A scoping study of water table excursions induced by seismic and volcanic events

We develop conservative models of water table response to displacements just beneath the water table simulating (1) shallow intrusion of a dike and (2) high level slip on a normal fault locked at the end. For matrix flow, we fine local water table excursions of under 10 m. in cases of isotropic permeability which includes dike inflation of 4 m and fault slips corresponding to earthquakes having a moment magnitude of 7.4. Even for enhancements of vertical permeability up to 10{sup 4}:1, excursions did not exceed 15 m which implies that pumping is strongly volume limited. We also present an analysis of upward directed flow in cracks for the case of earthquake induced pore pressure changes. For matrix properties characteristic of the Calico Hills (vitric) formation and a crack distribution bounding the potential flow capacity of published data, we estimate an upper bound of 0.25 cu m. of ground water per m. of fault length as the amount capable of being pumped to a level 250 m. above the normal water table. While the presence of even larger fractures than assumed might carry more ground water to that level an absolute upper limit of less than 50 cu. m. per m. of fault length is available to be pumped assuming a value n=0.46 for the rock porosity. For less porous rocks typical of the Topopah Spring or Tiva Canyon formations (n{approx}0.10) the upper limit may be reduced to less than 10 cu. m. per m. of fault length. This upper limit depends only upon strain, the height of pumping above the water table and the formation porosity

Characterization of contaminant transport by gravity, capilliarity and barometric pumping in heterogeneous vadose regimes. 1997 annual progress report

'Vadose regimes can be the sites of complex interactions between the atmosphere and groundwater. When a volatile contaminant exists as free product or in dissolved form in the vadose environment, upward transport can occur with the contaminant ultimately being vented as a vapor into the atmosphere. This transport happens naturally and can be enhanced by anisotropy resulting from heterogenities in the vadose regime. Several stages in the transport process are involved in going from a volatile, liquid state contaminant to a contaminant vapor vented at the surface. In a three-year effort, called the Vadose Zone Transport Study, the authors are investigating, with the aid of existing data, new field studies involving dissolved tracer gases and 3-D diagnostic computer simulations that provide a framework to interpret the observations, the detailed nature of each of these stages of transport in several different kinds of vadose regimes. They are emphasizing the impact of features specific to a site, that is, the local geology and hydrology, on each stage of the transport process. In particular they want to better understand how the time scales for (1) partitioning contaminants from the liquid to the vapor states and then (2) transporting the vapor out of the vadose regime are dependent on the specific character of a site. Such time-scale information will be important for evaluating the potential of contaminant sources as well as remediation strategies including natural remediation approaches.

Characterization of contaminant transport by gravity, capillarity and barometric pumping in heterogeneous. 1998 annual progress report

'The intent of this research program is to obtain an improved understanding of vadose zone transport processes and to develop field and modeling techniques required to characterize contaminant transport in the unsaturated zone at DOE sites. For surface spills and near-surface leaks of chemicals, the vadose zone may well become a long-term source of contamination for the underlying water table. Transport of contaminants can occur in both the liquid and gas phases of the unsaturated zone. This transport occurs naturally as a result of diffusion, buoyancy forces (gravity), capillarity and barometric pressure variations. In some cases transport can be enhanced by anisotropies present in hydrologic regimes. This is particularly true for gas-phase transport which may be subject to vertical pumping resulting from atmospheric pressure changes. For liquid-phase flows, heterogeneity may enhance the downward transport of contaminants to the water table depending on soil properties and the scale of the surface spill or near-surface leak. Characterization techniques based upon the dynamics of transport processes are likely to yield a better understanding of the potential for contaminant transport at a specific site than methods depending solely on hydrologic properties derived from a borehole. Such dynamic-characterization techniques can be useful for evaluating sites where contamination presently exists as well as for providing an objective basis to evaluate the efficacy of proposed as well as implemented clean-up technologies. The real-time monitoring of processes that may occur during clean-up of tank waste and the mobility of contaminants beneath the Hanford storage tanks during sluicing operations is one example of how techniques developed in this effort can be applied to current remediation problems. In the future, such dynamic-characterization methods might also be used as part of the site-characterization process for determining suitable locations of new DOE facilities that have the potential of introducing contamination into the vadose zone. This report summarizes work and accomplishments at the midpoint of the 3-year project. The authors have pursued the concept of a vadose-zone observatory (VZO) to provide the field laboratory necessary for carrying out the experiments required to achieve the goals of this research. The approach has been: (1) to carry out plume release experiments at a VZO allowing the acquisition of several different kinds of raw data that, (2) are analyzed and evaluated with the aid of highly detailed, diagnostic numerical models. Because the soil properties of a single VZO are unlikely to cover the full range of conditions encountered at all DOE facilities, the authors anticipate studying at least two and possibly three sites spanning a wide range of hydrologic and geologic properties.

Convection driven by centrifugal buoyancy in nematics

The onset of thermal convection in a nematic contained in a vertical rotating cylindrical annulus heated from the outside is studied as a function of the planar alignment of the liquid crystal director n. When n is horizontal, the results confirm data on gravitational buoyancy. An original first order like convection mode is obtained when n is parallel to the cylinder axis.Un nématique contenu dans un anneau cylindrique vertical en rotation est chauffé par l'extérieur. Lorsque le directeur n est horizontal, les résultats confirment ceux obtenus en convection planaire usuelle. Une transition originale du 1er ordre, induite par les effets de force de Coriolis, est obtenue quand n est parallèle à l'axe du cylindre

A Tool and a Method for Obtaining Hydrologic Flow Velocity Measurements in Geothermal Reservoirs

Downhole instruments based on a thermal perturbation principle are being developed to measure heat flow in permeable formations where convective transport of heat is important. To make heat flow measurements in these regions, the ground water velocity vector must be determined. A downhole probe has been designed to measure the local ground water velocity vector. The probe is a cylindrical heat source operated at a constant heat flux. In a convecting environment, surface temperatures on the probe are perturbed from those values of a purely conductive environment. With the aid of analytical and numerical models, these temperature differences can be related to the local velocity vector

Constraining CO2 simulations by coupled modeling and inversion of electrical resistance and gas composition data

Bureau of Economic Geolog

Electrical resistance tomgraphic monitoring of CO2 movement in deep geologic reservoirs

Bureau of Economic Geolog