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Research about Beatty, Nevada

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Beatty, Nevada.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1992

Selected meteorological data for an arid site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, calendar year 1987

Selected meteorological data were collected at a study site adjacent to a low-level radioactive-waste burial facility near Beatty, Nevada, for calendar year 1987. Data were collected in support of an ongoing study to estimate the potential for downward movement of radionuclides into the unsaturated sediments beneath waste-burial trenches at the facility. The data include air temperature, relative humidity, vapor pressure, incident solar radiation, windspeed, wind direction, and precipitation. The data are summarized in tables and graphs A discussion of the instrumentation used at the site is presented. Included in the discussion are the type of sensors, their reported accuracy, and mounting height of each sensor. In 1987, the average hourly air temperatures ranged from -7.6 degrees Celsius, in December, to 43.1 degrees Celsius, in July. Hourly averaged relative humidity ranged from about 12 percent to over 80 percent. Hourly vapor pressures ranged from 0.12 to 1.77 kilopascals. Daily values for maximum incident solar radiation ranged from 118 to 1,067 watts per square meter. Daily mean windspeed ranged from 1.4 to 9.4 meters per second. Monthly wind-direction patterns are shown in a series of diagrams in which wind direction is summed over 10-degree arcs from hourly averaged data. Total precipitation for 1987 was 136.4 millimeters, more than 75 percent occurring during January-April and November-December.

Nevada↗
USGS1992

Selected meteorological data for an arid site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, calendar year 1988

Selected meteorological data were collected at a study site adjacent to a low-level radioactive-waste burial facility near Beatty/ Nevada, for calendar year 1988. Data were collected in support of ongoing studies to estimate the potential for downward movement of radionuclides into the unsaturated sediments beneath waste-burial trenches at the facility. The data include air temperature, relative humidity, vapor pressure, incident solar radiation, windspeed, wind direction, and precipitation. The data are summarized in tables and graphs. Instrumentation used at the site is discussed. The discussion includes the type, reported accuracy, and mounting height of each sensor. In 1988, the average hourly air temperatures ranged from -10.2 degrees Celsius, in December, to 45.3 degrees Celsius, in July. Hourly averaged relative humidity ranged from about 12 percent to over 80 percent. Hourly vapor pressures ranged from 0.09 to 2.22 kilopascals. Daily values for maximum incident solar radiation ranged from 63 to 1,064 watts per square meter. Daily mean windspeed ranged from 1.2 to 7.8 meters per second. Monthly wind-direction patterns are shown in a series of diagrams in which wind direction is summed over 10-degree arcs from hourly averaged data. Total precipitation for 1988 was 104.5 millimeters, with over 70 percent occurring from January through May.

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USGS1992

Sediment properties and water movement through shallow unsaturated alluvium at an arid site for disposal of low-level radioactive waste near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada

A commercial disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste has been in operation near Beatty, Nevada, since 1962. The facility is in the arid Amargosa Desert where wastes are buried in trenches excavated into unsaturated alluvial sediments. Thick unsaturated zones in arid environments offer many potential advantages for disposal of radioactive wastes, but little is known about the natural movement of water near such facilities. Thus, a study was begun in 1982 to better define the direction and rates of water movement through the unsaturated zone in undisturbed sediments near the disposal facility. This report discusses the analyses of data collected between 1983 and 1988.

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USGS1991

Selected meteorological data for an arid site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, calendar year 1986

Selected meteorological data were collected at a study site adjacent to a low-level radioactive-waste burial facility near Beatty, Nevada, for calendar year 1986. Data were collected in support of an ongoing study to estimate the potential for downward movement of radionuclides into the unsaturated sediments beneath waste-burial trenches at the facility. The data include air temperature, relative humidity, vapor pressure, incident solar radiation, windspeed, wind direction, and precipitation. The data are summarized in tables and graphs. A discussion of the instrumentation used at the site is presented. Included in the discussion are the type of sensors, their reported accuracy, and mounting height of each sensor. The minimum hourly air temperature was -6.4 °C, in February. The maximum air temperature was 42.6 °C, in August. Monthly wind direction patterns are shown in a series of diagrams in which wind direction is summed over 10-degree arcs from hourly averaged data. Total precipitation for 1986 was 75.5 mm, with almost 80 percent occurring during January-April and November-December.

Nevada↗
USGS1991

Beatty, Nevada: A section in U.S. Geological Survey research in radioactive waste disposal - Fiscal years 1986-1990 (WRI 91-4084)

A low-level radioactive-waste disposal facility in the Amargosa Desert of Nevada, about 17 km southeast of Beatty and 169 km northwest of Las Vegas, has been operating since 1962. This was the first commercially operated radioactive waste disposal facility in the United States. Wastes at the facility are emplaced in 2 to 15-m deep trenches and covered by backfilling with previously excavated materials. Annual precipitation in the area averages about 112 mm. Vegetation is sparse with creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ) being the dominant species. Soils in the area are skeletal and are underlain by more than 170 m of unconsolidated alluvial-fan, fluvial, and ephemeral-lake deposits. Depth to water is about 85 m. Initial field investigations (1976-1980) included monitoring of soil-water content and water potential in an unvegetated soil profile, and collection of meteorological data at the disposal facility. Design of additional hydrogeologic investigations and long-term studies of soil-water movement in a vegetated soil profile began in 1982 and field data collection has been ongoing since 1984. Studies to evaluate the modifying effects of trench construction on the natural site environment and to determine changes in trench structural stability began in 1987. Design of studies to measure gas and vapor movement in the trenches at the facility began in 1989.

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USGS1990

Selected meteorological data for an arid climate over bare soil near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, November 1977 through May 1980

Meteorological data were collected over bare soil at a site for low-level radioactive-waste burial near Beatty, Nevada, from November 1977 to May 1980. The data include precipitation, windspeed, wind direction, incident solar radiation, reflected solar radiation, net radiation, dry- and wet-bulb air temperatures at three heights, soil temperature at five depths, and soil-heat flux at three depths. Mean relative humidity was computed for each day of the collection period for which data are available. A discussion is presented of the study site and the instrumentation and procedures used for collecting and processing the data. Selected data from November 1977 to May 1980 are presented in tabular form. Diurnal fluctuations of selected meteorological variables for representative summer and winter periods are graphically presented. The effects on selected variables of a partial solar eclipse are also discussed

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USGS1990

Geohydrology of the near-surface unsaturated zone adjacent to the disposal site for low-level radioactive waste near Beatty, Nevada: A section in Safe disposal of radionuclides in low-level radioactive-waste repository sites; Low-level radioactive-waste disposal workshop, U.S. Geological Survey, July 11-16, 1987, Big Bear Lake, Calif., Proceedings (Circular 1036)

Shallow-land burial in arid areas is considered the best method for isolating low-level radioactive waste from the environment (Nichols and Goode, this report; Mercer and others, 1983). A major threat to waste isolation in shallow trenches is ground-water percolation. Repository sites in arid areas are believed to minimize the risk of ground-water contamination because such sites receive minimal precipitation and are underlain by thick unsaturated zones. Unfortunately, few data are available on rates of water percolation in an arid environment.

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USGS1987

Geohydrology of the unsaturated zone at the burial site for low-level radioactive waste near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada

Low-level radioactive solid waste has been buried in trenches at a site near Beatty, Nev., since 1962. In 1976, as part of a national program, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study of the geohydrology of the waste-burial site to provide a basis for estimating the potential for radionuclide migration in the unsaturated zone beneath the waste-burial trenches. Data collected include meteorological information for calibration of a long-term water-budget analysis, soil-moisture profiles, soil-water potentials, and hydraulic properties of representative unsaturated sediment samples to a depth of about 10 meters (m). The waste-burial facility is in the northern Amargosa Desert about 170 kilometers (km) northwest of Las Vegas, Nevo The region is arid; mean annual precipitation at Lathrop Wells, 30 km south of the site, is only 7.4 centimeters (cm). The mean daily maximum temperature at Lathrop Wells in July, the hottest month, is 37 ° C. The site is underlain by poorly stratified deposits of gravelly or silty sand and sandy gravel, and thick beds of clayey sediments. The total thickness of valley-fill deposits beneath the site is about 175 m; the unsaturated zone is about 85 m thick. Volumetric soil moisture to depths of 4 m ranges from 4 to 10 percent but commonly is in the range of 6 to 8 percent. Soil-water potential, measured to depths of 3 to 10 m, ranged from -10 to -70 bars. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity computed from laboratory analyses of representative samples ranges from 10 -13 to 10 -14 centimeters per day (cm/d). Evaporation studies over a 2-year (yr) period were used to calibrate a numerical procedure for analyzing long-term precipitation data and estimating annual water budgets during the 15-yr period 1962-76. This analysis (1) demonstrated that a potential exists for deep percolation (greater than 2 m), despite high annual evaporation demands, and (2) provided predictions of the time of year and the antecedent conditions that enhance the probability of deep percolation. Soil-moisture profiles obtained monthly over an 18-month (mo) period demonstrate that deep percolation does occur. Soil-moisture conditions antecedent to an observed deep-percolation event, and the time of year when the percolation occurred, support the interpretations based on long-term meteorological records. Calculation of downward moisture movement through the waste-trench backfill material, on the basis of simplified assumptions, suggests that moisture could have penetrated as much as 6 m below land surface from 1963, when the oldest trenches were closed, to 1980, but that the moisture requirement for such penetration far exceeded the amount of moisture actually available. Steady-state downward movement of moisture at depths greater than 10 m and beneath the waste-burial trenches would be on the order of 4 cm per 1,000 yr, assuming a steady flux rate of 1x10 -5 cm/d.

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USGS1986

Geohydrology of the unsaturated zone at the burial site for low-level radioactive waste near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada

Low-level radioactive solid waste has been buried in trenches at a site near Beatty, Nevada, since 1962. In 1976, as part of a national program, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study of the geohydrology of the waste burial site to provide a basis for estimating the potential for radionuclide migration in the unsaturated zone beneath the waste burial trenches. Data collected include meteorological information for calibration of a long-term water budget analysis, soil moisture profiles, soil water potentials, and hydraulic properties of representative unsaturated sediment samples to a depth of about 10 m. The waste burial facility is in the northern Amargosa Desert about 170 km northwest of Las Vegas, NV. The region is arid; mean annual precipitation at Lathrop Wells, 30 km south of the site, is only 7.4 cm. The mean daily maximum temperature at Lathrop Wells in July, the hottest month, is 37 C. The site is underlain by poorly stratified deposits of gravelly or silty sand and sandy gravel, and thick beds of clayey sediments. The total thickness of valley fill deposits beneath the site is about 175 m; the unsaturated zone is about 85 m thick. Volumetric soil moisture to depths of 4 m ranges from 4% to 10%, but commonly is in the range from 6% to 8%. Soil water potential, measured to depths of 3 to 10 m, ranged from -10 to -70 bars. Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity computed from laboratory analyses of representative samples ranges from 10 to the -13th power to 10 to the -4th power cm/day. Evaporation studies over a 2-yr period were used to calibrate a numerical procedure for analyzing long-term precipitation data and estimating annual water budgets during the 15-yr period 1962-76. This analysis (1) demonstrated that a potential exists for deep percolation (> 2 m), despite high annual evaporation demands, and (2) provided predictions of the time of yr and the antecedent conditions which enhance the probability of deep percolation. Soil moisture profiles obtained monthly over an 18-mo period demonstrate that deep percolation does occur. Soil moisture conditions antecedent to an observed deep-percolation event, and the time of yr when the percolation occurred, support the interpretations based on long-term meteorological records. (Author's abstract)

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USGS1986

Beatty, Nevada: A section in U.S. Geological Survey research in radioactive waste disposal - Fiscal years 1983, 1984, and 1985 (WRI 87-4009)

A commercial low-level radioactive-waste disposal site has been operating near Beatty, Nevada, about 150 km northwest of Las Vegas, since 1962. The 32-ha site is situated in a desolate region of the Amargosa River Valley, sometimes referred to as the Amargosa Desert. Average annual precipitation is only about 114 mm. The site is underlain by 175 m of unconsolidated, generally coarse-grained, alluvial-fan and flood-plain deposits. The water table is at a depth of 90 m.

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USGS1982

Beatty, Nevada: A section in U.S. Geological Survey research in radioactive waste disposal - Fiscal year 1979 (Circular 847)

A commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal site has been operating near Beatty, Nevada, about 150 km northwest of Las Vegas, since 1962. The 32-ha site is situated in a desolate region of the Amargosa River Valley, sometimes referred to as the Amargosa Desert. Average annual precipitation is only about 114 mm. The site is underlain by 175 m of unconsolidated generally coarse-grained, alluvial-fan and flood-plain deposits. The water table is at a depth of 90 m.

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