Numerical Simulation of Depleted Uranium Transport in a Desert Environment Using a Distributed Parameter Watershed Model

Abstract

This paper focuses on the distribution and movement of solid depleted uranium (DU) in a desert environment. Given the sparse nature of rainfall runoff and the flashiness of the rainfall runoff in this environment, limited flow and contaminant runoff data were available to compare with model results. This limitation made a physically based distributed parameter rainfall-runoff model essential to quantify the movement of DU most effectively. This analysis did not consider the complex reactions and transformations that DU typically undergoes in the natural environment. Rather, the focus was to determine if small (