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Erosion of Earth Covers Used in Shallow Land Burial at Los Alamos, New Mexico¹

ABSTRACT

The Los Alamos National Laboratory and the USDA-ARS examined soil erosion and water balance relationships for a trench cap used for the shallow land burial of low-level radioactive wastes at Los Alamos, NM. Eight 3.05 by 10.7 m plots were installed with bare soil, tilled, and vegetated surface treatments on a 15 by 63 m trench cap constructed from soil and crushed tuff layers. A rotating boom rain simulator was used to estimate the soil erodibility and cover-management factors of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) for this trench cap and for two undisturbed plots with natural vegetative cover. The implications of the results of this study are discussed relative to the management of infiltration and erosion processes at waste burial sites and compared with similar USDA research performed throughout the USA.

Key Words: overland flow • runoff • surface hydrology • tillage • Universal Soil Loss Equation • volcanic soils • water erosion

¹ Research funded under contract no. W-7405-Eng. 36 between the Natl. Low Level Waste Management Program of the U.S. Dep. of Energy and the Environ. Sci. Group of the Los Alamos Natl. Lab., Los Alamos, NM 87544.

² Soil Scientist, Engineer, and Life Sciences Technician, respectively, Los Alamos Natl. Lab., Los Alamos, NM 87544; Hydrologist, USDA-ARS, Tuscon, AZ 85705; and Hydraulic Engineer, USDA-ARS, Purdue Univ., W. Lafayette, IN 47907.

Received for publication May 2, 1983.

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