Seismic Refraction and REMi analysis of Waste Rock Repositories at the Abandoned Mine Lands of Perry Canyon, Washoe County, NV

As part of a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the University of Nevada, Reno is performing assessment and analysis of transport potential of harmful contaminants from abandoned late 19th-early 20th century waste Rocks at Perry Canyon, NV. Part of that analysis involves unsaturated hydrologic modeling of the waste rock piles. Our project involves collecting P and S-wave velocity data to determine whether seismic data can be informative of moisture distribution within the waste repositories and whether that information can be used to inform hydrologic models. We are also running parallel laboratory studies to develop control conditions for the Waste Rock and to evaluate the possiblity of linking/relating ultrasonic laboratory-scale data with field-scale seismic data. Data will be collected at multiple times during the summer and fall months when conditions are expected to transition from dry to wet at the site which will allow evaluation of any changes that could be moisture related.