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Development of a Wet Plume Following Liquid Release along a Fault

^a MS 14R0108, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94707
^b MS 427, 1180 Town Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89144

View larger version (128K): [in a new window]   Fig. 1. (A) Location of Yucca Mountain in Nevada and (B) three-dimensional view of tunnels in the Exploratory Studies Facility at Yucca Mountain. The test bed for this study (Alcove 8, Niche 3) is located at the crossover point of the two tunnels.

View larger version (50K): [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Details of the test bed: (A) Location of the test bed between the Cross Drift and the Main Drift in the Exploratory Studies Facility. Shaded plain is located along presumed location of fault. (B) Location of fault zone in Alcove 8 with the four isolated sections for releasing water. (C) Location of boreholes around Niche 3. In the figure, Tptpul refers to the Topopah Spring Tuff Upper Lithophysal Zone and Tptpmn refers to the Topopah Spring Tuff Middle Non-Lithophysal Zone.

View larger version (52K): [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Infiltration rates measured along four sections located in the fault. Since sections were of different lengths the rates have been normalized to fault length of 1 m.

View larger version (20K): [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Wetting-front arrival above the ceiling of Niche 3 as detected by psychrometers (BH8) and electrical resistance probes (BH9 and BH10).

View larger version (44K): [in a new window]   Fig. 5. Resistance changes measured along Boreholes 1, 9, and 10 show progression of the wetting front at 0.25-m intervals during the first 10 mo of liquid release along fault.

View larger version (37K): [in a new window]   Fig. 6. Velocity of wetting front as detected by electrical resistivity probes located in boreholes surrounding Niche 3. Note that the fault intercepts BH9 and BH10 at a distance of 1.9 and 2.1 m, respectively, from their collars. The fault does not intercept BH1 and is approximately perpendicular to the borehole.

View larger version (27K): [in a new window]   Fig. 7. Temporal patterns of saturation changes at 1-m intervals along Borehole 10 during the period when water was released along the fault under constant head (March 2001–January 2002) and then decreasing flux conditions (February–August 2002).

View larger version (44K): [in a new window]   Fig. 8. Seepage rates measured in 5 of 10 locations where seeps were observed along the fault trace in Niche 3. The plot shows the variability in temporal response at different locations. A few seepage points responded almost immediately to high infiltration rates during a brief period in the first week of February. Legend shows the chronological order in which these seeps appeared.

View larger version (50K): [in a new window]   Fig. 9. Changes in saturation along BH6 following perturbations to Trench 1 on 29 Jan. 2002. The shaded section of the plot indicates the duration of the perturbation.

View larger version (100K): [in a new window]   Fig. 10. (A) Observations of the flow field as water was released into the fault; (B) conceptual model of the flow field.