Stewarding Earth’s Resources

Scientists in the Earth & Environmental Sciences Area of Berkeley Lab are tackling critical environmental and energy challenges of the 21st Century. Their work explores the natural cycles and basic aspects of Earth sciences that underpin the growing need for energy and water resources.

A woman in a hard hat and gloves kneels on a hillside within a recently-burned forest, inserting a probe into the soil while surrounded by blackened trees. A sputtering pile of mud in the foreground spurts gray gloop into the air, while an industrial-looking power plant in the background releases steam

EGD scientists focus on advancing tools and capabilities to help support novel and judicious use of Earth’s energy resources, especially as it relates to energy infrastructure, water resource management, and innovations to help expand promising energy sources of the future.

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CESD scientists focus on enhancing understanding of the complex system of integrated components influencing Earth’s climate. We conduct extensive field research and develop innovative approaches to climate modeling, with the goal of translating scientific understanding into long-term solutions to environmental challenges such as drought, water shortages, and extreme weather events.

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  • Director’s Award
  • 2025

For exceptional early career contributions, and for becoming a recognized thought leader who bridges the fields of hydrology, ecology, and biogeochemistry to advance multi-scale understanding of watershed hydrobiogeochemical resilience.
  • Engineering Sciences
  • 2025

Margaret Torn, an ecologist and biogeochemist whose research uses field experiments, isotopes, and mathematical models to study the natural carbon cycle, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for contributions including the understanding of soil carbon dynamics.

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  • Environment
  • 2025

For contributions and leadership within the exploration geophysicist community

EESA Researcher Among Five Berkeley Lab Scientists to Receive ECRP Awards

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Managing Microbes for More Resilient Plants

above ground layer showing just above top inches of soil. microbe network visible and signs of drought stress on soil

Scientists Develop Technology for Continuous Geothermal Monitoring

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Recent Publications
The forest floor of a recently-burned forest surrounded by charred trees, with a vibrant green fern emerging from the ashes

EESA has taken on 5 ambitious, but achievable, Earth and Environmental Grand Challenges. These challenges embody our most urgent research objectives for the coming decade.