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4-D XRD for strain in many grains using triangulation (open access)

4-D XRD for strain in many grains using triangulation

Determination of the strains in a polycrystalline materialusing 4-D XRD reveals sub-grain and grain-to-grain behavior as a functionof stress. Here 4-D XRD involves an experimental procedure usingpolychromatic micro-beam X-radiation (micro-Laue) to characterizepolycrystalline materials in spatial location as well as with increasingstress. The in-situ tensile loading experiment measured strain in a modelaluminum-sapphire metal matrix composite using the Advanced Light Source,Beam-line 7.3.3. Micro-Laue resolves individual grains in thepolycrystalline matrix. Results obtained from a list of grains sorted bycrystallographic orientation depict the strain states within and amongindividual grains. Locating the grain positions in the planeperpendicular to the incident beam is trivial. However, determining theexact location of grains within a 3-D space is challenging. Determiningthe depth of the grains within the matrix (along the beam direction)involved a triangulation method tracing individual rays that producespots on the CCD back to the point of origin. Triangulation wasexperimentally implemented by simulating a 3-D detector capturingmultiple diffraction images while increasing the camera to sampledistance. Hence by observing the intersection of rays from multiple spotsbelonging to the corresponding grain, depth is calculated. Depthresolution is a function of the number of images collected, grain to beamsize ratio, and the pixel resolution of the CCD. The 4DXRD methodprovides grain morphologies, strain …
Date: December 31, 2006
Creator: Bale, Hrishikesh A.; Hanan, Jay C. & Tamura, Nobumichi
System: The UNT Digital Library
Detailed Structure of the X-Ray Jet in 4C 19.44 (=PKS1354+195) (open access)

Detailed Structure of the X-Ray Jet in 4C 19.44 (=PKS1354+195)

We investigate the variations of the magnetic field, Doppler factor, and relativistic particle density along the jet of a quasar at z=0.72. We chose 4C 19.44 for this study because of its length and straight morphology. The 18 arcsec length of the jet provides many independent resolution elements in the Chandra X-ray image. The straightness suggests that geometry factors, although uncertain, are almost constant along the jet. We assume the X-ray emission is from inverse Compton scattering of the cosmic microwave background. With the aid of assumptions about jet alignment, equipartition between magnetic-field and relativistic-particle energy, and filling factors, we find that the jet is in bulk relativistic motion with a Doppler factor {approx} 6 at an angle no more than 10{sup o} to the line of sight over deprojected distances {approx} 150-600 kpc from the quasar, and with a magnetic field {approx} 10 {micro}Gauss.
Date: October 31, 2006
Creator: Schwartz, Daniel A.; Harris, D. E.; Landt, H.; Siemiginowska, A.; Perlman, E. S.; Cheung, C. C. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Observation of a Broad Structure at an Invariant Massof 4.32 GeV in the Reaction e+e- to pi+pi-psi(2S) Measured at BaBar (open access)

Observation of a Broad Structure at an Invariant Massof 4.32 GeV in the Reaction e+e- to pi+pi-psi(2S) Measured at BaBar

The authors measure the cross section for the process e{sup +}e{sup -} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{psi}(2S) from threshold up to 8 GeV center-of-mass energy using events containing initial-state radiation, produced at the PEP-II e{sup +}e{sup -} storage rings. The study is based on 298 fb{sup -1} of data recorded with the BABAR detector. A structure is observed in the cross-section not far above threshold, near 4.32 GeV. This structure is not compatible with the Y(4260) previously reported by this experiment. A single resonance is adequate to describe the cross-section in the low-energy region (< 5.7 GeV).
Date: October 31, 2006
Creator: Aubert, B.; Barate, R.; Bona, M.; Boutigny, D.; Couderc, F.; Karyotakis, Y. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Thermodynamics of neptunium(V) fluoride and sulfate at elevatedtemperatures (open access)

Thermodynamics of neptunium(V) fluoride and sulfate at elevatedtemperatures

Complexation of neptunium(V) with fluoride and sulfate at elevated temperatures was studied by microcalorimetry. Thermodynamic parameters, including the equilibrium constants and enthalpy of protonation of fluoride and sulfate, and the enthalpy of complexation between Np(V) and fluoride and sulfate at 25 - 70 C were determined. Results show that the complexation of Np(V) with fluoride and sulfate is endothermic and that the complexation is enhanced by the increase in temperature - a three-fold increase in the stability constants of NpO{sub 2}F(aq) and NpO{sub 2}SO{sub 4}{sup -} as the temperature is increased from 25 to 70 C.
Date: October 31, 2006
Creator: Rao, Linfeng; Tian, Guoxin; Xia, Yuanxian & Friese, Judah I.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Top to Bottom Lithospheric Study of Africa and Arabia (open access)

A Top to Bottom Lithospheric Study of Africa and Arabia

We study the lithospheric structure of Africa, Arabia and adjacent oceanic regions with fundamental-mode surface waves over a wide period range. Including short period group velocities allows us to examine shallower features than previous studies of the whole continent. In the process, we have developed a crustal thickness map of Africa. Main features include crustal thickness increases under the West African, Congo, and Kalahari cratons. We find crustal thinning under Mesozoic and Cenozoic rifts, including the Benue Trough, Red Sea, and East, Central, and West African rift systems. Crustal shear wave velocities are generally faster in oceanic regions and cratons, and slower in more recent crust and in active and formerly active orogenic regions. Deeper structure, related to the thickness of cratons and modern rifting, is generally consistent with previous work. Under cratons we find thick lithosphere and fast upper mantle velocities, while under rifts we find thinned lithosphere and slower upper mantle velocities. There are no consistent effects in areas classified as hotspots, indicating that there seem to be numerous origins for these features. Finally, it appears that the African Superswell has had a significantly different impact in the north and the south, indicating specifics of the feature (temperature, …
Date: October 31, 2006
Creator: Pasyanos, M
System: The UNT Digital Library
Vector-Tensor and Vector-Vector Decay AmplitudeAnalysis of B0 to phi K*0 (open access)

Vector-Tensor and Vector-Vector Decay AmplitudeAnalysis of B0 to phi K*0

We perform an amplitude analysis of the decays B{sup 0} {yields} {phi}K*{sub 2}(1430){sup 0}, {phi}K*(892){sup 0}, and {phi}(K{pi}){sub S-wave}{sup 0} with a sample of about 384 million B{bar B} pairs recorded with the BABAR detector. The fractions of longitudinal polarization f{sub L} of the vector-tensor and vector-vector decay modes are measured to be 0.853{sub -0.069}{sup +0.061} {+-} 0.036 and 0.506 {+-} 0.040 {+-} 0.015, respectively. Overall, twelve parameters are measured for the vector-vector decay and seven parameters for the vector-tensor decay, including the branching fractions and parameters sensitive to CP-violation.
Date: October 31, 2006
Creator: Aubert, B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
H(curl) Auxiliary Mesh Preconditioning (open access)

H(curl) Auxiliary Mesh Preconditioning

This paper analyzes a two-level preconditioning scheme for H(curl) bilinear forms. The scheme utilizes an auxiliary problem on a related mesh that is more amenable for constructing optimal order multigrid methods. More specifically, we analyze the case when the auxiliary mesh only approximately covers the original domain. The latter assumption is important since it allows for easy construction of nested multilevel spaces on regular auxiliary meshes. Numerical experiments in both two and three space dimensions illustrate the optimal performance of the method.
Date: August 31, 2006
Creator: Kolev, T V; Pasciak, J E & Vassilevski, P S
System: The UNT Digital Library
Kinetic and Prediction of Hydrogen Outgassing from Lithium Hydride (open access)

Kinetic and Prediction of Hydrogen Outgassing from Lithium Hydride

In most industrial or device applications, LiH is placed in either an initially dry or a vacuum environment with other materials that may release moisture slowly over many months, years, or even decades. In such instances, the rate of hydrogen outgassing from the reaction of LiH with H{sub 2}O can be reasonably approximated by the rate at which H{sub 2}O is released from the moisture containing materials. In a vacuum or dry environment, LiOH decomposes slowly with time into Li{sub 2}O even at room temperature according to: 2LiOH(s) {yields} Li{sub 2}O(s) + H{sub 2}O(g) (1). The kinetics of the decomposition of LiOH depends on the dryness/vacuum level and temperature. It was discovered by different workers that vacuum thermal decomposition of bulk LiOH powder (grain sizes on the order of tens to hundreds of micrometers) into Li{sub 2}O follows a reaction front moving from the surface inward. Due to stress at the LiOH/vacuum interface and defective and missing crystalline bonding at surface sites, lattice vibrations at the surfaces/interfaces of most materials are at frequencies different than those in the bulk, a phenomenon observed in most solids. The chemical reactivity and electronic properties at surfaces and interfaces of materials are also different …
Date: August 31, 2006
Creator: Dinh, L. N.; Schildbach, M. A.; Smith, R. A.; Balazs, B. & McLean, W., II
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sensitivity Enhancement by Exchange Mediated MagnetizationTransfer of the Xenon Biosensor Signal (open access)

Sensitivity Enhancement by Exchange Mediated MagnetizationTransfer of the Xenon Biosensor Signal

Hyperpolarized xenon associated with ligand derivitized cryptophane-A cages has been developed as a NMR based biosensor. To optimize the detection sensitivity we describe use of xenon exchange between the caged and bulk dissolved xenon as an effective signal amplifier. This approach, somewhat analogous to 'remote detection' described recently, uses the chemical exchange to repeatedly transfer spectroscopic information from caged to bulk xenon, effectively integrating the caged signal. After an optimized integration period, the signal is read out by observation of the bulk magnetization. The spectrum of the caged xenon is reconstructed through use of a variable evolution period before transfer and Fourier analysis of the bulk signal as a function of the evolution time.
Date: August 31, 2006
Creator: Garcia, Sandra; Chavez, Lana; Lowery, Thomas J.; Han, Song-I; Wemmer, David E. & Pines, Alexander
System: The UNT Digital Library
2006 Molecular and Ionic Clusters Conference - to be held February 19-24, 2006 (open access)

2006 Molecular and Ionic Clusters Conference - to be held February 19-24, 2006

The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on MOLECULAR & IONIC CLUSTERS was held at Crowne Plaza from 2/19/2006 thru 2/24/2006. The Conference was well-attended with 89 participants (attendees list attached). The attendees represented the spectrum of endeavor in this field coming from academia, industry, and government laboratories, both U.S. and foreign scientists, senior researchers, young investigators, and students. In designing the formal speakers program, emphasis was placed on current unpublished research and discussion of the future target areas in this field. There was a conscious effort to stimulate lively discussion about the key issues in the field today. Time for formal presentations was limited in the interest of group discussions. In order that more scientists could communicate their most recent results, poster presentation time was scheduled. Attached is a copy of the formal schedule and speaker program and the poster program. In addition to these formal interactions, ''free time'' was scheduled to allow informal discussions. Such discussions are fostering new collaborations and joint efforts in the field.
Date: July 31, 2006
Creator: Duncan, Michael A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Elastic electron scattering from formic acid (open access)

Elastic electron scattering from formic acid

Following our earlier study on the dynamics of low energy electron attachment to formic acid, we report the results of elastic low-energy electron collisions with formic acid. Momentum transfer and angular differential cross sections were obtained by performing fixed-nuclei calculations employing the complex Kohn variational method. We make a brief description of the technique used to account for the polar nature of this polyatomic target and compare our results with available experimental data.
Date: July 31, 2006
Creator: Trevisan, Cynthia S.; Orel, Ann E. & Rescigno, Thomas N.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Molecular Mechanism of Metal-Chalcogen Bond Formation in theSynthesis of Colloidal II-VI Semiconductor Nanocrystals (open access)

Molecular Mechanism of Metal-Chalcogen Bond Formation in theSynthesis of Colloidal II-VI Semiconductor Nanocrystals

None
Date: July 31, 2006
Creator: Liu, Haitao; Owen, Jonathan S. & Alivisatos, A. Paul
System: The UNT Digital Library
Search for B+ to X(3872) K+, X(3872) to J/psi gamma (open access)

Search for B+ to X(3872) K+, X(3872) to J/psi gamma

In a study of B{sup +} {yields} J/{psi}{gamma}K{sup +} decays, they find evidence for the radiative decay X(3872) {yields} J/{psi}{gamma} with a statistical significance of 3.4{sigma}. They measure the product of branching fractions {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} X(3872)K{sup +}) {center_dot} {Beta}(X(3872) {yields} J/{psi}{gamma}) = (3.3 {+-} 1.0 {+-} 0.3) x 10{sup -6}, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. They also measure the branching fraction {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {chi}{sub c1}K{sup +}) = (4.9 {+-} 0.20 {+-} 0.4) x 10{sup -4}. These results are obtained from (287 {+-} 3) million B{bar B} decays collected at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B Factory at SLAC.
Date: July 31, 2006
Creator: Aubert, B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Search for the Rare Decay B to a0+pi0 (open access)

The Search for the Rare Decay B to a0+pi0

A search for the decay B{+-} {yields} a{sub 0}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup 0} with the a{sub 0}{sup +} decaying to an {eta} and a {pi}{sup +} was carried out at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center using the BABAR detector coupled with the PEP-II collider. The analysis used a data sample comprised of approximately 252 million B{bar B} pairs collected at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance. No signal was observed and a 90% confidence level upper limit on the branching fraction was set at 1.32 x 10{sup -6}.
Date: July 31, 2006
Creator: Vazquez, W
System: The UNT Digital Library
Searches for B0 Decays to eta K0, eta eta,eta' eta', eta phi, and eta'phi (open access)

Searches for B0 Decays to eta K0, eta eta,eta' eta', eta phi, and eta'phi

The authors search for B{sup 0} meson decays into two-body combinations of K{sup 0}, {eta}, {eta}', and {phi} mesons in 324 million B{bar B} pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e{sup +}e{sup -} collider at SLAC. They measure the following branching fractions (upper limits at 90% confidence level) in units of 10{sup -6}: {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}K{sup 0}) = 1.8{sub -0.6}{sup +0.7} {+-} 0.1 (< 2.9), {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}{eta}) = 1.1{sub -0.4}{sup +0.5} {+-} 0.1(< 1.8), {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}{phi}) = 0.1 {+-} 0.2 {+-} 0.1(< 0.6), {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}'{phi}) = 0.2{sub -0.3}{sup +0.4} {+-} 0.1(< 1.0), and {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}'{eta}') = 1.0{sub -0.6}{sup +0.8} {+-} 0.1 (< 2.4), where the first error is statistical and the second systematic.
Date: July 31, 2006
Creator: Aubert, B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Spin coherence transfer in chemical transformations monitoredNMR (open access)

Spin coherence transfer in chemical transformations monitoredNMR

We demonstrate the use of micro-scale nuclear magneticresonance (NMR) for studying the transfer of spin coherence innon-equilibrium chemical processes, using spatially separated NMRencoding and detection coils. As an example, we provide the map ofchemical shift correlations for the amino acid alanine as it transitionsfrom the zwitterionic to the anionic form. Our method is unique in thesense that it allows us to track the chemical migration of encodednuclear spins during the course of chemical transformations.
Date: July 31, 2006
Creator: Anwar, Sabieh M.; Hilty, Christian; Chu, Chester; Bouchard,Louis-S.; Pierce, Kimberly L. & Pines, Alexander
System: The UNT Digital Library
Strange Particle Production in $p+p$ Collisions at $\sqrt{s}$= 200GeV (open access)

Strange Particle Production in $p+p$ Collisions at $\sqrt{s}$= 200GeV

We present strange particle spectra and yields measured atmid-rapidity in sqrt text s=200 GeV proton-proton (p+p) collisions atRHIC. We find that the previously observed universal transverse mass(mathrm mT \equiv\sqrt mathrm p_T 2+\mathrm m2) scaling of hadronproduction in p+p collisions seems to break down at higher \mt and thatthere is a difference in the shape of the \mt spectrum between baryonsand mesons. We observe mid-rapidity anti-baryon to baryon ratios nearunity for Lambda and Xi baryons and no dependence of the ratio ontransverse momentum, indicating that our data do not yet reach thequark-jet dominated region. We show the dependence of the mean transversemomentum (\mpt) on measured charged particle multiplicity and on particlemass and infer that these trends are consistent with gluon-jet dominatedparticle production. The data are compared to previous measurements fromCERN-SPS, ISR and FNAL experiments and to Leading Order (LO) and Next toLeading order (NLO) string fragmentation model predictions. We infer fromthese comparisons that the spectral shapes and particle yields from $p+p$collisions at RHIC energies have large contributions from gluon jetsrather than quark jets.
Date: July 31, 2006
Creator: Abelev, B. I.; Adams, J.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Ahammed, Z.; Amonett, J.; Anderson, B. D. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Study of Vacuum Insulator Flashover for Pulse Lengths of Multi-Microseconds (open access)

Study of Vacuum Insulator Flashover for Pulse Lengths of Multi-Microseconds

We are studying the flashover of vacuum insulators for applications where high voltage conditioning of the insulator and electrodes is not practical and for pulse lengths on the order of several microseconds. The study is centered about experiments performed with a 100-kV, 10-ms pulsed power system and supported by a combination of theoretical and computational modeling. The base line geometry is a cylindrically symmetric, +45{sup o} insulator between flat electrodes. In the experiments, flashovers or breakdowns are localized by operating at field stresses slightly below the level needed for explosive emissions with the base line geometry. The electrodes and/or insulator are then seeded with an emission source, e.g. a tuft of velvet, or a known mechanical defect. Various standard techniques are employed to suppress cathode-originating flashovers/breakdowns. We present the results of our experiments and discuss the capabilities of modeling insulator flashover.
Date: July 31, 2006
Creator: Houck, T. L.; Goerz, D. A.; Javedani, J. B.; Lauer, E. J.; Tully, L. K. & Vogtlin, G. E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analytic Expressions for Minimizing Hohlraum Wall Losses (open access)

Analytic Expressions for Minimizing Hohlraum Wall Losses

We apply our recent analytic solutions to the radiation diffusion equation to problems of interest for ICF hohlraums. The solutions provide quantitative values for absorbed energy, which are of use for generating a desired radiation temperature vs. time within the hohlraum. In particular we use analytic fits to the Rosseland mean opacity and to the specific heat of combinations of materials (''cocktails'') designed to maximize the former while minimizing the latter. By doing so we find good agreement with numerical simulations and with experimental results. In particular we find that the wall loss savings of cocktails vs. the standard gold walled hohlraums have both pulse-length and temperature dependencies. Due to those dependencies we predict that NIF cocktail hohlraums will perform better than present day cocktail experiments. In addition, we apply our solutions to finding that density of foam hohlraum walls which minimizes wall loss by being of sufficiently low density to be supersonic, thus reducing kinetic energy losses, yet high enough density to not unduly suffer from enhanced specific heat capacity.
Date: May 31, 2006
Creator: Rosen, M. D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analytic Methods for Minimizing Hohlraum Wall Losses and the Problem of Oxygen Contamination (open access)

Analytic Methods for Minimizing Hohlraum Wall Losses and the Problem of Oxygen Contamination

The authors wish to minimize ICF hohlraum wall loss, E, in order to operate the National Ignition Facility (NIF) far from its damage threshold and still provide the capsule with the drive it requires to reach ignition. In this paper they consider cocktail walls--a mixture of materials that can improve on the conventional pure Au walls. they use Hammer and Rosen (HR) (2003) which solved the radiation diffusion/hydrodynamics problem analytically. They take Au's T, {rho} dependencies of {kappa} (opacity) and e (specific heat) to be: {kappa} = {kappa}{sub 0} {rho}{sup 0.2}/T{sup 1.5} and e = e{sub 0}T{sup 1.6}/{rho}{sup 0.14}.
Date: May 31, 2006
Creator: Rosen, M. D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electron emission and defect formation in the interaction of slow,highly charged ions with diamond surfaces (open access)

Electron emission and defect formation in the interaction of slow,highly charged ions with diamond surfaces

We report on electron emission and defect formation in theinteraction between slow (v~;0.3 vBohr) highly charged ions (SHCI) withinsulating (type IIa) and semiconducting (type IIb) diamonds. Electronemission induced by 31Pq+ (q=5 to 13), and 136Xeq+ (q=34 to 44) withkinetic energies of 9 kVxq increase linearly with the ion charge states,reaching over 100 electrons per ion for high xenon charge states withoutsurface passivation of the diamond with hydrogen. Yields from bothdiamond types are up to a factor of two higher then from reference metalsurfaces. Crater like defects with diameters of 25 to 40 nm are formed bythe impact of single Xe44+ ions. High secondary electron yields andsingle ion induced defects enable the formation of single dopant arrayson diamond surfaces.
Date: May 31, 2006
Creator: Sideras-Haddad, E.; Shrivastava, S.; Rebuli, D.B.; Persaud, A.; Schneider, D.H. & Schenkel, T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electronic Properties of LiFePO4 and Li doped LiFePO4 (open access)

Electronic Properties of LiFePO4 and Li doped LiFePO4

LiFePO{sub 4} has several potential advantages in comparison to the transition metal oxide cathode materials used in commercial lithium-ion batteries. However, its low intrinsic electronic conductivity ({approx} 10{sup -9} S/cm) is problematic. We report here a study by soft x-ray absorption/emission spectroscopy of the electronic properties of undoped LiFePO{sub 4} and Li-doped LiFePO{sub 4} in which Li{sup +} ions are substituted for Fe{sup 2+} ions in an attempt to increase the intrinsic electronic conductivity. The conductivities of the Li{sub 1+x}Fe{sub 1-x}PO{sub 4} samples were, however, essentially unchanged from that of the undoped LiFePO{sub 4}. Nonetheless, evidence for changing the electronic properties of LiFePO{sub 4} by doping with excess Li+ was observed by the XAS/XES spectroscopy. New pre-edge features the O-1s XAS spectrum of Li{sub 1.05}Fe{sub 0.95}PO4 is a direct indication that the charge compensation for substitution of Fe{sup 2+} by Li{sup +} resides in the unoccupied O-2p orbitals. A charge transfer (CT) excitation was also observed in the doped material implying that the unoccupied O-2p orbitals created by doping are strongly hybridized with unoccupied Fe-3d orbitals of neighboring sites. However, the strong covalent bonding within the (PO{sub 4}){sup 3-} anions and the large separation of the Fe cations means that …
Date: May 31, 2006
Creator: Allen, J.L.; Zhuang, G.V.; Ross, P.N.; Guo, J.-H. & Jow, T.R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A geoneutrino experiment at Homestake (open access)

A geoneutrino experiment at Homestake

A significant fraction of the 44 TW of heat dissipation from the Earth's interior is believed to originate from the decays of terrestrial uranium and thorium. The only estimates of this radiogenic heat, which is the driving force for mantle convection, come from Earth models based on meteorites, and have large systematic errors. The detection of electron antineutrinos produced by these uranium and thorium decays would allow a more direct measure of the total uranium and thorium content, and hence radiogenic heat production in the Earth. They discuss the prospect of building an electron antineutrino detector approximately 700 m{sup 3} in size in the Homestake mine at the 4850 feet level. This would allow us to make a measurement of the total uranium and thorium content with a statistical error less than the systematic error from the current knowledge of neutrino oscillation parameters. It would also allow us to test the hypothesis of a naturally occurring nuclear reactor at the center of the Earth.
Date: May 31, 2006
Creator: Tolich, Nikolai; Chan, Yuen-Dat; Currat, Charles A.; Decowski, M.Patrick; Fujikawa, Brian K.; Henning, Reyco et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Modeling Temporal-Spatial Earthquake and Volcano Clustering at Yucca Mountain, Nevada (open access)

Modeling Temporal-Spatial Earthquake and Volcano Clustering at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

The proposed national high-level nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain is close to Quaternary faults and cinder cones. The frequency of these events is low, with indications of spatial and temporal clustering, making probabilistic assessments difficult. In an effort to identify the most likely intrusion sites, we based a 3D finite element model on the expectation that faulting and basalt intrusions are primarily sensitive to the magnitude and orientation of the least principal stress in extensional terranes. We found that in the absence of fault slip, variation in overburden pressure caused a stress state that preferentially favored intrusions at Crater Flat. However, when we allowed central Yucca Mountain faults to slip in the model, we found that magmatic clustering was not favored at Crater Flat or in the central Yucca Mountain block. Instead, we calculated that the stress field was most encouraging to intrusions near fault terminations, consistent with the location of the most recent volcanism at Yucca Mountain, the Lathrop Wells cone. We found this linked fault and magmatic system to be mutually reinforcing in the model in that dike inflation favored renewed fault slip.
Date: May 31, 2006
Creator: Parsons, T.; Thompson, G.A. & Cogbill, A.H.
System: The UNT Digital Library