Groundwater Flow Conceptualization of the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley
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Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office, Office of Environmental Management under Interagency Agreement, DE-EM0004969 Groundwater Flow Conceptualization of the Pahute Mesa– Oasis Valley Groundwater Basin, Nevada: A Synthesis of Geologic, Hydrologic, Hydraulic-Property, and Tritium Data Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5134 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover: Photograph of Colson Pond in northern Oasis Valley, looking south toward Beatty, Nevada. Photograph by Steven R. Reiner, U.S. Geological Survey, 2020. Groundwater Flow Conceptualization of the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley Groundwater Basin, Nevada: A Synthesis of Geologic, Hydrologic, Hydraulic-Property, and Tritium Data By Tracie R. Jackson, Joseph M. Fenelon, and Randall L. Paylor Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office, Office of Environmental Management under Interagency Agreement, DE-EM0004969 Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5134 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2021 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit https://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov/. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Jackson, T.R., Fenelon, J.M., and Paylor, R.L., 2021, Groundwater flow conceptualization of the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley Groundwater Basin, Nevada—A synthesis of geologic, hydrologic, hydraulic-property, and tritium data: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5134, 100 p., https://doi.org/ 10.3133/ sir20205134. ISSN 2328-0328 (online) iii Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................2 Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................3 Description of Study Area ...................................................................................................................4 Geology ...................................................................................................................................................4 Volcanic Tuff Formation and Alteration .............................................................................................6 Hydrostratigraphic Framework ..........................................................................................................7 Hydrogeologic Units ....................................................................................................................7 Hydrostratigraphic Units ..........................................................................................................11 Study Methods .............................................................................................................................................11 Hydraulic Heads, Potentiometric Contours, and Hydraulic Gradients ......................................11 Analysis of Water Levels ..........................................................................................................11 Estimation of Hydraulic Heads for Potentiometric Contouring ..........................................13 Hydraulic-Head Uncertainty ....................................................................................................14 Development of Potentiometric Contours .............................................................................15 Calculation of Vertical Hydraulic Gradients ..........................................................................16 Determination of Hydrostratigraphic Units at Well Openings .....................................................21 Compilation of Transmissivity Estimates .........................................................................................21 Depth Analyses �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������24 Hydraulic Conductivity with Depth .........................................................................................24 Volcanic-Rock Alteration with Depth .....................................................................................24 Transmissivity Analyses ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������25 Distributing Transmissivity to Hydrostratigraphic and Hydrogeologic Units ...................25 Distributing Transmissivity to Volcanic-Rock Alteration Groups .......................................26 Statistical and Qualitative Analyses of Transmissivity by Hydrostratigraphic Units, Hydrogeologic Units, and Alteration ..............................................................26 Minimum Sample Size for Statistical Analyses ...........................................................27 Confounding Factors ........................................................................................................27 Computation of Statistical Quantities ............................................................................27 Analyses for Limited Datasets ........................................................................................30 Analyses for Sufficiently Large Datasets .....................................................................30 Volcanic-Rock Alteration Abundance by Hydrogeologic Unit ����������������������������������������������������30 Hydraulic-Property and Rock-Alteration Analyses ................................................................................31 Relation of Hydraulic Properties to Volcanic-Rock Alteration, Hydrogeologic Units, and Hydrostratigraphic Units ..............................................................................................31 Transmissivity Distribution by Volcanic-Rock Alteration ....................................................31 Transmissivity Distribution by Hydrogeologic Unit ...............................................................31 Hydraulic-Property Distribution by Hydrostratigraphic Unit ����������������������������������������������37 Previous Studies ...............................................................................................................37 Current Study .....................................................................................................................37 Relation of Hydraulic Properties to Depth ......................................................................................40 Transmissivity and Hydraulic Conductivity with Depth .......................................................41 Volcanic-Rock Alteration Abundance and Transmissivity with Depth .............................41 Hydraulic Conductivity as a Function of Depth Decay ........................................................43 iv Frequency of Permeable Intervals in Volcanic Rock ....................................................................45 Groundwater Flow Conceptualization of the Pahute Mesa–Oasis Valley Groundwater Basin ......46 Lateral Basin Boundary .....................................................................................................................46 Interbasin Flow ...........................................................................................................................46 Boundary Uncertainty ...............................................................................................................48 Lower Flow System and Lower Basin Boundaries .......................................................................51 Groundwater Budget ..........................................................................................................................52 Discharge ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������52 Recharge �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������53 Recharge Components ....................................................................................................53 Reconciling Old Groundwater with Modern Recharge Inputs ..................................54 Steady-State Assumption and Future Hydroclimate ��������������������������������������������������54 Regional Potentiometric Contours and Flow Paths ......................................................................55 Relation of Transmissivity to Groundwater Flow ...........................................................................55 Water-Level Trends and Hydraulic Gradients ................................................................................58