1. NAME AND TITLE OF DATA LIBRARY

LAS CRUCES DATABASE: Las Cruces Trench Site Database, Vadose Model.
 

2. NAME AND TITLE OF DATA RETRIEVAL PROGRAMS

None included.
 

3. CONTRIBUTOR

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, through the Energy Science and Technology Software Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
 

4. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND INFORMATION

In 1988 a previous report presented results of the first U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission trench experiment on the New Mexico State Ranch. The purpose of this 1989 release is to bring together all data collected during the course of the experiment on the morphology of the soil at the site, and on the physical properties of the soil.
 

5. APPLICATION OF THE DATA

These data are required 1) to study the effect of spatial variability on water flow and transport in soils, 2) to validate deterministic and stochastic models of water flow and transport, 3) to provide experimental input as to how sites can be best characterized and monitored, and 4) to validate site characterization and monitoring methodologies.

The bore hole permeameter was used to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity in undisturbed soil adjacent to the core sample. Neutron probe access tubes, tensiometers, and solute samplers were used to monitor multidimensional water flow and solute movement. In experiment 1, a 4m by 9m area was uniformly irrigated with a carefully controlled drip irrigation system. Water containing tritium was applied during the first 10 days; thereafter, water was applied without tritium for an additional 76 days. In experiment 2, a 1.22m by 12m area was uniformly irrigated using a carefully controlled drip irrigation system. Water containing tritium and bromide was applied during the first 11.5 days; thereafter, water was applied without tracers for an additional 64 days. Both water and tracer movement were monitored during infiltration and redistribution. Hydraulic property models, generated during site characterization, were used in conjunction with a simple one-dimensional deterministic numerical model which solves Richard's equation to predict infiltration at the site. These predictions are compared to field observations of water movement during infiltration for experiment 1. For experiment 2, field observations of water, tritium, and bromide movement during infiltrations are given along with comparisons between the field observations and the predictions of a two-dimensional deterministic numerical model for water flow and solute transport. The data are presented in 25 ASCII files.
 

6. SOURCE AND SCOPE OF DATA

The LAS CRUCES TRENCH SITE DATABASE includes raw and processed experimental data obtained from the vadose zone model validation experiments performed on the New Mexico State Ranch northeast of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Included are data characterizing the unsaturated hydraulic properties for the experimental site and dynamic data, such as water contents, tensions, and solute concentrations, obtained during two infiltration/redistribution experiments. At the site, a 26.4m long, 4.5m wide, and 5 mile deep trench was constructed in undisturbed soil. During construction a total of 594 disturbed soil samples and 594 associated soil cores were taken from 9 distinct soil layers identified on the north wall. Samples were also taken from three vertical transects on this wall. Data included in the database are sample locations, a description of the 9 soil layers, bore hole saturated hydraulic conductivities and outflow data, laboratory saturated hydraulic conductivities, soil water retention data, particle size distribution data, bulk density data, parameters used to fit the van Genuchten equation to the water retention data, and estimated van Genuchten parameters for each layer and the entire site. Data obtained from two experiments designed to provide data for testing deterministic and stochastic models of vadose zone flow and transport are also included.
 

7. DISCUSSION OF THE DATA RETRIEVAL PROGRAM

No data retrieval program is included.
 

8. DATA FORMAT AND COMPUTER

ASCII data files; All computers (D00194ALLCP00).
 

9. TYPICAL RUNNING TIME

Not applicable.
 

10. REFERENCES

NESC, "LAS CRUCES Trench Site Database, NESC No. 1140, LAS CRUCES Trench Site Database Flexible Disk Cartridge Descriptions," National Energy Software Center Note 92-14 (October 16, 1991).

P.J. Wierenga, A.F. Toorman, D.B. Hudson, J. Vinson, M. Nash, and R.G. Hills, Soil Physical Properties at the Las Cruces Trench Site, NUREG/CR-5441 (November 1989).

P.J. Wierenga, D.B. Hudson, R.G. Hills, I. Porro, M.R. Kirkland, and J. Vinson, Flow and Transport at the Las Cruces Trench Site, Experiments 1 and 2, NUREG/CR-5607 (August 1990).

11. CONTENTS OF LIBRARY

Included are the reference documents and software on one-3.5" HD diskette with a WINDOWS ® self-extracting executable from PkWare® which contains the ASCII text files.
 

12. DATE OF ABSTRACT

These data were contributed to NESC in September 1990 then transferred to ESTSC and then to RSICC where they were released November 2000.
 

KEYWORDS: ENVIRONMENTAL DOSE; HYDRODYNAMICS