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Reconnaissance Seismic Refraction Studies at Calico Hills, Wahmonie, and Yucca Mountain, Southwest Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada

Open-File Report 82-478
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office
By:
https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr82478

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Abstract

Reconnaissance refraction surveys consisting off a total of 5 spreads were conducted in the Calico Hills, Wahmonie and Yucca Mountain areas, southwestern Nevada Test Site (NTS). Data from Calico Hills and Wahmonie are generally high in quality; data from Yucca Mountain are for the most part low in quality. At Calico Hills and Wahmonie, special attention was focused on the possible occurrence of a major intrusive body at depth. At Calico Hills this occurrence is supported by an inferred dome-shaped velocity interface. possibly associated with the roof of an altered phase of argillite. However, if an intrusive body is present, its top must be buried deeper than 3 km or it must be so pervasively altered that its velocity is similar to that of the calcareous argillite encountered at the bottom of drill hole DE 25a-3. At Wahmonie, the seismic data suggest the occurrence of a massive lenticular unit within 60 m of the ground surface, probably consisting of argillite but possibly consisting of intensively altered intrusive rock. At Yucca Mountain, preliminary interpretations of the most reliable data suggest the occurrence of a major, steeply inclined velocity interface 500 m from the southwest end of the Yucca C spread. This interface may represent a major fault or erosional feature separating the Topopah Spring and Tiva Canyon Members with Paintbrush Tuff at depth. This interface is 800 m east of a previously mapped fault. On the basis of poor-quality data obtained at Yucca Mountain, the subsurface velocity distribution appears to be complex. For example, one spread near drill hole UE25 a-I suggests not only a much thicker section of Tiva but also that this material is down thrown in the valley. This may suggest faulting with throws exceeding 100 meters or an equivalent erosional feature.

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Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Reconnaissance Seismic Refraction Studies at Calico Hills, Wahmonie, and Yucca Mountain, Southwest Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 82-478
DOI 10.3133/ofr82478
Edition -
Year Published 1982
Language ENGLISH
Publisher Geological Survey (U.S.)
Contributing office(s) U.S. Geological Survey
Description 31 p. **PUBLICATION PAGES ARE IN INCORRECT ORDER**
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