Modelling of Reactive Transport in a Sedimentary Basin Affected by a Glaciation/deglaciation Event

Abstract

Canada's plan for the long-term care of used nuclear fuel is containment and isolation in a Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) constructed in a suitable sedimentary or crystalline rock formation. In sedimentary basins fluid migration and geochemical conditions may be impacted by multiple interacting processes including density-dependent groundwater flow, solute transport, heat transfer, mechanical loading, and rock-water interactions. Understanding the interactions among these processes is important when assessing the long-term hydrodynamic and geochemical stability of sedimentary basins during glaciation/deglaciation events. To improve the capability to investigate these processes, an enhanced version of the reactive transport code MIN3P (i.e. MIN3P-NWMO) was developed and tested. The processes incorporated in the new model were evaluated by simulating reactive transport in a hypothetical sedimentary basin affected by a simplified glaciation scenario consisting of a single cycle of ice sheet advance and retreat. The simulations are used to provide an illustrative assessment of the hydrogeological and geochemical stability of this sedimentary basin over a time period of 32,500 years. The results suggest a high degree of geochemical stability.