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Type: Journal Article
Author(s): Z. F. Zhang
Publication Date: June 2016

A surface barrier is a commonly used technology for isolation of subsurface contaminants. Surface barriers for isolating radioactive waste are expected to perform for centuries to millennia, yet there are very few data for field-scale surface barriers for periods approaching a decade or longer. The Prototype Hanford Barrier (PHB) with a design life of 1000 years was constructed over an existing radioactive waste site in 1994 to demonstrate its long-term performance. The primary element of the PHB is an evapotranspiration-capillary (ETC) barrier in which precipitation water is stored in a fine-textured soil layer and later released to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration. To address the barrier performance under extreme conditions, this study included an enhanced precipitation stress test from 1995 to 1997 to determine barrier response to extreme precipitation events. During this period a 1000 year 24 h return rainstorm was simulated in March every year. The loss of vegetation on barrier hydrology was tested with a controlled fire test in 2008. The 19 year monitoring record shows that the store-and-release mechanism worked as well as or better than the design criterion. Average drainage from the ETC barrier amounted to an average of 0.005 mm yr-1, which is well below the design criterion of 0.5 mm yr-1. After a simulated wildfire, the naturally reestablished vegetation and increased evaporation combined to release the stored water and summer precipitation to the atmosphere such that drainage did not occur in the 5 years subsequent to the fire. © 2016. American Geophysical Union. All rights reserved.

Online Links
Citation: Zhang, Z. F. 2016. Evaluating the long-term hydrology of an evapotranspiration-capillary barrier with a 1000 year design life. Water Resources Research, v. 52, no. 6, p. 4883-4904. 10.1002/2015WR018167.

Cataloging Information

Topics:
Regions:
Alaska    California    Eastern    Great Basin    Hawaii    Northern Rockies    Northwest    Rocky Mountain    Southern    Southwest    National
Keywords:
  • Capillary Break
  • Covers
  • drainage
  • evapotranspiration
  • fire management
  • flow
  • Full Saturation
  • hydrology
  • Oven-Dry
  • performance
  • post fire recovery
  • Relative Permeability
  • Storage Capacity
  • surface cover
  • water
  • water balance
  • Water Diversion
  • water-balance
  • watershed management
Tall Timbers Record Number: 33050Location Status: Not in fileCall Number: AvailableAbstract Status: Okay, Fair use
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 55127

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.