At PNNL, subsurface science inhabits two separate but interlocking worlds. One looks at basic science, the other at applied science and engineering. Both are funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
PNNL and the National Nuclear Security Administration are building future leaders for nuclear security through the NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program, a hands-on fellowship spanning the nuclear security enterprise.
A team of researchers is working to expand our uranium chemistry understanding using a surprising tool: lasers. This capability gives never-before-seen insight into uranium gas-phase oxidation during nuclear explosions.
David Senor, PNNL researcher and tritium expert, has been named to the Texas A&M University Nuclear Engineering Advisory Council. This appointment follows Senor’s eight consecutive years of mentoring Texas A&M’s nuclear engineering senior
Existing techniques to detect pertechnetate in the environment have drawbacks. PNNL’s redox sensor technology uses a gold probe to accurately and efficiently measure low levels of pertechnetate—and possibly other contaminants—in groundwater
A recent paper published in Water Resources Research found that the spatial variability of subsurface sediments, and seasonal fluctuations in a river’s water level, influences the behavior of a uranium contaminant plume, particularly in ...
DOE researchers investigated the role of microbial genetic diversity in two major subsurface biogeochemical processes: nitrification and denitrification.
Researchers have identified two processes responsible for fracturing rock at lower pressures for geothermal energy production using PNNL’s fracturing fluid, StimuFrac™.
The world’s largest scientific society honored Sue B. Clark, a PNNL and WSU chemist, for contributions toward resolving our legacy of radioactive waste, advancing nuclear safeguards, and developing landmark nuclear research capabilities.
PNNL researchers demonstrated a nanoscale analysis tool to map isotopes to location in low-enriched uranium-molybdenum fuel plates for use in nuclear research reactors.
Biogeochemical activity in the hyporheic zone (HZ), sediments where the flowing waters of a river mix with shallow groundwater, supports many of the biological processes that occur within a watershed.
Co-authors of a paper in Hydrological Processes led by PNNL researchers Zhangshuan Hou, Timothy Scheibe, and Christopher Murray, produced a map that identifies different classes of sediments which compose the riverbed along the Hanford ...
A multi-institutional team of scientists developed a new sensitivity analysis framework using Bayesian Networks to quantify which parameters and processes in complex multi-physics models are least understood.