Abstract
Limited data of variable quality provided the basis for characterizing a proposed waste disposal site with an earth fissure in support of an aquifer protection permit. The data included driller's logs of water wells, down-hole and surface geophysical surveys, and repeated topographic survey profiles. Three-dimensional characterization of the site, located near the margin of a playa lake, based on the limited data was accomplished with methods appropriate for the amount and quality of subsurface information. These included application of Quaternary geology and sedimentology and percolation theory. A predictive model of groundwater decline and aquifer mechanics was based on an engineering geologic model of the playa-lake basin. Two two-dimensional finite element models constructed perpendicular to the earth fissure along the sides of the site were calibrated and used to predict growth of the fissure as a function of future groundwater decline.
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