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™.

From microscopic bacteria in river sediments to vast watersheds to global-scale data and inquiries, a PNNL scientist plays a big research role

We are all citizens of watersheds, the terrestrial landscapes that determine how much water we have, how clean it is, where it goes, and how fast.

A new study examines how back how back-to-back extreme events can affect a forest landscape.

Geochemistry postdoctoral research assistant Quin R.S. Miller has been elected to a three-year term on the Clay Minerals Society Council.

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.

Turbulent vertical fluxes of heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide (CO2) occur constantly between land surfaces and the atmosphere.

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.

Reactive transport models (RTMs) are used to describe and predict the distribution of chemicals in time and space, in both marine and terrestrial (surface and near-surface) environments where microbially-mediated processes govern...

Hydrologic exchange flows (HEFs) increase the contact between river water and subsurface sediments thereby playing a critical role in biogeochemical and ecological functions along river corridors.

Hydrologic exchange fluxes (HEFs) between rivers and surrounding subsurface environments strongly influence water temperatures and biogeochemical processes. Yet, quantitative measures of their effects on the strength and direction of such e

Researchers apply numerical simulations to understand more about a sturdy material and how its basic structure responds to and resists radiation. The outcomes could help guide development of the resilient materials of the future.

The Soil Science Society of America presents Nik Qafoku with the 2019 Jackson Award for contributions in soil chemistry and mineralogy—ranging from agricultural fertilizer efficiency in Albania to soil contaminant transport at Hanford.

Frannie Smith, a chemist specializing in nuclear waste management and disposal, was recognized as a "Notable Woman in STEM" for 2019 by the nonprofit Washington STEM program.

Researchers at PNNL are developing a new class of acoustically active nanomaterials designed to improve the high-resolution tracking of exploratory fluids injected into the subsurface. These could improve subsurface geophysical monitoring.