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2024/2025 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:  $40.00

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: $50.00

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.

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Tuesday - October 8, 2024

 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. PDT

"Seismic Profiling Across the Eglington and Frenchman Mountain Faults to Identify and Constrain Quaternary Fault Motion"

By: Professor Lee Liberty

Boise State University, Idaho.   

 

ABSTRACT:

Active fault characterization in urban settings presents many challenges. The first challenge is to estimate the slip history of suspected active faults through subsurface imaging approaches. The second challenge is to operate in an urban setting where the seismic risk from damaging earthquakes is often greatest. In these urban settings, the ground surface is often modified through development, access across known or suspected faults can be restricted, and costs for geophysical surveys can be prohibitively expensive. In this presentation, I discuss my low-cost active source seismic imaging approach using near surface methods specifically designed for urban settings. I will show examples from both Las Vegas and other urban areas where I have identified and characterized the latest Quaternary fault displacements and where mechanical properties of the shallowest soils have been modified through active tectonic processes. I will then discuss the geometry and history of motion of two fault systems that extend through the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

 

The 11-km long intrabasin Eglington fault, part of the Las Vegas fault system, is expressed as a surface warp in Quaternary sediments. Hypotheses regarding the mechanisms responsible for Eglington warp formation include: coseismic warping, climatically modulated tectonic displacement, and differential sediment compaction. My results suggest that both tectonic and non-tectonic processes contribute to motion along the Eglington fault.

 

The 18-km long Frenchman Mountain fault is a west-dipping, range-bounding normal fault on the eastern side of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The main Quaternary trace of the fault is expressed as a zone of scarps in alluvial fan surfaces, but subsurface displacement across this surface warp is relatively small, suggesting little long-term slip on this fault strand. This suggests that other presumably large-offset faults have accommodated the bulk of motion along the eastern Las Vegas margin; and these faults have yet to be fully characterized. While subsurface imaging of these faults is still limited, this study advances our understanding of the seismic hazard for the Las Vegas region.

BIO:

Lee Liberty received a BS Geology in 1987 from Syracuse University with a senior thesis focused on paleomagnetism. He then worked for the US Geological Survey in 1988 through 1989 where he focused on the integration of geological and geophysical datasets to construct three-dimensional earth models. In 1992, Lee received a MS Geophysics degree from the University of Wyoming where he focused on seismic reflection imaging using datasets from Nevada’s Basin and Range. He then moved to Boise State University as a Research Associate where he focused on addressing near surface hydrologic and geologic problems using a variety of geophysical methods. In 2002, Lee transitioned to the role of research faculty and was elevated to the position of a full Research Professor in 2008. Since 2008, Lee has broadened his research to develop new seismic methodologies towards an improved understanding of soil and rock mechanical properties in the near surface to address problems of societal interest.

Thank you to this month's sponsors!

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October 8, 2024
"Seismic Profiling Across the Eglington and Frenchman Mountain Faults to Identify and Constrain Quaternary Fault Motion" by Professor Lee Liberty, Boise State University, Idaho.
November 12, 2024
"The Community Environmental Monitoring Program: Radiological Monitoring of Air and Groundwater Surrounding and Downwind of the Nevada National Security Site, Including Data from the Las Vegas Valley and Boulder City" by Beverly Parker, Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, Nevada.
January 14, 2025
"Toward a More Heat Resilient Nevada: The Las Vegas Heat Island and Related Issues" by Dr. Tom Albright, Nevada State Climatologist (Interim), UNR, Reno.
February 11, 2025
Jahns Lecture: "Advanced Edge-AI Monitoring Technologies for Combating the Geologic and Hydrologic Hazards Associated with Climate Change" by Dr. John Kemeny, Emeritus Professor, Mining and Engineering Geology, University of Arizona, Tucson. 2024-2025 AEG Jahns Lecturer.
March 11, 2025
"Flood-Managed Aquifer Recharge, and Modeling Contaminant Movement in the Central Valley of California" by Dr. Zach Perzan, Geoscience Department, UNLV.  
 
April 8, 2025
"70 Years of Flood Control in the Las Vegas Valley: Historical Floods and the District's Response" by Andrew Trelease, Assistant General Manager, Clark County Regional Flood Control District.
April 12, 2025
Field trip to Tropicana Detention Basin, discussion of its strategic location, led by Andrew Trelease. 
May 13, 2025
“Threats to Western Water Security as Viewed from Space” by Dr. Jay Famiglietti, Arizona State University.

May 31, 2025

Annual Field Trip: To be determined.

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