Science Cafe Las Vegas, Wednesday 5/7 @ McMullins Irish Pub

Try to arrive early so we can sit together and to get a parking spot. RSVPs are not required, but appreciated so we know how many to expect.
Science Cafe on Wednesday May 7, 2025.

Erin E. Donaghy, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas -Geoscience Department
"How Ancient Sedimentary Basins Record Earth’s Past History of Tectonic Events"
Regional tectonic events, such as mountain-building or extensional faulting, have a profound effect on their surrounding geology and landscape. Although we can directly observe these events today, geologists can study the rates at which similar events occurred in the geologic past to better understand and predict the behavior of modern systems. One way to approach this problem is through the study of sedimentary rocks, as ancient sedimentary basins are excellent recorders of Earth’s large-scale tectonic processes. To study ancient sedimentary basins, a combination of field- and lab-based analytical techniques are used to document the spatial and temporal variations in ancient depositional environments, sediment routing systems, paleogeography, and paleoclimate. Significant changes in these variables are often linked to large-scale tectonic events.