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).
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 ...
With the help of a diagnostic tool called the Salish Sea Model, researchers found that toxic contaminant hotspots in the Puget Sound are tied to localized lack of water circulation and cumulative effects from multiple sources.
DOE researchers investigated the role of microbial genetic diversity in two major subsurface biogeochemical processes: nitrification and denitrification.
PNNL coastal ecologist Heida Diefenderfer was a featured speaker in February at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable on policy and global affairs.
PNNL Emeritus Scientist Ronald Thom received the 2019 Environmental Leadership Award at the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Conference.
Researchers have identified two processes responsible for fracturing rock at lower pressures for geothermal energy production using PNNL’s fracturing fluid, StimuFrac™.
Advancing a more collective understanding of coastal systems dynamics and evolution is a formidable scientific challenge. PNNL is meeting the challenge head on to inform decisions for the future.
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.
