Percolation flux estimates from geochemical and thermal modeling

摘要

Bounding the past and present percolation fluxes at Yucca Mountain is important for the evaluation of the site as a potential repository of high-level nuclear waste and in the designing of waste packages and their emplacement.The performance of the site for 10,000 years or more depends on bracketing the current mean and spatial distribution of the percolation flux and also the effects that possible climate changes will have on these parameters.Several independent methods can be used to bound the percolation flux,including geochemical methods (e.g.,~14C,Cl,~36Cl/Cl,Sr,and ~87Sr/~86Sr)~1-4,fracture coatings~5,moisture conditions~6,and temperatures~7,Here we focus on two of the most promising methods,the chloride hydrochemistry and the analysis of temperature data.