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U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Scientific Investigations Report 2008–5169

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Summary and Conclusions

Knowledge of K_sat and other parameters are required as input to the numerical models of saturated flow and transport which commonly are used as tools in risk assessment. K_sat and bulk properties were measured for 10 core samples from sedimentary interbeds within the ESRP aquifer and estimated using the Winfield site-specific property-transfer model and a simple linear relation between K_sat and ρ_bulk. The multiple linear-regression property-transfer model for estimating K_sat from more easily measured ρ_bulk and particle-size distributions originally was developed for sedimentary interbeds of the unsaturated zone at the INL. The Winfield regression model, which yielded estimates comparable to a simple linear relation between K_sat and ρ_bulk, systematically under predicted K_sat likely due to ρ_bulk values being higher for the aquifer samples than for the samples from the unsaturated zone upon which the model was developed. Because the aquifer samples are affected by different processes than those from the unsaturated zone, such as greater overburden pressure and constant saturated flow, the addition of explanatory variables that include mechanical, chemical, and mineralogical information with a multiple linear-regression approach might yield better predictions. The data presented here provide information useful in refining the hydraulic influence of sediments in the current subregional scale ground-water flow model either by scaling existing values for each of the three units in the model or by explicit incorporation of sedimentary units.

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