Fractures, Fluid Flow And In Situ Stress Indicators In Shallow Sedimentary Rocks At The Proposed Wake/Chatham Low Level Nuclear Waste Disposal Site, North Carolina

Recent analyses of borehole data recorded in relatively deep crystalline rock show a significant<br>correlation between critically-stressed fractures (that is, fractures optimally-oriented to the stress<br>field for frictional failure) and hydraulic conductivity (Barton et al. 1995). In this study, we<br>examine the relationship between fracture orientation, fluid flow and in situ stress using data from<br>detailed analyses of fracture geometry, precision temperature logs that indicate localized fluid flow<br>and in-situ stress indicators recorded in sediments at relatively shallow depths. We have conducted<br>this study to determine if a correlation exists between in situ stress and fluid flow in the shallow<br>crust similar to that found at depth in crystalline rock.