Subsurface Challenges

Subsurface
(Image by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

Subsurface environments are extremely vital to human civilization. They are tied to:

  • Nutrient cycling and ecological/human sustainability
  • National security
  • Legacy waste management and disposition
  • Groundwater
  • Fossil energy
  • Geothermal
  • Global carbon management

Given the importance of subsurface environments, it's vital that challenges inherent to understanding or predicting subsurface behavior are overcome.

Subsurface_Diagram
(Image by Jeff London | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

Research topics

Subsurface Science
Subsurface Energy Systems
Earth & Coastal Sciences
Environmental Management
Environmental Remediation
Fossil Energy
Carbon Storage
Geothermal Energy
Renewable Energy
Nuclear Nonproliferation
Nuclear Energy
Reactor Licensing
Fuel Cycle Research
National Security