DEES Regional Research Projects

DEES Regional Research Projects that directly benefit the State of Nevada

	Ken Adams
	Shorezone Protective Structures and the Effects of Waves on the Lake Tahoe Shorezone. Sponsored by Tahoe Regional Planning Agency: Documents the effects that shoreline protective structures have on shorezone processes and how they interact with the wave climate at Lake Tahoe. Late Quaternary history of the Walker River: The tale of a river with a split personality. Sponsored by National Science Foundation: Over the last 13,000 years, the Walker River has repeatedly switched its course from Walker Lake to the Carson Sink and back again. This research will document the timing and duration of these diversions, which is critical information for past and ongoing studies of the paleoclimatology, paleohydrology and archaeology of the region. Shorezone Erosion at Lake Tahoe: Historical Aspects and Instrumental Monitoring. Sponsored by US Bureau of Reclamation: This study documents the magnitude of shorezone erosion, the factors contributing to this erosion and the effects that this erosion has on the water quality of Lake Tahoe.
	Ken Adams and Tim Minor
	Assessment of land use change on water quality and ecosystem health in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Sponsored by U.S. Geological Survey: This project seeks to unite the land use/land cover mapping expertise of the National Mapping Discipline with the hydrologic expertise of the Water Resources Discipline to assess the impacts of urban growth and land use change in the Great Basin.
	Glenn Berger
	Chronology for earthquake-fault rupture north of Reno in collaboration with C. Depolo (Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology).
	Paul Buck
	Nevada-Science Teacher Educational Program. Sponsored by National Science Foundation: A three-year program (just ending) linking teacher-student teams with a diverse group of researchers working on relevant scientific questions in Nevada and bordering states.
	Tom Bullard
	Effects of Roads on Watersheds. Sponsored by U.S. Forest Service: Provides technical guidance and assistance for graduate student research into the effects of low standard roads on watersheds that include stream incision, stream capture, and impacts to riparian systems.
	Mary Cablk
	Baseline and initial monitoring assessment of Martes Americana, the Pine Marten, at Heavenly Ski Resort, Lake Tahoe: Requirement for Heavenly Ski Resort Master Plan in accordance with the US Forest Service and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. Sponsored by Heavenly Ski Resort and U.S. Forest Service: This field-based study is collecting baseline data on pine marten habitat and population to determine impacts from anthropogenic activities at the ski resort. Basin and Range Carbonate Aquifer System Study (BARCASS): An assessment of the water reserves stored deep in the carbonate aquifer under Lincoln and White Pine Counties, NV. This is a joint project with the USGS and we will report our findings to Congress in 2008. Other investigators include: Richard Jasoni and Jay Arnone, DEES; Mike Young, Julian Zhu, and Greg Pohll, DHS.
	Lynn Fenstermaker
	Comparative study of golf courses irrigated with recycled water. Sponsored by Las Vegas Valley Water District in collaboration with Dr. Dale Devitt, University of Nevada Reno: Hyperspectral field data is being used to assess the impact of re-use water on the condition of turf grass versus turf grass receiving municipal drinking water.
	Chris Fritsen and Jim Brock
	Truckee River Biomass Monitoring Program. Sponsored by City of Reno and City of Sparks: The program collects field data regarding algal biomass in the lower Truckee River that can be used to develop an independent analysis of ecosystem health and nutrient budgets.
	Ted Hartwell
	Community Environmental Monitoring Program, Sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy: The Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) is a network of 24 monitoring stations located in Nevada and Utah communities surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The stations collect a variety of airborne environmental data, including weather and manmade radioactivity that could result from NTS activities.
	Bill Johnson, et al.
	Geothermal Environmental Assessment, BLM Nevada. Sponsored by Bureau of Land Management through Charis Corporation: An environmental assessment including air quality, soils, water resources, wildlife/fisheries/migratory birds, geology/minerals, and cultural/native American consultation for geothermal development around Winnemucca.
	Ken McGwire and Tim Minor
	Airborne Hyperspectral Research and Development for Invasive Species Detection and Mapping. Sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: This project is developing new remote sensing approaches to detecting invasive plant species that threaten the agricultural and natural landscapes of Nevada.
	Tim Minor and Mary Cablk
	A Lake Tahoe Basin Pilot Study: Analyses of Impervious Cover in the Lake Tahoe Basin Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems. Sponsored by Tahoe Regional Planning Agency: A multi-stage approach is being used to estimate surface impervious cover densities (i.e, asphalt, building, concrete, etc) to improve prediction of surface water runoff, sediment loading and data quality for predictive models.
	Mark Potosnak
	Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound Emission Inventory Improvement Project. Funded by: Clark County Division of Air Quality and Environmental Management. Clark County BVOC emission inventory. Using a novel field portable sampling system, the Potosnak laboratory is conducting measurements of BVOCs from native and landscaped vegetation within Clark County, Nevada. These measurements will be integrated into model to understand their impact on air quality. In addition to measuring many desert species for the first time, this project is also targeting more reactive BVOC species. In addition to impacting ozone concentrations, these species are involved in the production of secondary organic aerosols.
	Saxon Sharpe
	Walker River Basin Sustainability Project. This project is supported by H.R. 2419 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2006, Section 208. DRI scientists are partnering with UNR and state and federal agencies to address hydrologic and biologic issues in the Walker River Basin. One task within this project is to determine the biological health of different reaches of the Walker River and determine the contemporary ecological condition in different habitats of Walker Lake. DRI scientists will use this information to assess the importance of individual water rights acquisitions for improving river and lake health. Yucca Mountain Climate and Paleoclimate Synthesis. Various projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. This project uses climate proxy records representing the last 800,000 years from the Yucca Mountain region to estimate past climate in southern Nevada. Records of past climate change include those obtained from Devils Hole in the Ash Meadows discharge area, Owens Lake on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, Death Valley in California, and various studies of packrat middens, paleowetland deposits, carbonate fracture fillings deposited from percolating groundwater, and tree rings in and near southern Nevada. By investigating the variability of past climate, the timing and magnitude of future climate conditions may be predicted. Wetter and cooler climates that persist for centuries or millennia are of greatest interest for this project because such climates produce more infiltration, percolation, higher water tables, and more groundwater discharge when compared to the present climate. Thus, these cooler, wetter periods need to be considered in the engineering design of the long-term nuclear waste repository.