Long History of Pre‐Wisconsin, Ice Age Cataclysmic Floods: Evidence from Southeastern Washington State

Bjornstad, Bruce N.; Fecht, K.R.; Pluhar, C. J.

doi:10.1086/323190

Cited by 67 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Because of the fine-grained nature of mud, silt was the dominant particle size in the B19377 sample. The other samples are typical gravel-and sand-dominated Ringold Unit E formation, consistent with other geologic characterizations previously published (see Bjornstad 1984Bjornstad , 1990Bjornstad et al 2001Bjornstad et al , 2002Brown 1959;Connelly et al 1992;Delaney et al1991;Fecht and Weekes 1996;Last 1994;Lindsey 1995Lindsey , 1996Lindsey et al 1992aLindsey et al , 1992bLindsey et al , 1994Myers and Price 1979;Reidel et al 1992;Slate 2000;Tallman et al 1979Tallman et al , 1981Williams et al 2002;and Wood et al 2001). …”

Section: Particle Size Distributionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Characterization of 200-UP-1 Aquifer Sediments and Results of Sorption-Desorption Tests Using Spiked Uncontaminated Groundwater

Um¹,

Serne²,

Bjornstad³

et al. 2005

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Se-79, and Np-237 during FY 2005. The study completed and summarized in this report will help determine the current risk of the groundwater plume and aid in choosing remediation alternatives for the COC in 200-UP-1 subsurface environments should remediation be necessary.Sediment characterization showed only 4 out of 13 core liner samples were intact, and the others were slough material that dropped to the bottom of the borehole before the split-spoon sampling. The intact samples showed typical Ringold Unit E characteristics such as being dominated by gravel and sand. Moderately reducing conditions are inferred in some core from borehole C4299. This reducing condition was likely caused by the hard tool process used to drill the wells. One core liner from C4299 (B19140) showed significant presence of ferric iron oxide/clay coatings on the gravel surfaces. The 200-UP-1 sediments do contain some clay minerals that exhibit significant cation exchange capacity and thus should be good adsorbents of cationic contaminants. This is especially true of the Ringold Lower mud sample, B19377, from borehole C4300. No highly contaminated sediments-including uranium-were found in the cores from the three new boreholes in the 200-UP-1 operable unit. The presence of slough and "flour" caused by hard tooling is a serious challenge to obtaining field-representative sediments for use in geochemical experiments to determine the adsorption-desorption tendencies of redox sensitive elements such as uranium.The adsorption of COC on intact Ringold Formation sediments and Fe/clay coatings showed that most of the anionic contaminants [Tc(VII), Se(VI), U(VI), Cr(VI), and I(-I)] did not adsorb well compared to cationic [Np(V), Sr(II), and Cs(I)] radionuclides. The high hydrous iron oxide content in Fe oxide/clay coatings caused the highest K d values for U and Np, suggesting that these hydrous iron oxides are the key solid adsorbent in the sediments that control the fate of U and Np. Enhanced adsorption behavior for Tc and Cr, and perhaps Se, on the composite B19136 and B19137 sediment was considered an "artifact" caused by the induced reducing conditions from the hard tool drilling.Additional U(VI) adsorption K d studies were performed on Ringold Formation sediments subjected to varying solution geochemical conditions such as varying the dissolved U and total bicarbonate/carbonate concentration in the groundwater to develop a more robust data base of U(VI) K d s. The <2 mm size fraction of three 200-UP-1 sediments showed a linear U (VI) adsorption isotherm up to 1 ppm of total U (VI) concentration in solution. This fact validates the use of a linear adsorption isotherm (K d ) to predict U (VI) adsorption for sediments in the 200-UP-1 groundwater plume. However, this is not the same as stating that the U (VI) K d value will be constant if the groundwater chemical composition at 200-UP-1 changes with space or time.iv The additional U (VI) K d s obtained from varying carbonate concentrations in solution indicated that U (VI) adsorption was stro...

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Section: Particle Size Distributionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Characterization of 200-UP-1 Aquifer Sediments and Results of Sorption-Desorption Tests Using Spiked Uncontaminated Groundwater

Um¹,

Serne²,

Bjornstad³

et al. 2005

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“…The H3 unit in 299-E33-46 grades downward into medium to coarse sand with depth, identical to sands described for the overlying H2 unit (see section 2.6.2). Paleomagnetic results from a nearby borehole (299-E33-335) suggest ice-age flood deposits at roughly the same stratigraphic position as the H3 unit were deposited during the early Pleistocene Epoch, during very old flood events that occurred at least 780,000 years ago and perhaps as early as 2 million years ago (Bjornstad et al 2001). …”

Section: Hanford Formation H3 Unitmentioning

confidence: 96%

Characterization of Vadose Zone Sediment: Borehole 299-E33-46 Near B 110 in the B BX-BY Waste Management Area

Serne¹,

Bjornstad²,

Gee³

et al. 2008

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Executive SummaryThis report was revised in September 2008 to remove acid-ectractable sodium data from Table 4.17. The sodium data was removed due to potential contamination introduced during the acid extraction process. The rest of the text remains unchanged from the original report issued in December 2002.The overall goal of the of the Tank Farm Vadose Zone Project, led by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., is to define risks from past and future single-shell tank farm activities. To meet this goal, CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., asked scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to perform detailed analyses on vadose zone sediment from within the B-BX-BY Waste Management Area. This report is the third in a series of three reports to present the results of these analyses. Specifically, this report contains all the geologic, geochemical, and selected physical characterization data collected on vadose zone sediment recovered from a borehole installed approximately 4.5 m (15 ft) northeast of tank B-110 (borehole 299-E33-46).This report also presents our interpretation of the data in the context of the sediment lithologies, the vertical extent of contamination, the migration potential of the contaminants, and the likely source of the contamination in the vadose zone and groundwater east of the B Tank Farm. The information presented in this report supports the B-BX-BY field investigation report prepared by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. (a) Overall, our analyses identified common ion exchange and heterogeneous (solid phase-liquid solute) precipitation reactions as two mechanisms that influence the distribution of contaminants within that portion of the vadose zone affected by tank liquor. We did not observe significant indications of caustic alteration of the sediment mineralogy or porosity, but we did observe slightly elevated pH values between the depths of 15 and 25 m (52 and 83 ft) bgs. X-ray diffraction measurements indicate no evidence of mineral alteration or precipitation resulting from the interaction of the tank liquor with the sediment. However, no scans of samples by scanning electron microscopy were performed that might suggest that there is faint evidence of caustic attack.Our analyses do not firmly suggest that the source of the contamination in the groundwater below and to the east of B Tank Farm is the 1971 transfer line leak at B-110. However, we are firmly convinced that the fluids from the transfer line leak event are present in the vadose zone sediments at borehole 299-E33-46 to a depth of 52 m (170 ft) bgs, within the Hanford H2 sand unit. Below this depth the concentration of nitrate still appears to be slightly elevated above natural background levels. There is also elevated technetium-99 between 68 and 69 m (222 and 226 ft) bgs in the Plio-pleistocene mud layer but we can't show that this contamination traveled through the entire vadose zone and in fact may have migrated horizontally from other sources. iv The near horizontally bedded, northeasterly dipping sediment likely caused hor...

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“…Sediments of the Hanford formation consist of pebble to boulder sized gravels and interbedded sands. These sediments were deposited during cataclysmic ice-age floods that ripped through the Columbia Basin as early as 1 to 2 million years ago and as recently as about 13,000 years ago (e.g., Baker et al 1991;Bjornstad et al 2001). …”

Section: Ringold Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the Hyporheic Zone at the 300 Area,Hanford Site

Fritz¹,

Kohn²,

Gilmore³

et al. 2007

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SummaryAt the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State, contaminated groundwater discharges to the Columbia River after passing through a zone of groundwater/river water interaction at the shoreline (i.e., the hyporheic zone). In the hyporheic zone, river water may infiltrate the riverbank during periods of high-river stage and mix with the approaching groundwater. Contaminants carried by groundwater may become diluted by the infiltrating river water, thus reducing concentrations at locations of exposure, such as riverbank springs and upwelling through the riverbed. There have been limited studies of contaminant concentrations, physical properties, or the extent of the hyporheic zone near the Hanford Site's 300 Area, yet this zone is a major interface for discharge of groundwater contamination into the Columbia River.The Remediation Task of the Remediation and Closure Science Project conducts research to meet several objectives concerning the discharge of groundwater contamination into the river at the 300 Area of the Hanford Site in Washington State. This report documents research conducted to meet these objectives by developing baseline data for future evaluation of remedial technologies, evaluating the effects of changing river stage on near-shore groundwater chemistry, improving estimates of contaminant flux to the river, providing estimates on the extent of contaminant discharge areas along the shoreline, and providing data to support computer models used to evaluate remedial alternatives. This report summarizes the activities conducted to date, and provides an overview of data collected through July 2006. Recent geologic investigations (funded through other U.S. Department of Energy [DOE] projects)have provided a more complete geologic interpretation of the 300 Area and a characterization of the vertical extent of uranium contamination. Extrapolation of this geologic interpretation into the hyporheic zone is possible, but little data are available to provide corroboration. Penetration testing was conducted along the shoreline to develop evidence to support the extrapolation of the mapping of the geologic facies. While this penetration testing provided evidence supporting the extrapolation of the most recent geologic interpretation, it also provided some higher-resolution detail on the shape of the layer that constrains contaminant movement. Information on this confining layer will provide a more-detailed estimate of the area of riverbed that has the potential to be impacted by uranium discharge to the river from groundwater transport.Water sampling in the hyporheic zone has provided results that illustrate the degree of mixing that occurs in the hyporheic zone. Uranium concentrations measured at individual sampling locations can vary by several orders of magnitude depending on the Columbia River and near-shore aquifer elevations. This report shows that the concentrations of all the measured constituents in water samples collected from the hyporheic zone vary according to the ratio of groundwater and C...

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Long History of Pre‐Wisconsin, Ice Age Cataclysmic Floods: Evidence from Southeastern Washington State

Cited by 67 publications

References 24 publications

Characterization of 200-UP-1 Aquifer Sediments and Results of Sorption-Desorption Tests Using Spiked Uncontaminated Groundwater

Characterization of 200-UP-1 Aquifer Sediments and Results of Sorption-Desorption Tests Using Spiked Uncontaminated Groundwater

Characterization of Vadose Zone Sediment: Borehole 299-E33-46 Near B 110 in the B BX-BY Waste Management Area

Investigation of the Hyporheic Zone at the 300 Area,Hanford Site

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