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Dr. El Hachemi Bouali

Department of Physical and Life Sciences

Specializations: Geomorphology, Natural Hazards, Near-Surface Geophysics, and Remote Sensing

Email: ElHachemi.Bouali@nevadastate.edu
Phone: (702) 992-2745

Biography

I am an applied geologist by training and an opportunistic scientist in practice, meaning I love geology but am interested in many areas of the natural sciences. I can abbreviate my research focus with the acronym GASP: geophysical and surface processes.

Geophysical Processes. I use geophysical and remote sensing instruments to study changes on the Earth’s surface and within the shallow subsurface. Current and upcoming projects include:
- Detailed mapping of Las Vegas faults near Frenchman Mountain using HVSR passive seismology
- Landslide detection, mapping, and monitoring using satellite-based optical (COSI-Corr) and radar (InSAR) sensors and techniques

Surface Processes. I use an interdisciplinary approach to study our dynamic Earth. Current and upcoming projects include:
- ACCEPTED & AWAITING PUBLICATION. "A comparison of microbial community composition in two alpine springs in southern Nevada" to be published in PLOS One.
- Correlation of grain size distribution within glacial and more recent Holocene landforms in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Upper Peninsula of Michigan
- Measuring imbricated pebble angles to determine either glacial or landslide origin of a 'putative moraine' in Kyle Canyon, Spring Mountains in southern Nevada

I teach courses that are required or electives for the BS in Environmental Science and BS in Biology degrees. I teach the following courses at Nevada State University:
–GEOL 101A/L Exploring Planet Earth Lecture and Lab
–GEOL 333 Principles of Geomorphology
–GEOL 405 Geology of the National Parks
–NRES 322 Soils
–NRES 467 Regional and Global Issues in Environmental Science
–BIOL/ENV 494 Biology and Environmental Science Colloquium
–AST 103 Introduction to Astronomy: Solar System
–Various undergraduate research and independent study sections

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Geology
    Michigan Technological University
    01/01/2014 - 08/01/2018
  • Master of Science in Geoscience
    Western Michigan University
    09/01/2011 - 12/01/2013
  • Bachelor of Science in Geophysics
    Western Michigan University
    05/01/2007 - 04/01/2011
  • Associate of Science in Science
    Kalamazoo Valley Community College
    08/01/2005 - 04/01/2007

Publications

  • A comparison of microbial community composition in two alpine springs in southern Nevada
    PLOS One
    02/01/2026
  • Buried bedrock valleys revealed in Michigan's central Upper Peninsula using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio passive seismic method
    Journal of Great Lakes Research
    10/01/2022
  • Furthering the precision of RUSLE soil erosion with PSInSAR data: An innovative model
    Geocarto International
    07/01/2022
  • InSAR as a tool for monitoring hydropower projects: A review
    Energy Geoscience
    04/01/2022
  • Collapsed and non-collapsed ice-marginal glaciodeltaic morphosequence structure mapped with ground penetrating radar in central Connecticut
    Near Surface Geophysics
    09/01/2021
  • Correspondence of PSInSAR monitoring and Settle3 modelling at Cochin International Airport, SW India
    Applied Geomatics
    07/01/2021
  • Monitoring and mapping of shallow landslides in a tropical environment using Persistent Scatterer Interferometry: A case study from the Western Ghats, India
    Geomatics
    12/01/2020
  • Picturing beach erosion and deposition trends using PSInSAR: An example from the non-barred southern west coast of India
    Wetlands Ecology and Management
    01/01/2020
  • Evidence of instability in previously-mapped landslides as measured using GPS, optical, and SAR data between 2007 and 2017: A case study in the Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex, California
    Remote Sensing
    04/01/2019
  • Monitoring the impact of groundwater pumping on infrastructure using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI)
    Infrastructures
    12/01/2018
  • Mapping of slow landslides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula using the California landslide inventory and persistent scatterer interferometry
    Landslides
    03/01/2018
  • Rockfall Hazard Rating System: Benefits of utilizing remote sensing
    Environmental & Engineering Geoscience
    08/01/2017
  • Structure mapping through spatial and temporal deformation monitoring using Persistent Scatterer Interferometry and Geographic Information Systems
    Geotechnical Frontiers 2017
    03/01/2017
  • Interferometric stacking toward geohazard identification and geotecnical asset monitoring
    Journal of Infrastructure Systems
    01/01/2016

Work Experience

  • Thomas McKenna Meredith '48 Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Science
    Trinity College — Hartford, Connecticut
    Environmental Science Program
    07/01/2018 - 06/01/2020
  • NASA Earth and Space Science Fellow
    Michigan Technological University — Houghton, Michigan
    Department of Geological & Mining Engineering & Sciences
    08/01/2016 - 08/01/2018
  • Geologic Mapping Technician
    National Parks Service, GeoCorps (2015), and AmeriCorps (2016) — Munising, Michigan
    Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
    05/01/2015 - 10/01/2016
  • Graduate Research Assistant
    Michigan Technological University — Houghton, Michigan
    Department of Geological & Mining Engineering & Sciences
    01/01/2014 - 07/01/2016
  • Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant
    Western Michigan University — Kalamazoo, Michigan
    Department of Geosciences
    09/01/2011 - 12/01/2013