Mar 21, 2023 | Blog, Featured researchers
DRI Student Interns Join Efforts to Improve Drinking Water Access in Ghanaian Communities
March 21, 2023
RENO, NEV.
By Guadalupe Alvarez
DRI Communications Intern
Water Treatment
Sanitation
CIWAS
DRI’s Behind the Science Blog continues with the third installment of our fall 2022 Research Immersion Internship Series
This fall, DRI brought eleven students from Nevada’s community and state colleges to the Las Vegas and Reno campuses for a paid, immersive research experience. Over the course of the 16-week program, students worked under the mentorship of DRI faculty members to learn about the process of using scientific research to solve real-world problems.
Our Behind the Science Blog is highlighting each research team’s accomplishments over a series of five stories. Previous stories covered Tiffany Pereira’s interns as they tracked elusive desert tortoises in the desert of Las Vegas, and Erick Bandala’s student interns on their quest to find solutions for communities struggling with high concentrations of fluorides in their drinking water.
In this story, we highlight the work of two student interns and their research in international Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene (WASH) development issues in Ghana. These students are building on decades of DRI-led research focused on improving access to clean drinking water in Ghanaian communities.
Above: The CIWAS program installs and maintains drinking water wells in Ghanaian communities. Photo credit: DRI.
Student Researchers: Anjali Bhatia and Anida Bouakhasith
Faculty mentor: Braimah Apambire, Ph.D., Director, Center for International Water and Sustainability (CIWAS)
Additional Mentor: Palistha Shrestha/ Research Scientist, Program Manager, CIWAS
As communities all over the Southwest continue to face challenges tied to severe drought, water accessibility is becoming an increasing concern. Here at DRI, research in water sustainability extends to communities far beyond Nevada.
More than 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and 3.6 billion people do not have access to safely managed sanitation services. Water contamination and poor hygiene are driving 88% of all diseases in developing countries. To address these needs, the United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals – a set of 17 goals to improve living conditions of people around the globe. Goal #6 is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. This is an ambitious goal – according to the United Nations, reaching this goal would require quadrupling the current rate of progress.
Constructing water systems is only the first step in managing water sustainability, as many developing countries continue to experience the breakdown of water infrastructure and inadequate water treatment. Access to safe, clean drinking water is an underlying issue in Ghana, where a 2019 World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF report found that 32% of people in rural communities lacked access. Under the mentorship of Braimah Apambire, interns Anjali Bhatia and Anida Bouakhasith analyzed the effectiveness of water systems, water quality, and health impacts surrounding water services. Their work highlights the importance of community-centered research to understand the long-term sustainability of water infrastructure.
“Water is an essential part of our everyday lives,” said intern Anjali Bhatia. “In developing countries, access to safe drinking water is a real and current issue and something we are striving to fix. The first step is to know what each community needs and continuing to address those specific needs.”
A map of the districts in Ghana where research was focused: East, North, and Northeast Gonja districts.
Community-Centered Research
During their 16-week internship, Bhatia and Bouakhasith evaluated data collected from the Circuit Rider Program in Northern Ghana. Since 2016, this program has aimed to provide training and materials to Ghanaian communities in order to build their capacity for maintaining functional water systems. By focusing on supporting local technicians with funding and training support, the Circuit Rider Program addresses the main challenges by ensuring that rural water systems are maintained, and water quality is adequately tested.
The interns evaluated data collected from three Ghanaian regions: East, North, and Northeast Gonja districts. An 18-question survey inquiring about water access, quality, and time spent accessing water was distributed to various households throughout the districts. When asked what their main source of water is, 50% of households in East Gonja reported their main source of water was through hand pumps or surface water. In the Northeast district, 65% of households also reported surface water as their main source of water. Surface water — when left untreated — can contain dangerous levels of arsenic, fluoride, microplastics, and other substances linked to the transmission of diseases.
“Surface water can often contain bacteria, parasites, viruses, and other contaminants,” Bhatia said. “It’s often required that the water is treated before it is safe to drink.”
When asked how long it takes to collect their water, the three areas varied. While 50% of Northern Gonja households reported they have at-home access, more than 60% of households across the three districts reported it takes them up to half an hour or more to access water.
Collecting water can involve long and risky journeys. Limited accessibility along with poor sanitation can affect an individual’s well-being and impact other social and economic areas of life. “It puts into perspective how often we take for granted how easily accessible it is to get water. That’s time they could spend doing something else,” said Bhatia.
All three communities were also asked how they would rate the quality of water from the source they are drinking from. While 95% of households in North Gonja evaluated their water quality as good, it was the opposite for Northeast district communities, where 97% of households described their water quality as poor and even “cloudy, salty, and colored,” with a bad smell.
Above Left: Intern Anjali Bhatia presents her research. North Gonja primarily sourced water from boreholes with hand pumps, while most of North East Gonja sourced their water from surface water.
Above Right: Intern Anida Bouakhasith presents her research. Most of North Gonja rated their water quality as “good,” whereas most of Northeast Gonja rated their water quality as “poor.”
Where To Go From Here
All the survey data received from rural communities in Ghana help piece together what is needed to ensure effective water systems. Bhatia and Bouakhasith’s data analysis shows the crucial attention needed towards the water systems already put in place and the potential health impacts on households across the region.
“Getting direct feedback from these communities allows us to see where we need to make changes, what changes need to be made, and with that information we can make those changes,” said Bhatia.
“The internship program is an opportunity to develop important professional and technical skills,” said Braimah Apambire, their faculty mentor. “It helps students become even more passionate about helping others and using science to make a positive impact on the world.”
Mar 15, 2023 | Blog, Featured researchers
Making it Snow: A Brief History and Review of the Science Behind Cloud-Seeding
Cloud seeding
Atmospheric Research
Above: DRI researchers at cloud-seeding stations in the mountains.
Clouds – those enigmatic formations of condensed water vapor which drift above our heads, forming rivers in the sky – can take many forms. They can be wispy and non-threatening, dark and menacing, towering or diaphanous. We tend to think of them as beyond human reach, as harbingers of forces outside of our control, but as scientists learn more about them, it’s increasingly clear that humanity isn’t merely subjected to whatever weather a cloud portends – we also create and influence it through our everyday actions. And scientists now regularly harness their moisture and pull it to Earth, bringing water to parched communities and landscapes around the world.
This rain-inducing technique, called cloud-seeding, has been around for more than 60 years. The process involves “seeding” existing clouds with a harmless substance called silver-iodide to give water droplets a particle to converge around, allowing them to form an ice crystal. Every snowflake you’ve ever seen has initially formed this way – a small speck of dust or pollen floating around the atmosphere collects freezing drops of water, forming the intricate designs that we’re familiar with. The only difference between cloud-seeding and natural precipitation is that instead of dust or pollen, the nucleus of the ice crystal is a tiny particle of silver iodide that scientists released into the cloud. Although not a panacea for drought-stricken regions, cloud-seeding can increase seasonal precipitation by about 10%. In the Reno area alone, winter cloud-seeding efforts are estimated to add enough water to supply about 40,000 households for a year.
Microscopic view of snowflakes by Wilson Bentley. From the Annual Summary of the Monthly Weather Review for 1902. Bentley was a farmer whose hobby was photographing snowflakes. Source: NOAA Photo Library archives Weather Wonders collection, www.photolib.noaa.gov.
DRI researchers first joined pioneering efforts to draw more precipitation from otherwise reluctant clouds in the early 1960s, using it to increase the mountain snowpacks that supply much of the West’s water. Today, our scientists continue cloud-seeding efforts around Nevada, including in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Reno, the Spring Mountains near Las Vegas, and the Ruby Mountains near Elko. To bolster the snowpack feeding the Colorado RiverDRI runs additional cloud-seeding efforts in Colorado.
“I feel really passionate that we can improve water resources across the Western U.S. with these cloud-seeding programs,” said Frank McDonough, DRI’s cloud-seeding program director. “And we can run them relatively inexpensively. It’s really the only way to add precipitation to a watershed.”
Above: A map of DRI’s cloud-seeding locations around Nevada. DRI also has operations in Colorado.
Cloud-seeding in a time of increasing drought
Nevada is the driest state in the nation, with the statewide precipitation average a mere 10.3 inches — only about a third of the nationwide average of 30 inches. The rest of the Western U.S. isn’t faring much better, as the 21st century has been a time with the most severe drought in 1,200 years.
Scientists examined tree rings to decipher the historical record for soil moisture across the region, finding that the years 2002 and 2021 were among the driest. Although historical records tell us the Western U.S. is prone to fluctuations in climate, the growing greenhouse effect of burning fossil fuels is exacerbating drying conditions. In 2022, DRI researchers published a study showing that as temperatures rise, the atmosphere pulls more moisture from streams, soils, and vegetation – what’s known as “atmospheric thirst.” Under these conditions, even consistent levels of precipitation will result in less available water for humans and ecosystems.
We see the effects of this playing out before us as the country’s largest reservoirs, Lakes Mead and Powell, are at their lowest levels on record. As of February 2023, Lake Mead stood at about 70% empty, while Lake Powell was little more than 20% of capacity. Under these arid conditions, and with so much uncertainty surrounding water availability from season to season and year to year, cloud-seeding is one tool to help alleviate some of the human and ecological impacts of persistent drought.
“Now, it’s not going to solve all our problems, because we need storms in the area to do cloud seeding,” McDonough says. “But I think that cloud seeding and making clouds more efficient at producing precipitation is a huge tool in water managers’ tool belt.”
As the impacts of climate change reduce mountain snowpacks around the arid West and the world, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recommended cloud-seeding as one way to help communities adapt to drier climates.
DRI researcher Patrick Melarkey performs maintenance on weather monitoring equipment in the Sierra Nevada Mountains above Lake Tahoe.
The complex science of cloud formation
Cloud formation is a complicated field of research, and scientists are still learning about the way that water droplets and ice crystals interact with atmospheric particles to produce the many different types of clouds we observe. However, one thing is clear: without microscopic particles for water vapor to latch onto — like dust or salt from the sea — clouds cannot form.
Small particles of water scatter in the air and require another speck of something microscopic in order to come together into larger, more visible water droplets. The effect is demonstrated well in a simple video taken in 2008 by scientists in the Arctic, who show that their breath fails to form visible water vapor due to the low atmospheric particle count (at sea, in areas with little to no wind, atmospheric aerosol levels are very low). They then proceed to steep a cup of tea, which also fails to form much of a visible cloud as the tea evaporates into the cold air. But when they spark a lighter over the top, small particles produced during fuel combustion grab onto the surrounding water vapor and a small cloud forms instantly.
Due to this relationship between water vapor and atmospheric aerosols, human activities impact clouds in a number of ways. Atmospheric aerosols now include a wide range of pollutants produced by industrial emissions, tiny bits of plastics and rubber that wear from car tires and brakes, and vehicle tailpipe emissions.
Not all atmospheric aerosols have the same impact on clouds. Research has shown that air pollution can prevent rainfall, because the water droplets in polluted clouds are too small – they float around in the atmosphere without merging to form large enough droplets to fall to the ground. A single drop of precipitation requires more than one million of these small droplets to converge. These pollutants can also prevent ice formation in subfreezing clouds. This means that our everyday activities in urban and industrial areas are already altering global rainfall patterns.
“There’s increasing research showing that air pollution is actually having a negative impact on a cloud’s ability to produce precipitation,” McDonough says. “So, in some ways, we’re trying to restore the cloud’s ability to produce precipitation to what it would have been prior to all the air pollution coming in upstream.”
Above: An old Beechcraft C-45 plane that DRI researchers used to seed clouds in 1966. Credit: DRI
A snowstorm in a freezer inspired decades of research
The history of cloud-seeding begins in the 1940’s with scientists who wanted to understand why ice sometimes accumulated on planes, creating dangerous flying conditions. Realizing they needed to know more about clouds that contain supercooled water (which is below freezing temperature but still in liquid form), researchers at General Electric simulated these conditions with a repurposed home freezer, as shown in this video. When they dropped dry ice into the freezer to mix with the water vapor from their own breath, millions of ice crystals formed, simulating a miniature snowstorm. In 1946, one of these scientists was the first to drop dry ice from a plane, watching as streams of snow fell from the cloud.
Following these initial experiments, the research team (including Bernard Vonnegut, brother to famed author, Kurt Vonnegut) turned to silver iodide for its structural similarity to ice crystals. Silver iodide continues to be used today by DRI researchers, as a harmless substance that effectively creates a central point – or nucleus – for water droplets to converge around.
Although many groups around the world continue to use airplanes for cloud-seeding, DRI scientists turned to a ground-based program after a fatal accident on March 2, 1980. The plane crash killed DRI researchers Peter Wagner, William Gaskell, John Latham, and Gordon Wicks. Following this tragic event, one of DRI’s pioneering experts on cloud-seeding, John Hallett, dedicated his expertise on ice formation in clouds to improving airplane safety.
Hallett was recruited in 1966 to be one of the institute’s founding scientists: with his expertise in atmospheric physics, he helped establish DRI as a worldwide leader in the field. His focus on the behavior of ice in the atmosphere led to the discovery of a key mechanism for the transition of water molecules into ice, which is now known as the “Hallett-Mossop ice multiplication mechanism.” DRI continues to be a leader in cloud-seeding efforts and research around the Western U.S.
Above: A DRI weather monitoring station perched on top of Slide Mountain overlooking Lake Tahoe. Credit: DRI
Measuring success in the chaos of a storm
Taking cloud-seeding from a freezer to the skies meant finding evidence of the technique’s impact in the real world. Measuring the impact of cloud-seeding attempts isn’t simple, as it requires comparing precipitation from seeded and unseeded clouds under identical conditions – hardly an easy task due to the complex nature of the atmosphere and changing conditions over time. However, scientists have found several ways to assess their impact. By sampling levels of silver iodide in a mountain snowpack following cloud-seeding activities, researchers found it incorporated into ice crystals and deposited as snow – evidence that the compound works as an ice nucleating agent. A comprehensive review of available research published in 2019 concluded “clear physical evidence has been obtained that orographic clouds containing supercooled water, when seeded with silver iodide, produce plumes of ice particles that originate downwind of the seeding location and reach the ground through precipitation growth and fallout.”
In 2020, a ground-breaking study known as the SNOWIE project used advanced radar and cloud-measuring technology to show that cloud-seeding coaxed moisture out of supercooled clouds, producing enough snow to fill 282 Olympic-sized swimming pools over approximately two hours. Studies like this allow scientists to build computer simulations that can facilitate more research, overcoming the difficulty of conducting field experiments under challenging conditions.
Clouds with supercooled liquid water often form around mountain ranges as the air rising over them quickly cools with the elevation change. This is why DRI’s cloud-seeding efforts focus on mountain regions, including the Sierra Nevada and Spring Mountains. A small team of researchers, led by McDonough, plants generators in strategic locations for intercepting incoming storm clouds. These generators vaporize silver iodide particles with acetone, allowing them to rise into the air and enter supercooled clouds. The silver iodide causes the tiny drops of water in the cloud to freeze and go on to grow ice crystals large enough for gravity to pull them to the ground. Ground-based cloud-seeding allows the research team to safely and cost-effectively conduct their work, with each acre-foot of water produced only costing a few dollars.
“There’s been a lot of good research done over the last decade or so that has really nailed down how well this works,” McDonough says. “We’re feeling more and more comfortable about our understanding of when cloud-seeding techniques work, and the scope of the impact.”
Above: A DRI cloud-seeding generator and maintenance truck in a wintery, mountain-top setting. Credit: Jesse Juchtzer/DRI
Unfortunately, the internet contains many misleading ideas about cloud-seeding. Below is a series of misconceptions and questions about the common scientific practice.
FAQ:
1. Is cloud-seeding producing so-called “chem-trails”?
No. Those fluffy white lines zig-zagging across the sky are jet contrails, and they are the aviation equivalent of visible plumes of steamy breath on a cold morning. Warm water vapor produced during jet fuel combustion interacts with the cold atmospheric air to create strings of ice crystals that behave like high-altitude cirrus clouds. When a plane passes through an area of high pressure, which leads to low winds and clear skies, the trails will linger. Jet contrails have no connection with cloud-seeding activities.
2. Is cloud-seeding “geoengineering”?
Cloud-seeding is a well-researched and monitored form of small-scale weather modification. Other examples of ways that humans change the weather and the global climate include: driving a car, deforestation, and air pollution from industry.
3. Who is funding cloud-seeding programs?
Cloud-seeding programs occur worldwide. In the Western U.S., state and agency-supported efforts occur across California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, Utah, and Idaho.
4. Is silver iodide toxic?
No. The silver used in cloud-seeding is silver iodide (AgI, or silver bonded to iodine), which can be confused with other molecular forms of silver. When silver is isolated as an ion (Ag+) it is biologically active, meaning it interacts with bacterial or fungal cell walls — which is why it’s often used for medicinal purposes and for sterilizing drinking water. Silver ion (Ag+) can be hazardous in aquatic environments because it can also interact with proteins and other parts of cell membranes, but silver iodide (AgI), not silver ion (Ag+), is used for seeding clouds. Silver iodide retains its form in water and does not break down into the potentially toxic silver ion. When the silver iodide particle falls to the ground with rain or snow, it separates from the water molecules that formed an ice crystal around it, essentially becoming a speck of dust no different from the silver naturally occurring in the soil.
Although the chemistry can be a bit complicated, you can think of it as the difference between water (H2O) – the life-giving force that forms much of your own body – and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which is used as a sterilizer and bleaching agent and is hazardous at high concentrations .
5. Is cloud-seeding used for military purposes?
Following the (now declassified) use of cloud-seeding by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War, a 1977 international treaty banned the use of weather modification in warfare.
6. Does DRI continue cloud-seeding during intense winters like the winter of 2022-2023?
DRI pauses all cloud-seeding activities when the snowpack reaches 150% of the historical average. In the Lake Tahoe region, this means that cloud-seeding activities halted in mid-December, 2022, due to the remarkable amount of natural snowfall occurring.
More information:
The Cloud Seeders
A short video about DRI’s cloud-seeding team
Where to find more water: eight unconventional resources to tap
The Conversation
By Manzoor Qadir and Vladimir Smakhtin, Deputy Director and Director of the United Nations Institute for Water, Environment, and Health
Can cloud seeding help quench the thirst of the U.S. West?
Yale e360
Wintertime Orographic Cloud Seeding—A Review
Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, Vol. 58, No. 10 (October 2019), pp. 2117-2140
Quantifying snowfall from orographic cloud-seeding
PNAS, Vol. 117, No. 10 (February 2020), pp. 5190-5195
Does cloud seeding really work? An experiment above Idaho suggests humans can turbocharge snowfall
Science Magazine
Mar 1, 2023 | Announcements, News releases
DRI Announces Space Education Trainings for Nevada Teachers
March 1, 2023
RENO, Nevada
Space Education
Education Trainings
Teacher Trainings
Above: Beautiful colorful space background. Watercolor.
Credit: WhataWin, iStock.
DRI is pleased to announce “Space Education Educator Professional Development Training,” available for 80 educators. The training will be conducted in Las Vegas and Reno by four Nevada educators who were selected to attend the NASA Space Exploration Educators Conference in Houston in February. In addition to touring NASA facilities, the conference provided hands-on training in lesson plans and activities, and these educators will use the knowledge they gained to teach Nevada teachers.
“DRI is pleased to offer NASA-approved space education training to Nevada teachers,” said DRI STEM Education Program Manager Emily McDonald-Williams. “These educators are bringing their knowledge and experience back to share with educators statewide through two free professional development training courses for Nevada’s teachers. In addition, both trainings offer continuing education credits for attending educators.”
The trainings will provide lesson plans, resources, and hands-on engagement in space-based lesson plans that are grade-banded and Next Generation Science Standards aligned. Educators will leave prepared to integrate NASA-approved learning into their classrooms. Topics include the upcoming Artemis mission, Deep Space Discovery, Gravity Wells, and more.
Reno Training:
April 15, 2023
DRI’s Reno Campus
2215 Raggio Parkway Reno, NV 89512
K – 5th grade educators: 10 a.m. – noon
Lunch is available for all attendees from noon – 1 p.m.
6th – 12th grade educators 1 – 3 p.m.
Las Vegas Training:
April 22, 2023
DRI’s Las Vegas Campus
755 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89119
K – 5th grade educators: 10 a.m. – noon
Lunch is available for all attendees from noon – 1 p.m.
6th – 12th grade educators 1 – 3 p.m.
Two female teachers participate in an activity at a training session.
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Feb 6, 2023 | Blog, Featured researchers
DRI Interns Join the Search for Elusive Desert Tortoises in Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
Feb. 6, 2023
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Desert Tortoise
Occupancy Sampling
Tule Springs
Above: Tiffany Pereira, M.S. conducts field research at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument outside of Las Vegas.
DRI’s Behind the Science Blog continues with the second installment of our fall 2022 Research Immersion Internship Series
This fall, DRI brought eleven students from Nevada’s community and state colleges to the Las Vegas and Reno campuses for a paid, immersive research experience. Over the course of the 16-week program, students worked under the mentorship of DRI faculty members to learn about the process of using scientific research to solve real-world problems.
Our Behind the Science Blog is highlighting each research team’s accomplishments over a series of five stories. Click here to read the first installment in our internship series.
In this story, we follow Tiffany Pereira’s student interns as they track elusive and threatened desert tortoises in the Las Vegas desert.
A desert tortoise in Mojave National Preserve.
Credit: Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.
Student Researchers: Amelia Porter and Akosua Fosu
Faculty Mentor: Tiffany Pereira, M.S., Ecologist and Assistant Research Scientist
Despite their enormous size, desert tortoises are elusive desert dwellers, often spending most of their lives in underground burrows – giving them their scientific name, Gopherus agassizii. They occur across the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act since 1990, their numbers are declining due to a number of threats. Understanding the size and health of their populations is a priority for both government agencies and researchers.
Desert tortoises occur across the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.
Credit: Map courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.
“Desert tortoises face predation by ravens and other large birds, canids including coyotes and foxes, as well as insects such as fire ants,” said intern Amelia Porter. “They’re also victims of urbanization, military activity, mining, and alternative energy projects, which destroy their natural habitat as well as their food and water sources and deposit a multitude of pollutants.”
For their internship, Amelia Porter and Akosua Fosu worked with DRI ecologist Tiffany Pereira to survey parts of the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument near Las Vegas for desert tortoises. Tule Springs was established in 2014 to protect the delicate desert habitat as well as rare, preserved fossils of Ice Age life – including mammoths, ground sloths, dire wolves, and American lions. The park borders northern Las Vegas and Highway 95.
“When it comes to urban-wildlife interface, Tule Springs acts as a barrier between active human development and pristine desert tortoise habitat,” said intern Akosua Fosu. “The thing is, Tule Springs National Monument is literally in people’s backyards, and it borders a major highway. The goal is to continue to use this park and enjoy all it has to offer, but to do so in a way that doesn’t disturb the desert tortoises within the monument.”
Interns Akosua Fosu and Amelia Porter locate a desert tortoise while conducting surveys.
Searching the Desert Landscape for Clues
To help Tule Springs resource managers better understand how many desert tortoises occur across the park, as well as how they use the landscape, the research team used a method called occupancy sampling. This method combines field surveys with computer modeling to help researchers determine the proportion of habitat within an area containing evidence of a targeted species. Occupancy sampling allows scientists to determine the abundance of a species that is otherwise elusive or difficult to track.
“One way to understand where tortoises are in the park is to walk transects across the entire monument – but that’s just not feasible,” said faculty mentor Tiffany Pereira. “So, we did a different type of population sampling that could provide information on where the tortoises are. Going to the site with the interns every week has been really fun.”
The research team conducted field surveys across 20 plots, each of which they visited four times. As they walked focused lines called transects, they recorded signs of tortoise occupancy including scat, tracks, and of course, observations of live tortoises.
Intern Akosua Fosu surveys the desert landscape for signs of desert tortoise, including scat, tracks, and evidence of burrows.
“Tortoise scat is cylindrical in shape and has lightened edges,” said Fosu. “It’s almost like a cigar – and when you break it apart, it contains plant material.”
When the researchers found a possible tortoise burrow, they looked for evidence of recent activity, like an “apron” in the dirt indicating digging, or visible tracks.
“A tortoise burrow is a half-circle shape with the top of it rounded and smooth, due to the shell eroding it over time,” Porter said. “They’re usually located in rocky areas or under vegetation.”
Desert tortoises spend much of their lives in burrows that protect them from the harsh desert sun.
Credit: Tiffany Pereira/DRI.
The students recorded any sign of desert tortoises in a survey app, including the measurements and characteristics of burrows and the presence of live tortoises or carcasses. Using the survey data, the researchers marked each plot as active or inactive for desert tortoises using a binary system. The results are analyzed using the software program PRESENCE, which provides an estimated occupancy probability of desert tortoises within an area of interest.
“Tule Springs is a newer park,” said Porter, “so they will use the data that we’ve collected over the course of the season to help determine where to place signage, or hiking trails, without disturbing desert tortoise habitat.”
One of the most important findings from their study is that many tortoises are using parts of the park that are near human activity. “That’s a big deal for management of the park,” Pereira said. “In one case, we found a tortoise less than 200 meters from a paved road. When they think about their management plans, they need to account for that.”
Joshua trees at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument.
Embracing the Research Experience
For student interns Porter and Fosu, joining Pereira’s research team and spending time in the field was a truly immersive experience into the world of science.
“Being able to see some of our native flora and fauna up close was a highlight,” said Fosu. “There were days where we came across tortoises, snakes, and even jack rabbits. I also got to learn about some of our native plant species.”
Fosu, a student at Nevada State College studying biology and chemistry, entered the school year with plans to pursue a veterinary career. Her time working with Pereira reinforced her interest in working with animals, she says. “I may even consider conducting veterinary research in the future.”
Student intern Akosua Fosu finds a desert tortoise while conducting surveys.
“Overall, I think this was a very eye-opening experience,” Fosu continued. “My goal was to gain some research experience before I graduate and I’m glad I was able to gain that through this internship. I would definitely recommend this to anyone considering a career in a STEM field.”
Intern Amelia Porter conducting a survey for desert tortoises in Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument.
Porter, a student at the College of Southern Nevada studying environmental conservation biology, agreed that the DRI internship helped her feel more confident in her career choice. “It has not only confirmed my passion for a career in ecology and wildlife studies,” she said, “but sparked an interest in park service and in field surveying as well.”
The highlight of the semester, Porter said, was “feeling immersed in the methods of an established ecologist, and the opportunity to feel like I was a part of a project that benefitted the surrounding area.”
“I think the entire immersion program has been a fantastic opportunity,” she said, “and I hope that the program continues so it can be as inspiring to others as it has been to me.”
Jan 25, 2023 | Blog, Featured researchers
Lynn Fenstermaker: Celebrating a Career in Ecological Remote Sensing and NASA Space Grant Leadership
January 25, 2023
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Lynn Fenstermaker
Remote Sensing
NASA Space Grant
Above: Always looking for NASA Mission relevant images, Lynn Fenstermaker took this photograph of the Neowise Comet with the Big Dipper above along the Lee Canyon Road in the Spring Mountains on July 18, 2020.
Credit: Lynn Fenstermaker/DRI.
Lynn Fenstermaker, Ph.D., recently retired from DRI after 32 years. Throughout her career as an ecologist and remote sensing scientist, she tackled large-scale questions about environmental stressors, including the impacts of climate change and wildfires on Great Basin and Mojave Desert ecosystems.
Her long list of career achievements includes serving as Director of the Nevada Space Grant Consortium and Nevada NASA EPSCoR, as well as two statewide research programs examining the effects of climate change: the Nevada Desert FACE Facility (NDFF) and the Mojave Global Change Facility (MGCF). She also acted as Director of the Nevada Climate-ecohydrological Assessment Network (NevCAN). Fenstermaker served on three national boards (National Space Grant Foundation, National Space Grant Council Executive Committee, and NASA EPSCoR Caucus) and a state board that governs the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems. At DRI, she served as Deputy Director of the Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences.
Fenstermaker – who was recently admitted to her high school’s hall of fame – shared some of the biggest projects of her career, plans for retirement, and the advice she would give to young scientists following in her footsteps.
Fenstermaker (with Eric Knight, UNLV) collecting multi-spectral images with UAS.
Credit: Lynn Fenstermaker/DRI.
DRI: What first brought you to DRI?
Fenstermaker: When I first came to Las Vegas, I had just wrapped up all but the writing for my master’s degree in agronomy at the Pennsylvania State University. I took a job with the EPA’s Remote Sensing Lab, where I got involved in a lot of projects all across the country, from Montana down through Nevada. (Note: Fenstermaker worked on the EPA’s first ever GIS project, which modeled groundwater contaminant plumes to identify the sources of contamination. This project helped demonstrate how GIS could produce useful information for the EPA).
After I finished my master’s in 1986, I moved to Las Vegas to take a job at Lockheed, where I worked for a little over two years. While I was there, I got to know the director of the Environmental Research Center at UNLV and worked there for three years. When I decided to leave, I created my position at DRI, which was initiating a cooperative agreement with the EPA lab here in Las Vegas. So, I said “Hey, I would like to do this work, but I’d like to do it in collaboration with the other remote sensing scientists at DRI.” The EPA said yes, so I sort of created my own position.
I’ve been at DRI ever since, and that’s been 32 years. Which doesn’t seem possible because I’m still young on the inside.
Fenstermaker’s nearly all-female PSU team competing at the National Soil Judging Contest in Nebraska. Fenstermaker is second from the right.
Credit: Lynn Fenstermaker/DRI.
DRI: What encouraged you to stay at DRI for so many years?
Fenstermaker: I like the flexibility of being able to take on different projects. Everyone who’s been at DRI for some length of time knows that funding can be challenging – there were times when I scrambled for funding, particularly when we lost the cooperative agreement with the EPA lab. It was at that time that I decided to go for my Ph.D., so I was working full time in a soft money environment, keeping myself fully funded, taking classes, and working on a dissertation – It took me 11 years to finish my Ph.D.
After my Ph.D. I thought about going to a university to teach and do research while having a hardwired salary. But then I talked with faculty about all the university stressors, and I thought, “Well, at DRI there’s only one big stressor – and that’s keeping yourself funded.” So, I networked a lot, and I think having a collaborative spirit really helped me to get involved in various projects, as well as my organizational skills.
DRI: Tell me about the NevCAN project.
Fenstermaker: NevCAN’s goals were to develop standardized infrastructure with real time data collection to measure and analyze the effects of climate variability and change on ecosystems and disturbance regimes. We also wanted to better quantify and model changes in water balance and supply under climate change.
Essentially, it’s a series of meteorological stations with common sensors across two mountain ranges in Nevada. The stations are centered within each ecosystem type. And we’re looking at weather variability and climate at different elevations.
We measure incoming solar radiation (long and shortwave), and incoming precipitation, as well as factors that affect that including wind speed, wind direction, and air temperature at different heights. We also measure soil moisture and soil temperature, and within vegetation, we measure the fate of the water: how much is transpired from trees or evaporated from the soil surface, how much went into deep leaching and potentially could enter the groundwater at some point in time.
Unfortunately, when you’re looking at climate variability and change, you can’t just measure for five years and say, voila – no, it’s long-term monitoring. And a lot of the federal agencies don’t want to pay for long term monitoring.
NevCAN transect locations in Nevada’s Snake Range.
Credit: Lynn Fenstermaker/DRI.
DRI: Can you describe some of your other large projects, the Desert FACE Facility, and the Mojave Global Change Facility?
Fenstermaker: The Desert FACE facility fumigated an intact ecosystem with elevated CO2 to determine plant and ecosystem response to the increased CO2. We published a Nature paper in 2014 that was pretty much a summary of the project data. What was interesting about this is that overall, we saw retention of carbon in the soil, not in the plant matter.
The Mojave Global Change Facility looked at what would happen with soil disturbance, nitrogen deposition and increased summer monsoon precipitation. Because earlier climate models predicted an increase in summer rain in the Mojave Desert due to global warming, we simulated increased summer precipitation. The models have since changed, and both the models and weather data clearly show that this isn’t the case. Monsoon flow is not bringing more summer precipitation into the Mojave Desert.
We’re maintaining both sites for future research, because they’re really unique, one-of-a-kind research sites in the world.
Fenstermaker hand-digging holes for rain gauges at the Mojave Global Change Facility.
Credit: Lynn Fenstermaker/DRI.
DRI: Tell me more about your work as the Director of Nevada NASA EPSCoR.
Fenstermaker: EPSCoR is the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. It’s a program funded by Congress for states who receive less than 0.75% of all NSF research dollars, or less than 10% of all federal research dollars.
The history of this program is interesting. During World War II, there was a lot of buildup along the coasts of the United States. And a lot of industry was concentrating in these regions, and as universities started partnering with industry to build their programs, they got a lot of research dollars. Additionally, most of the NASA centers are located along the coast. There are only a few that are quasi- interior, like Glenn Research Center in Ohio, but the rest are in Virginia, Texas, California, and Louisiana. This is why the interior states largely got left behind. EPSCoR is a way of spreading out the funding to the interior states who do not have those industry collaborations or that rich history of developing unique research infrastructure capabilities. The states that primarily benefit are Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alaska, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Vermont, and New Hampshire. The Nevada Desert FACE facility was a DOE EPSCoR project.
Fenstermaker served as the Director of Nevada NASA EPSCoR and the Nevada Space Grant Consortium.
Credit: Lynn Fenstermaker/DRI.
DRI: You also served as Director of the Nevada Space Grant Consortium. Can you talk a little about that?
Fenstermaker: NASA requires that in EPSCoR states, whoever is the Space Grant director also serves as that state’s NASA EPSCoR director. Space Grant is all about improving STEM education, so we run solicitations and review panels to make sub awards to Nevada faculty and students. Some of the most important solicitations we do are undergraduate research scholarships, graduate student fellowships, and student internships at NASA centers.
I convene a faculty review panel of at least three members, each one from a different Nevada System of Higher Education institution, to review all of the applications, then convene the panel and make the selection for who receives funding. I do the same for faculty awards. On the Space Grant side, we fund faculty to improve higher education or pre-college education. For both of those we have a hands-on training component for either college students or pre-college students. One of the successful programs has been a program where a UNR faculty member mentors at an engineering high school in Reno, and they build a human-powered rover to take to Huntsville, Alabama, to participate in national competitions. And every time they’ve gone, they’ve won one or more awards.
On the pre-college side, in addition to the hands-on training for students, we also fund teacher training. The DRI Science Alive team has been quite successful at applying for these funds.
So, I oversee all of that, and go to the national meetings: I’ve served on the National Space Grant Council Executive Committee, which is the group of directors from across the country that connects the Space Grant program to NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement. I’m handing over the role of Secretary of that Committee to Eric Wilcox, the incoming NV Space Grant and NV NASA EPSCoR Director.
DRI: What are your plans for retirement?
Fenstermaker: I’m going to exercise more, and I’ll continue to work part time. I’m going to try to wrap up things with NevCAN and with the Desert FACE and Mojave Global Change Facilities so they can remain intact and be passed forward.
I also started watercolor painting a couple of years ago, which is fun. And I’ll keep hiking and bicycling. Basically, I’ll be figuring out this transition as it happens.
DRI: What advice do you have for young researchers or young climate change scientists?
Fenstermaker: Not to have too high of expectations — I always compared myself with people that were putting out 200+ publications over the course of their career, and that’s just not who I am. It’s important to learn who you are and accept yourself, recognize your strengths, as well as where to challenge yourself — and to network. Communication is critical.
Don’t strive for perfection, or you’ll really disappoint yourself or fall behind. Just strive to meet your obligations and do it reasonably well. Also, you’ve got to schedule personal time, as well as work time. For example, if you’re going to a conference in a cool area, schedule a couple of days before or after and do a little sightseeing, take a significant other with you and make time for family and yourself so that you don’t burn out.
A young Lynn Fenstermaker presented 4-H projects on soil conservation, geology, fossils, and insects.
Credit: Lynn Fenstermaker/DRI.
DRI: Is there anything else you think is important?
Fenstermaker: A few more words of wisdom: Watch for windows of opportunity, because a lot of things I got involved in came from communicating with people who opened a window of opportunity for me, and I said yes.
Overall, DRI has been a great place to work, particularly at the Southern Nevada Sciences Center. It feels like family. It’s a great organization because you have the flexibility to go in a lot of different directions with your research, and work collaboratively across disciplines and across institutions, which is really rewarding.
Jan 19, 2023 | Blog, Featured researchers
DRI Opens Doors to Careers in Scientific Research with Student Internship Program
Jan. 24, 2023
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Fluoride
Water Treatment
Water Filters
The first in DRI’s Behind the Science Blog coverage of our fall 2022 Research Immersion Internship Series.
This fall, DRI brought eleven students from Nevada’s community and state colleges to the Las Vegas and Reno campuses for a paid, immersive research experience. Over the course of the 16-week program, students worked under the mentorship of DRI faculty members to learn about the process of using scientific research to solve real-world problems. This unique internship program welcomes all students, not only those pursuing majors in science, who are in their first or second year of enrollment at local state and community colleges.
Students for the 2022 fall semester joined from the College of Southern Nevada, Nevada State College, and Truckee Meadows Community College.
“Hands-on experience in science, working directly with experienced mentors, is one of the best ways to help students explore careers in scientific fields, and DRI’s internship program opens up this opportunity to more students across Nevada,” says Meghan Collins, M.S., who leads the internship program. “We’re thrilled to have continued support from MGM Resorts and the Hearst Foundations in order to bring more potential future scientists to DRI.”
The students wrapped up their semester-long internships on Dec. 20 by presenting lightning talks about their research to the DRI community. Their research spanned multiple scientific disciplines, from Nevada’s endangered species, to improving access to drinking water quality in Ghanaian communities, to monitoring Earth’s urban climates from space.
DRI’s Behind the Science Blog will highlight each research team’s accomplishments over a series of five stories.
Applications for fall 2023 internships will open in spring 2023.
In this story, we learn about Erick Bandala’s student interns and their quest to find solutions for communities struggling with a persistent and overlooked problem: the health impacts of high concentrations of fluorides in their drinking water.
Left: Intern Shaezeen Vasani tests the efficacy of three different experimental materials in removing fluoride from water. Right: The experimental set-up in Erick Bandala’s lab.
Student Interns Help Erick Bandala Develop a Water Treatment Prototype for Fluoride Removal
Student Researchers: Jennifer Arostegui, Rocio Cortez, Shaezeen Vasani
Faculty mentor: Erick Bandala, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor of Environmental Science Additional Mentor: Adam Clurman, Student Worker in the Division of Hydrologic Sciences
Fluoride is largely known as a toothpaste additive – the American Dental Association recommends fluoride toothpastes because they help prevent cavities and strengthen tooth enamel. Many communities around the world add fluoride to their drinking water supply for the same reason. But when people consume too much fluoride – more than the 0.7 parts per million recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – a number of health problems can arise.
“Normally, we hear positive news about fluoride – that it has been proven to rebuild and strengthen tooth enamel,” said intern Rocio Cortez. “However, a high concentration can pose a great danger.”
The Risks of Fluoride Over-Consumption
Fluorides are actually compound elements where the element fluorine combines with other substances, usually metals. They naturally occur in Earth’s rocks and soils, following rain and erosion to make their way into watersheds. Nearly all water contains some level of fluorides, but the geologic history of a region can sometimes lead to far higher levels than average.
Once inside the body, fluorides move through the bloodstream and concentrate in areas with higher calcium, including teeth and bones. Persistent exposure to higher levels can cause dental fluorosis, which discolors teeth and increases the risk of tooth decay. However, some communities are exposed to such high levels of fluorides that skeletal fluorosis can occur, which results from the buildup of fluorides in bones. This leads to joint stiffness and pain, brittle bones, and bone fractures.
“At high levels, fluoride starts to replace calcium in the teeth and bones,” said faculty mentor Erick Bandala. “And we have found places – for example, in Ghana – where the fluoride concentration may be as high as 50 milligrams per liter, which is far higher than the guideline of 1.5 milligrams per liter set by the World Health Organization (WHO).”
Closer to home, Bandala’s research team found wells in central Nevada’s Walker Lake Indian Reservation where the fluoride concentration is around 5 milligrams per liter, nearly three times the WHO guideline.
Excess fluoride can be removed from water with the aid of specialized filters and reverse osmosis, but many communities don’t have access to the proper technology, or the expertise needed to maintain it. Recognizing this, Bandala set out to identify inexpensive, readily available materials that can be used as water filters.
“We are developing materials that can remove contaminants from the water using the concept of circular economy,” Bandala said. “This means that we want to use material that for someone is considered a waste and turn it into something that can be used for water treatment.”
Researching Water Filters for Fluoride Removal
For their internship project, the students examined the potential efficacy of three different materials for removing fluorides from water. The first material, calcium hydroxyapatite (or “bone dust”), is derived from cattle bones. The second, sulfuric biochar, is created from pine wood that had been infected by beetles. The third material, phragmites, is a common invasive plant found in wetland areas.
“For our experiments, the materials were under a process called chemisorption,” said intern Jennifer Arostegui. “This process uses high pressure and high temperatures.”
Chemisorption causes new chemical bonds to form, allowing fluorides to bind to the experimental material and be subsequently removed from the water. The students tested various concentrations of each material over the course of approximately 70 different tests. Their results showed that unheated calcium hydroxyapatite was the most effective at filtering fluoride from water, followed by sulfuric biochar and then phragmites.
Another experiment examined each material to determine whether it was hydrophobic (water repelling) or hydrophilic (water attracting) and compared this to their results for fluoride removal. The students found that this wasn’t a critical factor in determining how effectively the experimental materials scrubbed fluoride from the water.
The interns tested how efficiently three different materials removed fluoride from drinking water: calcium hydroxyapatite, sulfuric biochar, and phragmites.
Embracing the Research Experience
The student researchers benefitted from their hands-on experience in the lab as well as immersion in the DRI community. They shared some of their highlights and surprises, as well as how the internship helped guide their future studies and careers.
“This experience was eye opening,” said intern Shaezeen Vasani, a student at the College of Southern Nevada studying physical sciences. “Every day I learned something new and could not wait to come back in to continue my project. Every time I thought I learned everything, something new would be brought to my attention.”
Vasani said she was surprised by the scientific process, especially when experimental results varied from her expectations. “While running tests, our numbers should have been decreasing but instead it was increasing for some of the materials,” she said, referring to the fluoride concentrations with treatment. “We later learned from our mentor that this could be due to the chemical properties in some of the materials and their interaction with our project’s contaminants.”
For intern Arostegui, the highlight of the internship experience was the ability “to actually get involved and introduced to a laboratory outside of school. In our group, we learned how to use a spectrophotometer, use reagents/stock solutions, and weighed/prepped our own samples.”
She says she was surprised to be part of a research team that respected her as a collaborator. “The biggest surprise for me was being referred to as a ‘scientist,’ ‘researcher,’ and even ‘engineer’ by my mentor and colleagues,” she said. “I have only seen myself as a student.”
Arostegui is studying environmental management at the College of Southern Nevada and has a specific interest in water resources and says that the internship encouraged her to continue studying hydrology and geology. “This was such a positive experience to be a part of,” she said. “I am forever grateful.”
Prior to the internship, intern Rocio Cortez had focused her undergraduate studies on business administration. Now, she says her career goals have shifted. “I have put in some thought into pursuing a graduate degree that relates to STEM,” she said. “In addition, it has also made me want to volunteer and look for opportunities similar to this internship.”
“When I first started the internship, I really did not know what to expect,” Cortez said. “Through every step of the way, my teammates and I received guidance and support from our mentor… I would like to thank DRI for having this internship and opening its doors to students outside of STEM.”
Jan 18, 2023 | Announcements, News releases
A Changing Flood Recipe for Las Vegas
January 18, 2022
LAS VEGAS, Nevada
Urbanization
Climate Change
Flooding
Above: Las Vegas after thunder storm with flood water in November 2019. Photo Credit: 4kodiak, iStock.
A new study shows that urbanization and climate change are changing the strength and seasonality of flooding in the Las Vegas region
Las Vegas, with its rapid urbanization and desert landscape, is highly vulnerable to flooding. For this reason, flood managers have built an extensive system of drainage ditches and detention basins to protect the public. Now, a new study shows how intentional engineering and urban development are interacting with climate change to alter the timing and intensity of flood risk.
In a study published Jan. 6 in The Journal of Hydrometeorology, researchers from DRI, the Clark County Regional Flood Control District, the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and Guangdong University of Technology examine Las Vegas’ changing flood regime. Their results show that flood intensity has increased since the mid-20th century, with an abrupt shift occurring in the mid-1990s. Climate change has also shifted flood seasonality, with the storms and their resultant floods now occurring more frequently in winter, in contrast with the historically stronger summer monsoon season.
“When I looked at the data for annual flood peaks, I could see that something is changing,” said Guo Yu, Ph.D., lead author on the new study and hydrologist at DRI. “I wanted to understand the reason for this change as well as the physical mechanisms driving it, because that will help water managers and the public understand whether such a change will continue in the future, given climate and land use changes here.”
Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country. In 1950, fewer than 35 thousand people resided in the region; by 2020, that number grew to 2.6 million. Like many cities in the arid Southwest, development centers on the valley floor and spreads up into the natural topography of the surrounding mountains. As concrete and pavement replace more porous desert soils, the risk of flooding in human communities rises – catastrophic floods have caused fatalities as recently as 2022. To mitigate this risk, the Clark County Regional Flood Control District constructed a complex series of storm drains and culverts to capture and direct the flow of water away from populated areas and toward Lake Mead.
Over the same period, climate change has led to shifts in seasonal rainfall patterns. The Southwest has two distinct flood seasons: winter floods produced by atmospheric rivers and summer floods linked to the North American monsoon. Since 1950, daily rainfall amounts have increased in winter and decreased in the summer months.
“Historically, people in Las Vegas haven’t paid as much attention to winter floods as to summer floods,” Yu said. “But our research shows that there will be more frequent winter floods happening because of climate change. This is because the warmer sea surface temperatures on the Pacific coast will cause more atmospheric rivers, like what we’re seeing this January in California. And when these are positioned to bypass the Sierra Nevada mountains, they will very likely hit Las Vegas and cause severe winter rainfall and floods.”
The new research demonstrates an overall picture of shifting intensity and seasonality of floods in Las Vegas. The study authors are continuing to refine their understanding of flood risk in the region with an upcoming study, currently under review, that examines changing rainfall patterns in more detail.
“A lot of research focuses on a single driver – either land use or climate – but in Las Vegas, our study shows that both are changing and interacting with each other,” said Yu.
More information:
The full study, The Nonstationary Flood Hydrology of an Urbanizing Arid Watershed, is available from The Journal of Hydrometeorology: https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-22-0117.1
Study authors include: DRI researchers Guo Yu, Julianne Miller, Benjamin J. Hatchett, and Markus Berli; as well as Daniel B. Wright (University of Wisconsin, Madison); Craig McDougall (Clark County Regional Flood Control District); and Zhihua Zhu (Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China).
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Jan 10, 2023 | Announcements, News releases
The DRI Foundation Welcomes New Trustees for 2023
January 10, 2022
RENO, Nevada
DRI Foundation
Board of Trustees
DRIF
The DRI Foundation is pleased to welcome the following new members to its Board of Trustees, each serving a four-year term beginning January 1, 2023:
- Beth Campbell, CEO, Campbell House
- Doug Cannon, President & CEO, NV Energy
- Linda Faiss, Founder and President, Faiss Foley Warren Public Relations and Public Affairs (ret.)
- Julie Gilday-Shaffer, CEO, The JGS Group
- Greg Matsunami, Principal Consultant, S&R Associates
- Michael PeQueen, Managing Director & Partner, Hightower Las Vegas
These board members were formally approved at the December NSHE Board of Regents meeting and will serve alongside existing DRI Foundation board members Kristin McMillan Porter (Chair), Stephanie Kruse (Vice Chair), Michael Benjamin (Past Chair), Robert McCart (Treasurer), Nora James (Secretary), Richard Ditton, John Entsminger, Robert Gagosian, James King, Janet Lowe, Terry Shirey, Ronald Smith, and Karen Wayland.
The DRI Foundation Board of Trustees is comprised of dedicated individuals committed to helping advance DRI’s mission. In 2022, Foundation leadership invested heavily in cultivating a strong and diverse pool of trustee candidates who are well-positioned to make an impact. These efforts led to an increase in board diversity in areas such as gender, ethnicity, age, and geographic location. These individuals will work in close collaboration with President Kumud Acharya and the Office of Advancement to engage and build relationships with new and existing supporters to further DRI’s work across Nevada and around the world.
“We welcome our new trustees to the DRI Foundation Board and extend our deepest thanks and appreciation to our outstanding current trustees,” said DRI President Dr. Kumud Acharya. “The expertise and commitment to philanthropy of the DRI Foundation Trustees play an essential role in building and maintaining relationships that are crucial to funding and promoting the impactful environmental work of DRI research to people and environments in Nevada and around the world.”
“I am honored to lead the DRI Foundation Board of Trustees in supporting DRI’s mission to be a home for science that creates a better future,” said DRI Foundation Chair Kristin McMillan Porter. “We welcome our new Trustees and look forward to the great value that they will bring to our organization.”
Headshot of DRI Foundation Chair Kristin McMillan Porter.
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About the DRI Foundation
The DRI Foundation serves to cultivate private philanthropic giving in support of the mission and vision of the Desert Research Institute. Since 1982, DRI Foundation trustees have worked with DRI benefactors to support applied environmental research to maximize the Institute’s impact on improving people’s lives throughout Nevada, the nation, and the world. For more information about the DRI Foundation or DRI, please contact Kristin Burgarello (Kristin.Burgarello@dri.edu) or Julie Mathews (Julie.mathews@dri.edu).
About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Jan 5, 2023 | Announcements, News releases
Spring Sunny Heat Waves Caused Record Snow Melt in 2021, Adding to Severe Water Supply Impacts Across the Western U.S.
January 5, 2022
RENO, Nevada
Snowmelt
Spring Heatwaves
Mountain Snowpack
Above: Melting icicle on a snow covered pine branch at winter forest. Photo Credit: stsmhn, iStock.com
A new study highlights how persistent high pressure in April 2021 drove widespread rapid snow loss
Snow-capped mountains aren’t just scenic – they also provide natural water storage by creating reservoirs of frozen water that slowly melt into watersheds throughout the spring and summer months. Much of the Western U.S. relies on this process to renew and sustain freshwater supplies, and new research underscores the impacts of extreme weather conditions on this annual cycle.
In a study published Jan. 5th in Environmental Research Letters, DRI researchers examine the role of spring heatwaves on the melting rates of mountain snowpacks across the West. They found that in April 2021, record-breaking snowmelt rates occurred at 24% of all mountain snowpack monitoring sites in the region, further compounding the impacts of extended drought conditions. Rapid snowmelt increases the time when our natural snowpack reservoir is emptied and when this water is most needed later in the warm season.
“One thing that stood out was the spatial pattern,” says Daniel McEvoy, Ph.D., DRI climatologist and co-author of the new study. “It wasn’t just one single mountain range or one part of the West – there were snowmelt records across the entire Western U.S., in all 11 states.”
By examining data from mountain snowpack monitoring stations, the researchers found that between April 1 and May 1, record high temperatures caused dramatic decreases in snowpacks. Although record snowmelt rates occurred throughout the entire month of April, two heatwaves stood out. The first week of April saw maximum temperatures 4-6 degrees Celsius above average, driving the most widespread record snow melt centered on the Rocky Mountains. Another heatwave the third week of April centered on the Pacific Northwest, with maximum temperatures 5-8 degrees Celsius above average, primarily in the Cascade Range.
“Summer heat waves are studied extensively, but people don’t often care as much about a spring heatwave because the actual air temperatures don’t usually lead to human health impacts,” McEvoy says. “But at the same time, they are creating these hydrological and climatological extreme impacts.”
Several factors contributed to the rapid rate of snowmelt in the spring of 2021. On top of record high maximum temperatures, record high minimum temperatures prevented snowpacks from re-freezing at night, and clear, sunny skies exposed snow to the melting energy of the sun’s rays. The ongoing drought, already widespread in late 2020, also created parched soils that absorbed more of the spring snowmelt in 2021 before it could run off into streams and reservoirs or replenish groundwater.
“What really motivated this study was that in May and June of 2021, I kept hearing from other climatologists, meteorologists, hydrologists, and even skiers, that ‘the snow really came off the mountains fast this year,’” McEvoy says. “I kept hearing that over and over again.”
Although many snowpacks across the West were below average due to low winter snowfall, water resource managers were unable to forecast the exacerbating effects of the rapid spring snowmelt on water supplies. With reservoirs below expected levels based on early-season snowpack predictions, less water flowed to downstream users. Reduced water availability also impacted hydropower production, which made providing energy during the summer and fall heatwaves more challenging. By the end of summer 2021, 76% of the West was in severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“This was one of several extreme climate events over the course of that year,” McEvoy says of the spring 2021 heatwave. “There was a compounding set of climate extremes that all contributed to this rapid expansion and intensification of the drought across the Western U.S. during the late spring and summer.”
The researchers say these spring heatwaves are consistent with the long-term trend of spring warming across the West, and that because of this, April 1 may no longer be a reliable benchmark for evaluating snowpack levels and their seasonal contributions to western water supplies. 2021 was also an active wildfire season in California and the Pacific Northwest, consistent with previous research linking reduced mountain snowpacks and spring heatwaves with increased wildfire potential.
McEvoy says that future research will examine the impacts and frequency of spring heatwaves, as well as ways to predict them by looking at global atmospheric circulation patterns, such as the ones that cause La Niña.
“Understanding the predictability of these types of snowmelt events would be helpful for both drought early warning and water resource management,” says McEvoy.
More information:
The full study, Spring heat waves drive record western United States snow melt in 2021, is available from Environmental Research Letters:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aca8bd
Study authors include Daniel McEvoy and Benjamin Hatchett, both at DRI.
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Jan 5, 2023 | Blog, Featured researchers
What can prehistoric ceramics of the California deserts tell us about the past?
Jan. 5, 2023
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Prehistoric Ceramics
California Desert District
Artifacts
A Q&A With Archaeologist Greg Haynes
DRI archaeologist Greg Haynes, Ph.D., recently completed a synthetic report on the prehistoric ceramic artifacts of the Colorado and Mojave deserts for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) California Desert District (CDD). The CDD manages the 11 million-acre California Desert Conservation Area, which holds cultural artifacts dating back thousands of years. Following a century of research on the prehistoric people and cultures of the Colorado and Mojave deserts of California, this is the first large-scale synthesis focused on ceramics and what they can tell us about the past.
Haynes’ report provides guidance for understanding prehistoric ceramics, identifies research questions for their study, and aids in the evaluation of ceramic-bearing resources for the National Register of Historic Places.
DRI sat down with Haynes to discuss this project, which he calls “one of the highlights of my career.”
DRI: Could you tell me a little bit about your background and how you came to DRI?
Haynes: I’ve been a professional archaeologist for about 35 years. I have a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology and my research focus is on the prehistoric archaeology of western North America. The hunter gatherer populations in the Great Basin, Mojave Desert, and the small-scale agricultural societies on the Colorado Plateau, namely the ancestral Pueblos or Anasazi. I was on staff at DRI as an Associate Research Scientist in archaeology between 1992 to 1998 and returned in 2019.
DRI: And how did you come to be involved with this particular report?
Haynes: The project is focused on creating a new synthetic context for prehistoric ceramics in the deserts of Southeastern California. I was awarded the project in large part because I have a professional background in the area, and I had a nationally recognized ceramic expert in the American Southwest on my team, Dr. Karen Harry, a Professor of Anthropology at UNLV.
Left: Map of the Mojave Desert region. Right: Great Basin Brown Ware with incised decoration along rim, from the northeastern Mojave Desert.
DRI: Why is it important to catalog and identify ceramic artifacts?
Haynes: What the BLM wants to do, and what most archaeologists want to do with ceramic artifacts, is use them to identify cultural and temporal affiliations. Which groups made or used a particular site — that is, you find a pot sherd (piece of ceramic) and you want to infer what archaeological cultures made that ceramic and therefore used or made the archaeological site you’re looking at. They also want to know what time periods those ceramics date to. And many ceramics in the American Southwest are tied to a radiocarbon or tree-ring chronology, so they’re tightly constricted in time and space.
DRI: How are ceramics dated using radiocarbon dating methods or tree-ring chronology?
Haynes: In fact, they can’t be radiocarbon dated. They have to be in direct association with something that can either be radiocarbon dated or be dated through tree rings. For instance, if archaeologists find a pot in a house, and the house has a wooden roof beam over the top of it, the roof beam can be dated through a tree ring chronology (or dendrochronology). And by association, they therefore date the pot at that particular time period.
DRI: And radiocarbon dating only works for things that were previously living, right?
Haynes: Yes, that’s right. Now, there’s another type of dating nowadays called optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL). And that you can use to actually date the ceramic itself, and as springboard projects develop from this particular one, I hope to learn more about OSL and perhaps use our own OSL lab here at DRI.
The important point though, is that the ceramics in the Colorado and Mojave deserts of Southeastern California, are primarily plain wares — they don’t have a lot of diagnostic features on them. And you need diagnostic features to be able to identify different types of pottery, and therefore the people who made them, as well as track them through time. Additionally, most of the pottery you find sits right on the ground surface. And if they are buried, there’s almost no association with organics that can be radiocarbon dated, tree rings, or stratification — that is, buried deposits that are layered so you can see how things change through time. So, they stump people. This inspired the BLM to seek a new synthetic context for these things, and new research directions about how we can use ceramics to tell us about precontact people and time.
DRI: When ceramics are found in the desert today, are they still collected and put into collections?
Haynes: In general, they’re not collected at all. And one reason is that there are hundreds of collections with tens of thousands of ceramic artifacts in repositories across the U.S. The BLM identified 16 repositories in the Western US that hold prehistoric ceramics from lands administered by the California Desert District. And while there is no absolute number of how many pieces of pottery are in those collections, it is tens of thousands — maybe even over 100,000.
An example of a Tizon Brown Ware body sherd from Arizona. The brown color is derived from residual mountain clays and the temper is visible on its surface.
DRI: And how old are some of the artifacts that you documented in this report?
Haynes: They don’t date much before about A.D. 1000. Most of them date no earlier than A.D. 1100 or 1200.
DRI: Would ceramic artifacts last much longer than that?
Haynes: Ceramic artifacts certainly would — they’re fired stone, essentially. Clay molded into something and then fired until they’re essentially pieces of stone.
DRI: When you’re making these associations between the ceramics and the people, how does that work?
Haynes: Well, there are different attributes on the ceramics, like surface colors. For instance, a particular type of ceramic called Lower Colorado Buff ware was known to be made by ancestral Yuman-speaking populations and they have particular types of colors because of their clay sources (buff, orange, or red). And you can also do that with temper (small chunks of rock or other material mixed into the clay to give it some texture, so it doesn’t break apart when it’s being fired and used). The types of clay you might find in Lower Colorado Buff ware is different than the clay in other types of pottery like Tizon Brown ware, which is also found in the Mojave and parts of the Colorado deserts of California, and colored brown. And that’s because it’s made from residual, igneous clays formed in the mountains as opposed to alluvial clays formed on the valley floor near rivers.
An example of Lower Colorado Buff painted ware from along the Colorado River. It is a red-on-orange bowl sherd with decorated elements on the interior of the vessel.
DRI: And what can we learn from these artifacts?
Haynes: Well, what the BLM wanted to learn is, can these plain wares in the Mojave and Colorado deserts of southeastern California actually tell us who was at a site and at what time? That can be done to some extent, but it can’t be done with a lot of detail. So, if you find a site that has a whole bunch of Lower Colorado Buff Ware you can say, okay, the people who lived here were ancestral Yuman-speaking folk, but these same ceramic artifacts have not been tied to a very good chronology. You can’t tell when the site was occupied based on the ceramics, unfortunately. And people have tried to do that for years, but there simply has not been enough radiocarbon dating or stratified deposits associated with those ceramics to track them through time. OSL offers an opportunity to do that, but it has to be fairly widespread — it would take a lot of ceramic artifacts to develop a well-established chronology for plain ware artifacts.
DRI: What do you mean by “wares”?
Haynes: A ware is a type of ceramic that is made by a particular prehistoric people. If you were an archaeologist, however, we could debate what a ware is for quite a long time. I’ll just leave it at that simple, big idea.
DRI: I think you touched on this, but why are the ceramic resources in the Colorado and Mojave Deserts difficult to characterize and differentiate?
Haynes: It’s because they don’t have a lot of distinguishing attributes on them, like painted motifs. For instance, if you find a painted circle or a square on a piece of pottery that’s made in one location, but you don’t find it in the next region over, that may be related to cultural differences. For plain wares, there’s not a lot of decoration, they’re just plain wares, very utilitarian. So that’s what makes them difficult and the fact that they have not been tied to a well-established chronology. And we’re often working with just little fragments of ceramics, rather than large pieces or entire vessels.
Another important point about the ceramic context is that you will not be able to learn much about the ceramics in terms of culture and history unless you examine attributes that change through space and time – like one single attribute, how it changes or varies through time and where you find it. So, one thing you could look at are changes in rim morphology or shape over space and time. Or you could look at the distribution over space and time of stucco (something put around the base of a pot, presumably to strengthen it). Or you could source these ceramics using specialized techniques to identify their geochemical signature or fingerprint, and see how far and wide, through space and time, that geochemical signature or fingerprint can be found.
Top: Rim morphologies: a. straight walled; b. chimney neck; c. outward/gently recurved; d. outward flaring/exaggerated recurved wall; e. inward/gently recurved wall; f. inward flaring/exaggerated inverted wall.
Bottom: An example of a Lower Colorado Buff plain sherd from along the Colorado River. It has a thick stucco applied to its exterior.
DRI: And by fingerprint, you mean a particular type of clay?
Haynes: That’s correct. You can do the same kind of analysis with what’s called burnishing, where the inside or the exterior of the pot is blackened, and then it’s polished. Where do you find burnishing, through space and through time?
DRI: Did you learn anything new or surprising while preparing this report?
Haynes: Part of the project was to go to a number of ceramic repositories and look at some of these collections. And I chose four museums to go to because they had by far the most ceramics. When you look at collections like that, you run across some incredibly interesting things that are just startling. For instance, I was at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum in El Centro. I was given this bag of prehistoric ceramics and they were Lower Colorado Buff ware, and I thought, “These are really weird — something’s wrong with them.” It was like the pottery itself had decorative waves in the clay, but they were clearly natural. So, I put the bag away because I was just confused by it. And I looked through other bags and looked at different pottery sherds. And the last day of the last hour, I came back to this bag because I’m just completely stymied by it. And I opened it up and looked at it and it dawned on me that this is an unfired pot. They had molded this either around the inside or the outside of a pot, but never fired it. And so, it was just natural clay shaped into a vessel that had somehow preserved on the surface.
Examples of LCBW vessels on display at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum (TOP: red-on-buff globular jar [olla] with chimney neck, medium to large; MIDDLE: flower pot recurved rim jar, medium to large, with stucco application; BOTTOM: globular [water] jar with chimney neck, medium to large).
DRI: So, it just kind of baked in the sun naturally?
Haynes: Exactly. Another bag of pottery I was looking at was in the San Diego Museum of Us and it was from a collection obtained from the Cronese Basin, just west of Baker, California. I looked at these potsherds, and they were really grey and crumbly. And they were painted with black designs. I looked at them and thought “This is weird. I don’t know what this is.” So, I put it away. And I came back to it. And it dawned on me that whoever made this piece of pottery in the Cronese Basin was trying to mimic an Anasazi black-on-grey ware. They were trying to mimic a pottery vessel made perhaps hundreds of miles away. It was startling.
That was really one of the highlights of my career here at DRI.
DRI: And how will this report be used by the Bureau of Land Management?
Haynes: It’s been distributed to all the BLM field offices in the CDD and used as a synthetic overview. It also builds consistency for recording these artifacts in the field. When archaeologists go out and conduct inventory for regulatory compliance purposes under the National Historic Preservation Act, it aids them in recommending a ceramic-bearing site eligible or ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, it can also be used by investigators to contextualize the ceramics in Southeastern California. And then offers a chapter on new research directions for their analysis.
DRI: Any final thoughts?
Haynes: Well, it was a tough project for two years. But it was incredibly fun to do — one of the highlights of my career.
We’re (the project principals) planning an invited symposium in 2024 in Riverside, California to discuss these plain wares with other archaeologists and other specialists, as well as Native American tribal members.
More Information
The technical report is the property of the BLM-CDD and will become available in the future on their website.
Dec 6, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Nevada NASA Programs appoint new Project Director, Dr. Eric Wilcox
December 5, 2022
LAS VEGAS, Nevada
Nevada NASA Programs
EPSCoR
NSHE
Nevada NASA EPSCoR and Space Grant Consortium announce the new Project Director, Dr. Eric Wilcox. Following an internal statewide NSHE search, the Research Affairs Council approved the appointment of Dr. Wilcox, who will take on the role of Project Director while continuing his work at DRI, where he is a Research Professor of Atmospheric Science.
As the Project Director, Dr. Wilcox will lead the multi-year NASA EPSCoR Research Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), Research Infrastructure Development (RID), Rapid Response Research (R3), potential other NASA EPSCoR Programs and NASA Space Grant projects. As per NASA requirements, the Project Director is the lead PI on NASA EPSCoR and Space Grant awards, providing financial, reporting, and evaluation oversight as well as administrative coordination as needed. In this role, Dr. Wilcox, will align system-wide NASA EPSCoR program activities with state and national priorities in STEM research and education. These priorities will target research development, economic development and workforce development priorities for the state and NASA Directorates.
“Under the leadership of former project director, Dr. Lynn Fenstermaker, these programs have provided STEM education and NASA-related research opportunities for hundreds of students and dozens of faculty from across NSHE,” said Dr. Eric Wilcox. “I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to continuing this legacy. I have spent much of my career as a scientist working at NASA, or as part of the broader community of academic researchers involved with NASA, and I am excited to serve in a role where I can grow the number of students and researchers in Nevada engaged with the NASA community.”
Since 2010, Dr. Wilcox has managed DRI’s atmospheric modeling group, leading a broad research program with basic research focused on particulate pollutants, clouds, and climate change, as well as applied research, focused on weather forecasting for industrial safety, agriculture, and renewable energy applications. In this role, he mentors a team of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and technicians, and has been awarded more than $3.1M in sponsored project expenditures at DRI since 2010 with greater than $3.6M in external funding from NASA to Nevada as principal investigator or co-investigator through 2025.
He serves as a member representative to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research on behalf of the Nevada System of Higher Education and served as DRI’s Faculty Senate Chair in 2020, leading efforts to determine the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty and staff. He is also a member of the graduate faculty in the Interdisciplinary Atmospheric Sciences Program at UNR and teaches courses in Atmospheric Modeling and Atmospheric Physics.
Dr. Wilcox earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and a Ph.D. in Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD. Prior to joining DRI in 2010, Dr. Wilcox was a physical scientist in the Climate and Radiation Laboratory at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and a postdoctoral fellow at the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University. His research addresses the interactions among aerosols, clouds, and precipitation towards a goal of improved understanding of precipitation, cloud variability and radiative forcing of climate at regional scales. This work relies on satellite and in-situ observations, as well as simulations with numerical models of the atmosphere and climate.
Above: Eric Wilcox, Ph.D., was recently named the Project Director of the Nevada NASA NASA EPSCoR and Space Grant Consortium.
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About NSHE
The Nevada System of Higher Education, comprised of two doctoral-granting research universities, a state college, four comprehensive community colleges, and one environmental research institute, serves the educational and job training needs of Nevada. NSHE provides educational opportunities to more than 100,000 students and is governed by the Nevada Board of Regents. The System includes the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada State College, Desert Research Institute, the College of Southern Nevada, Great Basin College, Truckee Meadows Community College, and Western Nevada College. For more information regarding NSHE please visit: https://nshe.nevada.edu/.
About the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR
The mission of the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR is to promote collaboration and multidisciplinary learning among NSHE institutions, and to enable alignment of efforts with the needs of the state to increase research and STEM competitiveness. The goal is to create new opportunities in the State of Nevada for workforce development and promote the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines for the state. For more information regarding Nevada EPSCoR please visit: https://epscorspo.nevada.edu/.
About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Nov 21, 2022 | Blog, Featured researchers
New research examines the potential impacts of climate change on water quality in tropical reservoirs
NOVEMBER 21, 2022
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Climate Change
Water Quality
Tropical Reservoirs
Above: The Infiernillo Dam (“Little hell”), also known as Adolfo López Mateos Dam, is an embankment dam on the Balsas River near La Unión, Guerrero, Mexico. It is on the border between the states of Guerrero and Michoacán.
Credit: Arturo Peña Romano Medina, iStock Photo.
A Q&A With Study Author Erick Bandala, Ph.D.
In a new study, DRI’s Erick Bandala, assistant research professor of environmental science, worked with scientists in Mexico to address an important research gap: how will a warming climate alter water quality in tropical reservoirs? With scientists predicting that half of the world’s human population will live in tropical climates by 2050, this knowledge will be critical for adapting to a warming world.
Bandala and his coauthors developed algorithms that can be used to predict changes in water quality under the projected temperature intervals provided by climate change models developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
DRI sat down with Bandala to discuss this study and how it ties into his broader research goals.
DRI: What was the impetus for this research?
Bandala: What we’re trying to do in my lab is create technologies for climate change adaptation. Many people do research on climate change and how it will impact water availability, so there is a lot of information about how water availability will change. But something that we believe is less studied – and that is the focal point of our research – is figuring out how global warming may have an effect on water quality. This is significant because even if you have a lot of water, if the water doesn’t have the proper quality, it cannot be used, or you will need to treat it to make it usable. So, in this study, we looked at water quality parameters in a reservoir in Mexico to predict how they could change over the next 80 years or so.
But we also need to come up with solutions for how to improve the water quality so that people can use it properly without facing the risk of illness. This is what we’re trying to do in my lab. We want to come up with solutions that can help people improve the quality of their drinking water.
DRI: And what kind of solutions are you looking at?
Bandala: Well, I’m very glad that you asked that because we are developing materials that can remove contaminants from the water. And we are using the concept of circular economy, which means we want to use material that for someone is considered a waste, and turn it into something else that can be used for water treatment. For example, we have used crop waste and even plastic waste, and converted them into something that can be used to remove contaminants from water. So, we aren’t only interested in the effect of global warming on contaminants, but also in creating something that can be used for the removal of those pollutants from the water while having a low carbon and environmental footprint.
Figure 1 from the study shows the Adolfo Lopez Mateos Dam (ALMD) and water quality sampling site’s geographical location.
Credit: Erick Bandala/DRI.
DRI: That’s amazing. And how did the international collaboration with your co-authors come about?
Bandala: Well, I believe that science is not an isolated work, and less so now than ever. I think that in many cases the most help is needed in developing countries. You know in my home country of Mexico, they have a saying, “the fleas always go to the skinnier dog.” That’s very true because now many developing countries are suffering the biggest effects of climate change, and I want to help people in these countries deal with all these problems. We are developing processes, technologies, and materials that can be used for helping people in Africa, or Central America, or Asian countries that are facing huge problems with water quality.
DRI: Returning to the study, is there a reason why the study team chose to examine water quality at this particular reservoir, the Adolfo Lopez Mateos Dam in Sinaloa, Mexico?
Bandala: The main reason for choosing that site was because it had reliable water data available – it’s very complicated to get access to a good and reliable data set. Also, many of the models that have been developed in the past are for cold water bodies, and this is a warm one – the differences are significant just because of the increased water temperature in the dam.
DRI: The study showed that there was a temperature threshold where the bacteria in particular really thrived, and then above that temperature, it declined. Why is that?
Bandala: Well, bacteria are living organisms, so they have a preferred temperature range to grow in, just like everyone else. If you go too low or too high, then the reproduction or the growth of the colony will decline because it’s too hot or too cold. Now, we were very interested in microbiological contamination because this is one of the main issues in developing countries like Mexico, where many people are drinking water without the safeguards that are required. And because of that, we have very high mortality, mainly in children five years old or less. So, we wanted to understand how bacterial contamination might change under different climate scenarios.
DRI: What do you think are the biggest implications of this study?
Bandala: Well, I believe the study is probably the first one that I know of where we are really including the effects of global warming and calculating how the water quality in a water body will vary over time. In the past, I have published other papers trying to do the same, but honestly, as you said, it is highly complicated and we just partially achieved that goal. This time, I think we were really good at getting a nice model that will give us some good insight of the actual trends for a warm water body. Most of the studies are made in Canada, the U.S., or Europe, where the temperatures of the water may be in the range from 45 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In this case we were about 70 degrees, so it’s a completely different scenario. And that makes them not only challenging, but also interesting to address.
DRI: And do you have any studies that will continue this line of work?
Bandala: Well, we’re planning to use remote sensing to corroborate the information that we created for this paper. So, if that works, it may mean that you don’t need to jump into a big data set, but can simply collect information from satellites for the analysis. Hopefully, that will be the next thing.
Erick Bandala, Ph.D., continues to work in his lab on developing materials that can remove contaminants from water.
Credit: Tommy Gugino/DRI.
Sep 27, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Nevada Gold Mines Supports DRI’s Nevada Robotics STEM Education Programs
September 27, 2022
RENO, Nev.
Nevada Robotics
Nevada Gold Mines
STEM Education
Supports educator training, robots and equipment, and outreach throughout the state
To address the economic need for a strong STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce in Nevada, the goal is to bring robotics and engineering to every school across the state. With support from Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), Nevada’s educators are able to increase STEM education in the classroom with hands-on robotics training and support.
Thanks to NGM and other founding partners, more than 1,200 educators have been trained in educational robotics to date. This summer, 333 educators attended the Robotics Academy of Nevada (RAN) educator professional development training series held in Las Vegas, Reno, and the first inaugural event in Elko. Training increases educator confidence in robotics lessons and brings engineering, computer science, and coding to life in the classroom.
In addition to the new Elko RAN, Nevada’s rural communities are receiving greater access to STEM and robotics education, thanks to support from NGM. Through the Desert Research Institute Foundation, NGM provided funding to Nevada Robotics for a Rural STEM Coordinator to support the Elko and Spring Creek Boys and Girls Clubs, help local robotics educators, and host family STEM and Career Nights in rural Nevada. The goal is to increase equitable access to high-quality STEM education with training, support, and equipment.
“Robotics is an amazing way to spark a lifelong interest in STEM, teamwork, and creative problem solving for students of all ages,” said Christine Keener, chief operating officer, Barrick North America. “Nevada Gold Mines recognizes the need for additional STEM education in Nevada’s rural communities, and we are honored to provide the funding for a Rural STEM Coordinator.”
“Thanks to support from Nevada Gold Mines, we’re thrilled to be able to expand access to STEM education in Nevada’s rural communities by hiring a Rural STEM Coordinator,” said A.J. Long, M.A., head of the Nevada Robotics program at DRI.
The Nevada Robotics program, launched in 2018, introduces Nevada teachers to the engineering and robotics skills needed to build and program automated and remote-controlled robots with groups of students. Teaching students the fundamentals of engineering, computer science, and coding will help fill the STEM workforce pipeline gap in Nevada.
To support DRI’s Nevada Robotics program or for more information on how to make a gift to support DRI, please contact Kristin Burgarello, director of advancement, at 775.673.7386 or Kristin.Burgarello@dri.edu.
Sep 20, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Scientists Unveil New System for Naming Majority of the World’s Microorganisms
September 20, 2022
LAS VEGAS, Nev.
Microorganisms
SeqCode
Prokaryotes
Above: Fluorescent-stained bacteria (pink) and archaea (green) from near-boiling water from Great Boiling Spring in Gerlach, Nevada. Photo credit: Jeremy Dodsworth.
The SeqCode is a universal system, created through collaboration of hundreds of scientists, to formally register and name single-celled microorganisms known as prokaryotes.
Reposted from https://www.unlv.edu/news/release/scientists-unveil-new-system-naming-majority-worlds-microorganisms.
What’s in a name? For microorganisms, apparently a lot.
Prokaryotes are single-celled microorganisms – bacteria are an example – that are abundant the world over. They exist in the oceans, in soils, in extreme environments like hot springs, and even alongside and inside other organisms including humans.
In short, they’re everywhere, and scientists worldwide are working to both categorize and communicate about them. But here’s the rub: Most don’t have a name.
Less than 0.2% of known prokaryotes have been formally named because current regulations – described in the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) – require new species to be grown in a lab and freely distributed as pure and viable cultures in collections. Essentially, to name it you have to have multiple physical specimens to prove it.
In an article published Sept. 19 in the journal Nature Microbiology, a team of scientists present a new system, the SeqCode, and a corresponding registration portal that could help microbiologists effectively categorize and communicate about the massive number of identified yet uncultivated prokaryotes.
“Our goal is to unite field and laboratory studies in microbiology and respond to significant recent advancements in environmental genomics by providing a path to formally name the majority of identified yet unnamed prokaryotes,” said UNLV microbiologist Brian Hedlund, lead author on the paper and key collaborator on the development of the SeqCode. “The SeqCode should serve the community by promoting high genome quality standards, good naming practice, and a well-ordered database.”
Creating the SeqCode
Nearly 850 scientists representing multiple disciplines from more than 40 countries participated in a series of NSF-funded online workshops in 2021 to develop the new SeqCode, which uses genome sequence data for both cultivated and uncultivated prokaryotes as the basis for naming prokaryotes.
Since the 2000s, scientists who study prokaryotes in environments all over the world have used environmental genomics techniques to sample and study them, and hundreds of thousands of genome sequences are available in public databases. The community participating in the workshops, which were organized by Hedlund and colleague Anna-Louise Reysenbach from Portland State University, overwhelmingly supported the development of an alternative to the ICNP that would accept DNA sequence data and ultimately improve resources for researchers.
“The key pieces are in place for an orderly expansion of prokaryotic systematics to the entire prokaryotic tree of life,” said William B. Whitman, SeqCode corresponding author and University of Georgia microbiologist. “This expansion will serve the research and the broader community by providing a common language for all prokaryotes that is systematically organized and supported by data-rich genomic datasets and associated metadata.”
To qualify for inclusion in the SeqCode, genomeses must meet rigorous scientific standards to ensure quality, stability, and open data sharing. And, though it’s not yet universally accepted, the SeqCode fundamentally aligns with established international principles for naming other organisms, including plants and animals.
“Any organism with a high-quality genome sequence – from a pure culture or not – can be named under the SeqCode,” said Hedlund. “We will also automatically accept all names formed under the ICNP. I expect through time that the SeqCode will be used much more frequently than the ICNP.”
Creating Clarity Amongst Chaos
One of the primary goals for the new system, authors argue, is to reverse a trend in the field where “unregulated” names are used in literature out of necessity. This can lead to mistakes that increase the likelihood of subsequent renaming later on, making it difficult for scientists to review and compare data and communicate effectively. Conversely, authors argue that the SeqCode “embraces findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability principles.”
Hedlund referenced Chlamydia and related organisms as an example. Since these organisms can’t be grown, stored, or distributed as pure cultures, they’re currently unable to be officially named.
“It could be pretty confusing for clinicians to not have valid names for newly discovered chlamydiae,” says Hedlund. “There’s a risk of those names being poorly cataloged, which could stifle tracking of disease outbreaks and communication among scientists, doctors, and the public.”
Overcoming Controversy
Despite its intended goal to create clarity and synergy with accepted standards for naming, the move is not without controversy.
The SeqCode follows a previous attempt by scientists to modify the ICNP to allow uncultivated prokaryotes to be named based on having a DNA sequence that would serve as the evidence (or ‘type’) for the organism – as opposed to the ICNP rules now which require a culture into two permanent collections.
In 2020, a team led by Desert Research Institute biologist Alison Murray published a paper, also in Nature Microbiology, that was co-authored or endorsed by nearly 120 scientists representing 22 countries calling for action on the proposed modifications of the ICNP to accept DNA sequences as types or to go an alternate route. However, the proposed modifications were rejected by the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes, the group responsible for governing the naming of prokaryotes.
“It is clear that the global community of scientists is ready for a paradigm change in how we name prokaryotes – to be inclusive of the breadth of prokaryotic life,” said Murray. “Modern genome technologies can resolve genomes of uncultivated organisms at the high degree of precision needed to ensure integrity and provide stability to the field of microbiology. Naming these taxa is the way to communicate their existence, their evolutionary history and predict their physiological capabilities.”
The 2020 setback led to a redoubling of efforts among the growing cadre of scientists and, ultimately, the “alternative route” which led to the formation of the SeqCode.
“Many people came to the table to share their perspectives, their energy, and their skills to make it happen,” said Hedlund. “The response to our workshops from scientists all over the world was incredible and helped validate why the time has come to formally make a change in how prokaryotes are named.”
Tension still exists among some scientists, who argue that less can be known about uncultivated prokaryotes than those that can be grown and manipulated in a lab as pure cultures. Additionally, nuances in processing and interpreting DNA sequence data could potentially lead to erroneous conclusions, a point that Hedlund claims is also true of studies of pure cultures.
The authors say this new system is not intended to discourage traditional cultivation of prokaryotes, but instead is designed by the scientific community to improve communication across the microbial sciences.
“We view this ‘SeqCode v.1.0’ as a necessary first step toward a unified system of nomenclature to communicate the full diversity of prokaryotes and we will cooperate with the community toward the realization of this vision,” authors write.
More information:
The paper, “SeqCode: a nomenclatural code for prokaryotes described from sequence data” was published Sept. 19 in the journal Nature Microbiology. Learn more about the SeqCode at https://seqco.de/.
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
About UNLV
UNLV is a doctoral-degree-granting institution of more than 30,000 students and nearly 4,000 faculty and staff that has earned the nation’s highest recognition for both research and community engagement from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. UNLV offers a broad range of respected academic programs and is committed to recruiting and retaining top students and faculty, educating the region’s diverse population and workforce, driving economic activity, and creating an academic health center for Southern Nevada. Learn more at unlv.edu.
Sep 14, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Removing turf-grass saves water. But will it increase urban heat?
September 14, 2022
LAS VEGAS, Nev.
Landscape
Urban Irrigation
Air Temperature
New study examines impacts of three desert landscaping strategies on urban irrigation and air temperatures
As Las Vegas and other Southwestern cities look for ways to reduce water use during a historic drought, the removal of grass lawns and other areas of “nonfunctional turf” has been recommended by the Southern Nevada Water Authority and written into Nevada state law with AB356. But, will this change from turf-grass to other landscaping types result in other unintended climate impacts in urban areas, such as increased air or surface temperatures?
In a new study in the journal Hydrology, a team of scientists from DRI, Arizona State University (ASU), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), examined the irrigation water requirements of three common types of urban landscapes. Then, they compared air temperature, surface temperature, and wind speed around the three sites to learn how differences in landscape types impact their surrounding environment.
The three landscape types analyzed in the study were a “mesic” tree and turf-grass landscape with water-intensive plants; a “xeric” landscape consisting primarily of desert plants on drip irrigation; and an intermediate “oasis” landscape type with a mix of high-and low water use plants. The sites were located around buildings in an experimental study area at ASU in Phoenix.
As expected, the mesic (tree and turf-grass) landscape showed the highest water consumption rate. However, the mesic site also had the lowest surface and air temperatures, both in the daytime and nighttime, thus creating better conditions for outdoor thermal comfort.
The site with xeric (desert) landscaping had the lowest irrigation water requirement but the highest temperatures. Air temperatures in the xeric landscape plot averaged 3oC (5.4oF) higher than in the other two landscape types.
The oasis landscape, with a mix of high- and low-water use plants, provided the best of both worlds – lower irrigation water requirements than the mesic site but more daytime cooling than the xeric landscape.
“The simple take-home message from what we learned was that xeric (desert) landscaping is not the best long-term solution and neither is mesic (tree-turf),” said the study’s lead author Rubab Saher, Ph.D., Maki postdoctoral research associate at DRI. “An ‘oasis’ style landscape, which contains trees like Acacia or ghost gum, and shrubs like dwarf poinciana, requiring light irrigation, are the best solution, because it conserves water but also contributes to cooling through the evapotranspiration of the plants.”
The study also examined the role of buildings and open sky to understand the effect of shade on the landscape. They found that shade in the narrow space between buildings created shade of comparable temperature to that under a tree in a mesic landscape and are interested in doing follow-up studies to learn more about the impact of building orientation on maximizing summer shade.
“I became interested in this topic because urban irrigation and water efficient landscaping are really important issues in the Western U.S., but haven’t been studied very thoroughly,” said Saher. “People have been applying methods for calculating irrigation from agricultural fields, but urban areas are very different landscapes, and the ways that homeowners irrigate are very unpredictable.”
The authors hope that their findings are helpful to homeowners, city planners, or anyone trying to help conserve water but prevent warming temperatures in arid urban regions.
“Removing turf grass from the landscape is an excellent approach for saving water, but if we remove all the turf grass, the temperature will go up,” Saher said. “For every acre of turf grass removed, we also need to plant native and/or rainfed trees to make arid cities livable in the long run.”
More information:
The full study, Assessing the Microclimate Effects and Irrigation Water Requirements of Mesic, Oasis, and Xeric Landscapes, is available from Hydrology: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/9/6/104
This study was made possible with funding from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and DRI’s Maki Postdoctoral fellowship. Study authors included Rubab Saher (DRI), Ariane Middel (ASU), Haroon Stephen (UNLV), and Sajjad Ahmad (UNLV).
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
About ASU
Arizona State University, ranked No. 1 “Most Innovative School” in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for seven years in succession, has forged the model for a New American University by operating on the principles that learning is a personal and lifelong journey for everyone, and that people thrive on experience and discovery that cannot be bound by traditional academic disciplines. Through innovation and a commitment to educational access, ASU has drawn pioneering researchers to its faculty even as it expands opportunities for qualified students.
About UNLV
UNLV is a doctoral-degree-granting institution of more than 30,000 students and nearly 4,000 faculty and staff that has earned the nation’s highest recognition for both research and community engagement from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. UNLV offers a broad range of respected academic programs and is committed to recruiting and retaining top students and faculty, educating the region’s diverse population and workforce, driving economic activity, and creating an academic health center for Southern Nevada. Learn more at unlv.edu.
Media Contacts:
Detra Page
DRI
702.591.3786
Detra.page@dri.edu
David Rozul
ASU
480-965-3779
david.rozul@asu.edu
Cheryl Bella
UNLV
702-895-3965 (o)
702-499-3930 (c)
cheryl.bella@unlv.edu
Sep 7, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Growing numbers of Native American households in Nevada face plumbing poverty, water quality problems
September 7, 2022
LAS VEGAS, Nev.
Native Americans
Plumbing Poverty
Water Quality
New study analyzes trends, opportunities, and challenges related to water security in Nevada’s Native American communities
A growing number of Native American households in Nevada have no access to indoor plumbing, a condition known as “plumbing poverty,” according to a new study by a team from DRI and the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities.
The study assesses trends and challenges associated with water security (reliable access to a sufficient quantity of safe, clean water) in Native American households and communities of Nevada and also found a concerning increase in the number of Safe Drinking Water Act violations during the last 15 years.
Native American communities in the Western U.S., including Nevada, are particularly vulnerable to water security challenges because of factors including population growth, climate change, drought, and water rights. In rural areas, aging or absent water infrastructure creates additional challenges.
In this study, the research team used U.S. Census microdata on household plumbing characteristics to learn about the access of Native American community members to “complete plumbing facilities,” including piped water (hot and cold), a flush toilet, and a bathtub or shower. They also used water quality reports from the Environmental Protection Agency to learn about drinking water sources and health violations.
According to their results, during the 30-year time period from 1990-2019, an average of 0.67 percent of Native American households in Nevada lacked complete indoor plumbing – higher than the national average of 0.4 percent. Their findings show a consistent increase in the lack of access to plumbing over the last few decades, with more than 20,000 people affected in 2019.
“Previous studies have found that Native American households are more likely to lack complete indoor plumbing than other households in the U.S., and our results show a similar trend here in Nevada,” said lead author Erick Bandala, Ph.D., assistant research professor of environmental science at DRI. “This can create quality of life problems, for example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when lack of indoor plumbing could have prevented basic health measures like hand-washing.”
Native American community members in Nevada with no access to plumbing from 1990 to 2019.
Credit: Erick Bandala, DRI.
Plumbing poverty may correlate with other types of poverty. Analysis by the study team showed that as the number of people living in a household increased, access to complete plumbing decreased significantly, in agreement with other studies.
Study findings also showed a significant increase in the number of Safe Drinking Water Act violations in water facilities serving Native American Communities in Nevada from 2005 to 2020. The most common health-based violations included presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), presence of coliform bacteria, and presence of inorganic chemicals.
“Water accessibility, reliability, and quality are major challenges for Native American communities in Nevada and throughout the Southwest,” said coauthor Maureen McCarthy, Ph.D., research professor of environmental science and director of the Native Climate project at DRI.
Types of Safe Drinking Water Act violations documented by the EPA for public water systems serving Native American communities in Nevada, 2005-2020.
Credit: Erick Bandala, DRI.
The study authors hope that their findings are useful to decision-makers and members of the general public who may not be aware that plumbing poverty and water quality are significant problems in Nevada.
More information:
The full study, “Assessing the effect of extreme heat on workforce health in the southwestern USA,” is available from the International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901122002179?dgcid=author
This project was funded by the General Frederick West Lander Endowment at DRI. Study authors included Erick Bandala (DRI), Maureen McCarthy (DRI), and Nancy Brune (DRI, formerly of the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities).
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Sep 1, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Save Red Rock Partners with DRI to “Make It Rain” in Red Rock Canyon
September 1, 2022
LAS VEGAS, Nev.
Above: The sun shines on Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.
Photo courtesy of Pengcheng Zhu (iStock).
Environmental nonprofit raises funds to enable cloud seeding technology in the region
Save Red Rock is partnering with DRI to fund a cloud seeding program which will augment precipitation in the Spring Mountains, helping to replenish the aquifers within the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The partnership is working to alleviate some of the devastating effects of drought by stimulating additional snowfall in the winter and rainfall in the summer from naturally-occurring storm clouds in the area. The nonprofit is organizing a community crowdfunding campaign, aptly titled “Make it Rain,” to raise $150,000 towards the multi-seasonal cloud seeding project.
“Drought conditions are at a critical level for much of the flora and fauna in the southwest,” says Save Red Rock President Heather Fisher. “The health and beauty of our outdoor sanctuaries like Red Rock Canyon are at risk. Along with our climate scientists, it’s up to all of us to act now and protect these endangered ecosystems for the long term.”
Cloud seeding is a safe and effective method used all over the world to enhance precipitation. It works by sending silver iodide, a natural and non-toxic compound, into a potential storm cloud which increases the likelihood of precipitation. Winter seeding techniques feature ground-based generators operated remotely by meteorologists who monitor conditions and carefully evaluate when to seed. Each generator has the potential of adding an average of 3,000 acre feet of snow melt per year. DRI’s last project in Lee Canyon proved even more successful, generating 5,656 acre feet, or approximately 1.8 billion gallons.
DRI has been pioneering cloud seeding programs since the early 1960s. They now offer time-tested methods that are proven to enhance snowfall in five mountain ranges, including the Lake Tahoe Basin (CA/NV), the Spring Mountains (NV), the Santa Rosa Mountains (NV), the San Juan Mountains (CO), and the Upper Colorado River Headwaters region (CO).
“Save Red Rock is the ideal partner for us on this project,” said DRI’s Program Director Frank McDonough. “Desert Research Institute is a proud pioneer of weather optimization research and practices, which have been used successfully for generations. However, as we focus on the science, it’s crucial that we work with other community organizations to fund, place and promote the use of our equipment.”
Community leaders have already started committing to the fundraising effort, including sponsor Brett Torino, Founder of The Brett Torino Foundation who will offer Torino Ranch in Lovell Canyon as the host site for the winter cloud seed generators; and Jeremy Burkhardt, Chairman of Origin Acoustics, who donated the first $25,000 to kickstart the crowdfund.
“Business has been good to me and it’s important to give back,” says Burkhardt. “I’m supporting Save Red Rock in this cloud seeding project because I believe in helping the environment and the beautiful canyon I love.”
More information:
Additional donations to support DRI’s cloud seeding program for Save Red Rock can be made at https://saveredrock.com/make-it-rain/. For those interested in learning more about how cloud seeding works, DRI and Save Red Rock will be hosting a public webinar on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 10 am. Pre-registration is encouraged and available here.
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About Save Red Rock
Save Red Rock is a 501c3 organization with a mission to preserve, protect, and enhance the natural, cultural, recreational, and scenic resources in and around the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area to ensure natural resource sustainability and promote responsible recreational enjoyment for all user groups now and for future generations.
About the Cottonwood Springs Water Stewards
The Cottonwood Springs Water Stewards is a committee of Save Red Rock whose goal is to preserve the springs and aquifers in Red Rock Canyon. Members of the Stewards include experts in botany, environmental science, land management and more.
About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Jul 14, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
“Buen Aire Para Todos” project will create a new air quality monitoring system for Latinx community in East Las Vegas
July 14, 2022
LAS VEGAS, Nev.
Air Quality Monitoring
East Las Vegas
Buen Aire Para Todos
Above: Residential suburban neighborhood in Las Vegas, Nevada heading east from the Stratosphere.
Credit: cristianl, iStock.
Latinx communities in East Las Vegas will soon have access to an improved air quality monitoring program, thanks to a $300k grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a new project called Buen Aire Para Todos. This project will be led by ImpactNV with support from DRI, the City of Las Vegas, Make the Road Nevada, and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.
Residents of East Las Vegas (pop. 101,685) are disproportionally impacted by poor air quality and extreme heat, due to factors such as pollution from major highways, older homes without air conditioning, low access to personal vehicles, and low incomes (median household income $29,994). Buen Aire Para Todos will help to address some of the long-standing issues related to environmental justice and air quality in East Las Vegas, where approximately 65 percent of residents are Hispanic and many work in outdoor service jobs.
“ImpactNV is excited to lead this collaborative environmental justice grant for three important reasons,” said ImpactNV Director Lauren Boitel. “First, it showcases the strength of our organizations history of partnership and driving action for change in areas of need. Second, it provides a tangible example of how diverse sustainability is in its application, impact, and ability to improve the lives of all Nevadans. And finally, it elevates Nevada’s sustainability leadership nationally to be the recipient of such a competitive federal funding opportunity from the EPA.”
Buen Aire Para Todos will improve the air quality monitoring capabilities in East Las Vegas through the creation of a new air quality monitoring system made up of stationary and mobile outdoor sensors, as well as indoor sensors.
Ten stationary outdoor Purple Air sensors will be installed on public buildings, street lights, or other public areas. Ten mobile sensors will be placed on food carts and food trucks, in partnership with business-owners. And 20 indoor sensors will be placed in the residences of voluntary program participants, in association with a program to test the effectiveness of HVAC air filters.
These sensors will provide improved data on air quality for local residents, and allow the City of Las Vegas to access real time, high resolution data for one of the City’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.
“The project connects residents to science that directly impacts their lives,” said Associate Research Professor Derek Kauneckis, Ph.D., of DRI. “It develops a neighbor-level air quality monitoring grid where the community has control over the data.”
The project will also focus on expanding community awareness, education, and outreach to help residents better understand air quality measurements and health impacts of poor air quality and extreme heat. The project team will conduct community focus groups, organize educational outreach events, and share data with community members.
“Our membership of more than 10,000 consists primarily of immigrant, working families throughout East Las Vegas who have been shouldering the burden of confronting the negative impacts of a warming planet for years,” said State Director of Make the Road Nevada Leo Murieta. “It’s these directly impacted families who have been finding solutions to protect their loved ones day in and day out, so we are excited to work in partnership with our coalition to elevate these voices so we can create sustainable solutions for future generations of Nevadans.”
This project will begin in July 2022 and continue until June 2024.
Buen Aire Para Todos is a collaborative effort between nonprofit, academic, and public sector organizations in Southern Nevada who are united around the goal of developing solutions for cleaner air, better health, and reduced vulnerabilities to extreme heat. This project supports EPA’s Strategic Plan Goal of increasing transparency and public participation related to causes, effects, prevention, and control of air pollution.
“One of the priorities for the city of Las Vegas is to improve our residents’ quality of life,” said Las Vegas City Councilwoman Olivia Diaz. “Air pollution disproportionately affects low-income communities, like many of the Ward 3 families that live in my district. Ensuring better air quality is certainly a health issue that will benefit residents, especially children whose lungs are most vulnerable and are more likely to be hospitalized with respiratory issues. The city of Las Vegas is a leader in sustainable programming and I want to thank the EPA, ImpactNV and all the partners in the Buen Aire Para Todos project for their help in improving the quality of life for our residents.”
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About ImpactNV
ImpactNV is Nevada’s social, economic and environmental sustainability alliance. Founded in 2008, ImpactNV has served as an independent nonprofit comprised of some of Nevada’s largest public and private entities and NGOs, including MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, Clark County, the City of Las Vegas, City of Reno and Dignity Health/Intermountain Healthcare. The goal of this alliance is to make Nevada and its communities more environmentally, economically and socially resilient and sustainable.
About Make the Road Nevada
Make The Road Nevada is a non-profit organization based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our family of organizations hail from the east coast, where they have changed the face of community organizing in immigrant communities and become an immutable force for good. The states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania all bear the fruits of our work, and it is time for Make The Road to make the difference in our communities in the west coast. Our vision for Nevada begins with building a strong grassroots foundation in Las Vegas and it ends with elevating the power of working class immigrant communities in every community around the state. We do this by informing, empowering, and mobilizing our community to take action on important issues that directly affect their families and loved ones.
About Las Vegas-Clark County Library District
The award-winning Las Vegas-Clark County Library District is an independent taxing entity that serves a diverse community across 8,000 square miles. Through its 25 branches and website, the Library District offers a collection of 3.2 million items consisting of books, movies, music (including streaming and downloadable), online resources, as well as free programs for all ages. The Library District is a vibrant and vital member of the community offering limitless learning; business and career advancement; government and social services support; and best of all, a place where customers find a sense of culture and community. For more information, and to support Library District programs, please visit LVCCLD.org.
About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Media contacts:
Lauren Boitel
Executive Director, ImpactNV
Director@impact-nv.org
702-460-7047
Janette Mata
Communications Director, Make the Road Nevada
janette.mata@maketheroadnv.org
818-282-5223
Detra Page
Communications Manager, DRI
Detra.Page@dri.edu
702-862-5597
Margaret Kurtz
Public Information Office, City of Las Vegas
mkurtz@lasvegasnevada.gov
702-229-6993
Jul 6, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
DRI Appoints Vic Etyemezian, Ph.D., Vice President for Research
Above: The DRI sign at the Las Vegas campus.
Credit: David Becker/Nevada Momentum.
DRI is proud to announce the appointment of Vic Etyemezian, Ph.D., as the institution’s vice president for research, effective July 1, 2022. Etyemezian has served in an interim capacity since September of 2019.
“During Vic’s time as interim vice president for research, he has shown the commitment and vision to lead DRI’s current and future research opportunities,” said DRI President Kumud Acharya, Ph.D. “I am confident in Vic’s abilities, and I look forward to his continued contributions to the advancement of DRI’s research portfolio.”
“I am honored to accept DRI’s Vice President for Research role as a permanent position and to promote the important research our scientists are doing right here in Nevada and around the world,” said Etyemezian. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with our dedicated division directors, research faculty, graduate students, and staff to expand our research and share DRI’s impactful science that inspires solutions.”
Before being named Interim Vice President for Research, Etyemezian was a senior faculty member in DRI’s Division of Atmospheric Sciences. He spent more than two decades working in dust emissions, air dispersion modeling, and data analysis. He has numerous peer-reviewed publications, a record of successfully pursuing intellectual property based on DRI research and is well known and regarded within the dust research community. He holds a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University, Master’s from Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Science from the California Institute of Technology.
Vic Etyemezia, Ph.D., Vice President for Research at Desert Research Institute (DRI).
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Jul 5, 2022 | Blog, Featured researchers
Meet Victoria Wuest, Graduate Researcher
JULY 5, 2021
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Above: Graduate researcher Victoria Wuest filters wastewater samples for COVID-19 detection in the BSL-2 lab at DRI in Las Vegas.
Credit: Alison Swallow/DRI.
Victoria Wuest is a graduate research assistant with the Division of Hydrologic Science at DRI in Las Vegas, mentored by Duane Moser, Ph.D. She is a Master’s student in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Learn more about Victoria and her graduate research in this interview with DRI’s Behind the Science blog!
DRI: What brought you to DRI? And who at DRI are you working with?
Wuest: I came to DRI to research environmental DNA (eDNA) in two warm springs of Southern Nevada, working under Duane Moser, Ph.D., and with Ali Saidi-Mehrabad, Ph.D. eDNA is DNA that is released from an organism into the environment, and can come from sources like shed skin, mucus, and feces.
In my previous job, I was monitoring endangered species at the Muddy River, one of the study sites for this research. Also, I had previously worked with many biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Nevada Department of Wildlife who manage this project and both of its study sites — the springs of the Muddy River and Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. I was familiar with the species, the hydrology of these areas, and the management concerns of these precious resources. I had worked with the fish before and care about their survival. I thought I could make a positive impact with this research.
DRI: What research projects have you worked on during your time at DRI?
Wuest: When I first came to DRI, I had the opportunity to study the ancient eDNA excavated from Mule Springs Rockshelter, NV. This research focused on the migration of peoples throughout the Great Basin using DNA found on quids. Quids are chewed and expectorated plant fibers, which essentially served as an unintentional cheek swab. These samples were haplotyped and dated. Some quids turned out to be older than 3,000 years. This was my first experience working with eDNA and was valuable in teaching me the techniques for my project.
On the project at the Muddy River and Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, I have developed a method and markers for using eDNA for early detection of the invasive red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis). I have also been using eDNA to track the movements of two endangered species, the Moapa dace (Moapa coriacea), and Warm Springs pupfish (Cyprinodon pectoralis nevadensis).
Graduate researcher Victoria Wuest extracts DNA from water samples in the clean lab at DRI in Las Vegas.
Credit: Alison Swallow/DRI.
DRI: What are some of the management concerns at the Muddy River and Ash Meadows project sites?
Wuest: The management of both sites focuses on the recovery of the imperiled species that are endemic to the area. The Moapa dace population has grown from 459 in 2008 to over a thousand. Meanwhile, the Warm Springs pupfish has a very small population of less than 500 individuals. Both species are highly susceptible to disturbances and have very localized distributions. The populations of Moapa dace and Warm Springs pupfish are dependent on the restoration of the streams and removal and monitoring of non-native and invasive species.
Graduate researcher Victoria Wuest samples stream water in Beatty, NV for the detection of western mosquitofish.
DRI: What are your research goals?
Wuest: My goal is to design markers, or specific, single-stranded DNA sequences, to detect red swamp crayfish , western mosquitofish, Moapa dace, and Warm Springs pupfish and publish these novel markers along with the novel sampling method. This method has the potential to be expanded to detect all the species in these systems with the future goal of tracking abundance. As I near the end of my degree program, I am proud that I have made progress towards using eDNA as a monitoring tool for these sites.
DRI: Tell us about yourself. What do you do for fun?
Wuest: Like many ecologists, I enjoy being outdoors—hiking, hammocking, and kayaking. At Northern Arizona University, my alma mater, these activities were a fundamental part of my college experience and part of the reason I chose that university. It is also the reason I chose to pursue biology.
However, lately, when I truly need a break from science, I find myself turning to art. I enjoy refinishing furniture, knitting gifts for my friends and family, propagating plants, sewing, photography, and honestly any craft that allows me to solve problems by being creative. These activities allow me to take a break from my work while still being fulfilling.
Graduate researcher Victoria Wuest samples the mainstem Muddy River, NV for the detection of invasive species and the endangered Moapa dace.
May 25, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Raiders Foundation Supports Students with NFL Foundation Digital Divide Grant
Digital Divide
Technology
Technology Careers
Above: High school students listen as a panel of technology leaders talk about their careers at Tech Tomorrow.
Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LAS VEGAS RAIDERS.
Thirty junior and senior high school students surprised with new laptops
The Raiders Foundation has teamed up with DRI and Jobs 4 Nevada’s Graduates (J4NG) on “Tech Tomorrow” to help bridge the digital divide in Southern Nevada. Thirty junior and senior high school students selected by J4NG were treated to a special event at the Credit One Club in Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The students received an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Allegiant Stadium, showcasing how technology plays a role in nearly all aspects of a NFL game, and heard from an inspiring panel of technology leaders about careers in technology. At the end of the event, all 30 students were surprised with a brand-new laptop, wireless mouse, and backpack, all in an effort to bridge the digital divide.
“The Raiders Foundation is excited to play a role in helping to bridge the digital divide in our community,” said Raiders Foundation Executive Director Alan Diskin. “This endeavor matches our mission tenet of youth development and reinforces our commitment to making the Silver State a better place for today’s youth, who will become tomorrow’s leaders.”
“The ability to access computers and the internet plays a significant role in solving our world’s greatest challenges, and technology has become increasingly important for science exploration and research,” said DRI President Kumud Acharya. “We are very appreciative to the Raiders Foundation for selecting DRI as a partner to administer the NFL Foundation Digital Divide grant and produce ‘Tech Tomorrow.’”
“Exposure to technology and jobs in Nevada allows our students to explore career opportunities they might not have otherwise known about,” said J4NG Executive Director Dr. Rene Cantu. “We want to thank the Raiders Foundation for funding this opportunity and partnering with DRI to administer the program. The technology career panel inspired our students about a future in a tech-based job. We are grateful to the Raiders Foundation for the NFL Digital Divide Grant, which provided our students with new laptops to help them further their career and college goals after graduation.”
The “Tech Tomorrow” event provided a foundation for these students to continue to learn and build technology into their future.
Thirty junior and senior high school students pose with leaders from the Las Vegas Raiders Foundation, DRI, and J4NG. After the photo, the students were surprised with a brand-new laptop, wireless mouse, and backpack.
Credit: PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE LAS VEGAS RAIDERS.
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
About Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates
Jobs for Nevada’s Graduates (J4NG), is a statewide nonprofit, part of the national organization, Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG). J4NG empowers positive futures for Nevada’s youth by working with students to achieve graduation and find career pathways. J4NG helps Nevada students reach their potential using in-depth mentoring, instruction, data-driven strategies and long-term support. 60 schools across Nevada offer J4G programs through J4NG, serving more than 3,300 students. J4NG students receive over 120+ hours of career readiness instruction, guidance and support through graduation and the first 12 months after graduation.
May 25, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
HELP of Southern Nevada and DRI Recognize the 2022 STEM Force Graduates
STEM Careers
Career Development
Workforce Innvoation
Above: DRI President Kumud Acharya speaks to the graduates of the 2022 STEM Force program.
Credit: Tommy Gugino/DRI.
HELP of Southern Nevada and DRI honored the graduates of its 2022 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) STEM Force Program. Families and pupils gathered inside DRI’s Roger’s Auditorium to commemorate the student’s achievements in environmental research as they go on to pursue a potential STEM career. The ceremony kicked off with opening remarks from DRI President Kumud Acharya followed by a video montage of events throughout the program, and a reception filled with beverages and cake for all. Those in attendance included STEM Education Coordinator at DRI, Shawna Witt, STEM Force Program Director, Craig Rosen, HELP of Southern Nevada Chief Workforce Officer, Denise Gee, and Workforce Services Program Manager, Christina Sewell.
“With a growing need for a workforce skilled in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), DRI is committed to helping students achieve long term outcomes both inside and outside of the classroom. Through the STEM Force Program, students are taught fundamentals and are exposed to scientific solutions so that they can pursue future STEM careers,” said Rosen. “We are delighted to once again partner with HELP of Southern Nevada to support their mission and ensure students are equipped with the background knowledge and tools to succeed in their future career.”
The 10-week STEM Force Program provided WIOA program members with the opportunity to learn about STEM topics and careers through a series of presentations, field trips and hands-on projects. Students of the program were able to interact with highly skilled scientists, engage in experiments and work collaboratively with one another to develop work-readiness skills such as creativity, problem-solving, teamwork and determination.
“We want to thank DRI for their incredible partnership and urgency to continue helping our clients help themselves,” said Sewell. “As we set our clients up for success, we believe it is important to build a foundation for their future through various workshops, support groups and networking.”
The 2022 STEM Force Graduates with DRI STEM Education Coordinator Shawna Witt and DRI Community Engagement and Professional Development Administrator Craig Rosen.
Credit: Tommy Gugino/DRI.
More Information:
For more information on HELP of Southern Nevada’s programs, please visit https://www.helpsonv.org.
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
About HELP of Southern Nevada
HELP of Southern Nevada provides assistance to low-income families, homeless youth and other individuals, to help them reach self-sufficiency through direct services, trainings and referrals. HELP operates 10 departments, consists of 200 employees and serves tens of thousands of unduplicated clients each year. Programs available include Behavioral Health Services, Coordinated Entry Community Matchers, Homeless Response Teams, Family Housing Services, Framing Hope Warehouse, Holiday Assistance, Adult Housing Programs, Community Relations, Shannon West Homeless Youth Center, Weatherization and Workforce Services. For more information, call HELP of Southern Nevada at 702.369.4357 or visit www.helpsonv.org. Follow HELP of Southern Nevada on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
May 17, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Fire Science
Wildland Fire Research
Workforce Development
Nevada Receives National Science Foundation Research Award for $20 Million
To increase capacity for wildland fire research, education, and workforce development
The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) has been awarded $20 million over a period of five years for the Harnessing the Data Revolution for Fire Science (HDRFS) project. This project is funded through the National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR); whose mission is to enhance research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions (states, territories, commonwealth) by strengthening STEM capacity and capability.
The overarching goal of the RII Track-1: Harnessing the Data Revolution for Fire Science (HDRFS) project is to increase the capacity of Nevada for wildland fire research, education, and workforce development and to demonstrate this increased capacity through technology-enhanced fire science in the regionally important sagebrush ecosystem.
This system-wide partnership involves the three research institutions, the Desert Research Institute (DRI), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Further involvement includes faculty and students from NSHE undergraduate institutions.
“NSF continues to serve as an essential partner in supporting the critical work of the NSHE EPSCoR,” said NSHE Board of Regents Chair Cathy McAdoo. “As our region currently faces extreme fire and water challenges, we appreciate this investment in Fire Science research and workforce development; giving NSHE institutions (DRI, UNLV, UNR) more capacity to solve our most pressing environmental issues.”
This project will inform and improve land and fire management by providing scaling of fire effects and impacts from smaller to larger fires in four fire science areas: Ecology; Hydrology between fire events; Fire Processes; and Fire Emissions and their Atmospheric Aging during fire events. This will be achieved through strategic investments in expertise, facilities, Cyberinfrastructure Innovations, and Education and Workforce Development creating end-to-end pipelines for research and STEM advancements.
“This project will generate and harness large amounts of data from diverse sensor platforms to accurately model landscapes and wildland fires from plot to watershed scales,” said Frederick Harris, Nevada NSF EPSCoR Project Director. “We will study how fires impact the societal needs outlined in the Nevada Science and Technology Plan.”
In addition, NSHE researchers will study potential new areas of economic development for Nevada, emphasizing new opportunities for workforce development, diversity, hiring new faculty, and providing more scholarship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields.
“This NSF award funds critical fire science research, which continues to be a priority for Nevada,” said DRI President Kumud Acharya. “DRI has expertise in wildland fire research, and we look forward to working with our fellow NSHE institutions on this important project.”
The award will enhance Nevada’s capabilities in wildland fire science, UAS, data acquisition, processing, and modeling, and rapid deployment, while strengthening Nevada’s network of external collaborators and stakeholders, who already include the major fire and land management agencies in the Great Basin and Western United States.
“This marks an important investment for Nevada and the West,” said UNR President Brian Sandoval. “This National Science Foundation EPSCoR-supported project takes a comprehensive, collaborative approach. It will enhance the capacity of Nevada’s public research institutions to further tackle an issue of utmost importance and will do so by further deploying technology and cyberinfrastructure, and further building on the expertise and capabilities of our researchers and faculty.”
“By joining forces, UNR, DRI, and UNLV are poised to reveal the power of cooperation in Nevada when it comes to addressing challenges important to the state and beyond its borders,” said UNLV President Keith Whitfield. “This research will advance our fundamental understanding of wildfires as it strengthens the capacity of our campuses to engage with each other and with Nevada’s students and citizens in addressing today’s complex challenges. This is but one example of how research works for Nevada.”
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About NSHE
The Nevada System of Higher Education, comprised of two doctoral-granting research universities, a state college, four comprehensive community colleges, and one environmental research institute, serves the educational and job training needs of Nevada. NSHE provides educational opportunities to more than 100,000 students and is governed by the Nevada Board of Regents. The System includes the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada State College, Desert Research Institute, the College of Southern Nevada, Great Basin College, Truckee Meadows Community College, and Western Nevada College. For more information regarding NSHE please visit: https://nshe.nevada.edu/
About the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR
The mission of the Nevada System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR is to promote collaboration and multidisciplinary learning among NSHE institutions, and to enable alignment of efforts with the needs of the state to increase research and STEM competitiveness. The goal is to create new opportunities in the State of Nevada for workforce development and promote the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines for the state. For more information regarding Nevada EPSCoR please visit: https://epscorspo.nevada.edu/
About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
May 9, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Extreme Heat
Outdoor Workers
Workforce Health
For Outdoor Workers, Extreme Heat Poses Extreme Danger
Study explores effects of summertime heat waves on workforce health in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles
Working outdoors during periods of extreme heat can cause discomfort, heat stress, or heat illnesses – all growing concerns for people who live and work in Southwestern cities like Las Vegas, where summer temperatures creep higher each year. But, did you know that female outdoor workers are experiencing disproportionate impacts? Or, that more experienced outdoor workers are at higher risk than those with fewer years on the job?
In a new study in the International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, scientists from DRI, Nevada State College, and the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities explore the growing threat that extreme heat poses to workforce health in three of the hottest cities in North America – Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Their study results hold important findings for outdoor workers, their employers, and policymakers across the Southwestern U.S.
To assess the relationship between extreme heat and nonfatal workplace heat-related illness, the study compared data on occupational injuries and illnesses for the years 2011-2018 with heat index data from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Heat index data combines temperature and humidity as a measure of how people feel the heat.
“We expected to see a correlation between high temperatures and people getting sick – and we found that there was a very clear trend in most cases,” said lead author Erick Bandala, Ph.D., assistant research professor of environmental science at DRI. “Surprisingly, this type of analysis hadn’t been done in the past, and there are some really interesting social implications to what we learned.”
First, the research team analyzed changes in heat index data for the three cities. They found a significant increase in heat index at two of the three locations (Phoenix and Las Vegas) during the study period, with average heat index values for June-Aug climbing from “extreme caution” in 2012 into the “danger” range by 2018. Over the same period, data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics showed that the number of nonfatal heat-related workplace injuries and illnesses in each of the three states increased steadily, climbing from below the national average in 2011 to above the national average in 2018.
According to new research, the number of heat-related nonfatal workplace injuries in Arizona, California, and Nevada increased between 2011 and 2018. The three states now exceed the U.S. average.
Credit: Erick Bandala/DRI.
“Our data indicate that the increases in heat are happening alongside increases in the number of nonfatal occupational injuries across these three states,” Bandala said. “Every year we are seeing increased heat waves and higher temperatures, and all of the people who work outside in the streets or in gardens or agriculture are exposed to this.”
Next, the study team looked deeper into the data to learn about the number of male and female workers being affected by heat-related workplace injuries. At the beginning of the study in 2011, 26 to 50 percent of the people affected across the three states were female. By 2018, 42 to 86 percent of the people affected were female.
Study authors believe that the reason for this increase may be due to more women entering the outdoor workforce, or it could be related to the vulnerability of women to certain heat-related effects, like hyponatremia — a condition that develops when too much plain water is consumed under high heat conditions and sodium levels in blood get too low.
“As the number of female workers exposed to extreme temperatures increases, there is an increasing need to consider the effect of gender and use different approaches to recommend prevention measures as hormonal factors and cycles that can be exacerbated during exposure to extreme heat,” said study coauthor Kebret Kebede, M.D., associate professor of biology at Nevada State College.
The authors examined other variables, such as the length of an employee’s service with an employer. They found that the number of heat-related injury/illnesses tended to increase as the length of service with the employer increased, and that those with more than five years of service were at greater risk than those with less than one year of service. This may be due to employees with more years of service having a reduced perception of risk, or could be a cumulative effect of years of chronic heat exposure on the well-being of outdoor workers.
New research shows that in Arizona, Nevada and California, the number of heat-related injuries/illnesses tended to increase as length of service with the employer increased.
Credit: Erick Bandala/DRI.
In severe cases, heat-related illness or injury can cause extensive damage to all tissues and organs, disrupting the central nervous system, blood-clotting mechanisms, and liver and kidney functions. In these cases, lengthy recoveries are required. The authors found concerning evidence that heat-related injuries are keeping many outdoor workers away from work for more than 30 days.
“These lengthy recovery times are a significant problem for workers and their families, many of whom are living day-to-day,” Bandala said. “When we have these extreme heat conditions coming every year and a lot of people working outside, we need to know what are the consequences of these problems, and we need the people to know about the risk so that they take proper precautions.”
Authors of a new study on the impacts of extreme heat on workplace health found concerning evidence that heat-related injuries are keeping many outdoor workers away from work for more than 30 days.
Credit: Erick Bandala/DRI.
The study also explored connections between heat-related injuries/illnesses and the number of hours worked, the time of day that the event occurred, and the ethnicities and age groups that were most impacted.
Study authors hope that their results will be useful to policymakers to protect outdoor workers. They also hope that the information will be useful to outdoor workers who need to stay safe during times of extreme heat, and employers who rely on a healthy workforce to keep their businesses operating.
“This study underscores the importance of and the need for the work the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is doing to adopt a regulation to address heat illness,” stated Nancy Brune, Ph.D., study co-author and senior fellow at the Guinn Center.
“As temperatures continue to rise and heat-related illnesses and deaths continue to rise, the need for public policies to alleviate health and economic impacts is growing,” Bandala said. “I hope to continue doing research on this problem so that we can have a better of understanding of the impacts of extreme heat and how to help the people who are most vulnerable.”
More information:
The full study, “Assessing the effect of extreme heat on workforce health in the southwestern USA,” is available from the International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13762-022-04180-1
This project was funded by NOAA/IRAP (Grant no. NA18AR4310341) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM103440) from the National Institutes of Health. Study authors included Erick Bandala (DRI), Nancy Brune (Guinn Center for Policy Priorities), and Kebret Kebede (Nevada State College).
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
About Nevada State College
Nevada State College, a four-year public institution, is a member of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Nevada State places a special emphasis on the advancement of a diverse and largely under-served student population. Located on a developing 512-acre campus in the foothills of Henderson, Nevada, the college was established in 2002 as a new tier in the state system between the research universities and the two-year colleges and, as such, is Nevada’s only state college. Nevada State College is one of the fastest-growing colleges in the country and the fastest growing in Nevada. It currently has more than 7,000 students and more than 800 full- and part-time employees. For more information, visit http://nsc.edu.
About the Guinn Center
The Guinn Center is a policy research center, affiliated with the University of Nevada, Reno, with offices in both Las Vegas and Reno. The Guinn Center provides data-driven research and policy analysis. The Guinn Center seeks to identify and advance common-sense policy solutions through research , policy engagement, and strategic partnerships.
Mar 24, 2022 | Blog, Featured researchers
Meet Dennis Hallema, Ph.D.
MARCH 24, 2021
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Data Modeling
Hydrology
Wildfires
Above: Dennis Hallema of DRI studies natural catastrophe impacts, such as the longer-term impacts that wildfires have on flood risk after a fire has passed. The hillside shown here burned in California’s Loyalton Fire during August 2020.
Credit: Kelsey Fitzgerald.
Dennis Hallema, Ph.D., is an assistant research professor of hydrology with the Division of Hydrologic Sciences at DRI in Las Vegas. He specializes in data modeling and natural catastrophe research. Dennis is originally from the Netherlands and holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Earth Sciences from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and a Ph.D. in Continental hydrology and society from Montpellier SupAgro in France. A new addition to the DRI community, Dennis started working for DRI remotely from North Carolina in November 2021 and relocated to Las Vegas in March.
DRI: Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what brought you to DRI?
Hallema: I started at DRI in November of last year, so I am still fairly new here. If you had to describe me with two keywords, it would be hydrology and wildfires. I specialize in consulting on natural hazard impacts – not so much the natural hazards themselves, but the longer-term impacts that they have on things like flood risks. My methods are AI (artificial intelligence) focused – so, machine learning. When I applied for this job at DRI, there was really a need for a person who could do research on all of these aspects combined – a person that crossed the bridge between traditional hydrologic modeling and who could also apply newer methods like AI.
My background is in hydrologic modeling and fire science. I first did this work for the USDA Forest Service, where I was a research fellow with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). That was my first big fellowship. I did that job for a few years, and that’s where I really became an expert in wildfire impacts on hydrology. Before that, I worked in Quebec City, Canada, on different jobs in hydrologic modeling of snowy landscapes, so I have experience doing snow modeling as well.
DRI: What are some of the ways that wildfires impact hydrology? Can you give us an example?
Hallema: I have studied this across the whole entire country looking at various regions where fires have an impact on runoff. The higher up you go in mountainous areas, you see very profound impacts. We can divide the impacts into primary perils and secondary perils. In the case of a wildfire, primary perils are the immediate damage. People lose their property, there are health impacts, there can be loss of life.
Secondary perils are what come later, after the fire has passed – the indirect effects that occur from the fire. In many cases, secondary perils are related to hillslope stability. You may remember the mudslides of California a few years ago. The hillslope becomes unstable because the wildfire can remove a large part of the vegetation canopy. After the fire, when the first rainfall event occurs, the soil can often still absorb that. But when the second rain shower comes, and there’s nothing to retain or protect the soil, in case of very severe wildfires, the soil becomes saturated and essentially creates a sliding plane, and that’s when you get mudslides.
Above: Dennis Hallema is an assistant research professor of hydrology with DRI in Las Vegas. In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors.
DRI: You recently published new research on wildfire risks to watersheds in Canada. Can you tell us about that?
Hallema: The paper was a review of the mechanisms that are responsible for wildfire impacts on water security and water resources across Canada. We mapped out where data are available, and what types of data are available, as far as wildfire occurrence, severity, streamflow data, and streamflow impacts. Data is often collected with publicly funded projects, so the ideal outcome would be that data should be accessible to other users later on. But this isn’t always the case.
One principle that we advocate for in this paper that I also want to promote in Nevada is the FAIR data principle. That stands for Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse of digital assets. Obstacles to that are data scarcity and data fragmentation. Data scarcity means that there is little data available, and data fragmentation means that the data exist, but they are stored in many different locations. There is a lot of opportunity to improve the depth of data collection and quality of datasets and improve and reduce the fragmentation of data.
DRI: Can you tell us about a project you’re working on here at DRI?
Hallema: I’m working on a project that is sponsored by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and one thing that we’re exploring is the effect of rain on snow. This happens in landscapes in northern Nevada when temperatures are around the freezing point, and you get an interesting dynamic of snowmelt and snowfall. My research is really focused on how likely this is to generate a flood, such as a 50-year flood, or a 100-year flood. The way I’m approaching the problem is by looking at the interactions between rain, snow, and rain-on-snow events. I’m researching how these interactions at the land surface really affect the runoff that is generated, how that affects the probability of a flood occurring, and when during the season you see this elevated flood risk. That’s one thing I’m working towards – and in general also providing consulting for institutions like USACE for implementing machine learning and remote sensing technologies into natural hazards impact models, wildfire data modeling, water risk models, and such.
DRI: What do you like to do outside of work?
Hallema: I like to spend a lot of time outdoors. I like to travel, I speak a few languages. I’m lucky that the things I do for work are things that I really enjoy doing. Being outside, collecting data, and doing cool computer stuff when I get back to the office, that’s the fun of my job.
Mar 23, 2022 | Announcements, News releases
Wastewater
COVID-19
Wastewater Surveillance
Above: Waste water samples were collected at the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Pahrump, Nevada.
Agencies collaborate to launch wastewater surveillance dashboard
New dashboard will include COVID-19 concentration data, information about variant testing and more.
Las Vegas, Nev. (March 23, 2022) –
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Southern Nevada Health District, Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) and Desert Research Institute (DRI) are partnering to detect early increases of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) and emerging variants in Southern Nevada through wastewater surveillance. The data will be available on a new dashboard that will be updated weekly at http://empower.unlv.edu.
The wastewater surveillance program monitors SARS-CoV-2 concentrations from people who contract COVID-19 (with or without symptoms) and shed genetic material in their stools. During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance has tracked, monitored and provided early awareness of increases in volume of the virus as well as changes to the types of variants of COVID-19. Because people who are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 can take several days before showing symptoms, the information provided through this surveillance program can assist with informing public health strategy and ongoing planning efforts.
In addition to being an early indicator that cases of COVID-19 may be increasing in a community, wastewater surveillance can also indicate when cases are decreasing, and the surveillance program is not dependent on people seeking testing or health care when they are sick.
“As we move into the next stage of our response to COVID-19, wastewater surveillance is going to be a powerful tool for detecting potential surges in new cases or the presence of new variants in our community. We will be able to alert the public in a timelier manner and support public health mitigation measures that can help slow the spread of the virus,” said Cassius Lockett, Director of Disease Surveillance and Control for the Health District.
Currently, the SARS-CoV-2 concentration in the wastewater of participating community water systems across Southern Nevada is tested as part of this program. Nevada was one of the first states to initiate testing, and this surveillance project represents one of the largest projects of its kind in the U.S.
“The collaboration between our community partners has enabled the collection of one of the largest and most diverse wastewater datasets in the country,” said Edwin Oh, professor and director of the Neurogenetics and Precision Medicine Lab at UNLV. “The daily and weekly analyses of these samples will help keep us one step ahead of emerging pathogens and variants.”
DRI Associate Research Professor Duane Moser collects water waste samples in Pahrump to detect possible increases of SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants in Southern Nevada.
“DRI is contributing to this collaborative effort by organizing sampling from ten wastewater systems across rural Clark and Nye Counties, substantially expanding the geographic reach of the project and providing time-sensitive epidemiological data that would otherwise be lost,” said DRI Associate Research Professor of Microbiology Duane Moser. The addition of these outlying sites has a great deal to teach us about how quickly and effectively viruses spread from population centers to outlying areas with lower population densities.”
While wastewater surveillance can provide early awareness of increases in cases and potential outbreaks, the data provided cannot directly indicate the number of people who are currently infected with COVID-19. The data collected are not intended to be used as the sole method of measuring the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community. The information will be used along with other data by partner and responding agencies for planning purposes.
More information about wastewater surveillance, and national wastewater surveillance data, is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/healthywater/surveillance/wastewater-surveillance/wastewater-surveillance.html.
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
About Southern Nevada Health District
The Southern Nevada Health District serves as the local public health authority for Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas. The agency safeguards the public health of the community’s residents and visitors through innovative programs, regulations, and initiatives focused on protecting and promoting their health and well-being. More information about the Health District, its programs, services, and the regulatory oversight it provides is available at www.SNHD.info. Follow the Health District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Mar 7, 2022 | Blog, Featured projects
Inspiring solutions: DRI’s Community Environmental Monitoring Program tracks radioactivity in Nevada’s air and water
March 7, 2022
LAS VEGAS, NV
By Kelsey Fitzgerald
CEMP
Radiation Monitoring
Citizen Science
Above: Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) Station on DRI’s campus in Las Vegas.
DRI’s Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) recently celebrated 40 years of radiation monitoring around the Nevada National Security Site, is one of the Institute’s longest-running programs – and its earliest citizen science success story.
Imagine this: You live in a Southern Nevada community located close to a historic nuclear testing site. You’ve heard stories from older relatives about watching mushroom clouds from atomic testing back in the 1950s and stories about “downwinders” in neighboring states who later developed cancer. Although nuclear testing stopped almost three decades ago, you can’t help but wonder about the unseen hazards that might be carried in the air on windy days. Or what might be slowly seeping into your drinking water.
For residents of communities surrounding the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), these concerns are not imaginary — they are questions of everyday life. The NNSS, formerly the Nevada Test Site, was ground zero for more than 900 underground and atmospheric nuclear tests between 1951 and 1992. Today, the NNSS is used for a variety of missions related to national security rather than as a full-scale nuclear testing site, but public concern about exposure to harmful radiation lives on.
For more than 40 years, DRI’s Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) has worked to address fears about radiation exposure and provide answers to the concerned public in communities surrounding the NNSS through a simple but impactful solution: putting radioactivity data in the hands of the people.
Station Manager Don Curry checks the gages at the Community Environmental Monitoring Program Station on the DRI campus in Las Vegas. Curry has been part of the CEMP since 1991.
The CEMP: a brief history
Founded in 1981 as a collaborative effort involving DRI, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Energy (DOE), which funds the program through the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Nevada Field Office, the CEMP operates a network of 23 radiation and environmental monitoring stations spread throughout Southern Nevada, Utah, and California. Each station is staffed by pairs of local citizens who serve as points of contact for residents of their communities, and who are part of the official chain of custody for air filter samples they collect on a regular basis at the stations.
The program was born during a time when active nuclear testing was still going on at the NNSS. It was not long after the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, and public distrust for the government was running high. In the aftermath of that accident, a group of local concerned citizens formed an independent monitoring network, which greatly improved public confidence in the monitoring process and results. Scientists from the DOE and EPA who had been deployed to assist with the monitoring of the Three Mile Island accident brought the idea back to Nevada, and the CEMP was born. By providing communities surrounding the NNSS with the tools to monitor radioactivity themselves and trusted community members to help interpret the data, the CEMP proved a powerful way to address citizens’ fears and concerns.
“I’m a huge proponent of giving the public a hands-on role that goes way above and beyond what the regulations might require,” said CEMP Project Director Ted Hartwell of DRI. “All of these stations are placed with the idea that we want them to be very publicly visible. A lot of them are at schools. One is at the post office in Beatty and one is at the post office in Tecopa. We have one at Southern Utah University in Cedar City and one at the BLM offices in Ely. The whole idea is that they’re visible, they’ll attract attention, and they’re staffed by trusted neighbors.”
In 1999, full technical operation of the CEMP was turned over from the EPA to DRI, and Hartwell took the helm as project director. Stations were upgraded to include meteorological instrumentation, and DRI scientist Greg McCurdy developed a program website, which for the first time allowed members of the public to access radioactivity and weather data in near real-time.
Today, DRI continues to administer the program, which employs a network of 46 Community Environmental Monitors (two per station) and 10 DRI scientists, staff members, and student interns who assist with various aspects of the program, including performing regular station maintenance, sample processing, website administration, and public outreach activities.
A dedicated volunteer base
Many program participants are new arrivals, but some have been with the CEMP for decades. The people of the CEMP, says Hartwell, are the true power behind the program. They are responsible for collecting data, and more importantly, they are the connecting force that relays the data back to their communities. About half of the program participants are science teachers, who are encouraged to include the information they learn from the program into their lessons.
Don Curry, age 83, is one of the program’s longest-serving participants – a CEMP station manager in Las Vegas for more than 30 years. He began with the program in 1991, not long after moving to Las Vegas to teach high school biology. For Curry, the CEMP provided an amazing opportunity to integrate real-world environmental data into the lessons that he did with his students.
“My students would go to the CEMP station to check on it; some took it on as their own class research projects and started communicating with other station managers in Utah and Nevada,” Curry said. “I used it in my environmental science classes to teach kids about radiation and how it affects the environment. We also worked with the EPA to develop an international radon testing network, where we collected samples from all over the world, and kids learned how to do radon testing themselves.”
The long-term impact of the program on his students was significant, Curry said.
“Anything that shows kids what a professional scientist does is astounding to them; it gives them a foot in the door. For a kid to see that they can have a career and get paid for working in science, that’s very cool. Having kids exposed to that is very important.”
Curry retired from teaching in 2009 but remains active as an AP biology tutor and visits his CEMP station several times per week. For Curry, some of the best parts about being a CEMP station manager have been the opportunity to participate in things that are happening at DRI and the tremendous amount he has learned about radiation issues.
Each summer, the CEMP organizes a workshop for program participants, in which prominent experts from the radiation research community are invited to speak on timely topics – for example, updates from Chernobyl or Fukushima. These are typically held in person, although the past two years’ workshops were held virtually due to COVID.
“The CEMP has been one of the highlights of my career because it has connected me to numerous things in many directions,” Curry said. “While I was teaching, it was one of the most important things I did all year. Now that I’m retired, I love having the CEMP as a small window into all of the things that are happening at the DRI campus.”
Station Manager Don Curry collects data at the Community Environmental Monitoring Program Station on the DRI campus in Las Vegas. Curry and a second CEMP team member visit the station three times per week.
Lessons learned
So, what has the CEMP learned over 40 years of radioactivity monitoring? For the most part, they’ve been able to show their communities that there’s nothing to be afraid of.
“This is a program that’s been around for a lot of years, but we’ve never seen anything that would be of concern to the general population,” said Don Newman, another long-time CEMP participant who began as a station manager in Cedar City, Utah in 1990.
CEMP data has helped dispel rumors and ease fears when accidents occur near the NNSS. Once, they were able to prove that a small test rocket that landed near Goldfield, Nevada was not nuclear-related. Another time, the data helped ease public concerns after an accident involving medical isotopes on the highway between Beatty and Goldfield.
The Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 was a big moment for the program, Hartwell and Newman recall. The CEMP stations were the first to both detect and publicly report the detection of radionuclides from that accident in Japan here in Nevada.
“That was a pretty serious event, but it also really showed that our network was functioning as it should,” Hartwell said. “We were able to pick up these radionuclides of concern from a source several thousands of miles away, and yet we haven’t detected anything like that coming from the NNSS, which is just 75 or 100 miles up the road from Las Vegas, since full-scale testing ceased in 1992.
“Additionally, we were able to assist our local representatives in conveying accurate information to their communities to help them realize that, while we were certain that we were detecting radionuclides from an accident thousands of miles away, the exposure levels were thousands to millions of times less here in the United States than the ionizing radiation we’re exposed to 24/7 from the natural environment,” Hartwell added.
As time passes, public concern has shifted from the risk of airborne radiation to concern about what is in the groundwater, says Hartwell. About ten years ago, contaminants were detected in the groundwater outside the boundaries of the NNSS, but still a long way from public water sources.
The CEMP has performed water testing in the communities that are downgradient from the NNSS for decades, and works closely with Nye County, which operates a separate community-based water monitoring program, to convey the results of these studies to participants. At present, they have not detected any traces of contamination in the water, but if they do, their communities can rest assured that the CEMP monitors will be the first to let them know about it.
“It’s one of those programs where it goes along quietly for a long time, then there’s some event that CEMP participates in that really brings home the importance of the program,” said Hartwell.
More information:
For more information on the CEMP, please visit: https://cemp.dri.edu/. CEMP personnel are happy to provide presentations for classrooms, organizations or events. If you have a group interested in a presentation on the CEMP and the history of nuclear testing in Nevada, please contact Ted Hartwell (Ted.Hartwell@dri.edu) or place a presentation request through the project website: CEMP Presentation Request Form (dri.edu).
DRI faculty and staff who work on the CEMP program include: Ted Hartwell, Beverly Parker, Cheryl Collins, Greg McCurdy, Lynn Karr, John Goreham, Patriz Rivera, Pam Lacy, Rebekah Stevenson, and Sydney Wahls.
Feb 7, 2022 | Blog, Featured projects
Las Vegas student celebrates Bar Mitzvah by raising funds for Nevada Robotics program
Philanthropy comes in many different forms and sometimes from unexpected places. Caleb, a Las Vegas middle schooler, chose to give back to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. Caleb reached out to DRI’s Nevada Robotics program with a desire to help raise money to give greater access to robots for students at a Title 1 middle school in the Las Vegas area.
“I am doing this project because I enjoy robotics, and I want other people who like robotics to be able to have access to robots,” Caleb said. “My goal for this project is to be able to raise $500 dollars for one to two robots for a classroom in need. Hopefully, we can raise more, like $5,000 dollars, so we can get an entire classroom set.”
“We are so excited to share that Caleb, his family, and his community have raised $1,000 for this cause,” said DRI STEM & Robotics Education Manager A.J. Long. “These funds will be used to purchase robot sets for a Title I school, Marvin Sedway, where 100% of the students are economically disadvantaged. The robots will be given to a Mrs. D. Jones Smith, a dedicated teacher who attended our Robotics Academy of Nevada Teacher Training in June of 2021. She is excited to bring robotics into her classroom to ignite STEM through hands-on classroom robotics. We hope to raise another $4,000 so that we can purchase a large classroom set by March of 2022.”
So far, the site has raised $1,000, exceeding Caleb’s initial goal. Thanks to Caleb for his thoughtful project!
Dec 7, 2021 | Blog, Featured researchers
Meet Charlotte van der Nagel, Graduate Researcher
DECEMBER 6, 2021
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Geoscience
Ecohydrology
Ecosystem Sciences
Above: Charlotte van der Nagel during sunrise at Reflection Canyon, Utah.
Credit: Charlotte van der Nagel.
Charlotte van der Nagel is a graduate research assistant with the Division of Earth and Ecosystems Sciences at DRI in Las Vegas and a Ph.D. student in the Geoscience program at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Learn more about Charlotte and her graduate research in this interview with DRI’s Behind the Science blog!
DRI: What brought you to DRI?
van der Nagel: I am originally from the Netherlands. I worked with Dr. Henry Sun at DRI for half a year in 2020 as part of the research for my master’s thesis. This time allowed me to get to know DRI – and Nevada as a whole – and I sure liked it a lot! So, when a Ph.D. position became available that continued the research I had already started the year before, I didn’t doubt for a single second and applied for it, which brought me back to DRI and Las Vegas in August 2021.
DRI: What are you studying?
van der Nagel: The main focus of my study is ecohydrology. This discipline focuses on the interaction between water and ecology. I am particularly interested in how the desert ecosystem can support life with such limited water availability.
Charlotte van der Nagel in the field digging a hole to bury multiple TDR sensors to monitor soil moisture distribution over depth and time in Arrow Canyon near Moapa, NV.
Credit: Charlotte van der Nagel.
DRI: What research projects are you working on? And who at DRI are you working with?
van der Nagel: I work with my Ph.D. advisor Dr. Henry Sun. My main project is a study that focuses on the occurrence of barren circles of on average 13ft in diameter, surrounding a central ant nest. These circles are found throughout most of the western U.S. and are even visible from satellite images. Ants keep the circles barren by cutting down any seedling that wants to establish inside of the circle, yet ants depend on these plants for their food source. By keeping the circle barren, the ants take away their nearest food source, which does not make sense from a biological viewpoint. In this study, we will try to find the driving force for ants to display this disk clearing behavior.
Another project I recently started working on involves regional die-back of Screwbean Mesquite trees. As these trees are of high ecological significance, there is a lot of interest from different agencies to study the die-back and find possible causes to explain and possibly revert this die-back. For this study, I will be looking at soil moisture conditions, N15 and O18 isotopes of the trees, and sulfide concentrations and redox conditions in the groundwater.
Charlotte van der Nagel is working with her advisor, Dr. Henry Sun, to study ants nests found within barren circles in the Great Basin and other western ecosystems. Ants keep the circle barren by cutting down vegetation that grows inside the circle, but scientists do not yet understand the reason for this behavior.
Credit: Charlotte van der Nagel.
DRI: What are your short-term and long-term goals while at DRI?
van der Nagel: As I just started my Ph.D. program a couple of months ago, my short-term goal would be to get both my projects up and running, so that I will start getting results in. In the meantime, I am planning on learning as much as I can about the various topics my research includes.
In the long-term, I want to engage in more cross-disciplinary research. Often, a research problem is not easily classified as one field of work. For example, my ant circle study requires not only knowledge of hydrology, but also of ecology and biology. If you exclusively look at one of those disciplinaries, you will inevitably miss a lot of potentially important findings in the other fields. I therefore want to extend my area of focus and I feel like DRI would be a great place for this.
DRI: Tell us about yourself. What do you do for fun?
van der Nagel: Coming from a country that is flat and very densely populated, I love spending all my free time out of the city, enjoying the vastness of the desert. You can find me every weekend out hiking, climbing, camping, kayaking or off-roading – the more remote, the better. I really like that Las Vegas is close to so many great national parks and try to make every weekend into an adventure. One of the most amazing things I have done so far was driving 2 hours on a rough off-road, then hiking 10 miles with a heavy backpack to camp on the edge of Reflection Canyon, Utah. The most rewarding hike I have ever done!
Charlotte van der Nagel hiking Angels Landing in Zion National Park, Utah.
Credit: Charlotte van der Nagel.
Oct 26, 2021 | Announcements, News releases
New DRI Internship Program Focuses on Mentorship for Inclusion in STEM
Oct 26, 2021
RENO, NEV.
By Kelsey Fitzgerald
Internships
Career Development
STEM
Above: DRI Research Internship Immersion Program students Mary Andres (left) and John Cooper (right) work with faculty mentor Dr. Riccardo Panella in his laboratory on DRI’s Reno campus.
Research immersion internships provide career-building opportunities for students from Nevada’s two-year colleges
From wildflower blooms to microplastics pollution, fourteen students from Nevada’s two-year colleges are spending this fall building career skills in exciting new directions. The students are conducting hands-on research alongside
DRI scientists in Reno and Las Vegas through DRI’s new
Research Immersion Internship Program.
Although professional internship opportunities are fairly common in the sciences, many positions are aimed at students who are enrolled in four-year science degree programs. DRI’s new internship program takes a more inclusive approach, creating an opportunity specifically aimed at students from two-year colleges and welcoming those majoring in fields from outside of traditional scientific disciplines.
“Science and innovation thrive when people of diverse skillsets work together, because real-world problems are often very interdisciplinary,” said Internship Program Director Meghan Collins, M.S. “In addition to traditional scientific fields, drawing in students with interests in communications, business, public health, computing, and many other areas can bring new perspectives and new solutions to the table.”
DRI faculty mentor Riccardo Panella, Ph.D., (left) and student intern John Cooper (right) review calculations as part of an ongoing research project that tests a new therapeutic approach to treating metabolic disorders. Panella is an assistant research professor of cancer and genetics with the Center for Genomic Medicine at DRI; Cooper is a student at Truckee Meadows Community College.
DRI’s internship program began in September and runs for 16 weeks. Students have been placed in teams of two to four people, and are working under the direction of DRI faculty mentors from the Institute’s Reno and Las Vegas campuses on a variety of project themes.
One team of interns is working with Erick Bandala, Ph.D., assistant research professor of environmental science from DRI’s Las Vegas campus, to investigate water security in Native American communities of the Southwestern U.S. His team consists of three students from Nevada State College – two environmental studies majors and one math major.
“Many people in Native American communities lack access to running water in their homes and experience problems with water quality as well,” Bandala said. “We are exploring data that was collected by Tribes and water treatment facilities to learn about the scale of the problem and how it can be improved. I love the challenge and hope that my team will come out with helpful information. Water security is a very complicated issue, but the students that I am working with are very enthusiastic, and I am happy to be interacting with them.”
Other project themes for the program’s inaugural semester include documentation and analysis of wildflower superblooms (above-average bursts of blooming wildflowers) in the Western U.S., an investigation into the effects of wildfire on water repellency of soils, a study on how microplastic particles can be transported through the air, and a study investigating the effects of obesity on health challenges in mice.
Above, left: Student intern Mary Andres from Truckee Meadows Community College prepares reagents needed to analyze lipid profiles and hepatic enzymes in a study being conducted by DRI’s Center for Genomic Medicine. The results of these experiments will pave the way for a new generation of RNA-based therapies to treat metabolic disorders and prevent cancer progression.
Above, right: DRI faculty mentor Riccardo Panella, Ph.D., (left) of the Center for Genomic Medicine and Truckee Meadows Community College student Mary Andres (right) use a bright light to view a sample in Panella’s laboratory in Reno.
This year’s cohort includes students from Nevada State College,
Truckee Meadows Community College,
Great Basin College, and the
University of Nevada, Reno. Because many of the students are early in their college journeys, or come from fields outside of the sciences, the internship program provides stepping-stones to help them build the fundamental skills they need to succeed, including a month-long period of training prior to implementing their projects.
At the end of the semester, the student teams will deliver their project results and receive feedback from their faculty mentors. The end goal is to help foster the next generation of diverse scientists through mentorship, inclusion, and skill building.
“There are a lot of independent internships available to science majors, but not many programs that prepare students to be successful working in the sciences in the real world – especially for students who are coming from two-year college programs or from outside of scientific disciplines,” Collins said. “This program aligns with some of DRI’s larger goals of improving diversity and inclusion at DRI and in the sciences as a whole, while also providing important stepping-stones for students to learn to navigate the culture of science.”
Student Intern John Cooper from Truckee Meadows Community College prepares reagents in Riccardo Panella’s laboratory at DRI in Reno, as part of DRI’s new Research Internship Immersion Program.
More Information:
For more information on DRI’s Research Immersion Internship Program, please visit: https://www.dri.edu/immersion/.
DRI faculty mentors for the Research Immersion Internship Program include Erick Bandala, Riccardo Panella, Eden Furtak-Cole, Markus Berli, Christine Albano, and Meghan Collins.
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About DRI
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Jul 28, 2021 | Awards and Honors, Blog
DRI’s Technical Employee of the Year Award
The cutting-edge scientific research that happens at DRI wouldn’t be possible without the Institute’s many technologists: non-faculty employees who have special technical experience and training to support instrumentation design, laboratory and fieldwork, administration, accounting, reception, and facilities.
Each year, faculty, students, and staff have the opportunity to nominate those technologists that they believe go above and beyond to make DRI a great place to work for the Technical Employee of the Year award. From those nominations, a council of technical employees selects the recipient of the award.
This year, the recipient is Alison Swallow, the Project Coordinator for DRI’s Office of External Affairs and Communications, who has served DRI for more than two years. Get to know Alison in this Q&A!
Q&A With Alison Swallow
DRI: How long have you worked here at DRI? How long have you lived in Las Vegas?
Swallow: I have worked here at DRI for more than two years. I’m originally from Las Vegas – I am a 3rd generation southern Nevadan – however, I have traveled extensively and spent a lot of time outside of Nevada as well. After graduating high school, I moved to Reno for college, and from there went on to live in Ireland, Australia, England, and Tennessee, before finally returning to the Silver State. When I was considering moving back to my hometown of Las Vegas, a friend who works in archaeology at DRI forwarded me this job posting, and then I met the brilliant Communications Team and felt instantly at home.
DRI: What does your work involve?
Swallow: I am the project coordinator for DRI’s Office of External Affairs and Communications. Over my career, I have had the opportunity to build a broad and diverse skillset, and I love that I am often asked to employ each of these competencies on a daily basis. Along with the ad hoc requests I field, my role here includes planning and implementing events, managing our team’s budget, crafting surveys and forms, archival work, and tracking and analyzing hundreds of bills throughout the biannual legislative sessions.
During this past year, so much has changed at DRI, and many of us have needed to adapt and expand our roles. This too, has been incredibly rewarding and I have enjoyed the new challenges and responsibilities. I have started to do field photography, writing, creative design, and in recent months, have also been managing DRI’s social media accounts.
DRI: What do you like best about working at DRI?
Swallow: I have always been curious by nature, and I love to learn, which is a quality that I share with so many throughout NSHE. I am amazed by the science at DRI and I find the work of our researchers truly fascinating. All I need to do is walk through our campus and peek into labs to gain a deeper insight into our world. From ice cores to microplastics, there’s so much about the research that happens here that has practical applications for the lives of all Nevadans. I enjoy being around other people who are seeking knowledge, and the corridors of this Institution are filled with brilliant minds.
I also cannot speak highly enough of my incredibly talented colleagues on the Communications team, and our inspiring leader, Tracy Bower. Having a work family that you can always count on to push you toward greater heights, cheer for your accomplishments, and hug you (even virtually) after your failures, is an extraordinary thing, and I cherish it.
DRI: What does it mean to you to receive this recognition?
Swallow: I am so honored and grateful for this award. It means a lot that people took the time to nominate me, and I’m incredibly appreciative of everyone who did. I am proud to represent a group as diverse and skillful as the technologists of DRI, many of whom were essential workers throughout the pandemic. I am so impressed with the way that all of my colleagues came together to help overcome the difficulties presented by this past year.
DRI: What do you like to do in your free time?
Swallow: I have a passion for travel – I think I have been to something like 22 countries. France and Italy are on my most-missed list at the moment, and I can’t wait to get back overseas. I love spending time with my family, and my two silly dogs, Max & Zellie, who are a brother/sister pair of rescues. I also enjoy reading, writing, and live theatre.
Jun 30, 2021 | Awards and Honors, Blog
Each year, the Desert Research Institute (DRI) honors the incredible commitment and dedication of our faculty and staff through an award ceremony called the Celebration of Science. This year’s event was held virtually and recognized the winners of this year’s Nevada System of Higher Education Rising Researcher Award, the DRI Medals for Science, Service, and Outstanding Contributions, the Technologist of the Year, as well as internal divisional and milestone service awards.
2021 Award Winners
DRI Science Medal – Xiaoliang Wang, Ph.D.
The DRI Science Medal is given based on scientific achievement that has brought recognition to both the winning scientist and to DRI, through either cumulative or a singular outstanding achievement. This award builds on the history of the Count Alessandro Dandini Medal of Science and the Nazir and Mary Ansari Medal for Excellence in Science, which annually recognized the high scientific accomplishments of a DRI faculty member.
Outstanding Contributions Medal – Tim Brown, Ph.D.
The Outstanding Contributions Medial is given annually to a DRI faculty or staff member for outstanding contributions to the Institution. Evidence of contributions can include establishing new directions for research, securing a large grant, or management of large programs.
Service Medal – Jennifer Schultz
The DRI Service Medal is awarded annually to a faculty or staff member who makes broad impacts across the Institution and throughout our communities, making DRI a better place to work and securing our place as a core research asset.
Technical Employee of the Year – Alison Swallow
The Technical Employee of the Year is awarded annually to a staff member for outstanding contributions to the Institution.
Rising Researcher Award – Daniel McEvoy, Ph.D.
Awarded annually by the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) to a faculty member in recognition of outstanding early-career accomplishments in research.
Division Awards
George Burke Maxey Fellowship – Marc Berghouse
Peter B. Wagner Medal of Excellence – Monica Arienzo, Ph.D.
Jonathan O. Davis Scholarship – Erica Bradley and Hayden Kingrey
General Frederick Lander Scholarship – Pearson Nguyen
Colin Warden Memorial Endowment - Pramod Adhikari
Advisor of the Year award – Alison Murray, Ph.D.
Years of Service Milestones
50 Years of Service
35 Years of Service
30 Years of Service
- Lynn Fenstermaker
- Hans Moosmuller
- Ron Hershey
- Tim Minor
- Peter Ross
25 Years of Service
20 Years of Service
- Yvonne Rumbaugh
- Vicki Hall
- Richard Susfalk
- Lynn Karr
- John Karlas
- Glen Wilson
- David Page
- David Campbell
- Cheryl Collins
- Alison Murray
15 Years of Service
- Steven Bacon
- Sophie Baker
- Maureen King
- Karl Schoen
- Donna Schlemmer
- Derek Kauneckis
- Charles Dolbeare
- Alan Heyvaert
10 Years of Service
- Tatianna Menocal
- Tamara Wall
- Suzanne Hudson
- Robert Read
- Maria Vasquez
- Jeffrey Wedding
- Jason Rada
- Iva Neveux
- Eric Wilcox
- Daniel McEvoy
- Albert Wolff
5 Years of Service
- Xuelian Bai
- William (Jim) Metcalf
- Vinay Amin
- Teresa Wriston
- Rae Yuhas
- Nicole Sund
- Kevin Heintz
- Karen Stewart
- John Goetz
- Joanne Huston
- Erick Bandala Gonzalez
- Bruce Lipp
Congratulations to our faculty and staff who were recognized during this year’s Celebration of Science! Perhaps our Special Guest, NSHE Regent Jason Geddes put it best when he said, “DRI is known here in Nevada and around the world as a place where groundbreaking research is conducted, but the greatest asset that DRI has is its people.”
May 25, 2021 | News releases, Research findings
Does Cold Wildfire Smoke Contribute to Water Repellent Soils in Burned Areas?
May 25, 2021
RENO, NEV.
By Kelsey Fitzgerald
Soil Science
Wildfires
Hydrology
Above: After a wildfire, soils in burned areas often become water repellent, leading to increased erosion and flooding after rainfall events. The hillside shown here burned in California’s Loyalton Fire during August 2020.
Credit: Kelsey Fitzgerald/DRI.
A new DRI pilot study finds severe water repellency in sand samples after treatment with both hot and cold smoke.
After a wildfire, soils in burned areas often become water repellent, leading to increased erosion and flooding after rainfall events – a phenomenon that many scientists have attributed to smoke and heat-induced changes in soil chemistry. But this post-fire water repellency may also be caused by wildfire smoke in the absence of heat, according to a new paper from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Nevada.
In this pilot study (exploratory research that takes place before a larger-scale study), an interdisciplinary team of scientists led by DRI Associate Research Professor of Atmospheric Science Vera Samburova, Ph.D., exposed samples of clean sand to smoke from burning Jeffrey pine needles and branches in DRI’s combustion chamber, then analyzed the time it took for water droplets placed on the sand surface to be absorbed – a measure of water repellency.
A new pilot study by an interdisciplinary team from DRI exposed samples of clean sand to smoke from burning Jeffrey pine needles and branches, then analyzed the time it took for water droplets placed on the sand surface to be absorbed — a measure of water repellency. After exposure to smoke, water droplets sometimes remained on the sand surface for more than 50 minutes without soaking in.
Credit: Vera Samburova/DRI.
The pilot study investigated the effects of smoke and heat on water repellency of the sand and was the first study to also incorporate an analysis of cold smoke. In the experiments, sand was used in place of soil because it could be cleaned thoroughly and analyzed accurately, and Jeffrey pine for a fuel source because it represents a common wildland fire fuel in the Western U.S.
Before exposure to Jeffrey pine smoke, water droplets placed on the surface of the sand samples were quickly absorbed. But after exposure to smoke, the sand samples showed severe-to-extreme water repellency, in some cases retaining water droplets on the sand surface for more than 50 minutes without soaking in. It made little difference whether or not samples had been exposed to heat and smoke, or just cold smoke.
“The classic explanation for fire-induced water repellency is that it is caused as smoke diffuses under rather hot conditions and settles down into the soils, but our work shows that the smoke does not have to be hot to turn the sand hydrophobic — simply the presence of the chemical substances in the smoke is enough,” Samburova said. “This is something we really need to look deeper into because soil water repellency leads to increases in flooding, erosion, and surface runoff.”
Above, left: Jeffrey pine needles and sticks were used as a fuel source in the new DRI study because Jeffrey pine represents a common wildland fire fuel in the Western U.S.
Credit: Vera Samburova/DRI.
Above, right: Jeffrey pine needles and branches burn inside of the combustion chamber at DRI during a new study that investigated the effects of smoke and heat on water repellent of sand samples.
Credit: Vera Samburova/DRI.
This study built on previously published work by former DRI postdoctoral researcher Rose Shillito, Ph.D., (currently with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), Markus Berli, Ph.D., of DRI, and Teamrat Ghezzehei, Ph.D., of University of California, Merced, in which the researchers developed an analytical model for relating soil water repellency to infiltration of water.
“Our earlier paper focused on how fire changes the properties of soils, from a hydrology perspective,” Berli explained. “In our current study, we were interested in learning more about the chemistry behind the process of how soils come to be hydrophobic. We’re bringing together geochemistry and organic geochemistry with soil physics and hydrology to understand the impact of fire-induced water repellency on hydrology.”
The project team is now working on a larger proposal to further investigate questions touched on by this study about the roles of heat and smoke in fire-induced water repellency. Among other things, they would like to know how long soil water repellency lasts after a fire, and gain a better understanding of the detailed processes and mechanisms through which cold smoke affects the soil.
DRI’s combustion chamber, pictured here, is a specialized facility that has been designed and built for the open combustion of solid fuels under controlled conditions. In this experiment, it was used to expose samples of clean sand to Jeffrey pine smoke.
Credit: Kelsey Fitzgerald/DRI.
Gaining a thorough understanding of the process that leads to fire-induced soil water repellency is important because land managers need this information in order to accurately predict where soils are likely to be hydrophobic after a fire, Berli explained.
“We still don’t really understand the processes that lead to this fire-induced soil water repellency,” Berli said. “Depending on what we find, the measures to predict fire-induced water repellency might be different, and this can have a significant impact on how we can predict and prevent flooding or debris flows that happen after a fire.”
“This study was one big step forward, but it highlights the importance of future research on how fires affect soil, because wildfires are affecting thousands and thousands of square kilometers of land each year in the Western U.S., ” Samburova added. “Some of our future goals are to find out how exactly this soil water repellent happens, where it happens and how long it lasts.”
Additional Information:
This study was made possible with support from DRI and the National Science Foundation. Study authors included Vera Samburova, Ph.D., Rose Shillito, Ph.D. (currently with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), Markus Berli, Ph.D., Andrey Khlystov, Ph.D., and Hans Moosmüller, Ph.D., all from DRI.
The full text of the paper, Effect of Biomass-Burning Emissions on Soil Water Repellency: A Pilot Laboratory Study, is available from Fire: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/4/2/24
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About the Desert Research Institute
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied interdisciplinary research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge, supported Nevada’s diversifying economy, provided science-based educational opportunities, and informed policy makers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu
May 18, 2021 | News releases, Research findings
Above: DeMMO field team from left to right: Lily Momper, Brittany Kruger, and Caitlin Casar sampling fracture fluids from a DeMMO borehole installation. Credit: Matt Kapust.
Las Vegas, Nev. – Below the Earth’s surface, a zone of life known as the continental deep subsurface is home to large populations of bacteria and archaea, but little is known about how these microbial populations are distributed. To learn whether they are spread evenly across rock surfaces or prefer to colonize specific minerals in the rocks, scientists from Northwestern University and the Desert Research Institute (DRI) went deep inside of a former gold mine in South Dakota and grew biofilms (collections of microorganisms) on rocks. Their results, which published in April in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, show that the microbes formed “hotspots” around certain minerals in the rocks. Brittany Kruger, Ph.D., Assistant Research Scientist in Biogeochemistry from DRI in Las Vegas, served as field lead for the Northwestern research team at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), where this study was conducted.
The full text of the paper Rock-Hosted Subsurface Biofilms: Mineral Selectivity Drives Hotspots for Intraterrestrial Life is available from Frontiers in the Environment: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.658988/full
The press release below was reposted with permission from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL:
Earth’s crust mineralogy drives hotspots for intraterrestrial life
Northwestern University – Evanston, IL
April 9, 2021 – Below the verdant surface and organic rich soil, life extends kilometers into Earth’s deep rocky crust. The continental deep subsurface is likely one of the largest reservoirs of bacteria and archaea on Earth, many forming biofilms – like a microbial coating of the rock surface. This microbial population survives without light or oxygen and with minimal organic carbon sources, and can get energy by eating or respiring minerals. Distributed throughout the deep subsurface, these biofilms could represent 20-80% of the total bacterial and archaeal biomass in the continental subsurface according to the most recent estimate. But are these microbial populations spread evenly on rock surfaces, or do they prefer to colonize specific minerals in the rocks?
To answer this question, researchers from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, led a study to analyze the growth and distribution of microbial communities in deep continental subsurface settings. This work shows that the host rock mineral composition drives biofilm distribution, producing “hotspots” of microbial life. The study was published in Frontiers in Microbiology.
Hotspots of microbial life
To realize this study, the researchers went 1.5 kilometers below the surface in the Deep Mine Microbial Observatory (DeMMO), housed within a former gold mine now known as the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), located in Lead, South Dakota. There, below-ground, the researchers cultivated biofilms on native rocks rich in iron and sulfur-bearing minerals. After six months, the researchers analyzed the microbial composition and physical characteristics of newly grown biofilms, as well as its distributions using microscopy, spectroscopy and spatial modeling approaches.
The spatial analyses conducted by the researchers revealed hotspots where the biofilm was denser. These hotspots correlate with iron-rich mineral grains in the rocks, highlighting some mineral preferences for biofilm colonization. “Our results demonstrate the strong spatial dependence of biofilm colonization on minerals in rock surfaces. We think that this spatial dependence is due to microbes getting their energy from the minerals they colonize,” explains Caitlin Casar, first author of the study.
Future research
Altogether, these results demonstrate that host rock mineralogy is a key driver of biofilm distribution, which could help improve estimates of the microbial distribution of the Earth’s deep continental subsurface. But leading intraterrestrial studies could also inform other topics. “Our findings could inform the contribution of biofilms to global nutrient cycles, and also have astrobiological implications as these findings provide insight into biomass distributions in a Mars analog system” says Caitlin Casar.
Indeed, extraterrestrial life could exist in similar subsurface environments where the microorganisms are protected from both radiation and extreme temperatures. Mars, for example, has an iron and sulfur-rich composition similar to DeMMO’s rock formations, which we now know are capable of driving the formation of microbial hotspots below-ground.
May 11, 2021 | Blog, Featured researchers
Meet Natasha Sushenko, Graduate Researcher
May 11, 2021
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
By Kaylynn Perez
Environmental Microbiology
Pathogenic Bacteria
Space
Natasha Sushenko is a graduate research assistant with the Division of Hydrologic Sciences at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Las Vegas. She is a Master’s student in Biological Sciences in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and is co-mentored by Duane Moser, Ph.D., of DRI and Brian Hedlund, Ph.D., of UNLV. Funding for Natasha’s position is provided by the NASA EPSCOR Rapid Response Research Program. Learn more about Natasha and her graduate research in this interview with DRI’s Behind the Science Blog!
Natasha Sushenko processes samples using a biosafety cabinet in the Environmental Microbiology Lab at the Desert Research Institute in December of 2020 during a SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring study. Sushenko is a graduate research assistant with the Division of Hydrologic Sciences at DRI in Las Vegas.
DRI: What brought you to DRI?
Sushenko: Dr. Duane Moser spoke in my undergraduate Microbial Ecology class at UNLV, and I was really interested in how his lab studies the deep biosphere, the zone of life that exists far below Earth’s surface. His lab does fascinating research on “microbial dark matter,” yet-to-be-classified microorganisms that live under extreme conditions within the deep biosphere and are difficult to culture in the lab. We kept in touch, and even though I considered leaving Las Vegas to do my graduate studies, the opportunities that he and DRI offered were too good to pass up.
What research projects are you working on? And who at DRI are you working with?
Sushenko: I work in Dr. Moser’s Environmental Microbiology Lab here at DRI. We completed a COVID-19 wastewater monitoring study this winter, but my main research project is a NASA collaboration with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). They sent our lab strains of a pathogen (disease-causing bacterium) called Klebsiella pneumoniae that were isolated from the International Space Station (ISS). This microbe is a common cause of hospital-borne pneumonia and other infections, but in this case, it was found living on surfaces on the ISS, including on their space toilet. This pathogen is of particular concern to NASA because it has appeared in multiple samples across several years of microbiome monitoring, and it is growing more prevalent over time. While no astronauts on the space station have gotten sick, future human spaceflight to Mars and beyond may require astronauts to go on trips lasting years before returning to Earth. Because of this, NASA wants to know how pathogens like K. pneumoniae respond and adapt to living in space.
Our goal is to study how this pathogen’s virulence, or ability to cause severe illness, and its resistance to antimicrobial drugs and cleaners changes when exposed to the stresses of microgravity. Microgravity is the condition in space where people or objects appear to be weightless. This is something we can study here on Earth, at DRI, with a machine that simulates microgravity.
Above, left: Natasha Sushenko processes samples using a biosafety cabinet in the Environmental Microbiology Lab at the Desert Research Institute in December of 2020 during a SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring study.
Above, right: Natasha Sushenko performs field chemistries on deep borehole samples in the Funeral Mountains near Death Valley on 28-April, 2021. Here Natasha is using a Hach Colorimeter to measure dissolved oxygen, iron, sulfate, and sulfide to test whether increased rates of pumping from a deep well facilitated collection of deeper samples from a geologic fracture zone. Natasha contributed to the DRI-led portion of an NSF-funded collaboration with Bigelow Lab in ME and others focused on applying cutting-edge genomic approaches to the oceans, marine crustal fluids, and the continental subsurface.
DRI: What are your short-term and long-term goals while at DRI?
Sushenko: Right now, I’m on the master’s degree plan, but I’m considering changing to Ph.D. track to continue working on my project to completion and beyond. The issue of the microbiome of the built environment in closed systems like spacecraft will only become more important as agencies and companies explore travel to the moon and Mars. You don’t get opportunities to work with NASA at every institution, and I’m excited that DRI gives me this opportunity.
DRI: Tell us about yourself. What do you do for fun?
The pandemic has cramped a lot of my favorite hobbies, but usually, I love to travel to visit friends, go camping, hike, and just being outside with others. This past year I’ve instead spent more time hanging out with my dog, gardening (indoors and outdoors), and baking.
In her free time, Natasha enjoys hiking and being outside in beautiful areas like the Desolation Wilderness in California.
Apr 19, 2021 | Blog, Featured researchers
Meet Dylan Person, Graduate Researcher
APRIL 19, 2021
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
By Kaylynn Perez
Archaeology
Cultural Resource Management
Antrhopology
Dylan Person is a graduate research assistant with the Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Las Vegas. He is a Ph.D. student in Anthropology, Archaeology subfield, at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Learn more about Dylan and his graduate research in this interview with DRI’s Behind the Science Blog!
Dylan Person is a graduate research assistant with the Division of Earth and Ecosystems Sciences at DRI in Las Vegas.
DRI: What brought you to DRI?
Person: I was introduced to DRI through the UNLV Department of Anthropology. I became interested in coming to DRI as a graduate assistant when I learned that a position at DRI gave students the opportunity to perform fieldwork as well as write reports and plan projects for cultural resource management archaeology. In addition to this great opportunity for learning new aspects of this area of archaeology, I jumped at the chance to learn more about Native American archaeology in the Great Basin since my research focus at UNLV is primarily based in New Mexico. I also got really excited when I learned that I’d be working with historic nuclear testing resources since that’s such a major part of America’s scientific history.
DRI: What are you studying?
Person: I study stone tool technology and how it interrelated with cultural and social life at sites in the Mimbres Mogollon region of southwestern New Mexico. The time period I study was around AD 550-1130 and during this time these people changed from highly mobile foragers to living in settled agricultural villages. This resulted in changes in their social organization that I think also impacted the way they made and used stone tools. Though this is not directly related to DRI’s work, experience with similar artifacts in the Great Basin has added a new dimension to my own work.
Archaeology in the Great Basin is very focused on mobile groups and studying here and working with these archaeological sites at DRI has taught me a lot about how mobile people moved around and interacted with their environment. This knowledge has really deepened my understanding of how groups of people in my study area acted when practicing this lifeway and expanded the range of my research.
Above, left: Dylan Person and his boxer, Wiggles, hike along the McCullough Hills Trail in the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area of Nevada. Above, right: One of Dylan’s fieldwork sites in San Bernardino, California.
Credit: Lizzie Person (left photo); Jared Miles (right photo).
DRI: What research projects are you working on? And who at DRI are you working with?
Person: I work with the Cultural Resource Management Program team. They’re a great group of archaeologists and historians who have a variety of interesting projects in addition to their cultural resource work. My supervisor is Maureen King, who has been very supportive of my academic progress and has helped me a lot in my professional development. Though I work with a combination of United States history and earlier Native American history, Maureen is great about involving me with program projects that align with my research interests here in Nevada, which I’ll talk a little more about below.
Currently, I am working on my dissertation research which involves the stone tool study that I mentioned previously. At DRI I have mostly been focusing on working with historic nuclear testing activities for cultural resource management. Informally at DRI, I have been looking at how groups moved throughout southern and central Nevada and adjacent regions. I’m interested in how these travel routes map on to environmental features such as water sources like springs, rivers, and wetlands as well as other resource-rich areas. Since these resources included plants, animals, rocks for tools, and culturally significant areas I have a lot to work with when it comes to investigating the how and why of people’s interaction with these areas over a long period of time.
Additionally, our program at DRI has a long history of working closely with Native American groups who live in the region. Being exposed to Native perspectives on the land and environment is a really valuable addition, since they have inherited a cultural understanding of this area that only comes from lived experience and long tradition. Though I don’t presume to fully understand how previous generations of Native Americans of the Mojave and Great Basin thought about their environment and lives, being around these perspectives has really opened up my mind to ideas and viewpoints that I wouldn’t have developed on my own. I’m really grateful for that!
DRI: What are your short-term and long-term goals while at DRI?
Person: In the short term, I hope to continue making contributions to our program and its support of projects through cultural resource management.
In the long term, I want to learn everything I can during my time in our program so that I am well-situated for both academic and non-academic archaeological work. I also want to formalize some of my research interests into a developed research plan, one that ideally would contain public science-focused elements. I’m really interested in public science and supporting science education in general.
Above, left: Dylan Person at the office on DRI’s Las Vegas campus. Above, right: One of Dylan’s field sites in San Bernardino County, California.
Credit: Dylan Person/DRI (left photo), Jared Miles (right photo).
DRI: Tell us about yourself. What do you do for fun?
Person: I like to get out in nature. So hiking, camping, bouldering, and other types of outdoor activities are always a good time. I’m a sort of amateur geologist, so I also like checking out interesting rock formations and the overall geology of a place. Nevada is a really great place for all that so I have a lot of options!
When I’m not running around outside, I play music. I play a few instruments but I’m best at the guitar and I play just about any style that a guitar can do, so rock/blues, country, bluegrass, jazz and even classical music. I also like cooking and especially grilling, backyard hangouts, and spending time with my wife Lizzie and our Boxer dog Wiggles, who are my companions in all these things I do for fun. One of these days I’ll have the space to get a project car so I can finally finish learning auto mechanics without worrying about messing up my daily driver!
In his free time, Dylan enjoys spending time with his wife Lizzie and their boxer, Wiggles.
Feb 25, 2021 | Blog, Featured projects
New DRI projects for 2021 include microplastics, microfossils, snowmelt risk, and solute transport
FEB 26, 2021
RENO & LAS VEGAS, NEV.
Introducing the winners of DRI’s 2021 Institute Project Assignment (IPA) competition.
Each year, the Desert Research Institute awards funding to several new faculty and staff projects each year through its Institute Project Assignment (IPA) competition. Winners of the IPA competition receive a research grant from DRI to pursue a topic that interests them and develop ideas that can ultimately be turned into externally funded research projects. This year, winners of the IPA competition are DRI scientists Erick Bandala, Monica Arienzo, Sandra Bruegger, Benjamin Hatchett, and Lazaro Perez. Details about each project are below.
Erick Bandala and Monica Arienzo: Assessing environmental aging of microplastics
Microplastics, defined as plastic fragments smaller than 5mm, were first discovered in the natural environment in the early 2000s. Two decades later, much is still unknown about these pollutants – including how microplastic particles degrade or break down as they age. A new project led by Erick Bandala, Ph.D., and Monica Arienzo, Ph.D., will assess the environmental aging of microplastic particles through accelerated aging tests, using UV-A radiation to imitate the effects of unfiltered sunlight over different time spans on microplastics of different types, shapes, and sizes. Their results will provide new insight into the fate of microplastics after their release into the environment.
A close-up image of microplastic fibers. Credit: DRI.
Benjamin Hatchett and Anne Heggli: Towards improved decision support for snow-covered watersheds: A snowmelt risk advisory
Rain-on-snow events (in which a warm winter storm rains onto existing snowpack under windy and humid conditions) are linked to many of the largest floods in Nevada and other parts of the United States. These types of events are projected to increase in frequency and magnitude as the climate warms. This change creates new challenges for water managers, who are tasked with deciding when water should be stored in reservoirs for economic and ecological benefits, and when water should be released downstream for flood control and public safety. To help water managers make decisions using the best available data, Division of Atmospheric Sciences graduate student Anne Heggli, advised by Benjamin Hatchett, Ph.D., will design and develop a tool called a Snowmelt Risk Advisory (SRA). This framework will combine risk matrices with weather datasets to create a tool that will help inform reservoir operations in snow-dominated watersheds.
A rain-on-snow event at Kirkwood Ski Area. Credit: Ben Hatchett/DRI.
Sandra Brugger: Microfossils in Greenland Ice – Establishing a new method at DRI
Greenland’s ice sheets hold important records of pollen grains and other microfossils that can provide researchers with insight into long-term environmental change in the Arctic, however, these resources have not yet been studied extensively. Recently, Sandra Brugger, Ph.D., developed a new method for extracting microfossils from Greenland ice cores and created the first reliable record of microfossils from well-dated Greenland ice, with a second record currently under development. With IPA funding, Bruegger will hold a workshop to train additional scientists in her methodology, and develop a microfossil record from east-central Greenland ice spanning the past 8000 years. She will also give a talk to the local community at the Alta Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Reno, sharing her research with an audience that has been isolated for months during the pandemic.
DRI scientist Sandra Brugger inspects samples under a microscope. Credit: Manu Friederich.
Lazaro Perez: Tortuosity Characterization via Machine Learning to Quantify Solute Transport in Berea Sandstone
Understanding and predicting the fate of solutes (dissolved substances) as they pass through various types of rocks and soils in a groundwater system is crucial for several environmental and industrial applications, but modeling this process is complex. Building on work completed as part of an IPA-funded project in 2020, Lazaro J. Perez, Ph.D., will use training data for the development of a machine-learning algorithm to predict solute transport through material containing pores of different sizes, such as sandstone. Dr. Perez’s work, focused on solute transport simulations on pore-scale images of two types of sandstones, will help scientists better understand processes as diverse as contaminant transport in groundwater flow and protein diffusion in living cells.
DRI scientist Lazaro Perez.
Dec 14, 2020 | News releases, Research findings
What happens when rain falls on desert soils?
DEC. 14, 2020
LAS VEGAS, NEV.
An updated model from DRI scientists in Las Vegas provides a new understanding of water movement in dry soils
Several years ago, while studying the environmental impacts of large-scale solar farms in the Nevada desert, Desert Research Institute (DRI) scientists Yuan Luo, Ph.D. and Markus Berli, Ph.D. became interested in one particular question: how does the presence of thousands of solar panels impact desert hydrology?
This question led to more questions. “How do solar panels change the way water hits the ground when it rains?” they asked. “Where does the water go? How much of the rain water stays in the soil? How deep does it go into the soil?”
“To understand how solar panels impact desert hydrology, we basically needed a better understanding of how desert soils function hydraulically,” explained Luo, postdoctoral researcher with DRI’s Division of Hydrologic Sciences and lead author of a new study in Vadose Zone Journal.
DRI scientists Yuan Luo (left) and Markus Berli (right) conducting research at DRI’s SEPHAS Lysimeter facility in Boulder City, Nev. November 2020.
Photograph by Ali Swallow/DRI.
In the study, Luo, Berli, and colleagues Teamrat Ghezzehei, Ph.D. of the University of California, Merced, and Zhongbo Yu, Ph.D. of the University of Hohai, China, make important improvements to our understanding of how water moves through and gets stored in dry soils by refining an existing computer model.
The model, called HYDRUS-1D, simulates how water redistributes in a sandy desert soil based on precipitation and evaporation data. A first version of the model was developed by a previous DRI graduate student named Jelle Dijkema, but was not working well under conditions where soil moisture levels near the soil surface were very low.
To refine and expand the usefulness of Dijkema’s model, Luo analyzed data from DRI’s SEPHAS Lysimeter facility, located in Boulder City, Nev. Here, large, underground, soil-filled steel tanks have been installed over truck scales to allow researchers to study natural water gains and losses in a soil column under controlled conditions.
Above: Yuan Luo and Markus Berli of DRI’s Division of Hydrologic Sciences used data from DRI’s SEPHAS Lysimeter facility (shown here) to refine an existing model called HYDRUS-1D, which simulates how water moves through dry soils.
Photographs by Ali Swallow/DRI.
Using data from the lysimeters, Luo explored the use of several hydraulic equations to refine Dijkema’s model. The end result, which is described in the new paper, was an improved understanding and model of how moisture moves through and is stored in the upper layers of dry desert soils.
“The first version of the model had some shortcomings,” Luo explained. “It wasn’t working well for very dry soils with volumetric water content lower than 10 percent. The SEPHAS lysimeters provided us with really good data to help understand the phenomenon of how water moves through dry soils as a result of rainfall and evaporation.”
In desert environments, understanding the movement of water through soils is helpful for a variety of practical uses, including soil restoration, erosion and dust management, and flood risk mitigation. For example, this model will be useful for desert restoration projects, where project managers need to know how much water will be available in the soil for plants after a desert rainstorm, Berli said. It is also a key piece of the puzzle needed to help answer their original question about how solar farms impact desert hydrology.
“The model is very technical, but all of this technical stuff is just a mathematical way to describe how rainwater moves in the soil once the water hits the soil,” Berli said. “In the bigger picture, this study was motivated by the very practical question of what happens to rainwater when falling on solar farms with thousands and thousands of solar panels in the desert – but to answer questions like that, sometimes you have to dig deep and answer more fundamental questions first.”
DRI scientist Yuan Luo standes near a weighing lysimeter at DRI’s SEPHAS Lysimeter facility in Boulder City, Nev. November 2020.
Photograph by Ali Swallow/DRI.
“In the bigger picture, this study was motivated by the very practical question of what happens to rainwater when falling on solar farms with thousands and thousands of solar panels in the desert – but to answer questions like that, sometimes you have to dig deep and answer more fundamental questions first.”
Additional Information:
This study was funded by the DRI Foundation Innovative Research Program, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Rose Shillito, Ph.D. (DRI/ACOE) and Nicole Damon (DRI) also contributed to the success of this project.
The full text of the paper “Modeling near-surface water redistribution in a desert soil”, is available from Vadose Zone Journal: https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20081
To learn more about DRI’s SEPHAS Lysimeter facility, please visit: https://www.dri.edu/sephas/lysimeters/
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The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied interdisciplinary research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge, supported Nevada’s diversifying economy, provided science-based educational opportunities, and informed policy makers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
DRI scientists Markus Berli and Yuan Luo. November 2020.
Photograph by Ali Swallow/DRI.
Nov 13, 2020 | Announcements, News releases
Researchers debriefed global participants on microplastics in the environment, a new online snow tracker tool for water resource management, and the role of dogs in body recovery.
Link to Event Video Presentation Available at – https://www.dri.edu/conversations-with-dri-innovators/.
Las Vegas, Nev. (Friday, Nov. 13, 2020) – Nevada-based scientists from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) shared their most recent findings and potential solutions to environmental and climate change questions with a global audience this week during the first “Conversations with DRI Innovators” virtual event.
Tuesday’s 60-minute presentation featured research on microplastics in Lake Tahoe and the Las Vegas wash using a state-of-the-art instrument, a look at how dogs can help recover drowned victims in the deep waters of Lake Tahoe, and also as criminal trial evidence, the development of a real-time snow tracker online tool, and the chemistry of snowfall in the Sierras for water resource management and public safety.
“These findings have far-reaching impact beyond Nevada and our country as the work of DRI researchers can be found around the world,” said Tina Quigley, DRI Foundation Chair. “While this research was centered throughout Nevada, DRI scientists are working on finding real-life solutions to these real-world questions that will benefit all of us, our families, our earth.”
The DRI Foundation’s Innovation Research Program (IRP) awarded seed grants to kick-start the highlighted research and talented scientists. This early support has been leveraged into other awards such as from the National Science Foundation and National Weather Service to continue expanding their developing research.
“This is donor-driven research funding at its best, and I am proud to be part of the group cheering on some of the greatest minds of the scientific community from right here in Nevada,” added Quigley.
A video recording of the fast-paced, hour-long presentation from IRP grant recipients and DRI faculty along with additional information may be found online at – https://www.dri.edu/conversations-with-dri-innovators/.
The four speakers and the topics covered, in order of presentation along with approximate start times for each, are as follows:
- :04 – DRI, IRP overview, and speaker introductions. – Tina Quigley, Moderator, Former CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Each presentation runs approximately 10 minutes.
- 7:33 – Types of microplastics found at Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas Wash and how an easy to install mesh currently being tested on clothes dryer vents may be part of the solution. – Dr. Monica Arienzo, Assistant Research Professor, DRI Division of Hydrologic Sciences and National Science Foundation Grant Recipient.
- 22:11 – A new online tool just developed will help track snow droughts in a warmer climate in order to help understand the need for changing water resource management strategies. – Dr. Daniel McEvoy, Assistant Research Professor of Climatology, DRI Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Researcher with the Western Regional Climate Center and National Weather Service Grant Recipient.
- 34:23 – Using the chemistry of atmospheric river snowfall to improve water resource management in the Western U.S. – Dr. Nathan Chellman, Postdoctoral Fellow, DRI Division of Hydrologic Sciences.
- 46:59 – Advancing the science of canine odor detection – from criminal trials to accidental drownings and how dogs and plants may help detect cadavers. – Dr. Mary E. Cablk, Associate Research Professor of Biology, DRI Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno Adjunct Professor in Forensic Anthropology
and Auxiliary Deputy with several county Sheriff Offices in the State of Nevada.
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About the DRI Foundation Innovation Research Program (IRP): The DRI Foundation’s IRP provides the start-up funding DRI scientists need to test new ideas and produce initial data, which will help them build the scientific case for future research projects. The 2020 Innovation Research Project winners were selected through a competitive selection process. The selected projects demonstrate creative, innovative research or technological development that advances DRI’s mission. For more information on this and other upcoming events please visit: https://www.dri.edu/support-dri/dri-foundation/
About the Desert Research Institute (DRI): The DRI is a recognized world leader in basic and applied interdisciplinary research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge, supported Nevada’s diversifying economy, provided science-based educational opportunities, and informed policy makers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Media Contact
Justin Broglio
Communications Manager, Desert Research Institute
775-762-8320
Justin.Broglio@dri.edu
Nov 10, 2020 | Announcements, News releases
Caption: Pictographs from a site at Fort Hunter Liggett, processed with D-stretch imagery. DRI Archaeologists will soon travel to Fort Hunter Liggett, in California, to document rock art in high resolution. Credit: Fort Hunter Liggett.
Las Vegas, Nev. (Nov. 10, 2020) – Long ago, before widespread European-American settlement, ancestors of the Salinan Tribe left rock art featuring colorful handprints and abstract symbols at various sites located along narrow valleys and rugged hills in southern Monterey County, Calif. This month, a group of Desert Research Institute (DRI) archaeologists will document several of these sites using high resolution photography, in partnership with the U.S. Army’s Fort Hunter Liggett Cultural Resources Management Program.
The project, which is co-led by DRI’s Greg Haynes, Ph.D. and Dave Page, M.A., with technical support from staff at Fort Hunter Liggett, will provide updated photographic documentation and a rock art management plan for pictographs (images painted on rock) and petroglyphs (images carved into rock) at eight different sites located on the grounds of Fort Hunter Liggett. One site, called La Cueva Pintada, or the Painted Cave, is estimated to have hundreds of pictographs and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“Many of the pictographs are handprints, but kind of unusual – they look like they were made by people swiping their fingers across the rock face,” Haynes said. “There are also various abstract symbols. They’re multicolored – red, white, black, yellow, and possibly blue or green – so part of our work will be to determine what pigments were used and to advise the Army on how to best preserve them.”
The DRI project team includes Megan Stueve, M.A., who will provide expertise in rock art recording and in the photographic documentation of pictographs using D-stretch imagery, a computer program that helps bring out colors that can’t be seen with the naked eye.
“D-stretch, short for decorrelation stretching, is a type of image processing that essentially stretches or exaggerates the colors to make them easier to see,” Stueve explained. “Images that you can already see become very visible and that those are faint hopefully become more visible.”
DRI Archaeologists will use D-Stretch imagery to document rock art at Fort Hunter Liggett in high resolution. The photographs on the left, showing pictographs from a site at Fort Hunter Liggett, have not been altered; The photographs on the right, processed with D-stretch imagery, show the pictographs in greater detail. Credit: Fort Hunter Liggett.
In addition to petroglyphs and pictographs, the Salinan people of this region left behind an abundance of bedrock mortars, circular depressions in rock outcrops that were likely used for grinding food items such as acorns, but may also have been used to grind the pigment to make the pictographs. The extensive use of the area might indicate it was used as a habitation locale or meeting area, or possibly for ceremonial purposes, Stueve said.
Although all of the sites that the DRI team will visit have been documented previously, some site records have not been updated in more than 30 years. As part of this project, they will provide Fort Hunter Liggett with up-to-date site records and photographs, and also make recommendations for future study and preservation of these pictographs and petroglyphs.
“The Army wants a management plan for the preservation of these historical resources,” Haynes said. “In addition to these pictographs, there are a few other important historic sites nearby. There’s a mission called Mission San Antonio de Padua that was founded in 1771 by Father Junipero Serra, and a hacienda that was built for William Randolph Hearst. It’s an important area with an interesting history.”
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The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied interdisciplinary research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge, supported Nevada’s diversifying economy, provided science-based educational opportunities, and informed policy makers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.
Oct 12, 2020 | Blog, Featured researchers
Each year, the Desert Research Institute (DRI) welcomes new graduate students from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), who work under the direction of DRI faculty on our northern and southern campuses to conduct research across a variety of scientific fields as they pursue their master’s and doctoral degrees. Read below to get to know our new grad students!
Natasha Sushenko
Natasha Sushenko
Las Vegas Campus
Natasha Sushenko is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, and is currently pursuing a M.S. in microbiology at UNLV. At DRI, she is working in the Environmental Microbiology Lab with faculty advisor Duane Moser, Ph.D.
“I’m currently working on a NASA EPSCoR Space Biology project that involves studying strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, an opportunistic pathogen, that have been isolated from the International Space Station (ISS),” Sushenko said. “We are growing these strains under simulated microgravity while exposed to the disinfectants used on the ISS, and will later perform metatranscriptomic analysis to evaluate the strains for antimicrobial resistance and virulence gene expression.”
Victoria Wuest
Victoria Wuest
Las Vegas Campus
Victoria Wuest is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, and is pursuing a M.S. in biological sciences with a concentration in ecology and evolutionary biology at UNLV. At DRI, she is working in the Environmental Microbiology Lab under the direction of Duane Moser, Ph.D..
“I am working on a project to extract human mtDNA from ancient quids found in Mule Springs Rockshelter in Nevada,” Wuest said. “I am also studying the application and implementation of eDNA of endangered and invasive fish in the warm water springs of Nevada.”
Manuel de Cespedes Molina
Manuel de Cespedes Molina
Las Vegas Campus
Manuel de Cespedes Molina is originally from Camaguey, Cuba. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Anthropology at UNLV. At DRI, he is working in the Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences under the supervision of Maureen King, M.A.
“My work at DRI is involved with the Cultural Resource Management Program that supports the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office’s historic preservation obligations at the Nevada National Security Site,” de Cespedes Molina said.
Marc Berghouse
Marc Berghouse
Reno campus
Marc Berghouse is originally from Redwood City, Calif., and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Hydrology at UNR. At DRI, he is working in the Division of Hydrologic Sciences under the direction of Dr. Rishi Parashar.
“I will be working on modeling the physics of microbial motility – the ability of a microbe to move through its environment – at the micro and field scales,” Berghouse said.
Anne Heggli
Anne Heggli
Reno campus
Anne Heggli is originally from Cool, Calif., and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science at UNR. At DRI, she is working under the direction of advisor Ben Hatchett, Ph.D. in the Division of Atmospheric Sciences.
“I am working on the development of a Snow Runoff Readiness Advisory to provide information regarding the likelihood and magnitude of impactful snowmelt-derived runoff and flooding during extreme weather events,” Heggli said.
Porraket Dechdacho
Porraket (Porra) Dechdacho
Reno campus
Porra Dechdado is originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. She is currently pursuing a M.S. in hydrogeology at UNR. At DRI, she is working with Dr. Rishi Parashar in the Division of Hydrologic Sciences.
“I am working on a project to develop and evaluate iron-based strategies for arsenic removal from contaminated groundwater using metal organic framework and iron rich compost,” Dechdado explained.
Zakaria Jibrin, DEES (Coming soon)
Aug 31, 2020 | Blog, Featured projects
New study explores relationship between dust and Valley Fever
Q & A with Vic Etymezian, Ph.D.
Vic Etyemezian, Ph.D., is the Interim Vice President of Research at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) and specializes in the study of dust emissions. Vic has been a member of the DRI community since 1999, when he started his career at DRI as a post-doctoral scientist with the Division of Atmospheric Sciences in Las Vegas. He recently published a paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health titled “Valley Fever: Environmental Risk Factors and Exposure Pathways Deduced from Field Measurements in California,” working alongside colleagues Antje Lauer, Ph.D. (California State University Bakersfied), George Nikolich, M.S. (DRI), and others, so we connected with Vic to learn more about the project.
DRI: What is Valley Fever?
Etyemezian: Valley Fever is an infection that you can get from breathing in spores of a fungus called Coccidioides. In some people the infection is mild or flu-like, but in others, especially people who are immunocompromised, this fungus can cause a serious or even fatal infection. Valley Fever seems to occur primarily in the southwestern US, but it is also found in parts of Central and South America. The military has a record of people stationed at bases in the southwestern US getting sick from Valley Fever going all the way back to the 1940s, so it does seem to occur in and around the training lands that they use in the southwest. The military also has really good records, so it is likely broadly occurring in the arid southwest – it’s just that they have great records in these places.
DRI’s Vic Etyemezian (left) and Jack Gillies (Right) inspect dust measurement instrumentation mounted onto a telescoping tower at Jean Dry Lake Bed in Southern Nevada. The measurements that ensued were critical for calibrating the TRAKER instrument.
Credit: George Nikolich/DRI.
DRI: How did you originally become interested in studying this disease?
Etyemezian: Six or seven years ago, I was working on a DRI project at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in the Mojave Desert of southern California related to potential future impacts of climate change on capital infrastructure such as buildings and runways. My colleague, Dr. Antje Lauer from Cal State University Bakersfield, was there at the site working on a different project related to the potential influence of climate change on Valley Fever. Our own Dr. Lynn Fenstermaker (also working on the Armstrong project) and NASA’s now retired Dr. Tom Mace had the foresight to introduce Antje and me to one another and identify that we can leverage each other’s expertise. We got into a discussion of whether there was some overlap between her Valley Fever research and the dust research that George Nikolich and I do. We did a little pilot (exploratory) work together, and then put in a proposal to the DoD SERDP Program to do a project near several military facilities in the Southwest to see if we could say something about how Valley Fever might be changing with climate.
Read the new paper, “Valley Fever: Environmental Risk Factors and Exposure Pathways Deduced from Field Measurements in California”, in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
DRI: Tell us a little bit about the paper that you and your colleagues just published. What were your major research questions?
Etyemezian: In this study, we were trying to find out several things, and the paper that was led by my colleague, Dr. Lauer reported our preliminary findings. One, are there any environmental parameters that can help us identify whether or not this Coccidioides fungus will be present at a given site? Can we say that this fungus tends to be found in certain kinds of soils, or on certain slopes of hillsides, or on shaded hillsides, or in soils with a certain chemistry? If so, then we can look at some of these properties and try to identify areas that are fairly high risk for the fungus.
The second goal was to determine whether dust was a possible pathway by which people are getting exposed to this fungus. So, in areas where you find this fungus in the soil, can you also find it in the dust that comes off of the surface during high winds, or in the dust that gets stirred up when someone drives a vehicle along a dirt road? We hypothesized that this study may be of particular relevance for people in the military, because oftentimes they are working in very dusty conditions, especially during training exercises. Our study sites were located around three military bases in southern California, all of which have documented cases of Valley Fever throughout the years.
Above, left: George Nikolich (Division of Atmospheric Sciences, DRI) notes field conditions as he oversees a PI-SWERL test near Edwards Air Force Base in California. The orange case contains specialized instrumentation for collecting particles that are suspended by the PI-SWERL during its testing cycle. These are later analyzed for fungal DNA. Above, right: George Nikolich preparing the TRAKER instrument for measuring and collecting dust from unpaved roads near Twentynine Palms, California.
Credit: Vic Etyemezian/DRI.
DRI: What was your/DRI’s role in this investigation?
Etyemezian: Our expertise mainly came in in the area of dust. We used an instrument called the PI-SWERL®, which was developed at DRI, on dozens of test surfaces to simulate high winds on that suspend dust from the surface into the air. Then we collected that dust and gave it to our colleague, Dr. Lauer, for analysis to see if she could find DNA of the fungus. We also used another device that we developed at DRI called the TRAKER™, which is basically a heavily instrumented vehicle that you can drive on unpaved roads . As you drive on these dirt roads and suspend dust behind the vehicle, you can sample this material, and then subject it to analysis to see if there is genetic material from airborne Coccidiodes spores in that dust.
DRI: What were some of your findings?
Etyemezian: It’s important to emphasize that this was really kind of a pilot study. One of the things that was pretty clear from the study was that there are unfortunately no simple parameters you can look at in the soil to determine whether or not this fungus exists at a given location. It appears to be fairly widespread across the southwest. Another finding was that traveling in a vehicle on unpaved roads in these endemic areas is a plausible pathway for exposure, and farmers or military folks who live and train in these areas might get exposed to potentially high concentrations of infectious fungal material.
Overall, it seems that there are sort of two endpoints in the landscape. If you look at a natural desert landscape that hasn’t been disturbed in some time, you could find a lot of the Valley Fever pathogen in the actual soil, but the potential for the fungus to be suspended under normal windy conditions seems to be quite small. And if you look at an extremely disturbed landscape such as a farm, where you’ve completely changed the original ecosystem, it appears that there’s very little fungus or Valley Fever spores – maybe because people apply fungicide to the crops and are creating not a very hospitable environment. But it seems like there’s a period of time in between, when you’re transitioning from a natural landscape to an extremely anthropogenically impacted landscape, that’s probably when and where the exposure happens.
Student Eduardo Garcia (left, CSU Bakersfield), George Nikolich (middle, DRI), and Dr. Antje Lauer (Right, CSU Bakersfield) standing next to PI-SWERL during a test on a heavily disturbed surface near Twentynine Palms, California.
Credit: Vic Etyemezian/DRI.
DRI: How do you hope that these findings are used?
All of our research findings are preliminary, but they essentially provide a conceptual model of how we think the exposure happens. We think that most of the time when people are exposed to this, it is probably as a result of a recent land disturbance — maybe a construction or farming activity that disturbs otherwise undisturbed landscapes. So, you have this fungus that’s been growing in the soils at some depth below the surface for who knows how long, and then all of the sudden, something changes. You pull off the vegetation, you turn it over, and as a result you bring a lot of this fungus to the surface. Then as a part of that process, you have an enormous amount of material available for resuspension by wind or even direct resuspension. So, I think a logical next step would be to very specifically target those kinds of activities to see if that hypothesis holds true.
Additional Information
The full text of the paper “Valley Fever: Environmental Risk Factors and Exposure Pathways Deduced from Field Measurements in California,” is available from the International Journal of Environmental Health and Public Research: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/15/5285
For more information on Vic Etyemezian and his research, please visit: https://www.dri.edu/directory/vicken-etyemezian/
For more information on the PI-SWERL (Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Lab), please visit: https://www.dri.edu/project/pi-swerl/
Aug 25, 2020 | Blog, EEL, Featured projects
DRI scientists investigate effectiveness of heat warnings along US-Mexico border
Anthropology
Meteorology
Climatology
Population Heath
Above: Aerial view of California’s Imperial Valley, where daytime temperatures during summer months can reach as high as 120 degrees. Credit: Thomas Barrat/Shutterstock.com
Featured research by DRI’s Kristin VanderMolen, Ben Hatchett, Erick Bandala, and Tamara Wall
In July and August, daytime temperatures along parts of the US-Mexico border can reach as high as 120 degrees – more than 20 degrees above normal human body temperature. For agricultural workers and others who live and work in the region, exposure to these extreme high temperatures can result in serious health impacts including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and heat-related death.
Although the National Weather Service and public health organizations issue heat warnings to communicate risk during extreme heat events, heat-related illness and death are still common among vulnerable populations. Now, a group of DRI scientists led by Kristin VanderMolen, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor with DRI’s Division of Atmospheric Sciences, is trying to figure out why.
“With the continued increase in episodes of extreme heat and heat waves, there has been an increase in warning messaging programs, yet there continue to be high numbers of heat-related illness and death in communities along the US-Mexico border,” VanderMolen said. “So, there’s this question – if agencies are doing all of this messaging, and people are still getting sick and even dying, then what’s going on?”
An agricultural field in California’s Imperial Valley, where DRI researchers are exploring questions about heat messaging and vulnerability in populations of agricultural workers and others who are vulnerable to heat-related illness and death.
Credit: Winthrop Brookhouse/Shutterstock.com
Assessing heat messaging: An interdisciplinary approach
In 2018, VanderMolen and colleagues Ben Hatchett, Ph.D., Erick Bandala, Ph.D., and Tamara Wall, Ph.D. received funding from NOAA’s International Research and Applications Project (IRAP) to explore questions about heat messaging and vulnerability in two pairs of US-Mexico border cities, San Diego-Tijuana and Calexico-Mexicali. Collectively these areas form the boundaries of the Cali-Baja Bi-national Megaregion. This unique transboundary location integrates the economies of the United States and Mexico, exporting approximately $24.3 billion worth of goods and services each year.
With expertise in the areas of anthropology, meteorology, climatology, and population health, this interdisciplinary team of researchers is now working on this problem from several angles. They are using climate data to characterize and assess past heat extremes as well as using long-range weather forecasts and climate projections to help improve the ability to put out advance messaging about future heat waves. They are working to identify and map populations that are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat and are collaborating with local agencies to understand why people may or may not take protective action during heat waves.
From initial conversations with local civic organizations and public health agencies, the team has learned that the reasons people may not be following heat warnings are complex. Recommended actions such as “stay indoors and seek air-conditioned buildings,” or “take longer and more frequent breaks,” may not be realistic for agricultural workers or others who don’t have access to air-conditioned spaces. There can even be negative consequences for those who choose to seek medical help.
“A big piece of the story that we’ve heard from some of the independent groups that work with agricultural workers in the region is that if someone gets sick and doesn’t show up for work, they can lose their job,” Hatchett explained. “If they go to the hospital and somebody sees them or hears about it, they can lose their job. There are some really big issues related to people not feeling okay with trying to get the help they need.”
“There is evidence to suggest that cases of heat-related illness and death are underreported, probably severely underreported,” VanderMolen added. “The demographics of the individuals for documented cases don’t reflect the population demographics overall. We know that there are a lot of inequalities in that area that may get in the way of people reporting illness.”
A map of summer maximum near-surface temperatures over the 30-year period from 1981–2010 shows that Imperial Valley (at the border between Mexico and the southeastern corner of California) is the hottest place in in North America, with an average maximum temperature from June to August of 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit). Data is from the North American Regional Reanalysis.
COVID-19 complications and next steps
Originally, VanderMolen was planning to travel to the US-Mexico border this summer to do one-on-one interviews with members of vulnerable populations, but the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unforeseen complications.
Imperial County has been hit very hard by COVID-19, compounding the effects of extreme heat for the vulnerable populations that VanderMolen and her team hope to work with. The pandemic has also made it unfeasible to travel to the region to do face-to-face interviews, and has created challenges in coordinating with local agencies that are now overwhelmed in their efforts to address COVID-19.
“It’s a really interesting place and time to do this work because there are questions about what it means to be on stay-at-home orders and limited travel orders when it’s 114 degrees outside and you don’t have reliable air conditioning or its cost is prohibitive,” VanderMolen said. “At the same time, because they’re so overwhelmed right now with caseload, most folks in the area can’t really afford to address issues beyond COVID-19.”
As the research team works to navigate a path forward that is safe for both the interviewers and interviewees, they remain committed to developing information that will help vulnerable populations along the border.
“I hope that the information we provide is something decision-makers can use to make the right decision or create legislation that can help protect workers in the field, or at least call attention to the kind of inequalities and risk that the people there are being exposed to,” Bandala said. “Or, if we can produce information to change the mindset of the people to start thinking of themselves as a population at risk, and put more attention on the heat warnings, that will suffice for me to feel satisfied with the results of our research.”
The US-Mexico border is just one of many places around the globe where heat-related illness is a problem, added Hatchett – and many of those places happen to be where a lot of our food is grown or where important industries are located.
“I think this is a somewhat ubiquitous problem around the planet. We have these really important places that are susceptible to environmental extremes and these people that we rely on to have these regions be productive in terms of agriculture or industry. Unfortunately, those people are often the most susceptible and underserved populations to these compound environmental hazards,” Hatchett said. “It’s so easy to forget them, but one of the goals of this project is really to bring to light the importance of aiming much-needed resources at trying to help those populations and those places.”
Aug 21, 2020 | Blog, EEL, Featured projects
Photo: The sand band used to prepare hydrochar from microplastics. Credit: Erick Bandala/DRI.
By Nicole Damon, Nevada Water Resources Research Institute
Microplastics, plastic fragments that are smaller than 5 mm in any dimension, have been found in ecosystems worldwide. These emerging contaminants are even in environments that are supposed to be free from human contact, such as Antarctica and the deep ocean floor, and their toxic properties make them a significant environmental hazard.
“After the first acknowledgement of microplastics in the early 2000s, their presence in the environment has raised ever-increasing concerns because of their effects on organisms and ecosystems, and because approximately 1.5 million tons of microplastics are estimated to be released into aquatic environments every year,” explains Dr. Erick Bandala, the principal investigator of this project, which also includes Dr. Menake Piyasena from New Mexico Tech, graduate research assistants Adam Clurman and Ahdee Zeidman, and summer intern Yajahira Dircio. “Unfortunately, very little is known about the capability of engineered separation and/or degradation technologies to remove this highly ubiquitous contaminant.”
Commercial products that are manufactured to contain microplastics—such as personal care and pharmaceutical products, industrial abrasives, drilling fluids, and 3D printing products—are the primary sources of microplastics. However, the degradation of plastic debris can also generate microplastics.
“Wastewater treatment plant effluents are the main pathway for microplastics to be released into aquatic environments,” Bandala says. “Although the microplastic removal rate of a conventional wastewater treatment plant is reported to be in the range of 73 to 79 percent, the treated effluent can carry as much as 220,000 to 1.5 million microplastic particles per day.”
Yajahira Dircio, a student at Rancho High School and summer intern on the project, is
preparing hydrochar from MPs using a sand band. Credit: Erick Bandala/DRI
In recent years, the effects microplastics have been found to have on aquatic species and their unknown effects on human health have increased concerns about their presence in water sources.
“Because conventional water treatment processes are unable to effectively eliminate microplastics in water, developing new technologies that can separate them from effluents and prevent their release into the environment is a high priority to protect water quality and water security,” Bandala says.
For this project, the researchers will use acoustic focusing and electrocoagulation to separate microplastics in freshwater effluents and determine the removal process mechanisms.
“Acoustic standing waves are a fast, noncontact, gentle particlemanipulation technique for microfluidic conditions that have emerged as a promising new technology for the purification, separation, and concentration of beads and biological cell samples,” Bandala explains.
The researchers will also assess the efficacy of using electrocoagulation to remove MPs from wastewater.
“Electrocoagulation has several significant advantages to conventional chemical coagulation, such as it increases treatment efficiency, generates less sludge, requires less space, and prevents chemical storage,” Bandala adds. “It has been proven to be highly efficient in removing contaminants. Our research group has used it for water defluoridation and to pretreat effluents that were heavily contaminated with petrochemicals.”
Because microplastics in freshwater are increasingly detected, it is even more important to find effective water treatment process that remove them.
“Although ultrafiltration, or microfiltration, have microplastic removal efficiencies as high as 99.4 percent, they also have high operational and maintenance costs and require skilled operators,” Bandala explains. “Finding efficient, costeffective methods to separate microplastics from freshwater effluents is critical to preventing population exposure.”
Adam Clurman, an undergraduate student at Nevada State College, is conducting the
electrocoagulation experiments for the project. Credit: Erick Bandala
Another challenge that microplastics in freshwater present is how to dispose of them once they are removed from water. For this project, the researchers will use advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) as complementary processes to degrade the plastic waste after it has been separated from the wastewater. Advanced oxidation processes are an eco-friendly way to degrade organic compounds. In previous projects, the research group has tested the capability of these processes to degrade a wide variety of dissolved organic contaminants in water.
“Advanced oxidation processes have been used to degrade organics and have shown high cost-efficiency and short detention time compared with conventional water treatment processes,” Bandala explains. “Using AOPs to degrade microplastics will not only be an interesting challenge because of the complexity of their polymeric chains, but also because these contaminants are suspended in water and treating contaminants in a different phase in water using AOPs has not yet been reported.”
Maintaining the quality of water sources is an increasing issue, particularly in arid and semiarid regions with rapidly growing populations, such as Nevada.
“Desert Research Institute has reported the presence of MPs in places such as the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe, which are the origin of several drinking water supply systems in Nevada,” Bandala explains. “We live in a region with a moderate-high water stress and as Nevadans, we need to protect our water sources from contamination to ensure the sustainable development of our communities.”
This story was originally written for the Nevada Water Resources Research Institute (NWRRI) Summer 2020 Newsletter. Success and the dedication to quality research have established DRI’s Division of Hydrologic Sciences (DHS) as the Nevada Water Resources Research Institute (NWRRI) under the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (as amended). The work conducted through the NWRRI program is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey under Grant/Cooperative Agreement No. G16AP00069.
For more information on the NWRRI, please visit: https://www.dri.edu/nwrri/
Jun 30, 2020 | Announcements, News releases
This story was reposted with permission from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
CARSON CITY, Nev. – After investments totaling $4.3 million through the Knowledge Fund administered by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), the WaterStart program is spinning out of the Desert Research Institute (DRI) into a successful company that has already addressed $30 million in water technology challenges based in Nevada.
“The WaterStart spin out of DRI represents yet another success story of the Knowledge Fund,” said Michael Brown, GOED executive director. “GOED is looking forward to continuing to work with WaterStart providing technology solutions for Nevada’s water resource-based challenges as well as growing the water-tech sector in our state thereby creating high paying employment opportunities for Nevadans.”
With a growing membership, proven model, and diversified funding, WaterStart is ready to write its next chapter and operate as an independent entity. WaterStart was founded as a non-profit in 2013 in response to the impacts of the Great Recession and 20 years of continuous drought in Nevada. The public-private partnership was housed within DRI and funded by GOED. Dedicated to deploying new water technologies and making Nevada a hub for water innovation, WaterStart membership and sponsors are made up of the State’s largest water agencies, consumers and philanthropies including; the Southern Nevada Water Authority, Truckee Meadows Water Authority, MGM Resorts and NV Gold, the Wells Fargo Foundation and OneDrop.
“The WaterStart model has enabled DRI to build on our global leadership in water research to better understand the needs of the water industry and develop relationships with the private sector,” said Kumud Acharya, Interim President of DRI.
Funding to create WaterStart as well as continuous financial support since 2013 has come from the Knowledge Fund, which was established to foster the development of intellectual property and commercialization of new technologies at Nevada’s three research institutions in an effort to diversify and strengthen the state’s economy. Part of the Knowledge Fund’s mandate is to build research capacity for the development of technologies that can be commercialized as well as setting up centers to engage in research and development collaborations with the private sector.
Today, WaterStart’s membership has expanded into Australia and the United Kingdom. In May, WaterStart welcomed the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California as its newest member. Delivering water to a six-county service area with nearly 19 million people, Metropolitan is now WaterStart’s largest member and its first in California.
“The recent growth of our membership into Australia, the United Kingdom and now California speaks volumes about how far we’ve come and the impact we can make,” said Nathan Allen, WaterStart’s executive director. “We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from the Knowledge Fund and DRI. Our Nevada community has given us a solid foundation to scale-up and pursue our vision of deploying technologies that benefit 100 million people.”
WaterStart and its members will continue to address and solve challenges at the nexus of the economy and water. Based in Nevada, WaterStart will expand its positive impact in the State as it drives job creation, conservation, and water security by bringing in cutting edge, innovative companies to solve water issues in the driest state in the Union.
“This is an exciting time for WaterStart and its members,” said Dave Johnson, Chairman of the Board for WaterStart. “After years of hard work, the organization is ready to step out on its own. This change will allow WaterStart to broaden its impact as it works with members and partners around the world to solve our most pressing water technology needs.”
Additional documents:
Economic Impact of WaterStart on Clark County 2015-2018
Metropolitan Water District Partners with WaterStart to Continue Innovation
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About the Governor’s Office of Economic Development
Created during the 2011 session of the Nevada Legislature, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development is the result of a collaborative effort between the Nevada Legislature and the Governor’s Office to restructure economic development in the state. GOED’s role is to promote a robust, diversified and prosperous economy in Nevada, to stimulate business expansion and retention, encourage entrepreneurial enterprise, attract new businesses and facilitate community development. More information on the Governor’s Office of Economic Development can be viewed at diversifynevada.com.
About the Desert Research Institute
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied interdisciplinary research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge, supported Nevada’s diversifying economy, provided science-based educational opportunities, and informed policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, visit www.dri.edu.
About WaterStart
WaterStart is a non-profit collective of globally recognized leaders who are adapting to change by scaling up new solutions to water challenges. Driven by the needs of water agencies and large consumers, we provide a channel for pooling resources to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative water technologies. Established in 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada, WaterStart’s globally recognized members, sponsors, and portfolio companies come from across the United States, expanding into Queensland, Australia in 2018 and into the United Kingdom in 2020. For more information, visit www.waterstart.com.
May 12, 2020 | Blog, Featured projects
The DRI Foundation has just awarded the next round of seed grants to six teams of researchers through the Innovation Research Program (IRP). The IRP provides the start-up funding DRI scientists need to test new ideas and produce initial data, which will help them build the scientific case for future research projects.
The 2020 Innovation Research Project winners were chosen through a competitive selection process and reviewed by a committee comprised of previous IRP recipients and DRI’s Vice President for Research. The selected projects demonstrate creative, innovative research or technological development that advances DRI’s mission.
Dr. Mary Cablk’s cadaver dog Inca sniffing in the field.
Advancing the science behind canine odor detection evidence in criminal trials
Mary Cablk, Yeongkwon Son, Andrey Khlystov
Cadaver dogs are often called on to detect the odors of human remains at a crime scene, and the evidence they find—the odor left behind from a body on a killer’s clothing, for example—is treated as hard scientific fact in criminal trials. However, there are currently no physical or chemical forensic methods to verify this kind of evidence. In a first-of-its-kind study, Dr. Mary Cablk and her team are employing a scientific approach to compare the detection of residual odors by dogs and laboratory instrumentation. This research will bolster the scientific foundation for canine evidence used in homicide cases and position DRI to secure future funding for projects investigating a wider span of canine evidence, such as contraband.
Workers in Pajaro Valley, Watsonville, CA. Credit: Lance Cheung/USDA.
Supporting climate adaptation for specialty crop farmers
Kristin VanderMolen
Climate change impacts like flooding and drought threaten the production of specialty crops like fruits, nuts, and vegetables in California, a state that grows more than half of these crops nationwide. DRI’s Kristin VanderMolen, PhD, and partners at the Climate Science Alliance at Scripps Institution of Oceanography are investigating how farmers are adapting to these challenges in order to identify how climate research can best support them. This research lays the groundwork for field studies to test and verify the effectiveness of farmers’ adaptation strategies and the development of climate information products to support farmers into the future. Additionally, this project builds relationships between DRI and critical partners, like the Climate Science Alliance and University of California Cooperative Extension.
A section of Smoke Creek Road in rural Northwestern Nevada. Credit: Bob Wick/BLM.
Enhancing soil moisture data to improve hydrologic modeling
Ming Liu
Soil moisture is a critical variable when it comes to understanding processes like evapotranspiration, the transfer of water from land surfaces and plants into the atmosphere. Most hydrologic models rely on soil moisture data from satellite remote sensing, but this data lacks ground truthing, especially in remote arid places. In collaboration with Myriota, an Internet of Things (IoT) nanosatellite startup, DRI’s Ming Liu, PhD, is developing sensor stations by integrating Myriota’s nanosatellite transceiver with custom-made universal dataloggers. The sensor stations will be deployed across Nevada to collect soil moisture readings from the field. This project aims to improve the data used in hydrologic models and build the foundation for broader sensor deployment for environmental research in arid lands.
Researchers sample snow for a previous research project. Credit: Nathan Chellman/DRI.
Tracing the history of atmospheric river events to improve water resource management in the Western U.S.
Joe McConnell, Nathan Chellman, Christine Albano
Atmospheric rivers carry significant amounts of water vapor from the tropics to the Western United States, providing 30-40% of the total precipitation during a typical winter season. However, these rivers in the sky can also result in extreme weather like flooding and wind storms, which pose risks to infrastructure and human safety. Despite the significant impacts of atmospheric rivers, little is known about how their frequency and intensity has changed over the past several centuries. Using chemical analysis in DRI’s state-of-the-art Ice Core Laboratory, Joe McConnell, PhD, and his team are working to identify isotopic signatures that differentiate snow produced by atmospheric rivers from that produced by other storms. If successful, researchers will be able to leverage this work in future projects to develop a history of atmospheric rivers over the last several hundred years. Such a record will be valuable for informing water resource management and hazard mitigation, especially as the climate continues to warm and change.
A cannabis growing facility, part of a previous DRI air quality study. Credit: Vera Samburova/DRI.
Evaluating health risks from cannabis smoking and vaping
David Campbell
The legalization of cannabis products for both medical and recreational use in many states, including Nevada, has resulted in widespread commercial production of non-tobacco smoking and vaping products. However, this growth hasn’t been accompanied by research into the health effects from use of those products—in fact, there has been virtually no analysis of the many chemical compounds that are inhaled by users when smoking or vaping cannabis, due in part to federal research restrictions. Dr. David Campbell is developing a portable sampling system to collect the smoke or vapor for laboratory analysis, and it will be tested with cigarettes made from legal hemp, which is identical to marijuana except for the lower THC content. This research will bolster what we know about the health risks associated with cannabis use and develop intellectual property DRI researchers can leverage in future projects.
The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) on the Central California Coast, where Gillies and colleagues have previously conducted research on dust and wind erosion.
Modeling and Analysis of Fluid Flow Interactions with Porous/Permeable 3-Dimensional Forms
Jack Gillies, Eden Furtak-Cole
Dust emissions, particularly from arid regions, directly impact air quality, human health, agricultural production, and the planet’s climate. Windy conditions drive the formation of dust through erosion, and while vegetation and structures like fencing are known to mitigate wind erosion and dust emissions, researchers have been unable to quantify their actual impact in large scale models. Dr. Jack Gillies and his team are working to incorporate the erosion mitigation impact of vegetation and engineered control structures into wind erosion models. These models will provide a cost-effective, efficient way to develop dust control strategies and improve air quality. This work will also position DRI as a leader in the ability to evaluate dust emissions and lay the foundation for future projects, particularly as problems like drought and desertification become more pronounced under a warming climate.
May 7, 2020 | Blog, Featured researchers
Meet Tiffany Pereira, M.S.
Botany
Research
Scientific Illustration
Meet DRI scientist Tiffany Pereira and learn about her work in botany and scientific illustration in this interview with DRI’s Behind the Science blog.
Tiffany Pereira, M.S., is an assistant research scientist with the Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences at the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas. She has been a member of the DRI community since July of 2019, and specializes in field biology, range ecology, and scientific illustration. Tiffany is originally from southern California, and holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from University of Southern California and a Master’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). In her free time, she enjoys doing artwork, singing in a community choir, hiking, and taking care of a small army of pets – ten species of frogs, geckos, a salamander, a caecilian (a legless amphibian), and three snakes.
DRI scientist Tiffany Pereira collects a sample of Merriams Bearpoppy (Arctomecon merriami), a sensitive species, at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in April, 2020.
Photograph by Ali Swallow/DRI.
DRI: What do you do here at DRI?
Pereira: I specialize in the flora and fauna – so, plants and animals – of the desert southwest, and the ecological processes going on in the region. In my work, I try to provide land managers and resource managers with sound advice and sound research to back up issues that they might have when it comes to protecting and conserving our natural resources. I’m also a scientific illustrator, so I try whenever I can to incorporate artwork into what I do.
I started here at DRI in July of 2019 after graduating with my masters from UNLV, so I haven’t been here quite a year yet – but so far, one of my main tasks has been to provide resource management planning out at the Nevada Test and Training Range. I’m also working on a new project to do a botanical inventory out at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument.
Las Vegas Bearpoppy (Arctomecon california), another sensitive species found at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. April 2020.
Photograph by Ali Swallow/DRI.
DRI: Where is Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, and what do you hope to learn there?
Pereira: Tule Springs is a new park that was formed by the National Park Service in 2014 on land that was formerly managed by the BLM. It is a vast landscape, and it’s located on the north edge of Las Vegas with housing developments that back right up to the border, so it is what you would consider an urban park. The park is known for the presence of Ice Age fossils – including some really cool ancient mammals like mammoths, lions, bison, ground sloths, and camels – but there is also a diverse array of modern-day Mojave Desert flora and fauna on the site that hasn’t really been studied yet.
The park managers at Tule Springs are facing some unique challenges, because people used to have basically unlimited access to do whatever they wanted on the land. Now, the park is trying to manage the land and resources in a more sustainable way, but they don’t have much baseline data to support what they are trying to accomplish. It’s hard to manage rare plants and invasive species if you don’t really know what’s out there, or where those populations are occurring. So, that’s where this botanical inventory comes in.
Above: Tiffany Pereira collects samples of Merriams Bearpoppy (Arctomecon merriami; the white flower) and Las Vegas Bearpoppy (Arctomecon californica; the yellow flower) at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in April, 2020. Both are sensitive species, says Tiffany, and it is special to have them both in the park.
Photographs by Ali Swallow/DRI.
How do you do a botanical inventory?
Well, the monument itself is 22,605 acres. It’s a really large area to cover, so we can’t aim for 100 percent coverage, but we will go out to randomly located sample sites to get a feel for the vegetation, the cover, and what the dominant species are. Then we’ll move to different spots and get different plants from different areas – for example, if we spend some time in a creosote shrub community, then we’ll move down into a sand dune community, or down into the washes. We will also go out at different times of year in order to capture peak flowering periods of each major group of plants. Our job to collect specimens that will be stored in an herbarium at the Nevada State Museum as a permanent record of the plants found at this monument, and also to create a species list for the park, like a checklist. That’s where scientific illustration might come in – I might try to illustrate some of the more prolific species, or rare or special status species found on the monument.
Tiffany Pereira works at Tule Fossil Beds National Monument in April, 2020.
Photograph by Ali Swallow/DRI.
Why do you like to use scientific illustration in your work? What do you see as the benefit of an illustration, over, say, a photograph?
Oftentimes, especially with certain medical, botanical, or wildlife illustrations, illustrations are done in black and white. That’s because you can actually get a lot more detail and texture to come across in an illustration than in a normal photograph. It also is better for people who are colorblind, or who have trouble discerning the subtleties of color.
With an illustration of a plant, you can look at multiple examples and sort of illustrate the average to get the best possible representation of that particular species or specimen, rather than just choosing one and saying “all right, this is the one I’m going to take a picture of.” You can also show multiple life stages at once, or show a specimen from different angles.
Scientific illustration is actually something that has been around forever. All of the graphics in our textbooks, those are scientific illustrations. Early researchers like Darwin and Audubon, they had to rely on illustration to convey their findings and to progress their fields. So, it does have a very deep thread winding through the course of scientific discovery. And in the age of trying to think more about science communication, and getting our work out there in an accessible and sharable way, a picture is still worth a thousand words. Why read an abstract that is confusing and painstaking, when you can look at a visual abstract that graphically depicts the findings of a paper?
In addition to the more traditional approaches to scientific illustration, there are also some more modern scientific illustration techniques that are accepted as part of this growing field. The use of stacking software is one, where you take photos through a microscope and focus them at different levels, then use software to compress and combine ten or twenty images into one beautiful photo that is focused all the way through.
“In the age of trying to think more about science communication, and getting our work out there in an accessible and sharable way, a picture is still worth a thousand words.”
How did you become interested in scientific illustration?
When I was younger, I wanted to be a Disney animator because I loved illustration, I loved artwork. As I got older, my love for science kind of chipped in on that – but I always had a mentality of “why not both”? As an undergrad, I combined the two as much as I could – I was a science major, but I also minored in fine arts. And then, I was pleasantly surprised to come across the whole field of scientific illustration, and realize that it really is its own thing.
Once I learned that scientific illustration was a field in its own right, I thought, never again will I try to separate the two aspects of my being. There really is a field that combines science and art, and that’s exactly how I am as a person. So, I incorporated it as part of my undergrad, I had a whole chapter of my master’s thesis dedicated to it, and I’m pleased and grateful to DRI for allowing that to be a part of my career now.
DRI scientist Tiffany Pereira works at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in April, 2020.
Photograph by Ali Swallow/DRI.
Feb 27, 2020 | Announcements, News releases, Science Alive Blog
Reno, Nev. (Feb. 27, 2020) – Robotics clubs and competitions have become popular in many Nevada middle and high schools in recent years, but opportunities for participation at the elementary school level have so far been limited. This is set to change, thanks to a new grant from Nevada Gold Mines to the Nevada Robotics program, led by the Desert Research Institute (DRI).
The $100,000 grant will support elementary school teacher participation in two upcoming sessions of the 2020 Summer Robotics Academy of Nevada, an annual 4-day training that is co-sponsored by Tesla.
“We’re thrilled to be able to expand our robotics programming to Nevada’s elementary school teachers this year, with this support from Nevada Gold Mines,” said A.J. Long, head of the Nevada Robotics program at DRI. “Introducing students to the fun and challenge of robotics at an early age will help us immensely in strengthening the STEM workforce pipeline across the state.”
The Nevada Robotics program, launched in 2019, introduces Nevada teachers to the engineering and robotics concepts needed to build and operate automated and remote-controlled robots with groups of students. Last summer, with support from Tesla’s K-12 Education Investment Fund, DRI partnered with the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to offer free training courses in robotics to more than 200 middle and high school teachers from across the state. Four additional trainings in the fall brought the total number of trained teachers to just over 400.
The Nevada Robotics program introduces Nevada teachers to the engineering and robotics concepts needed to build and operate automated and remote-controlled robots.
Following the robotics workshops, teachers are prepared to develop competitive robotics teams at their schools. In the past year, with support from Tesla and Nevada Gold Mines, the number of competitive robotics teams in Nevada has increased by 43 percent, now totaling 672 teams and reaching more than 6,000 students. This spring, for the first time, Vex IQ robotics teams from five schools in Las Vegas, Henderson, and Ely have qualified for the VEX IQ Challenge Robotics World Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Robotics is an amazing way to spark a lifelong interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), teamwork, and creative problem solving for students of all ages,” said Long. “Since launching last year, we’ve seen a huge amount of interest in robotics from teachers, students, and schools across the state.”
The 2020 Summer Robotics Academy of Nevada, open to elementary, middle and high school teachers, will be held in Las Vegas on May 26-29, 2020 at Cimarron-Memorial High School, and in Reno on June 16-19, 2020 at Damonte Ranch High School. The first three days of each training are designed for teachers who are new to robotics; the fourth day will be open to participants of all coaching and teaching levels.
Nevada teachers can attend the Summer Robotics Academy at no cost. Rookie coaches are eligible for travel and accommodation stipends as well as and continuing education credits. Following completion of the training, teachers who agree to start a new robotics team at their school are eligible for a free robotics kit, thanks to program sponsors, Tesla and Nevada Gold Mines.
With this grant, Nevada Gold Mines joins Tesla as a founding partner in Nevada Robotics. Melissa Schultz from Nevada Gold Mines will serve on the program’s advisory council, along with representatives from UNR, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), the REC Foundation, PBS Reno, Clark County Schools, UNLV, Washoe County School District, FIRST Nevada, and Tesla.
For more information about the Nevada Robotics program, please visit: http://nvrobotics.dri.edu/
For teachers who are interested in attending the summer Robotics Academy of Nevada Teacher Trainings, please visit: https://forms.gle/CcsRqHpGd6dDW11Z9. Registration opens March 2nd, 2020.
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The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied interdisciplinary research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge, supported Nevada’s diversifying economy, provided science-based educational opportunities, and informed policy makers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI is one of eight institutions in the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Feb 6, 2020 | Announcements, News releases
Reno & Las Vegas, NV (Feb. 6, 2020): The Desert Research Institute (DRI) and the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation, and Technology (OSIT) today announced the creation of three new Regional STEM Networks across the state.
With a growing need for a workforce skilled in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) across Nevada and the nation, the state’s new Regional STEM Networks aim to increase student interest and achievement in STEM within the classroom and grow partnerships outside of the traditional classroom to support students.
Networks in Southern, Northwestern, and Rural Nevada will coordinate partners representing K-12 and Higher Education, business, industry, public libraries, after-school providers, non-profits, government, and philanthropy to identify and scale up STEM programs that will prepare students for Nevada’s 21st-century workforce.
“A high-quality STEM education helps students develop important skills like creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, and determination that will prepare them to succeed in their chosen career and as informed citizens. I’m excited to partner with DRI to launch these three Regional STEM Networks in Nevada and increase our collaboration with local STEM partners,” said Brian Mitchell, Director of OSIT.
DRI was selected to coordinate the Networks in part due to the Institute’s record of success in delivering science solutions as well as informal education and outreach programs to Nevadans for more than 60 years. Successful collaboration with regional partners has long contributed to the success of DRI’s Science Alive curriculum kits and teacher professional development courses, Citizen Science programs, STEM-based lecture series, workshops, and conferences for all ages.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to enhance the STEM ecosystems in all three regions of our State,” said Craig Rosen, DRI Science Alive Administrator and Managing Director for Nevada’s Regional STEM Networks. “We look forward to bringing stakeholders together to identify gaps in STEM educational programming, scale-up quality STEM programs, and collaborate on new ideas and initiatives.”
The three regional STEM Networks will have five important tasks:
- Identify on-the-ground programmatic gaps or implementation challenges in need of a state-level solution.
- Grow interest, awareness, and achievement in STEM in the region.
- Carry out on-the-ground implementation of state-level programs/goals.
- Identify and build local programs and initiatives worthy of scaling statewide.
- Create and facilitate partnerships and the sharing of resources among K-12, higher education, and business/industry within the region.
DRI faculty and staff will host public STEM summits to allow stakeholders to communicate employment needs, highlight complementary informal STEM programs, and target areas for program growth and increased community support. Bringing together stakeholders from industry, the non-profit sector, education, and government, Rosen said he hopes, will lay the foundation for successful partnerships and program building throughout each region.
“We are particularly interested in creating opportunities that work for Nevada students and families from backgrounds underrepresented in the technical workforce,” Rosen explained.
“Through our Regional Network structure, we can address the unique challenges and opportunities of each region at the local level. Increasing student engagement in STEM has proven to translate directly into career success for students of all ages. In Nevada, our hope is that coordinating that engagement statewide will help our State build a robust, diverse workforce that can support the growing demand for STEM professionals throughout Nevada.”
DRI will officially launch the new Regional STEM Networks at public STEM summits in Spring 2020.
The Networks will be overseen by OSIT and the Nevada STEM Advisory Council.
The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied interdisciplinary research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge, supported Nevada’s diversifying economy, provided science-based educational opportunities, and informed policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Reno and Las Vegas, DRI is one of eight institutions in the Nevada System of Higher Education.
The mission of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT) is to coordinate, support, and align efforts by K-12 and higher education, workforce development and employers to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and STEM workforce development, so that Nevada’s workforce can meet the demands of its growing economy.
Jan 9, 2020 | Blog, Featured projects
As populations in the southwestern United States continue to grow, the demand on water resources also increases. One region experiencing this stress on its groundwater resources is Pahrump Valley in southern Nye County, Nevada. Pahrump Valley is one of the fastest growing counties in Nevada, which has led to groundwater-related issues such as land subsidence. “Land subsidence has been reported in Pahrump Valley since the 1960s,” says Dr. Hai Pham the principal investigator (PI) of this project, which also includes co-PIs Karl Pohlmann, Susan Rybarski, and Kevin Heintz and research assistant Larry Piatt. “It has caused damage to building foundations and slabs, fissuring, shearing of well casings, and extensive damage to roadbeds.”
In their 2017 Water Resources Plan Update, the Nye County Water District determined that land subsidence is one of the key issues related to population growth in Nye County. However, the causes of land subsidence still haven’t been clearly identified. “Previous studies failed to precisely map spatiotemporal evolutions of subsidence, or adequately clarify the causes of subsidence,” Pham says. “These studies were limited by data quantity and quality. The goal of this project is to identify and prioritize predominant factors that cause subsidence and make predictions using machine learning algorithms and big data.”
A concrete well pad exposed by land subsidence around the well casing (right) observed during a field survey in May 2019 (photo by Karl Pohlmann).
Land subsidence is a complicated process that is driven by multivariate intercorrelated factors, such as groundwater decline, soil and sediment types, and tectonic and geologic settings. For example, excessive groundwater pumping results in soil compaction, which has been identified as a primary cause of land subsidence in Pahrump Valley. However, the magnitude of soil compaction depends on aquifer materials, and therefore understanding the geologic structure of Pahrump Valley is vital to evaluating future subsidence. The advantage of using machine learning to assess potential areas of land subsidence is that it can help illuminate complicated data relationships that may not be as obvious using traditional data analysis techniques.
In this project, the researchers will use machine learning algorithms and high-resolution data sets to identify the predominant factors causing land subsidence in Pahrump Valley. “In this study, we will derive spatiotemporal subsidence maps using recent high-quality satellite images and the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar [InSAR] technique,” Pham says. “InSAR is a powerful technique that allows us to measure and map vertical changes on the earth’s surface as small as a few millimeters.”
The researchers will then build three-dimensional (3-D) computer models of the subsurface geological structures in Pahrump Valley at a very fine (one-foot) vertical resolution using data from 13,000 boreholes. “Compaction of aquifer materials can accompany excessive groundwater pumping and it is by far the single largest cause of subsidence, but the magnitude of soil compaction differs by soil type,” Pham explains. “Therefore, it is important that we account for these well log data to construct high resolution 3-D models of geologic structures.” The researchers will also develop groundwater drawdown maps by processing data from records of 130 groundwater observation wells that range from the 1940s to the present. “Incorporating these high-resolution datasets will help us identify and prioritize the causes of subsidence and make better predictions,” Pham adds.
The groundwater level has declined approximately 25 feet from December 1999 to December 2017 (photo taken in May 2019 by Karl Pohlmann).
Because of the limitations of existing field data, the researchers will generate high-resolution datasets to train and validate the machine learning algorithms. Advanced machine learning algorithms will then be run on supercomputers to analyze the data. By analyzing this data, the researchers hope to identify the factors that cause subsidence and ultimately predict possible subsidence in the future. “Once we have identified these factors, we can roughly predict areas that are prone to subsidence,” Pham explains. “This information can also be used to predict subsidence in other arid and semiarid regions.”
This story was originally written for the Nevada Water Resources Research Institute (NWRRI) October 2019 Newsletter. Success and the dedication to quality research have established DRI’s Division of Hydrologic Sciences (DHS) as the Nevada Water Resources Research Institute (NWRRI) under the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (as amended). The work conducted through the NWRRI program is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey under Grant/Cooperative Agreement No. G16AP00069.
