{"id":45165,"date":"2026-09-23T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=45165"},"modified":"2026-09-22T14:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T18:28:10","slug":"geography-professor-scott-reinemann-leads-research-group-through-great-basin-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2026\/09\/23\/geography-professor-scott-reinemann-leads-research-group-through-great-basin-national-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Geography professor Scott Reinemann leads research group through Great Basin National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The smell of spruce, fir, pine and sunscreen filled the air as Sinclair geography professor<\/a> Scott Reinemann and 11 students and colleagues spent 10 days conducting field research in the Nevada desert.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For geography student Colin Neef, the trip to Great Basin National Park from Aug. 3-13 offered an opportunity to experience physical geography beyond the classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Students and faculty conducted surveys of the area, including water sampling and tree coring.<\/strong> CONTRIBUTED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve been part of it for close to 20 years now, and the amount of students we’ve introduced to physical geography is pretty impressive,\u201d Reinemann said. \u201cAnd somehow we keep funding and scraping together funds and grants and different things to keep taking students and continue the research.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, the opportunity finally came together thanks to the sociology, geography and social work chair, Dana Johnson, and Dean Myra Bozeman\u2019s support and desire to invest in student travel, Reinemann said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trip included several research projects, including tree coring to determine the age of trees<\/a>, water sampling, climate monitoring, and an aerial survey of a rock glacier using drones.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“[Rock glaciers are]…an old remnant glacier that is now covered in rock debris and maybe or maybe not still moving,\u201d Reinemann said. \u201cThat’s kind of why we’re doing the survey with the drones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Drones were used for an aerial survey of a rock glacier. <\/strong>CONTRIBUTED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Drones were used for an aerial survey of a rock glacier. <\/strong>CONTRIBUTED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The group also participated in a BioBlitz, a community science event focused on documenting tree distribution in the park. Participants spent one day learning about the subject, another collecting observations and the third compiling the information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experience also required students to adapt to the realities of fieldwork. Days could last anywhere from five to 12 hours, with students carrying equipment, hiking through mountainous terrain and working in changing conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reinemann saw Neef adapt and grow because of this throughout the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe doesn’t have a personal stake in any of these projects, like a lot of undergrads don’t,\u201d Reinemann said. \u201cOne of the things I think I see him and previous students do is they find something that’s interesting to them, and they latch on and they make it their own on the trip. And I think he really did that with tree coring.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That hands-on experience is essential to studying physical geography, Reinemann said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trip also continued a tradition of giving Sinclair students opportunities with larger research projects, developing curiosity and making connections for future study.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can study about them in textbooks, you can read about them online, you can look at satellite imagery,\u201d Reinemann said. \u201cBut sometimes there’s a term called ground truthing, where you get out there and you actually look at and are involved in the area that you are doing research, whether that’s tree coring or temperature sensors or water resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The group gathered at camp to discuss their findings and unwind for the night.<\/strong> CONTRIBUTED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Scenery of Great Basin National Park. <\/strong>CONTRIBUTED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After long days in the field, the group returned to camp to cook, play Euchre and prepare for the next day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for Reinemann, the smell of sunscreen is now part of the experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m a redheaded kid, and I burn, so I need to put lots of sunscreen on,\u201d Reinemann said. \u201cThat smell always brings me back to that place.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa Pinsenschaum, reporter<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out more from The Clarion:<\/p>\n\n\n