Atmospheric aerosol particles modulate climate and the Earth’s energy balance by scattering and absorbing sunlight. They also seed clouds, acting as cloud condensation nuclei.

PNNL researchers showcased subsurface sampling and remediation expertise at the 2025 Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable.

Extensive in situ and remote sensing measurements were collected to address data gaps and better understand the interactions of convective clouds and the surrounding environment.

By combining computational modeling with experimental research, scientists identified a promising composition that reduces the need for a critical material in an alloy that can withstand extreme environments.

RemPlex and IAEA convene international leaders to tackle recruitment and retention in complex environmental cleanup efforts.

PNNL researchers have developed a new, physics-informed machine learning model that accurately predicts how heat accumulates and dissipates during friction stir processing.

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds are increasing in frequency as large wildfires become more prevalent in a warming climate. These clouds can inject smoke particles into the atmosphere, where they can remain suspended for several months.

PNNL chemist John Shilling builds custom chamber helping uncover how aerosol particles and clouds contribute to Earth’s changing climate.

Using numerical simulations to reproduce the laboratory experiments, this study reveals that liquid droplets are present near the bottom surface, which warms and moistens the air in the chamber.

Three PNNL researchers will receive five continuous years of funding for projects through highly competitive DOE Early Career Research Program awards.

PNNL researchers earned five Papers of Note, 17 Superior Papers, and one poster award for their environmental remediation, radioactive waste, and nuclear energy-related presentations.

Aerosol particles imbue climate models with uncertainty. New work by PNNL researchers reveals where in the world and under what conditions new particles are born.

Researchers show how satellite observations from the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and CloudSat radar can be used to constrain the ACI radiative forcing that is linked to droplet collection in marine liquid clouds.

Frederick Day-Lewis, Lab Fellow and chief geophysicist at PNNL, was named the 2024 recipient of the Geological Society of America Public Service Award.

A PNNL Deep Vadose Zone Program publication that shows ferrihydrite helps protect groundwater is featured on the cover of ACS Earth and Space Chemistry.

Data scientist at PNNL receives the Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society and Geonics Limited Early Career Award for work with geophysical modeling and subsurface inversion codes.

A set of papers combines surface science measurements on tiny particles with uncrewed aerial systems to better understand and model aerosols.

PNNL researchers have used field campaign data to better understand clouds, aerosols, and the interactions between humans and the atmosphere.

The Deep Vadose Zone program leads a treatability study for subsurface remediation of the Hanford Site’s Central Plateau.

Published in Nature Communications, Increased Asian Aerosols Drive a Slowdown of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, identifies the role aerosols over Asia is having on the AMOC, a complex system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean.