14 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Distribution of rubidium, strontium, and zirconium in tuff from two deep coreholes at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Variations in concentrations of trace elements Rb, Sr, and Zr within the sequence of high-silica tuff and dacitic lava beneath Yucca Mountain reflect both primary composition and secondary alteration. Rb and K concentrations have parallel trends. Rb concentrations are significantly lower within intervals containing zeolitic nonwelded to partially welded and bedded tuffs and are higher in thick moderately to densely welded zones. Sr concentrations increase with depth from about 30 parts per million (ppM) in the Topopah Spring Member of the Paintbrush Tuff to almost 300 ppM in the older tuffs. Zr concentrations are about 100 ppM in the Topopah Spring Member and also increase with depth to about 150 ppM in the Lithic Ridge Tuff and upper part of the older tuffs. Conspicuous local high concentrations of Sr in the lower part of the Tram Member, in the dacite lava, and in unit c of the older tuffs in USW G-1, and in the densely welded zone of the Bullfrog Member in USW GU-3/G-3 closely correlate with high concentrations of less-mobile Zr and may reflect either primary composition or elemental redistribution resulting largely from smectitic alteration. Initial {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr values from composite samples increase upward in units above the Bullfrog Member of the Crater Flat Tuff. The progressive tenfold increase in Sr with depth coupled with the similarity of initial {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr values within the Bullfrog Member and older units to those of Paleozoic marine carbonates are consistent with a massive influx or Sr from water derived from a Paleozoic carbonate aquifer. 23 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab
Recommended from our members
Evidence for Gropun-Water Stratification Near Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Major- and trace-element concentrations and strontium isotope ratios (strontium-87/strontium-86) in samples of ground water potentially can be useful in delineating flow paths in the complex ground-water system in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Water samples were collected from boreholes to characterize the lateral and vertical variability in the composition of water in the saturated zone. Discrete sampling of water-producing intervals in the saturated zone includes isolating borehole sections with packers and extracting pore water from core obtained by sonic drilling. Chemical and isotopic stratification was identified in the saturated zone beneath southern Fortymile Wash
Recommended from our members
Geochemically Homogeneous Tuffs Host the Potential Nuclear Waste Repository, Yucca Mountain, Nevada
In evaluating a geological environment for the disposition of nuclear waste, the composition of the host rock is an important parameter in characterizing the natural system and its role as a barrier to migration of radionuclides. Emplacement drifts in a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, would be constructed in the lower phenocryst-poor rhyolitic member ({approx}300 m thick) of the Topopah Spring Tuff, a felsic pyroclastic ash flow. The rhyolitic member, composed largely of microcrystalline quartz and alkali feldspar, contains localized secondary minerals including vapor-phase silica polymorphs and feldspar typically lining lithophysal cavities, and low-temperature calcite and opal in cavities and fractures. Chemical analyses of Topopah Spring Tuff samples from outcrops and from core obtained by surface-based drilling have shown that the phenocryst-poor rhyolite member at Yucca Mountain is remarkably uniform in composition both vertically and laterally. To verify this geochemical homogeneity in samples collected directly from the repository block where emplacement drifts would be constructed, major and trace elements were analyzed for core samples obtained from 20 systematically spaced drill holes in a drift constructed across the repository block. Means and standard deviations of selected oxides and elements in weight percent indicate geochemical uniformity among these samples: SiO{sub 2}, 76.29 {+-} 0.32; Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, 12.55 {+-} 0.14; FeO, 0.13 {+-} 0.05; Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}, 0.97 {+-} 0.07; MgO, 0.12 {+-} 0.02; CaO, 0.50 {+-} 0.03; Na{sub 2}O, 3.52 {+-} 0.11; K{sub 2}O, 4.83 {+-} 0.06; TiO{sub 2}, 0.109 {+-} 0.004; ZrO{sub 2}, 0.016 {+-} 0.001; MnO, 0.068 {+-} 0.008; Cl, 0.017 {+-} 0.004; F, 0.038 {+-} 0.008; and CO{sub 2}, 0.011 {+-} 0.003. Means and standard deviations of selected trace elements, in micrograms per gram, also indicate small compositional variability: Ba, 51 {+-} 12; Cs, 4.2 {+-} 0.3; Li, 25 {+-} 9; Pb, 27 {+-} 1; Rb, 186 {+-} 9; Sr, 27 {+-} 3; Th, 26 {+-} 1; U, 3.9 {+-} 0.3. Geochemical uniformity of the host rock is a positive attribute in that it provides a uniform near-field chemical environment for the potential repository
Recommended from our members
GEOCHEMISTRY OF ROCK UNITS AT THE POTENTIAL REPOSITORY LEVEL, YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA
The compositional variability of the phenocryst-poor member of the 12.8-million-year Topopah Spring Tuff at the potential repository level was assessed by duplicate analysis of 20 core samples from the cross drift at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Previous analyses of outcrop and core samples of the Topopah Spring Tuff showed that the phenocryst-poor rhyolite, which includes both lithophysal and nonlithophysal zones, is relatively uniform in composition. Analyses of rock samples from the cross drift, the first from the actual potential repository block, also indicate the chemical homogeneity of this unit excluding localized deposits of vapor-phase minerals and low-temperature calcite and opal in fractures, cavities, and faults, The possible influence of vapor-phase minerals and calcite and opal coatings on rock composition at a scale sufficiently large to incorporate these heterogeneously distributed deposits was evaluated and is considered to be relatively minor. Therefore, the composition of the phenocryst-poor member of the Topopah Spring Tuff is considered to be adequately represented by the analyses of samples from the cross drift. The mean composition as represented by the 10 most abundant oxides in weight percent or grams per hundred grams is: SiO{sub 2}, 76.29; Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, 12.55; FeO, 0.14; Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}, 0.97; MgO, 0.13; CaO, 0.50; Na{sub 2}O, 3.52; K{sub 2}O, 4.83; TiO{sub 2}, 0.11; and MnO, 0.07
Recommended from our members
Geochemistry of core samples of the Tiva Canyon Tuff from drill hole UE-25 NRG{number_sign}3, Yucca Mountain, Nevada
The Tiva Canyon Tuff of Miocene age is composed of crystal-poor, high-silica rhyolite overlain by a crystal-rich zone that is gradational in composition from high-silica rhyolite to quartz latite. Each of these zones is divided into subzones that have distinctive physical, mineralogical, and geochemical features.Accurate identification of these subzones and their contacts is essential for detailed mapping and correlation both at the surface and in the subsurface in drill holes and in the exploratory studies facility (ESF). This report presents analyses of potassium (K), calcium (Ca), titanium (Ti), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), yttrium (Y), zirconium (Zr), niobium (Nb), barium (Ba), lanthanum (La), and cerium (Ce) in core samples of the Tiva Canyon Tuff from drill hole UE-25 NRG {number_sign}3. The concentrations of most of these elements are remarkably constant throughout the high-silica rhyolite, but at its upper contact with the crystal-rich zone, Ti, Zr, Ba, Ca, Sr, La, Ce, and K begin to increase progressively through the crystal-rich zone. In contrast, Rb and Nb decrease, and Y remains essentially constant. Initial {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratios are relatively uniform in the high-silica rhyolite with a mean value of 0.7117, whereas initial {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratios decrease upward in the quartz latite to values as low as 0.7090
Recommended from our members
Hydrologic inferences from strontium isotopes in pore water from the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
Calcite is ubiquitous at Yucca Mountain, occurring in the soils and as fracture and cavity coatings within the volcanic tuff section. Strontium is a trace element in calcite, generally at the tens to hundreds of ppm level. Because calcite contains very little rubidium and the half-life of the {sup 87}Rb parent is billions of years, the {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratios of the calcite record the ratio in the water from which the calcite precipitated. Dissolution and reprecipitation does not alter these compositions so that, in the absence of other sources of strontium, one would expect the strontium ratios along a flow path to preserve variations inherited from strontium in the soil zone. Strontium isotope compositions of calcites from various settings in the Yucca Mountain region have contributed to the understanding of the unsaturated zone (UZ), especially in distinguishing unsaturated zone calcite from saturated zone calcite. Different populations of calcite have been compared, either to group them together or distinguish them from each other in terms of their strontium isotope compositions. Ground water and perched water have also been analyzed; this paper presents strontium isotope data obtained on pore water
Recommended from our members
Strontium isotopes in carbonate deposits at Crater Flat, Nevada
Strontium isotope studies of carbonates from soils, veins, eolian dust and Paleozoic basement samples near Crater Flat, southwest of Yucca Mountain, provide evidence for the origins of these materials. Vein and soil carbonates have nearly identical ranges of {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratios at the lower end of the pedogenic range. The average {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr of Paleozoic basement from Black Marble Hill is similar to the {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr in the eolian dust, perhaps indicating a local source for this material. Possible spring deposits have generally higher {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr than the other carbonates. These data are compared with similar data from areas east of Yucca Mountain. 7 refs., 5 figs