THE ENVIRONMENT CREATED BY A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION IN SALT.   Project GNOME

Rawson, D.E.; Boardman, Charles R.; Jaffe-Chazan, N.

doi:10.2172/4612556

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The estimated puddle volume for Salmon of 2700 m 3 has a bulk density of approximately 2 g/cm 3, so that about 5.4 X 106 kg of recrystal-'lized melt resulted from the explosion. This corresponds to about 10 • kg of salt vaporized and fused per kiloton of yield, which agrees with a similar value determined from exploration of the Gnome event [Rawson et al, 1964]. This, along with the spherical symmetry of the cavity and the absence of salt that had not been fused in hole PSI puddle cores, indicates that very little rock from the cavity walls became incorporated in the melt.…”

supporting

confidence: 86%

“…The measured Salmon cavity void volume of 19,600 m • is equivalent to a sphere of radius 16.7 m. Similar volume measurements made at the Gnome event showed an equivalent sphere radius of 18.7 m [Rawson et al, 1964]. The yield of that event was reported as 3.1 -+ 0.5 kt.…”

supporting

confidence: 51%

“…These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the vaporization of water in the rock surrounding the zone where the rock is fused by the explosion will contribute to the breakup of the cavity wall rock and the incorporation of that material in the melt. The extremely low water content (< 30 ppm) of the Tatum dome minimized the 'blowoff' of the Salmon cavity walls in comparison with the observed as a result of the Gnome event [Rawson et al, 1964].…”

mentioning

confidence: 84%

“…The cores recovered while drilling PS 2 have been studied by Roach et al [1965] to determine the extent and nature of salt deformation resulting from the Salmon event. Table 4 [Rawson et al, 1964]. At Salmon, the maximum extent of injection was below the cavity and parallel to the anhydrite bands.…”

Section: The Fact That Concentrations Of Kr 85 Andmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Post-explosion environment resulting from the Salmon Event

Rawson¹,

Randolph²,

Boardman³

et al. 1966

J. Geophys. Res.

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The Salmon event was a 5.3 _ 0.5 kt nuclear detonation at a depth of 827.8 m in the Tatum salt dome in Mississippi. The explosion created a nearly spherical cavity of radius 17.4 _ 0.6 m and vaporized and melted approximately 5.4 X 106 kg of rock which formed a puddle of recrystallized salt. At the time of penetration the cavity was under a partial vacuum with a pressure of less than 313 mb, and the temperature of its gases was about 205øC. Most of the explosion energy was in the form of heat distributed within 45 m of the shot point. Radioactive melt injected into cracks was observed as far as 37 m from the shot point, and radioactivity increased above background as far as 64 m. The wall rock was highly microfractured and contained some macrofractures. The most broken portion of the rock surrounding the cavity was observed in the region 39 to 50 m below shot point. The puddle at the base of the cavity was highly fractionareal, with a high concentration of refractory radioactive species in the bottom few centimeters. Separation of Xe TM in the cavity gas from the parent I • found in the puddle indicates that the puddle took 24 to 32 days to solidify. It is concluded that the resulting cavity is stable and could be used for an experimental investigation of full or partial decoupling; however, the material surrounding the cavity is less competent than it was before the shot, and the present strength and stress distribution of the rock are not known. [1966]. The medium in the vicinity of the explosion is characterized by 90% NaC1, 10% CaSO•, and a very low water content (•0.001% by weight). The average in situ bulk density of the salt is about 2.24 g/cm • and the average compressional and shear velocities are about 4550 and 2520 m/sec [Rawson, to be published]. Major obiectives of the Salmon event that depended upon postshot exploration were to determine the condition of the cavity generated by the explosion, to assess the feasibility of re-use of the cavity for subsequent explosions, and to obtain samples of the recrystallized melt for radiochemical yield determination. The exploration basically consisted in drill-ing two holes, PS 1 and PS 2. An additional hole was 'whipstocked' off each main hole. Figure 1, a plan and vertical section of the postshot drillholes, displays pertinent data obtained from these holes about the rock surrounding the cavity. Core drilling provided samples and made possible geophysical logging, gas sampling, television observations of borehole and cavity,and radiation and temperature logging. In conjunction with re-entry drilling, a chemical processing plant was used to control the release of radioactive cavity gases and to monitor the pressure, temperature, and gas composition.

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supporting

confidence: 86%

supporting

confidence: 51%

mentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: The Fact That Concentrations Of Kr 85 Andmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Post-explosion environment resulting from the Salmon Event

Rawson¹,

Randolph²,

Boardman³

et al. 1966

J. Geophys. Res.

Self Cite

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“…The test consisted of detonating a nuclear device with an estimated yield of 3 kilotons at a depth of 1,184 feet (ft) below ground surface (bgs) in a bedded salt deposit known as the Salado Formation. Immediately following the detonation, close-in stemming materials failed, and gases from the cavity vented to the atmosphere through the access shaft and tunnel (Rawson et al 1964). Post-test drilling operations and preparations for another underground nuclear test, identified as Coach, began shortly after the Project Gnome test.…”

Section: Site Location and Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%