Earth Sciences Division - Earth and Environmental Sciences Area

News & Events

From Earthquakes to Oil Spills, EESA Research Informs Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Mitigation

June 2, 2021

EESA research addresses urgent global, national, and state of California needs. For example, EESA scientists are actively studying earthquakes and sea-level rise–both of concern to California and other coastal states–and bringing their expertise to bear on challenges troubling all of the American West, from drought to wildfire to water security. Since 2010 alone, EESA researchers…

Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Monitoring Capabilities Still in Use 10 Years After Fukushima Earthquake and Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

These maps show radiation dose rates in the Fukushima evacuation zone and former evacuation zone over time. At left is data from 2014, at middle is data from 2015, and at right is data from 2016. There is a visible reduction in the areas with higher dose concentrations from 2014 to 2016 – higher concentrations…

EESA Participates in National Alliance for Water Innovation Spring Meeting

May 27, 2021

The National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) Spring Meeting was held from May 4-5. The Spring Meeting featured opening remarks from Kelly Speakes-Backman, the Acting Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy; presentations by NAWI leadership; and a number of sessions led by NAWI Alliance Members themselves. The attendees, including those from EESA at…

EGD Researchers Prepare to Track Movement Along San Andreas Fault

Energy Geosciences Division researchers are preparing to deploy new instrumentation developed at Berkeley Lab’s Geosciences Measurement Facility in a 500-meter deep borehole drilled across portions of the San Andreas Fault near San Juan Bautista, California, this summer. The goal of the project, being carried out in collaboration with Emily Brodsky and Andrew Barbour of UC…