Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Restoration Of Biological Soil Crust On Disturbed Gypsiferous Soils In Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Eastern Mojave Desert, Lindsay P. Chiquoine

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. Natural recovery takes many years. Active restoration decreases recovery time. Native BSC inocula, which included lichens and mosses, salvaged from gypsiferous soil habitats in Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) in the eastern Mojave Desert were stored dry for two years and applied to disturbed soil after a road reconstruction in LMNRA and also used in laboratory experiments to test inoculation technique effectiveness. After 18 months, field results revealed positive relationships between inoculation and the presence of macroscopic BSC cover, cyanobacteria abundance, soil stability, and ammonium concentrations. Chlorophyll fluorescence monitoring of …

Detrital Carbonates In A Sequence Stratigraphic Framework: An Example From The Furongian Slope Environment In The Hot Creek Range Of Central Nevada, Leon Taufani

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An integrated sedimentological study of detrital carbonates of the late Cambrian (Furongian) Hales Limestone in central Nevada was conducted in order to model facies distribution and controlling mechanisms of carbonate gravity-flow deposits. Seven closely-spaced sections and numerous traceable short sections were measured to investigate temporal and spatial changes of detrital carbonates within a high-resolution stratigraphic framework supported by biostratigraphic and carbon isotope chemostratigraphic constraints and by key physical surfaces. Polished slabs and thin section petrographic analysis were used to identify micro- and macro-scale textures and diagenesis.

Ten lithofacies are identified from the Hales Limestone. Lateral tracing of these facies reveals …

Volcanic Evolution Of The Southern Quinn Canyon Range: Implications For Regional Correlation Of Volcanic Units, Christina Emery

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The southern Quinn Canyon Range lies in an area of the Great Basin subjected to large-volume Oligocene-Miocene silicic volcanism and smaller volume basaltic volcanism during the Pliocene. Three major ash-flow tuff units were correlated in the southern Quinn Canyon Range (the Pahranagat Tuff, Clifford Spring Tuff, and the Cow Canyon Tuff) with regional units by utilizing U/Pb and 40 Ar/ 39Ar geochronology, geochemical correlation, and field mapping. Isotopic analysis suggests that basalt in the southern Quinn Canyon Range is part of the Death Valley-Pancake Range Basalt Zone and is similar to Reveille Range Episode 1 and 2 basalts. Further comparison …

New Business Competition For A Different Generation Launches In Nevada, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

On Nevada Day (October 26), a new competition was announced that is designed to stimulate business formation in the Silver State by offering the state’s largest-ever cash grand prize as an incentive.

The related tagline gets right to the point: “$100,000 cash. Your business idea. A room of investors. 5 minutes. One chance to prove you have what it takes.”

Nevada's Top Energy Industry Representatives Call For More Collaboration And Education, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

More than 75 representatives from every sector of Nevada’s energy industry gathered at Reno’s Desert Research Institute last week to discuss energy challenges facing the Silver State, opportunities available and actions needed to lead the West and the nation in renewable energy generation, transmission and delivery.

Sustainability Program For Rio Secco Golf Club And Cascata, Jay Chiders

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Caesars Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, operational excellence, and technology leadership. Caesars is committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the importance of being a responsible steward to the environment. Sustainability at Caesars Entertainment integrates strategic direction with the energy, innovation, and passion of its 70,000 employees. These employees are what drive Caesars Entertainment’s comprehensive sustainability strategy, CodeGreen (CodeGreen factsheet, 2012).

Caesars Entertainment Corporation owns two golf courses in Nevada. Rio Secco Golf Club opened in 1997 in Henderson and Cascata opened in …

Startup Weekend; Hooking Up For Economic Growth, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

The Startup Weekend, a national grassroots business-launching event, is coming to Northern Nevada, September 28-30, 2012. Startup Weekend Elko will connect local entrepreneurs, developers, designers and startup enthusiasts with mentors and resources for a weekend of sharing ideas, forming teams and launching startups. The weekend-long event will take place at the Great Basin College campus in Elko.

Paleoseismic Study Of The Stewart Valley And Northern Pahrump Segments Of The Stateline Fault System, Nevada, Jonathan Carter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Stateline fault system (SFS) is a ~200 km long zone of dextral faults running NW along the NV/CA border from Primm, Nevada to Amargosa Valley in the western Central Basin and Range province (CBR). Because of size and proximity, the SFS poses a hazard to the 2.5 million people, most of who live within 10 km, in Pahrump, Nevada and within 40 km, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The goals of this thesis are to (1) understand if the SFS is accommodating faulting slip change in the CBR; (2) test the along strike continuity of the SFS in Pahrump and …

Special Edition: National Clean Energy Summit, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

Young Professionals in Energy–Nevada recently gathered for an up-to-the-day report on renewable energy at UNLV’s LEED-certified Science and Engineering Building given by Associate Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research Tom Piechota—just hours after President Obama appeared on campus in support of higher education.

Piechota, who also heads UNLV’s Urban Sustainability Initiative (and is this author’s boss in that capacity), covered all the overlapping curriculum and research going on. Of about 400 total research projects university-wide, 142 involve clean energy, water or environmental science – some at the nexus of all three. Department of Energy remains the biggest source of funding, along …

Nevada Grown, Cutting Edge Clean Energy Innovation Please, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

The Nevada chapter of Young Professionals in Energy (YPE Nevada) seeks to facilitate the advancement of mid-career energy professionals in the state of Nevada through social, educational, vocational and community service events. YPE Nevada aims to build a cohesive network of energy professionals from students to retired executives, and to create an environment where members can learn from each other’s experiences, share industry knowledge and discuss career matters. By expanding networking between the state’s energy professionals, it aims to enhance entrepreneurial activity.

Join Nevada's Newly Formed Networking Group For All Energy Professionals, Nevada Institute For Renewable Energy Commercialization (Nirec)

Nevada Newsflash

“YPE Nevada is designed to engage Nevada’s mid-career energy professionals through a variety of career-related, community service, professional education and social events to be scheduled across the entire state. ” said YPE Nevada Board Member Walt Borland, the President and CEO of NIREC that is sponsoring the launch of the new chapter. “And, we expect that this enhanced interaction will help to drive more energy-related entrepreneurial activity in Nevada.”

Burial And Exhumation History Of Mississippian Strata In East-Central Nevada, Yuki Yunika Agulia

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Zircon (U-Th)/He analyses and vitrinite reflectance (Ro) analyses were performed on a suite of Mississippian sedimentary rocks collected in east-central Nevada in order to test Permian exhumation described in a previous study.

The zircon analyses produced three clusters of ages: 1) older than, 2) similar to, and 3) younger than depositional age. The majority of zircons shows ages that are older than the sandstone deposition age. Young ages were recorded in three localities that may indicate reset ages/residence within the (U-Th)/He partial retention zone (HePRZ). Moderate-high ratios of Th/U may indicate a magmatic source. Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) analyses show values …

Muddy Creek Formation: A Record Of Late Neogene Tectonics And Sedimentation In Southern Nevada, Thomas William Muntean

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Late Neogene Muddy Creek Formation (MCF), exposed in the vicinity of Lake Mead in southern Nevada, represents the youngest widespread Cenozoic sedimentary sequence in the region and is the focus of this study. Historically, the MCF has been largely ignored, with limited previous studies providing only regional-scale constraint on the age, stratigraphy, and mode of deposition for the formation; resulting in a data gap for our understanding of the Late Cenozoic tectonic and sedimentological evolution of southern Nevada.