Migration mechanisms of radionuclides from a clay repository toward adjacent aquifers and the surface

Ghislain De marsily (1) , Julio Gonçalvès (1) , Sophie Violette (1) , Maria-Clara Castro (2)

1 SISYPHE - Structure et fonctionnement des systèmes hydriques continentaux
2 University of Michigan [Ann Arbor]

This article is a critical review of the current understanding of migration processes of solutes in clay. The major migration mechanisms are examined: advection through compaction, thermal convection, migration by hydrocarbon expulsion, gravitational flow, osmosis, molecular diffusion, hydrodynamic dispersion. Examples are taken from the Callovo-Oxfordian clays of the Paris basin in the Meuse/Haute Marne area, near Bure, where France is studying the feasibility of a potential nuclear waste disposal facility. Recent work on the helium distribution in the aquifers of the Paris Basin confirms the importance of molecular diffusion for solute transport in clays. Migration in aquifers is also described, and the major causes of uncertainties for solute migration are discussed.

Domaines: Hydrologie

Ghislain De marsily, Julio Gonçalvès, Sophie Violette, Maria-Clara Castro. Migration mechanisms of radionuclides from a clay repository toward adjacent aquifers and the surface. Comptes Rendus. Physique, 2002, 3 (7-8), pp.945 - 959. ⟨10.1016/S1631-0705(02)01385-3⟩. ⟨hal-01501954⟩