PNNL scientists have been studying how rivers and streams breathe. Their research focuses on respiration, organic matter, and natural disturbances that affect rivers and streams.
In soil, microbes produce and consume methane. Using a technique called pool dilution, researchers can separate the rate of methane production and consumption from the net rate.
The diversity and function of organic matter in rivers at a large scale are influenced by factors, such as the types of vegetation covering the land, the energy characteristics, and the breakdown potential of the molecules.
This study demonstrated that a large-scale flooding experiment in coastal Maryland, USA, aiming to understand how freshwater and saltwater floods may alter soil biogeochemical cycles and vegetation in a deciduous coastal forest.
Microbes that were previously frozen in soils are becoming more active. This study demonstrates the diverse RNA viral communities found in thawed permafrost.
Scientists at PNNL are working to better prepare authorities, emergency responders, communities and the grid in the face of increasingly extreme hurricanes.
Diefenderfer, Earth scientist who focuses on coastal ecosystems at PNNL, recently published “Ten Years of Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Projects Since the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,” a cover article.