Berkeley Lab researchers who study aquifer recharge and groundwater quality measured concentrations and isotopic composition of the trace element Strontium (Sr) in groundwater to evaluate how local topography affects the amount of groundwater recharge across a semi-dry riparian floodplain in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Their study location was the Rifle Site, one of 18 former…
Read More
EESA Scientists were able to use the new synchrotron Infrared Nano Spectroscopy (SINS) capability at Advanced Light Source. Above: Diagrams of the setup of (a) the Germanium-hemisphere enhanced attenuated total reflection (Ge micro-ATR) and (b) the resonance enhanced SINS. Berkeley Lab scientists have identified a way to use machine learning to connect fine-…
Read More
This map of Puerto Rico shows highest forest damage and tree mortality impact areas in with darker tones of red indicating more intense forest disturbance as tree mortality and crown damage. Grey areas represent non-forested areas or areas with cloud cover. Building on methods they used to assess the impact of hurricanes such as…
Read More
Scientists have directly measured the increasing greenhouse effect of methane at the Earth’s surface for the first time. A research team from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) tracked a rise in the warming effect of methane — one of the most important greenhouse gases for the Earth’s atmosphere — over a…
Read More
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a new enzyme that will enable microbial production of a renewable alternative to petroleum-based toluene, a widely used octane booster in gasoline that has a global market of 29 million tons per year. Results…
Read More
This past December the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union got off to a surprising start. Amid rare freeze warnings and snowfall for areas in and around New Orleans, hundreds of the nearly 25,000 conference attendees expecting to escape wintry weather elsewhere were met with flight cancellations and delays. Another surprise came after UC…
Read MoreResearchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley have discovered that as plants develop they craft their root microbiome, favoring microbes that consume very specific metabolites. Their study could help scientists identify ways to enhance the soil microbiome for improved carbon storage and plant productivity. “For more…
Read More
Building on methods they used to assess the impact of hurricanes such as Katrina, Gustav, and Rita on forests and tree mortality, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have produced a rapid mapping of the disturbance intensity across Puerto Rico’s forests with the help of Google Earth Engine.
Read More
New Berkeley Lab research published in the journal Nature Communications Thursday explores the impact of a changing climate on Arctic ecosystems with permanently frozen soils. As the Arctic continues to warm at about twice the rate of the rest of the world, scientists expect these frozen soils known as permafrost to thaw, activating microbes capable…
Read More
A research team led by Kurt Nihei, a staff scientist in the Energy Geosciences Division of Berkeley Lab, has received a funding award through the lab’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program. Over the next two years, the researchers will collaborate with Pacific Gas & Electric to evaluate the ability of next-generation electric meters to assess regional seismic risk.
Read More