Desert Research Institute

In "Roughin It," Mark Twain detailed his experience of the #GreatFlood in California and Nevada. This flood resulted from a period of abnormally heavy winter precipitation in the winter of 1861-1862. Twain, and his contemporaries, experienced what we, in the present-day, recognize as an #AtmosphericRiver. Accounts like Twain’s, alongside other forms of historic data, have been used by DRI scientists to study past atmospheric rivers. With support from the Innovation Research Program, DRI scientists have looked to past atmospheric river events to better understand their frequency and intensity, to project the potential hazards to our modern-day communities, and to inform water resource management in the Western U.S. To support more projects that future-proof our communities, make a gift online at www.dri.edu/irp. #GivingTuesday #SupportDRI #ScienceThatMattersNow

Extreme heat in the #LasVegas valley is proving to be lethal to both visitors and long-term residents that are no strangers to high temperatures. Heat related deaths are on the rise as #ClimateChange continues to worsen and DRI researchers Ariel Choinard and David Almanza are investigating solutions to protect residents. Choinard’s lab is hosting meetings with nonprofits and elected officials and has kept #ExtremeHeat in constant discussion. Almanza's work looks to see who is using designated cooling centers and how improvements could be made upon already existing infrastructure. Protecting residents is a number one priority, but the escalation of climate change is proving to be a demanding opponent. Read the full story on the Las Vegas Review-Journal's website: https://lnkd.in/gWTv-7D4. #ScienceThatMattersNow

DRI's president, Dr. Kumud Acharya, joined his Nevada System of Higher Education colleagues yesterday on stage at the Presidents Roundtable hosted by The Nevada Independent's Jon Ralston. They discussed higher education, and Dr. Acharya shared the importance of environmental research as key to future-proofing our communities and building a better world. #ScienceThatMattersNow #DiscoverDRI

Mountain Rain or Snow is looking for the public’s help to study winter precipitation, as the #SierraNevada region prepares for a #BombCyclone and plenty of snow. DRI scientists are working with the University of Nevada, Reno, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Lynker to further our understanding of how precipitation varies across a region, whether it’s rain, snow, or both. By signing up for the Mountain Rain or Snow?#CitizenScience Project, participants can record what precipitation looks like at their location in real time, allowing scientists to get data that will help better predict weather conditions in the future. Read more at Tahoe Daily Tribune: https://lnkd.in/gicEp5x7. #ScienceThatMattersNow

The DRI Team had an opportunity to train using the Alta-X drone and corresponding HySpex hyperspectral camera. Used in many fields of study such as geology and mineralogy, environmental science and site remediation, economic geology, and agriculture, this complex system measures the spectroscopy of a material based on the absorption and reflection of light. All materials have a special signature, and these hyperspectral cameras allow us to capture that in an image, that can then be mapped using GIS software. These systems, although complex, are a magnificent tool in the field of environmental science and will help scientists to further understand differences in soil and rock mineralogy. #FridayFun #ScienceThatMattersNow

So rad to have Samapriya Roy, Ph.D. visit Desert Research Institute and spread the open geo word ????

Enjoyed your talk, Sam! Samapriya Roy, Ph.D. And thanks Eric for taking the initiative to organize this colloquium. The awesome-gee-community-catalog (https://lnkd.in/gMzbPjev) is truly an awesome project that has greatly benefitted the geospatial community! Sam and I first connected during my internship at Planet (back in 2021) and it's great to collaborate with him on multiple projects here at the Desert Research Institute. Looking forward to the exciting work ahead!

Great talk and demonstration by Samapriya Roy, Ph.D. on cloud-native data commons and the Google Earth Engine Community Catalog as part of the Desert Research Institute Division of Hydrologic Sciences Colloquium Series. Sam contributes so much to the open geospatial community and shared useful tools and workflows with DRI staff. Thanks Sam for all you do and for being a fantastic collaborator! ?? #geospatial #earthengine #remotesensing

In 2018, Dr. Monica Arienzo, the head of DRI’s Microplastics and Environmental Chemistry research team, received an Innovation Research Project (IRP) award to study microplastics in the #LakeTahoe basin. As a result of the promising findings of this IRP backed preliminary research, in 2021, Dr. Arienzo won the National Science Foundation CAREER Award - the first DRI scientist to do so. And now, Dr. Arienzo and her research team are measuring #microplastics in the #TruckeeRiver, the #MekongRiver in Cambodia, and in snow from the #SierraNevada. Why does this science matter now? Before we can determine the impact of microplastic pollution and identify strategies to combat it, we first must understand how much tiny plastic there is and where it is coming from. To support #ScienceThatMattersNow and learn more about the IRP, visit www.dri.edu/irp. #GivingTuesday #DRIFoundation #SupportDRI

With the #AtmosphericRiver storms moving into the #Sierras and #RenoNV, be sure to send us your observations for Mountain Rain or Snow! This #CitizenScientist program helps improve weather forecasts for better predictions of flooding, snow levels, avalanche hazard, and road safety. Read more & sign up at https://www.rainorsnow.org. #CommunityScience #ScienceThatMattersNow