In The News: Department of Geoscience
Our planet Earth has a mesmerizing history that spans across 4.6 billion years. For a majority of this immense timeframe, single-celled life reigned supreme. But, about 500 million years ago, everything changed immensely. A dramatic occurrence took place known as the Cambrian “explosion.”
Neighbors in the East Las Vegas Valley say a proposal to build hundreds of homes on the edge of the desert is in direct conflict with the push to protect the area and stop any future development. For years now, there’s been an effort to bring a national monument to the area.
Through the decades it is fair to say mining has earned itself a chequered reputation. The industry, driven by the world’s insatiable appetite for minerals, has routinely been linked or found responsible for corruption, human rights abuses and environmental degradation, mostly in the Global South.
The monsoon season and the rain it usually produces has been abnormally dry this summer in Las Vegas. The season, which runs from June through mid-September, has dropped just 0.08 inches of rain here, according to the National Weather Service.
While digging for garden soil, a Las Vegas farmer was shocked to find mammoth teeth, but now the rest of his discoveries are expected to cause a controversy as it may change 12,000 years of history. During a Protectors of Tule Springs meeting Tuesday night, Dr. Steve Rowland, a 51ԹϺ geoscience professor and paleontologist, helped present newly analyzed findings from a 30-year-old archeological dig field report from the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary.
Lightly frosted with snow, the peaks of Red Butte look particularly beautiful today, remarks Dianna Sue White Dove Uqualla, an elder of the Havasupai Tribe. This land near the south rim of the Grand Canyon is sacred to her people as the place where their creation story says life began. It was once a hub of ceremony and prayer, but tribal members rarely visit now—not since the Pinyon Plain Mine started to extract uranium just 10 kilometers away.
As Nevada prepares for the next few years of its lithium boom, a new study is drawing attention to what's at stake: water. Lithium, used in electric vehicle batteries, is considered a critical mineral for the transition from fossil fuels to greener energy sources. Only one lithium mine is fully operational in the country, in the Silver Peak mountain range in Nevada’s Esmeralda County.
As Nevada gears up for the next few years of its lithium boom, a new study is calling attention to what’s most at stake — water. Lithium, used in electric vehicle batteries, is considered a critical mineral for the transition away from fossil fuels to more green sources of energy. Only one lithium mine is fully operational in the country, in the Silver Peak mountain range of Nevada’s Esmeralda County.
Frenchman Mountain isn’t the easiest hike in Las Vegas, but the sharp incline and oppressive heat don’t deter 51ԹϺ geologist Steve Rowland from revisiting the place he’s dedicated much of his career to studying.
The question of whether Mars ever supported life has captivated the imagination of scientists and the public for decades. Central to the discovery is gaining insight into the past climate of Earth’s neighbor: was the planet warm and wet, with seas and rivers much like those found on our own planet? Or was it frigid and icy, and therefore potentially less prone to supporting life as we know it? A new study finds evidence to support the latter by identifying similarities between soils found on Mars and those of Canada’s Newfoundland, a cold subarctic climate.
Local and national public-interest groups, as well as Havasupai Tribe members, delivered more than 17,000 petition signatures to Gov. Katie Hobbs today urging her to use her authority to close the Pinyon Plain uranium mine that threatens the waters of the Grand Canyon and the Havasupai Tribe.
Clark County School District teachers took a field trip on Wednesday—not with students, but with 51ԹϺ professors. They went to Late Night Trailhead to check out some of the rock formations unique to the Las Vegas Valley and to find ways to add new and exciting lessons that engage students on top of their existing curriculum.