Horizontal flow barriers for the transient ground-water flow model, Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, Nevada and California
Description
This digital dataset defines the surface traces of regional features simulated as horizontal flow barriers in the
Death Valley regional ground-water flow system (DVRFS) transient flow model, an approximately 45,000
square-kilometer area of southern Nevada and California. The DVRFS transient groundwater flow model is
one of several regional-scale models developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) to support investigations at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and at Yucca
Mountain, Nevada (see "Larger Work Citation", Chapter A, page 8). Initially, potential ground-water
flow barriers were identified on the basis of length, offset, type of slip, orientation with respect to
predominant ground-water flow directions, the location of springs, abrupt water level offsets, and
hydraulic characteristics (Sweetkind and others, 2004). These potential flow barriers were tested
in the transient ground-water flow model for effect on the simulated DVRFS flow system (Faunt and
others, 2004). Ultimately, portions of 9 features simulated as horizontal flow barriers were shown to
retard flow in the calibrated DVRFS transient model.