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Abstract
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 87Rb parent is billions of years, the 87Sr/86Sr 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.
Study Area
| Publication type | Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Conference Paper |
| Title | Hydrologic inferences from strontium isotopes in pore water from the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada |
| Year Published | 1997 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | University of California |
| Contributing office(s) | Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center |
| Description | 2 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Book |
| Larger Work Subtype | Conference publication |
| Larger Work Title | Proceedings of FTAM: Field testing and associated modeling of potential high-level nuclear waste geologic disposal sites |
| First page | 55 |
| Last page | 56 |
| Conference Title | FTAM: Field testing and associated modeling of potential high-level nuclear waste geologic disposal sites |
| Conference Location | Berkeley, CA |
| Conference Date | Dec 15-16, 1997 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| Other Geospatial | Yucca Mountain |
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