2025/2026 Meetings
The AEG Southern Nevada Chapter holds dinner meetings eight times per year. Meetings are typically held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Embassy Suites Las Vegas located at 4315 University Center Drive (Near UNLV between Harmon Avenue and Flamingo Road) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Each meeting features a presentation regarding a pertinent geological, environmental, or other relevant science-based issue.
Check-in and Socialize 6:00 to 6:30 pm
Dinner: 6:30 pm
Presentation: 7:15 to 8:00 pm
Members: $45.00
Non-members: $50.00
Student Members: $20.00 (Do not Pay in Advance)
Student Non-members: $25.00 (Do not Pay in Advance)
Walk-ins: $55.00
Vegetarian options are available. Just let us know when you
register!
Payment for attending required at the time of registration.
NDEP - Certified Environmental Manager (CEM) Professional Development Hours (PDHs)
Attendance of a meeting will qualify for one NDEP-CEM-PDH. There is no limit on the amount of PDHs that can be obtained by attending monthly meetings. Become an active member of the AEG Southern Nevada Chapter and an additional four PDHs can be obtained annually. Attending the AEG Southern Nevada Chapter meetings is a great way to network while obtaining the required PDHs necessary to maintain your CEM license.
Tuesday - May 12, 2026
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. PST
"Challenges of Contaminant Remediation in Arid Aquifer Systems:
Insights from the Las Vegas Wash and Little Wind River"
By: Dr. Zach Perzan
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Geosciences Department
Abstract:
Contaminant remediation in arid aquifers presents a distinct set of opportunities and challenges. In dry climates, low rainfall rates can lead to reduced groundwater recharge and slow contaminant transport rates, providing ample time to capture and remediate contaminant plumes. At the same time, high rates of evaporation and plant water demand can drive evaporative concentration of contaminants within the soil and promote the formation of contaminant-rich evaporite minerals, resulting in plume persistence. This presentation draws on recent work in two arid floodplain aquifers—along the Las Vegas Wash (Nevada) and the Little Wind River (Wyoming)—to highlight how sediment heterogeneity, hydrologic variability, and plant water demand can complicate contaminant fate and transport in arid environments. At the Little Wind River site, recent work from a uranium-contaminated floodplain shows that upward transport driven by evapotranspiration exceeds downward transport associated with rainfall and seasonal flooding. As a result, the contaminant plume moves vertically throughout the year, with minimal lateral groundwater migration. These processes lead to a relatively stagnant plume, prolonging the remediation timeline. In the Las Vegas Wash, ongoing work focuses on phosphorus cycling in floodplain and delta sediments, where legacy phosphorus loading, sediment–water interactions, and periodic flooding influence nutrient release to Lake Mead. The goal of this talk is to provide practical insights into how these processes can be better characterized and incorporated into site conceptual models, with implications for monitoring design, risk assessment, and long-term management.
BIO:
Zach Perzan is an environmental geochemist who strives to understand the fundamental processes that control nutrient and contaminant cycling within the shallow subsurface. To address these questions, he pairs numerical models with novel data streams, such as geophysical surveys and custom-built in situ sensors. Zach received his PhD in Earth System Science from Stanford University in 2024 and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Thank you to this month's sponsors!
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October 14, 2025
"The Volcanic Hazard in Nevada” by Dr. Craig de Polo, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (Ret.), Reno.