Brian Andraski
Science and Products
Monitoring radionuclide contamination in the unsaturated zone - Lessons learned at the Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nye County, Nevada
Contaminant-transport processes are being investigated at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Amargosa Desert Research Site (A DRS), adjacent to the Nation’s first commercial disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste. Gases containing tritium and radiocarbon are migrating through a 110-m thick unsaturated zone from unlined trenches that received...
Stonestrom, David A.; Abraham, Jared D.; Andraski, Brian J.; Baker, Ronald J.; Mayers, C. Justin; Michel, Robert L.; Prudic, David E.; Striegl, Robert G.; Walvoord, Michelle Ann Plume-scale testing of a simplified method for detecting tritium contamination in plants and soil
Cost-effective methods are needed to detect contamination near radioactive-waste and other contaminated sites. Such methods should be capable of providing an early warning of contaminant releases and should be accurate and robust enough for assessing the long-term performance of waste-isolation facilities and remediation measures. Recently, a...
Andraski, Brian J.; Halford, K.J.; Michel, Robert L. Simplified method for detecting tritium contamination in plants and soil
Cost-effective methods are needed to identify the presence and distribution of tritium near radioactive waste disposal and other contaminated sites. The objectives of this study were to (i) develop a simplified sample preparation method for determining tritium contamination in plants and (ii) determine if plant data could be used as an indicator...
Andraski, Brian J.; Sandstrom, M.W.; Michel, R.L.; Radyk, J.C.; Stonestrom, David A.; Johnson, M.J.; Mayers, C.J. Variations in flow and transport in thick desert vadose zones in response to paleoclimatic forcing (0-90 kyr): Field measurements, modeling, and uncertainties
An understanding of unsaturated flow and potential recharge in interdrainage semiarid and arid regions is critical for quantification of water resources and contaminant transport. We evaluated system response to paleoclimatic forcing using water potential and Cl profiles and modeling of nonisothermal liquid and vapor flow and Cl transport at...
Scanlon, Bridget R.; Keese, K.; Reedy, R.C.; Šimůnek, Jirka; Andraski, Brian J. Miscellaneous methods for measuring matric or water potential
A variety of techniques to measure matric potential or water potential in the laboratory and in the field are described in this section. The techniques described herein require equilibration of some medium whose matric or water potential can be determined from previous calibration or can be measured directly. Under equilibrium conditions the...
Dane, Jacob H.; Topp, G. Clarke; Scanlon, Bridget R.; Andraski, Brian J.; Bilskie, Jim Thermocouple psychrometry
Thermocouple psychrometry is a technique that infers the water potential of the liquid phase of a sample from measurements within the vapor phase that is in equilibrium with the sample. The theoretical relation between water potential of the liquid phase and relative humidity of the vapor phase is given by the Kelvin equation Ψ = energy/...
Dane, Jacob H.; Topp, G. Clarke; Andraski, Brian J.; Scanlon, Bridget R.
Selected micrometeorological and soil-moisture data at Amargosa Desert Research Site, an arid site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, 1998-2000
Selected micrometeorological and soil-moisture data were collected at the Amargosa Desert Research Site adjacent to a low-level radioactive waste and hazardous chemical waste facility near Beatty, Nev., 1998-2000. Data were collected in support of ongoing research studies to improve the understanding of hydrologic and contaminant-transport...
Johnson, Michael J.; Mayers, Charles J.; Andraski, Brian J. Testing a full‐range soil‐water retention function in modeling water potential and temperature
Recent work has emphasized development of full‐range water‐retention functions that are applicable under both wet and dry soil conditions, but evaluation of such functions in numerical modeling has been limited. Here we show that simulations using the Rossi‐Nimmo (RN) full‐range function compared favorably with those using the common Brooks‐Corey...
Andraski, Brian J.; Jacobson, Elizabeth A. Tritium in water vapor in the shallow unsaturated zone at the Amargosa Desert Research Site
Samples of water vapor in soil gas were obtained at the U.S. Geological Survey's Amargosa Desert Research Site in 1997 and 1998 from a depth of 1.5 m (meters) within a 300 m by 300 m grid that lies immediately to the south and west of a low-level radioactive-waste disposal site. The gas samples were analyzed for tritium. Fifty-eight samples were...
Morganwalp, David W.; Buxton, Herbert T.; Healy, Richard W.; Striegl, Robert G.; Michel, Robert L.; Prudic, David E.; Andraski, Brian J. Overview of research on water, gas, and radionuclide transport at the Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nevada: A section in U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: Volume 3 (Part C) (WRI 99-4018C)
Studies at the U.S. Geological Survey Amargosa Desert Research Site have focused on characterizing factors and processes that control transport and fate of contaminants in arid environments. This paper summarizes research results that have been published through 1998. Results have improved understanding of water and gas movement through a thick...
Morganwalp, David W.; Buxton, Herbert T.; Andraski, Brian J.; Stonestrom, David A. Hydrogeologic studies at the USGS Amargosa Desert Research Site
In 1976, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began studies of unsaturated-zone hydrology in the Amargosa Desert in support of the USGS Low-Level Radioactive Waste Program. In 1983, agreements with the Bureau of Land Management and the State of Nevada established two field study areas: a 16-ha area adjacent to a waste-burial facility 17 km south of...
Taylor, Emily M.; Andraski, Brian J.; Stonestrom, David A. Soil, plant, and structural considerations for surface barriers in arid environments: Application of results from studies in the Mojave Desert near Beatty, Nevada
The suitability of a waste-burial site depends on hydrologic processes that can affect the near-surface water balance. In addition, the loss of burial trench integrity by erosion and subsidence of trench covers may increase the likelihood of infiltration and percolation, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the site in isolating waste. Although...
Andraski, Brian J.; Prudic, David E.