Boundary of the Death Valley region by Bedinger and others (1989), for the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system study, Nevada and California

This digital data set delineates the boundary of the Death Valley region that was first evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as a potential hydrogeologic environment for isolation of high-level radioactive waste in 1981. Identifying potential high-level waste isolation regions within the Basin and Range physiographic province continued through the 1980's and resulted in comprehensive geologic and hydrologic characterization of select areas. As part of these studies, Bedinger and others (1989) evaluated the Death Valley region, an area of about 80,200-square kilometers in southern Nevada and California, with respect to the geology at repository target depths, ground-water flow, potential transport of radionuclide material, mineral and energy resources, geomorphic processes, tectonic hazards, and the effects of climatic and geomorphic change on the ground-water system. The study by Bedinger and others (1989) served as one of the historical references used to support development of the transient ground-water model of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system (DVRFS) completed in 2004 by the USGS (see "Larger Work Citation").本数字数据集划定了死亡谷区域的边界——该区域于1981年由美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey, USGS）首次评估为可用于隔离高水平放射性废物的潜在水文地质环境。整个20世纪80年代，研究人员持续在盆地与山脉地貌省（Basin and Range physiographic province）内筛选潜在的高水平放射性废物隔离区域，并对选定区域开展了全面的地质与水文地质表征工作。作为上述研究的组成部分，贝丁杰等人（Bedinger and others, 1989）对位于内华达州南部与加利福尼亚州境内、总面积约80200平方千米的死亡谷区域展开了评估，评估维度涵盖处置库目标深度处的地质条件、地下水流动、放射性核素物质的潜在迁移、矿产与能源资源、地貌过程、构造灾害，以及气候与地貌变化对地下水系统的影响。贝丁杰等人1989年的这项研究，作为历史参考资料之一，被用于支撑美国地质调查局于2004年完成的死亡谷区域地下水流动系统（Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, DVRFS）瞬态地下水模型的开发工作（详见"Larger Work Citation"）。