Performance assessments glaciation

Geological evidence has indicated that mid- to high-latitude locations in the Northern Hemisphere have experienced glaciation/deglaciation cycles in recent geological history. These cycles are likely to recur in the future within a time frame of several hundred thousand years and have to be considered in performance assessments of deep geological repositories of long lived nuclear wastes. 

The transient coupled hydro-mechanical modelling in this study represents a step forward in advancing the state of the science for modelling geosphere response to glaciation. No uncoupled or steady state approximation has yet been found that captures all the essential hydro-mechanical responses of the geosphere that may be potentially important to long-term performance assessment. 

The geosphere effects of glaciation summarised in section 1 suggest that priorities for performance assessments should be to understand the longterm impacts of system changes on mechanical stability, hydraulic conductivity, groundwater flow and hydrochemistry. The objectives of the bench mark test are therefore ... 

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