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Flow and High Explosives Transport in a Semiarid Mesa in New Mexico, USA

^a Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, MS J495, Los Alamos National Lab., Los Alamos, NM 87545
^b PMC Technologies, 2237 Trinity Dr., Los Alamos, NM 87544. B.D. Newman now at the Isotope Hydrology Section, International Atomic Energy Agency, PO Box 100, Wagramer Strasse 5, Vienna, A1400, Austria

View larger version (46K): [in this window] [in a new window]   FIG. 1. (a) Location map of Los Alamos National Laboratory and the TA-16 mesa site (solid rectangle within the laboratory boundary); (b) the Sanitary Waste System Consolidation (SWSC), 90s line, Martin, and Building 300 boreholes.

View larger version (26K): [in this window] [in a new window]   FIG. 2. Volumetric water contents (from neutron probe) and stratigraphy from (a) the 90s line, (b) Building 300, (c) Martin, and (d) Sanitary Waste System Consolidation (SWSC) boreholes. Qal is Quaternary alluvium, the el Cajete is a pumice bed, and Qbt4 through Qbt3 are subunits of the Quaternary Tshirege member of the Bandelier Tuff.

View larger version (21K): [in this window] [in a new window]   FIG. 3. Pore water chloride profiles for the 90s line, Martin, Sanitary Waste System Consolidation (SWSC), and Building 300 boreholes.

View larger version (14K): [in this window] [in a new window]   FIG. 4. Cumulative water/cumulative chloride plots for the 90s Line, Martin, Sanitary Waste System Consolidation (SWSC), and Building 300 boreholes. The approximately linear trends suggest near-constant downward fluxes with depth.

View larger version (25K): [in this window] [in a new window]   FIG. 5. Stable isotope (18O) and volumetric water content profiles at (a) the 90s line, (b) Building 300, (c) Martin, and (d) Sanitary Waste System Consolidation (SWSC) boreholes.

View larger version (22K): [in this window] [in a new window]   FIG. 6. Local meteoric water line plot of the Martin and 90s line borehole data. Values that plot far to the right of the line indicate substantial evaporation. Values that plot on or near the line indicate minor to no evaporation. Data include analyses from pore water samples extracted from cores and bailed saturated zone samples (1999 data).

View larger version (23K): [in this window] [in a new window]   FIG. 7. Generalized conceptual model of the TA-16 mesa vadose zone (not to scale) showing the two dominant flow domains. Under areas affected by surface ponding (represented by flow paths to the left of the borehole) downward and lateral fluxes are substantial. These flow paths transport high explosives (HE) and, combined with the hydraulic properties of the tuff units, cause the development of transient saturated zones at depth. Under areas not affected by surface ponding (represented by flow paths to the right of the borehole), low downward fluxes predominate. This low flux domain is present over most of the TA-16 mesa.