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Biography: David Buesch is a geologist
with the U.S. Geological Survey working in the Yucca Mountain
Project Branch (YMPB). He received his B.S. and M.S. in geology
from California State University at Los Angeles (CSULA). His
research during the B.S. program included mapping stratigraphic and
structural relations of volcanic and plutonic rocks exposed near
Palmdale, California, and correlative rocks across the San Andreas
fault that are exposed in the Salton Sea area in southern
California. His research during the M.S. program included mapping
Jurassic metavolcanic rocks exposed in the Peninsular Range near
Oceanside, California. For three years, David served as the chair
of the CSULA Student Chapter of the Association of Engineering
Geologists (AEG). During his tenure with the Student Chapter of
AEG, he organized the short course “Geomorphic Applications in
Engineering Geology” for students and professionals, and he edited
the accompanying book of the same name that was published by the
Southern California Section of the Association of Engineering
Geologists and used as a text book for several years. David
received his Ph.D. in geology from the University of California at
Santa Barbara with an emphasis in physical volcanology and a focus
on the Peach Spring Tuff, a large-volume ignimbrite exposed in
southeastern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona. He
began his teaching career at CSULA as a teaching assistant and later
as an instructor, and his teaching career culminated at Idaho State
University at Pocatello. In 1992, David joined the YMPB and began
working with the volcanic rocks at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, which are
exposed at the ground surface, in tunnels, and in boreholes. His
work is based on integrating field-based investigations with
laboratory and geophysical measurements.
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Applied Volcanology in the Characterization of a
Proposed Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada
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| Abstract: Yucca Mountain is the site of a
proposed geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level
radioactive waste, and the mountain consists of a thick section of
11- to 15-million-year-old volcanic rocks; therefore, an applied
volcanologic understanding of the rocks has contributed to the
characterization of this site. Contributions by volcanologists have
focused on two main types of investigations: (1) potential
disruptive events from basaltic volcanism, and (2) lithofacies and
properties of Miocene aged and mostly silicic deposits from
pyroclastic flows, fallout tephra, and lava flows. Many general
descriptions and interpretations of the geology can be made by
geologists; however, the specialized perspective of volcanologists
has contributed to the understanding of how and why various deposits
formed and reacted to different geologic conditions through time.
The scales of these investigations have varied from textural and
mineralogical relations in thin sections to determining properties
of rocks on a regional scale. These types of volcanologic insights
have been used by other geologists, and by investigators in other
disciplines including hydrology, thermal and mechanical properties,
seismic hazards, mining engineering, and repository design.
Examples will be provided during the talk to illustrate how the
volcanologic perspective has been applied to these various fields.
In the regulatory environment applied to the proposed repository at
Yucca Mountain, investigations in volcanology have enhanced the
characterization and understanding of the natural system through
integration with other disciplines. |
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