Distributed science is thriving at PNNL, where scientists share data and collaborate with researchers around the world to increase the impact of the work.

From developing new energy storage materials to revealing patterns of Earth’s complex systems, studies led by PNNL researchers are recognized for their innovation and influence.

As Laboratory Director Steve Ashby pens his last monthly column, he highlights PNNL’s accomplishments with pride and gratitude.

The ability of a storm-resolving weather model to predict the growth of storms over central Argentina was evaluated with data from the Clouds, Aerosols, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign in central Argentina.

Seaweed could be a new source of critical minerals for electronics, vehicles, and buildings.

The first direct molecular-scale evidence of the temperature-driven transformation of the coordination environment of ytterbium at geologically relevant conditions.

PNNL researchers continue to deliver high-quality, high-impact research on radioactive waste and nuclear materials management, earning “Papers of Note” and “Superior Paper” awards.

Researchers have developed the first coastal transport model for microplastics to understand how particles move in waterways and coastal currents.

Large clusters of organized thunderstorms, called mesoscale convective systems, account for half of summer rainfall in the central and eastern U.S. Their formation can be influenced by weather patterns in the mid-levels of the troposphere.

New electees represent research in genomics, grid resilience, coastal ecology, and more.

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.

Researchers from PNNL and Parallel Works, Inc., applied machine learning methods to predict how much oxygen and nutrients are used by microorganisms in river sediments.

This research helps predict how coastal forests will respond to future sea level changes which is crucial for protecting these ecosystems.

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

High-resolution hydrodynamic-sediment modeling shows that inundation, suspended sediment concentration in the Amazon River, and floodplain hydrodynamics drive sediment deposition in Amazonian floodplains.

Lakes are important sentinels of climate change and contribute significantly to the emissions of the second most important greenhouse gas—methane.

The rate of conversion of cloud droplets to precipitation, known as the autoconversion rate, remains a major source of uncertainty in characterizing aerosol’s cloud lifetime effects and precipitation in global and regional models.

This study used historical data, remote sensing, and aquatic sensors to measure how far wildfire impacts propagated through the watershed after the 2022 Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon fire, New Mexico’s largest wildfire in history.

The Coastal Observations, Mechanisms, and Predictions Across Systems and Scales: Field, Measurements, and Experiments project established a network of observational field sites across Chesapeake Bay and western Lake Erie.

Due to their inherent variability and complexity over space and time, scientists are challenged to understand the complex interactions among soil, vegetation, and water along coastal terrestrial-aquatic interfaces.