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.

David Heldebrant was selected for the 2025 Distinguished Service Award from the American Chemical Society Division of Energy & Fuels, recognizing his impact to energy and fuels chemistry.

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.

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

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.

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.

To assess the impact of observation period and gauge location, model parameters were learned on scenarios using different chunks of streamflow observations.

PNNL scientist James Stegen and an international team of collaborators recently published a comprehensive review of variably inundated ecosystems (VIEs).

This study presents an automated method to detect and classify open- and closed-cell mesoscale cellular convection (MCC) using long-term ground-based radar observations.

CO2 separation is key for natural gas purification, but conventional techniques are high-emission processes. New research reveals a novel, doubly segmented, CO2-selective membrane that increases CO2 permeability and reduces emissions.

Chemical engineer Yuan Jiang is now an executive editor at Gas Science and Engineering, a cross-disciplinary journal centered on natural gases.

A new study led by PNNL researcher TC Chakraborty provides some answers about how irrigated agricultural land near cities affects urban heat stress.

Led by interns from multiple DOE programs, a newly expanded dataset allows researchers to use easy-to-obtain measurements to determine the elemental composition of a promising carbon storage mineral.

Several Earth system components are at a high risk of undergoing rapid, irreversible qualitative changes or ‘tipping’ with increasing climate warming.

Seawater threatens to intrude into coastal freshwater aquifers that millions of people depend on for drinking water and irrigation. This study investigates sea-level rise impacts on the global coastal groundwater table.

New datasets delineating global urban land support scientific research, application, and policy, but they can produce different results when applied to the same problem making it difficult for researchers to decide which to use.