Presentations
| Time |
Presenter(s) |
Title and Description |
| 11:00am |
Kumud Acharya, Ph.D. (DHS) |
Impacts of Invasive Species on the Lake Mead Food Web
Plants and animals that get into lakes and rivers they didn't live in before can be bad news for the native plants and animals. These are called non-native or invasive species. In Lake Mead, a small type of shellfish called a Quagga mussel has started growing everywhere; on all the rocks, boats, pipes, and on the dam. The mussels reproduce fast, and can filter a lot of food out of the water. Competition between the native animals and the invasive Quagga mussels can mean some local species might lose their food and habitat. Our research looks at how much food the mussels eat, how quickly they grow, and some of the other ways they might be affecting plants and animals in Lake Mead. |
| 11:30am |
Markus Berli, Ph.D. (DHS) |
Water and Soil - From Root to Watershed Scale
Water is particularly important in dry areas of the southwestern US. Where precipitation is sparse, soils play a critical role in conducting and storing water. This presentation introduces DRI two research projects on water and soils at different spatial scale. We aim to better understand how plants take up water from dry soil and why fire-affected land can cause a higher risk for flooding. |
| 12:00am |
Lynn Fenstermaker, Ph.D. (DEES) |
Detecting climate change treatment effects with remote sensing
Remote sensing is a valuable tool for monitoring and assessing change in the land surface over time. We utilized different scales of remote sensing to look at the impact of three climate change treatments on the Mojave Desert. These different scales included: leaf and canopy level measurements with a field spectrometer; whole plot measurements with a radio controlled helicopter; and airborne acquisition of multispectral and hyperspectral data at the landscape level. |
| 12:30am |
Duane Moser, Ph.D. (DEES) |
Looking for Life in All the Wrong Places
DNA-based technologies have allowed us to explore a great unseen microbial universe beneath, on, and within the world we call home. The Environmental Microbiology Lab at DRI specializes in detecting and taking advantage of life from places no-one has ever thought to look. From cloud water to hot rocks two miles underground, and ancient archeological materials to radioactive nuclear weapons detonation cavities, our lab brings cutting edge molecular technologies to some of the world’s most extreme habitats. Through learning about life in difficult places, we are gaining insights into ways humanity can minimize its impacts on sensitive ecosystems and successfully tackle challenges ranging from nuclear waste to emerging contaminants such as environmental estrogens. |
| 1:00pm |
Karletta Chief, Ph.D. (DHS) |
Scaling Environmental Processes in Heterogeneous Arid Soils (SEPHAS): An Underground Weighing Lysimeter Facility
The inability to upscale or downscale arid environmental processes influences research areas of hydrology, biogeosciences, mathematical modeling, and global environmental change. |
| 1:30pm |
Dave DuBois, Ph.D. (DAS) |
Visibility and Air Pollution-An Urban, Regional and Global Perspective
Recent ground and satellite based observations have indicated that pollutants are being carried over long distances frequently. In this presentation, Dr. Dubois will show observational evidences of long range transport of pollutants within the US and from our neighbors in Canada and Mexico. |
| 2:00pm |
Jenny Chapman, M.S. , Karl Pohlmann, M.S., Yong Zhang, Ph.D. (DHS) |
Groundwater: Understanding the Important Resource Beneath our Feet
Consider the difficulties that meteorologists have predicting the weather, or surface-water hydrologists have predicting river flows, and then imagine making those predictions without being able to directly observe the sky or the river. That is the challenge for hydrogeologists studying groundwater systems. |
| 2:30pm |
Ted Hartwell, M.A. (DEES) |
The Community Environmental Monitoring Program: Involving the Public in Radiological Monitoring
Radiological monitoring results reported by federal agencies and their contractors are often regarded with distrust and suspicion by the general public. Participation of community members in the data gathering and reporting process can often defuse tensions and allay public concern regarding the credibility of the reported data. The Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) is an outgrowth of a program begun in 1981 to promote community involvement, awareness, and understanding of radiological surveillance in communities surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) when underground nuclear tests were still being conducted at the site. |
Exhibits
| Exhibitor(s) |
Title |
| Laura Edwards, M.S. |
Western Regional Climate Center: Weather and climate in your backyard. |
| Vicken “Vic” Etyemezian, Ph.D. |
Earth, wind, and stuff that burns: What causes most of the air pollution? |
| Lynn Fenstermaker, Ph.D. |
Radio Controlled Helicopter: Getting a bird’s eye view of field study sites.
Note: this exhibit is partially weather permitting. |
| William “Ted” Hartwell, M.A., and Lynn Karr |
Community Environmental Monitoring Program: Mobile station and Web site. |
| Paul E. Buck, Ph.D. |
Ancient Puebloan Occupation of SW Utah and NW Arizona. |
| Jenny Chapman, M.S. , Karl Pohlmann, M.S., and Yong Zhang, Ph.D. |
Understanding groundwater flow and contaminant transport systems. |
| Duane P. Moser, Ph.D. |
Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Exhibitor: Cheryl Martin Exhibit Title: Ancient Puebloan Occupation of SW Utah and NW Arizona |
| Henry Sun, Ph.D. |
The carbon cycle and you - come and meet the microorganisms that mop up your carbon foot print |
| Kumud Acharya, Ph.D. |
Invasive Species at Lake Mead |
| Jenny Chapman, M.S. , Karl Pohlmann, M.S., and Yong Zhang, Ph.D. |
Understanding groundwater flow and contaminant transport systems |
| Karletta Chief, Ph.D. |
An underground laboratory to understand desert soil, water, biota, and atmospheric interactions. |
| Jeffrey “Jeff” Tappen |
Portable Environmental Monitoring Station (PEMS) |
| Fayth Ross, M.A. |
GreenPower: Bringing renewable energy and green education to Nevada's K-12 students |
Additional Information
Also joining DRI and having reduced admission price is the Atomic Testing Museum.
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An open forum to learn about and discuss progress in understanding the Lake Tahoe Basin environment.
Bridger Middle School became the 35th Nevada GreenPower school with solar panels, a weather station, and recycling bins.
Learn more about DRI's legacy of contributions to environmental science research and results.
