimate Kappa at network stations.
8. Implement a recording system at borehole UZ16.
9. Prepare and submit high-quality papers to peer-reviewed journals on seismic data and interpretations in the YM region.
10. Perform a multi-year telemetry and station upgrade.


Influence Of Lithophysae Geometry On Mechanical Properties Of Hydro-Stone®, Moses Karakouzian, Doug Rigby Jan 2007

Influence Of Lithophysae Geometry On Mechanical Properties Of Hydro-Stone®, Moses Karakouzian, Doug Rigby

Publications (YM)

85 percent of YM drift tunnels will be constructed in lithophysal volcanic tuff.

Rock behavior depends on porosity.

Limited experimental data exists to characterize rock porosity and dependencies on properties such as σc , E, and n.


Geostatistical And Stochastic Study Of Radionuclide Transport In The Unsaturated Zone At Yucca Mountain, Feng Pan, Ming Ye, Jianting Zhu Jan 2007

Geostatistical And Stochastic Study Of Radionuclide Transport In The Unsaturated Zone At Yucca Mountain, Feng Pan, Ming Ye, Jianting Zhu

Publications (YM)

Motivation: Why Study of Unsaturated Zone?

The unsaturated zone (UZ), where the proposed repository would be located, acts as a critical natural barrier by delaying the arrival of radionuclides at the saturated zone and by reducing radionuclide concentrations in groundwater through dispersion and dilution

Quantitative prediction of radionuclide transport in the unsaturated zone becomes critical for performance assessment and design of the proposed repository of the Yucca Mountain Project


Chemical Analyses In Support Of Yucca Mountain Studies, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas Jan 2007

Chemical Analyses In Support Of Yucca Mountain Studies, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Publications (YM)

Research Objectives:

Provide preparation of injectates, sorption studies and analyses for tracer tests

Provide REE, trace metals, majors and field measurement data from wells of the Nye County Early Warning Drilling Program (NCEWDP)and Inyo County

Other laboratory needs as they arise


Ground Water Level Monitoring At Yucca Mountain — A Programmatic Summary, H. Scott Page Jan 2007

Ground Water Level Monitoring At Yucca Mountain — A Programmatic Summary, H. Scott Page

Publications (YM)

Scope - Confirmatory study supporting previously gathered information
- Measure levels on established network of monitoring wells
- Submit data annually

Objectives - Provide measurements of known accuracy and precision
- Use manual and electronic equipment
- Provide quality assured data
- Contribute to hydrological understanding
- Support refinement of potentiometric surface
- Provide data for regional flow model
- Fulfill State of Nevada permit conditions
- Monitor transient events such as seismically induced fluctuations and precipitation-related phenomena
- Support long term monitoring and trend analysis
- Support proposed repository licensing application


Precipitation Monitoring At Yucca Mountain, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amanda Brandt Jan 2007

Precipitation Monitoring At Yucca Mountain, Klaus J. Stetzenbach, Amanda Brandt

Publications (YM)

Objectives: Status of the Task to Date
Network Overview/ Equipment
Data Trends
Uses and Collaborative Projects
Spatial Interpolation of YM Rainfall
Storm Event Analysis
Shallow Groundwater Response to Rainfall
UE29a1 Water Level Response to Barometric Pressure Fluctuation


Yucca Mountain Climate: Past, Present, And Future, Saxon E. Sharpe Jan 2007

Yucca Mountain Climate: Past, Present, And Future, Saxon E. Sharpe

Publications (YM)

Evaluation of modern climate is necessary to relate climatic events to near-surface processes such as infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration.

Modern climate information also aids in environmental analyses of repository design facilities and atmospheric dispersion models.

Evaluation of past climate regimes, particularly temperature and precipitation, is needed to assess the relation of past climate to past hydrologic conditions.

Estimates of potential future climate and hydrology are needed to evaluate repository performance.


Yucca Mountain Saturated Zone Carbon-14, James Thomas, David L. Decker, Todd M. Mihevc, Ronald L. Hershey, Gary Patterson, Zell Peterman, Peter Striffler Jan 2007

Yucca Mountain Saturated Zone Carbon-14, James Thomas, David L. Decker, Todd M. Mihevc, Ronald L. Hershey, Gary Patterson, Zell Peterman, Peter Striffler

Publications (YM)

Travel time of groundwater from beneath Yucca Mountain to down gradient areas is important to nuclear waste storage.
For this study, travel times determined by:
1) Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) isotopes Geochemical modeling--corrected C-14 ages
2) Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) isotopes DOC ages independent of DIC reactions