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los alamos national laboratory
“canyons” investigations

Los Alamos National Laboratory operations are primarily conducted on finger-like mesas that comprise the Pajarito plateau on which the Laboratory is situated. The canyons that cut the plateau into mesas have a combined length of approximately 110 miles and have received direct and indirect contaminant releases from operations on the mesas. We are members of an interdisciplinary technical team (Canyons Investigation Team or CIT) responsible for developing and implementing the approach to this complex investigation. N&C staff has supported CIT or its predecessor teams since 1996 by developing work plans, sampling plans, phased investigation analyses, ecological and human health risk assessments, and report writing, editing, and compositing. This work involves investigation and evaluation of potentially contaminated sediments, surface water, groundwater, and biota, and includes field scoping visits, work plan development, and report writing. We assist with data assessment activities, including statistical and risk analysis, detailed data validation, and report preparation for these watersheds.

View of Pueblo Canyon showing the channel and floodplain geomorphic units in a semiarid canyon setting

A water and sediment sampling location in Los Alamos Canyon