Characterization of the potential for perched water development at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

The potential for existing or future perched-water bodies is identified as a potentially adverse condition for the storage of high-level radioactive wastes (HLW) in a geologic repository. Identification and characterization of where perched-water zones exist in the present or may have existed in the past, placed in the context of a geologic framework, can help to constrain conceptual and mathematical models used to predict future hydrologic conditions. This paper presents initial results of current research efforts at the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses in developing geologic and geographic databases that are designed to support modeling efforts to evaluate the potential for development of perched-water zones at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.