Field Equipment and Capability
| Research Staff | Laboratory Facilities | Field Resources |
                               
    The Great Basin Center has a full range of geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and geodetic field equipment, and the expertise to use it. This ranges from individual field mapping equipment to large multi-element seismic and geodesic arrays.

Besides the standard compass, rock pick and hand lens, field work at the Center employs state-of-the-art hand held IPAQ minicomputers with attached GPS units and field GIS software (pictured at left) that allows for detailed, accurate digital mapping that can be uploaded into a spatial GIS database without significant intermediate processing. The mini-computer can be pre-loaded with digital topographic maps, remotely sensed imagery, and/or sample data that can serve as the information base upon which the current mapping can be added.

  
                               
                               
  For seismic projects, the Nevada Seismological Laboratory has 48 channels of "grouped" 100-Hz high-frequency reflection geophones,  (pictured at right) in Warm Springs Valley, Nevada. Additional geophysical equipment available at MSM to image the subsurface include more than three dozen state-of-the-art high-dynamic-range digital seismic stations, 15 portable Reftek seismographs, eight portable digital seismographs, numerous broadband seismometers, a modern gravimeter, and several geodetic global positioning system receivers.          
                               
                             
High-accuracy geodetic measurements are available from the Nevada Geodesic Laboratory via its GPS networks (pictured at left), which are especially helpful in determining current tectonic strain in the Great Basin and isolating its effects on geothermal systems.
                 
                                 
  The Arthur Brant Laboratory for Exploration Geophysics has two field spectrometers used in calibrating remote-sensing imagery, one for measuring reflected solar and infrared radiation and one for measuring emitted thermal radiation. This information is important in ensuring the accuracy of remotely sensed data. At right, Chris Kratt measures the spectral signature of rocks near Pyramid Lake.      
                       
                       
    Temperature and temperature gradient measurements of wells are made using a custom-designed down-hole temperature probe.  Down-hole temperatures can be recorded to depths of up to one kilometer.
                       
                       
  The Great Basin Center, together with the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology has standardized geochemical sampling equipment needed to collect water and gas samples from geothermal springs and wells. This geochemical data is critical in estimating the temperatures of subsurface geothermal reservoirs, which helps guide high-temperature geothermal system exploration. At right, NBMG technician Lane Meyer samples a hot well in western Nevada.        
                       
                                 
  A new spin on an old technique: the Great Basin Center is perfecting a method to rapidly measure temperatures at a two meter depth, below the zone of daily temperature variation. The method consists of pounding 1/2" hollow steel rods into the ground using a demolition hammer, inserting a resistant temperature device (RTD) into the rod, and then measuring the temperature after a short equilibration time (see paper). This method has identified thermal anomalies in areas devoid of other surface indicators such as thermal springs or wells (see story). Mark Coolbaugh, Chris Kratt, Robin Penfield, Chris Sladek, and Rick Zehner (shown at left) have pioneered this technique.