Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2002
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL014665
Abstract
We examine the possible ascent of alkali basalt magma containing 2 wt percent water through a dike and into a horizontal subsurface drift as part of a risk assessment for the proposed high‐level radioactive waste repository beneath Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA. On intersection of the dike with the low pressure, horizontal drift, the ascending magma will be diverted into the drift. The fragmenting mixture expands down the drift to reach speeds of order 100–300 m/s. After this initial disruptive activity, parts of the repository can be filled with magma within a matter of hours until a pathway is found to allow the magma to vent. Magma flow through the drift network will cause intense heating of any waste canisters located along the pathway between the dike and the surface conduit. The assessments suggest a greater number of waste packages may be adversely affected than previously recognized.
Rights Information
Was this content written or created while at USF?
No
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Geophysical Research Letters, v. 29, issue 13, art. 1641
Copyright 2002 by the American Geophysical Union
Scholar Commons Citation
Woods, Andrew W.; Sparks, Steve; Bokhove, Onno; LeJeune, Anne-Marie; Connor, Charles B.; and Hill, Brittain E., "Modeling Magma-Drift Interaction at the Proposed High-Level Radioactive Waste Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA" (2002). School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 1067.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1067
