scholarly journals Environmental and hydrologic settings of the Las Vegas Valley Area and the Carson and Truckee River basins, Nevada and California

1996 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Las Vegas ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Truckee River ◽  
Las Vegas Valley ◽  
Valley Area

scholarly journals Inverse modeling using PS-InSAR for improved calibration of hydraulic parameters and prediction of future subsidence for Las Vegas Valley, USA

2015 ◽  
Vol 372 ◽  
pp. 411-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Burbey ◽  
M. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Model Calibration ◽  
Surface Deformation ◽  
Las Vegas ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Hydraulic Parameters ◽  
Las Vegas Valley ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
Valley Area

Abstract. Las Vegas Valley has had a long history of surface deformation due to groundwater pumping that began in the early 20th century. After nearly 80 years of pumping, PS-InSAR interferograms have revealed detailed and complex spatial patterns of subsidence in the Las Vegas Valley area that do not coincide with major pumping regions. High spatial and temporal resolution subsidence observations from InSAR and hydraulic head data were used to inversely calibrate transmissivities (T), elastic and inelastic skeletal storage coefficients (Ske and Skv) of the developed-zone aquifer and conductance (CR) of the basin-fill faults for the entire Las Vegas basin. The results indicate that the subsidence observations from PS-InSAR are extremely beneficial for accurately quantifying hydraulic parameters, and the model calibration results are far more accurate than when using only water-levels as observations, and just a few random subsidence observations. Future predictions of land subsidence to year 2030 were made on the basis of existing pumping patterns and rates. Simulation results suggests that subsidence will continue in northwest subsidence bowl area, which is expected to undergo an additional 11.3 cm of subsidence. Even mitigation measures that include artificial recharge and reduced pumping do not significantly reduce the compaction in the northwest subsidence bowl. This is due to the slow draining of thick confining units in the region. However, a small amount of uplift of 0.4 cm is expected in the North and Central bowl areas over the next 20 years.

Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 55-98
Author(s):  
Kathleen Springer ◽  
Jeffrey Pigati ◽  
Eric Scott
Keyword(s):  
Las Vegas ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Climatic Oscillations ◽  
Las Vegas Valley ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Desert Wetlands

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley (Nevada, USA). TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD deposits record hydrologic changes that occurred here in a dynamic and temporally congruent response to abrupt climatic oscillations over the last ~300 ka (thousands of years). The deposits also entomb the Tule Springs Local Fauna (TSLF), one of the most significant late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) vertebrate assemblages in the American Southwest. The TSLF is both prolific and diverse, and includes a large mammal assemblage dominated by Mammuthus columbi and Camelops hesternus. Two (and possibly three) distinct species of Equus, two species of Bison, Panthera atrox, Smilodon fatalis, Canis dirus, Megalonyx jeffersonii, and Nothrotheriops shastensis are also present, and newly recognized faunal components include micromammals, amphibians, snakes, and birds. Invertebrates, plant macrofossils, and pollen also occur in the deposits and provide important and complementary paleoenvironmental information. This field compendium highlights the faunal assemblage in the classic stratigraphic sequences of the Las Vegas Formation within TUSK, emphasizes the significant hydrologic changes that occurred in the area during the recent geologic past, and examines the subsequent and repeated effect of rapid climate change on the local desert wetland ecosystem.

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