Great Basin Center Laboratory Facilities

The Mackay School of Mines and College of Engineering have state-of-the-art research laboratories and computing facilities, including several unique scientific and engineering simulation models and original software tools that have been developed and tested for the analysis and design of subsurface heat and mass transport processes. These facilities, laboratories, and software are continuously upgraded. Analytical instruments available for chemical and isotopic analyses of waters and rocks include: an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer with hexapole collision cell (left), microwave digestion system, and laser ablation capabilities (installed in 1999); a new stable isotope laboratory (below) that became operational in late spring 2000 (including two fully-automated mass spectrometers and a CO2 laser); atomic absorption spectrometers; x-ray fluorescence; x-ray diffraction; and scanning electron microscope and electron microprobe facilities.

Additional laboratories are available at UNR for evaluating geothermal energy utilization include two electromechanical energy conversion labs, and laboratories and utility grade software packages for simulating steady-state and transient power systems. Electrochemistry and corrosion, mineral processing, high temperature materials, and the Newmont rock mechanics labs also can be used to help solve problems faced by the geothermal industry.

Because Great Basin Center geothermal energy research focuses on causative factors that control high-temperature geothermal system formation (tectonic strain, faulting, igneous intrusion, and heat flow), we collaborate with other scientists at UNR and other institutions, including:

The Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology has extensive analytical capabilities, including Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) with laser ablation, Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), Ion Chromatography (IC), X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Other services include gold-silver and platinum-group elements (PGE) using classic Fire Assay with either gravimetric or spectroscopic finish.

The Arthur Brandt Laboratory for Exploration Geophysics (ABLE)

The ABLE Laboratory focuses on utilizing state-of-the-art geophysical, remote sensing, and GIS tools to solve real-world problems. ABLE has provided the Great Basin Center with customized gravity data sets, remotely sensed images emphasizing mineral assemblages found in and around geothermal systems, and specialized software programs that calculate strain tensors from GIS-based fault datasets.

The Nevada Geodetic Laboratory (NGL) of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology conducts research in the field of space geodesy to study scientific problems that have both regional and global significance. They use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to study tectonic and geothermal activity across Nevada. They also use GPS to study global patterns in surface mass loading and global-scale plate tectonic problems.

Established as a separate research and public service division of UNR, the Nevada Seismological Laboratory has overall responsibility for instrumental studies of earthquakes in the Nevada region. The laboratory operates a statewide network of seismographic stations and investigates the sizes, frequencies of occurrence, and distribution of earthquakes in the region, and other problems related to seismic risk in Nevada.

Partnerships with other institutions

The Great Basin Center partners with other institutions having recognized expertise in several fields, including heat flow and low temperature geothermal applications.

The Southern Methodist University Geothermal Laboratory is a premier provider of heat flow and temperature gradient data for the United States. It also specializes in exploration of geothermal resources, resource assessment of existing geothermal fields, thermal modeling of oil and gas fields, and determining thermal conductivity of rock samples.

The Geo-Heat Center at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Oregon is a recognized expert in low-temperature geothermal technology including direct heat applications and geothermal heat pumps. The Great Basin Center has taken those samples of the GHC's Western States geothermal database that fall in the Great Basin, calculated several geothermometers from the analytical data, and converted them into ESRI shapefile format (see GeoHGB_0).