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- Larger Work: U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: Volume 3 (Part C)
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Abstract
The isotopic composition of water in deep unsaturated zones is of interest because it provides information relevant to hydrologic processes and contaminant migration. Profiles of oxygen-18 (18O), deuterium (D), and tritium (3H) from a 110-meter deep unsaturated zone, together with data on the isotopic composition of ground water and modern-day precipitation, are interpreted in the context of water-content, water-potential, and pore-gas profiles. At depths greater than about three meters, water vapor and liquid water are in approximate equilibrium with respect to D and 18O. The vapor-phase concentrations of D and 18O have remained stable through repeated samplings. Vapor-phase 3H concentrations have generally increased with time, requiring synchronous sampling of liquid and vapor to assess equilibrium. Below 30 meters, concentrations of D and 18O in pore water become approximately equal to the composition of ground water, which is isotopically lighter than modern precipitation and has a carbon-14 (14C) concentration of about 26 percent modern carbon. These data indicate that net gradients driving fluxes of water, gas, and heat are directed upwards for undisturbed conditions at the Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS). Superimposed on the upward-directed flow field, tritium is migrating away from waste in response to gradients in tritium concentrations.
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Other Report |
| Title | Isotopic composition of water in a deep unsaturated zone beside a radioactive-waste disposal area near Beatty, Nevada |
| Year Published | 1999 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | West Trenton, NJ |
| Contributing office(s) | Nevada Water Science Center |
| Description | 8 P. |
| Larger Work Type | Report |
| Larger Work Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Larger Work Title | U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: Volume 3 (Part C) (WRI 99-4018C) |
| First page | 467 |
| Last page | 474 |
| Conference Title | Seventh Technical Meeting of the U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program |
| Conference Location | Charleston, SC |
| Conference Date | March 8-12, 1999 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| County | Nye County |
| City | Beatty |
| Other Geospatial | Amargosa Desert Research Site |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |