• PNNL Home
• About
• Research
• Publications
• Jobs
• News
• Contacts

Highlights

• Scientists Achieve Difficult Chemical Step with Lower Energy Input
  Discovery could reduce energy required for industrial processesDecember 2018
• Restoring Rain to a Model Amazon Forest
  Simulations reveal terrestrial factors and airflow as contributors to climate model challenges in producing rainfall over the world's largest rainforest.December 2018
• Catch and Release: How Hemispheres Handle Energy through the Seasons in a Warmer World
  Increased energy contrast between hemispheres under future warming drives a north-south shift in atmospheric circulation, delaying the onset of tropical precipitation and summer monsoons.December 2018
• Steven Ghan Selected as Fellow of the American Geophysical Union
  PNNL climate researcher honored for exceptional scientific contributions and prominence in his fieldDecember 2018
• Indian Monsoon Steers Tropical Cyclones across the Atlantic
  Researchers identify internal variability of the Indian monsoon as a significant driver of Atlantic tropical cyclone tracks.December 2018
• Wan Appointed Associate Editor of American Geophysical Union Journal
  December 2018
• Measuring the Tropics' Bulging Waistline
  Researchers find gains, losses in reviewing natural versus human factors shaping the expansion of the tropics since the late 1970s.December 2018
• Eroding Gaps in Understanding the Global Carbon Cycle
  A new process-based model represents global changes in sediment and particulate organic carbon levels due to soil erosion, an important missing piece in Earth system models.December 2018
• Visualizing a battery's lithium "whiskers" and their degrading effects
  Scientists study impact of lithium dendrites on cathode materialsDecember 2018
• PNNL Computer Scientist Jiajia Li Receives the "Best Student Paper" Award
  Li was recognized at the 2018 Supercomputing ConferenceNovember 2018
• Warmer Climate Brings Stronger Spring Storms to the United States
  Simulations show North Pacific and North Atlantic subtropical high-pressure systems develop more during spring than summer under future warming.November 2018
• 2019 INCITE award fosters search for new elements, quantum interactions
  Award allocates time on powerful supercomputers for outstanding science proposalsNovember 2018
• Disentangling the Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions in the North Atlantic
  Powerful new methodology illuminates large-scale influences on sea surface temperature that drive Atlantic Multidecadal Variability.November 2018
• New Aerosol Modeling Approach Takes Cues from Lab Experiments
  A dynamic empirical framework for secondary organic aerosols could help bridge a significant gap between measurements and model predictions.November 2018
• Susannah Burrows Honored with Brodzinski Early Career Exceptional Achievement Award
  October 2018
• Linking Local and National Government for Global Mitigation
  Case studies in six cities of barriers to implementing building energy codes.October 2018
• CME researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison report new fuel cell concept
  Paper shows remarkable progress on fuel cells using molecular mediatorsOctober 2018
• CME researcher Brandi Cossairt honored with National Fresenius Award
  Award is presented annually to an outstanding scientistOctober 2018
• As Ecosystems Heat Up, Tundra Changes Speed Up
  Understanding the functional traits of Arctic and alpine tundra plant communities will enable better model projections of how they transform in warmer conditions.October 2018
• For hydrogen power, two metals may be better than one
  A novel approach to electrocatalysis divides the chemical laborOctober 2018
• Atmosphere Outpaces Ocean in Driving Extreme Winter Weather along the U.S. West Coast
  Researchers found that sea surface temperature, the more predictable element of the climate system, accounts for only 20 percent of extreme precipitation variability along the U.S. West Coast.October 2018
• Tuning the electrocatalytic performance of bifunctional catalysts
  Scientists tune site-specific elements to learn tricks and tradeoffsOctober 2018
• Xiaodong Chen Appointed Associate Editor for Journal of Hydrometeorology
  September 2018
• Effects of Water Management on Future Droughts from Atmosphere to Rivers: A Global Multi-Model Analysis
  Water management may alleviate future agricultural droughts but intensify hydrological droughts.September 2018
• Invited review article emphasizes developments in ion soft-landing
  PNNL and Purdue researchers apply technique for advances in materials synthesisSeptember 2018
• Systematic Water Conservation Errors Reduced in E3SM Atmosphere Model
  Improving water conservation in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model's atmosphere component has important implications for projecting sea level change.September 2018
• From Gray to Green: An Aerosol Journey in the Amazon
  Surrounded by the Amazon rainforest, aircraft measurements from the urban plume over Manaus, Brazil, reveal the life cycle of organic aerosol.September 2018
• Why size matters for gold as a catalyst
  Advanced microscopy study reveals insights into the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticlesSeptember 2018
• Tiny Processes in Clouds Drive Storm System Longevity over the Central United States
  With improved cloud microphysics representing observed storm structures, models can better simulate long-lasting storms prone to produce flooding.September 2018
• A Hydrological Emulator for Global Applications
  New open-source software mimics complex global hydrological models with extraordinary computational efficiency.August 2018
• Jaehun Chun Gives Invited Talk to National Academies
  August 2018
• Decoding the Ocean's Influence on Global Surface Air Temperature Patterns
  A new study identified recurrent patterns of temperature response to energy changes at random locations.August 2018
• Mission Possible: Estimating Cloud Area from Sky Images
  A new method provides a previously unavailable data set that could help improve the representation of shifty shallow cumulus clouds in atmospheric models.August 2018
• Hurricanes Gained Strength More Quickly in the Central and Eastern Atlantic Ocean Over the Last 30 Years
  A positive shift in the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and changes in the large-scale hurricane environment are behind the increase in magnitude of rapid intensification.August 2018
• Pinpointing the Players in a Rapidly Warming Arctic
  Researchers zero in on the radiative feedback processes that continue to drive warming in the Arctic.August 2018
• The Shady Role of Shallow Clouds
  Cloud shadows are found to influence shallow cloud size and water content.August 2018
• Summer 2018 Issue of Transformations Now Available
  August 2018
• Automating Expertise
  New training approach teaches a deep learning model to learn expert knowledgeAugust 2018
• Long-Term Aerosol Trends in the Continental United States
  During 1980–2014, aerosols arriving from East Asia offset radiative flux increases in the western United States induced by domestic air pollution reductions.August 2018
• Xin Zhang Named 2017 M. T. Thomas Award Recipient
  Recognized for his outstanding creativity and productivityAugust 2018
• The power of the (intermolecular) force
  Researchers study new particle formation; find intermolecular forces stabilize clusters & promote aerosol productionAugust 2018
• A Sharper View of Wind Changes by Large Storms
  A new study strengthens understanding of how momentum is changed by vertical motions of storms across scales.August 2018
• Integrating Human System Dynamics Into Earth System Models
  A review of modeling research on two-way interactions between human and Earth systems sheds light on system interactions and informs directions for future Earth system modeling research.August 2018
• Examining the Irregular
  PNNL, Intel team up to edit first non-conference special issue of ‘ACM Transactions on Parallel Computing’August 2018
• PNNL-Led Paper Links Microbes, Warmer Earth to Faster Flow of Soil Carbon Into Atmosphere
  August 2018
• McDowell Serves as Editor and Author for Special Issue of New Phytologist
  July 2018
• Samantha Johnson's Early Career Success Featured in Frontiers in Energy Research
  July 2018
• Invited Article Reviews the Current State of Fuel Production from Waste Carbon
  July 2018
• Xantheas Named to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
  July 2018
• Characterizing the Barrier Effect on Tropical Precipitation Patterns
  Researchers document, for the first time, a pronounced seasonal cycle in the strength of the Madden-Julian Oscillation over the Maritime Continent.July 2018
• Yuehe Lin Joins Washington Academy of Sciences
  July 2018
• Morris Bullock Elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences
  July 2018
• New Approaches to Chemical and Electrical Energy Conversions
  PNNL receives additional funding for electrocatalyst research to store and release energyJuly 2018
• Deep Learning Could Help Detect Nuclear Events Worldwide
  July 2018
• Current Strategies Using Satellite Data Limit the Accuracy of Space-Based Estimates of How Aerosols Brighten Clouds
  Scientists use a new technique to assess how well satellite measurements can resolve the influence of atmospheric particles on clouds.July 2018
• Making a Splash: Wiedner and Linehan Review How Liquids Alter Reactions That Store Energy
  Often ignored, solvents are major playersJuly 2018
• Reconstruction of Global Gridded Monthly Sectoral Water Withdrawals for 1971-2010 and Analysis of Their Spatiotemporal Patterns
  A new global data set for understanding sectoral water use at regional and seasonal scales.July 2018
• The Far-Reaching Effects of Tropical Moist Air
  Researchers uncover a nonlinear relationship between South Asian monsoon rainfall and water vapor over the tropical Indian Ocean in Earth system models.July 2018
• Shuai Zhang Earns Best Poster Award
  July 2018
• PNNL Helps Reveal How Ocean Algae Under Stress Sustain Growth
  June 2018
• Alla Zelenyuk-Imre Quoted in DOE Feature Article
  June 2018
• Burrows and Shrivastava Receive DOE Early Career Research Program Awards
  June 2018
• Arun Devaraj Joins Prestigious Scientific Committee
  June 2018
• Water Management Influences Long-Term Changes in River Flows
  Changes in water volume tend to be smaller in managed watersheds but occur earlier.June 2018
• Oceanic Divide Factors Into Tropical Cyclone Strength
  Sea surface temperatures have less influence on tropical cyclone intensification in the Atlantic than in the Pacific.June 2018
• The Intricate Dance of Ions Results in a New Material
  Negative ions stack up on surfaces to form a never-before-seen material, offering new ideas and possibilities for fundamental researchJune 2018
• Demeter - A Land Use and Land Cover Change Disaggregation Model
  Demeter provides a flexible and repeatable methodology to connect models at varying scales to account for land surface changes.June 2018
• Coral-shaped nanoparticles built by design using engineered peptoids
  Scientists manipulate shapes while enhancing optical properties of tiny particlesJune 2018
• Song Edits a Processes Special Issue
  Aim: Cover key aspects of microbial interactions and community dynamicsJune 2018
• Tethys Tackles Downscaling Challenge for Regional Water Withdrawals
  A new open-source tool helps connect high-resolution sectoral models and broader integrated human-Earth system models.June 2018
• Wet Aluminum Hydroxide and Oxyhydroxide Particles Release Hydrogen When Irradiated
  Insights into metal's radiolytic behavior could ease final processing of nuclear wasteJune 2018
• ASGC Researchers Receive Editorial Awards for Journal Reviews
  June 2018
• PNNL Thought Leaders Quoted in PC Magazine
  June 2018
• Weber and Holladay Review Chemistry and Costs of Converting Waste to Fuel
  June 2018
• Washington Post, USA Today Among Media Outlets to Cover PNNL-Led Hurricane Study
  May 2018
• Sea Change: The Ocean's Powerful Effect on Earth Systems
  A new modeling approach shows that the ocean circulation determines the varying rate of global temperature response to carbon dioxide.May 2018
• Tumeo Named Subject Area Editor by Parallel Computing
  May 2018
• Dry Patch of Land Connects Rainfall Across Continents
  Novel modeling experiments show that heating near North Africa leads to drying near North America.May 2018
• Rallo Joins Advanced Theory and Simulations Editorial Advisory Board
  May 2018
• More Urbanization Could Mean More Rain for Cities
  A new study shows that urban heat island effects and increased urban aerosols can spur intense rainfall.May 2018
• Chemception Takes a Deeper Look at Chemical Behavior
  May 2018
• New Technologies for Exploring the Earth and Sky
  Recent awards team lab researchers with small businesses to advance new concepts for investigating complex Earth system processesMay 2018
• #Flu. Research highlighted in Scientific American
  May 2018
• PNNL scientists contribute to expanded hunt for WIMP dark matter
  May 2018
• Gust or Bust: Blustery Winds Important for Modeling Tropical Rainfall
  Researchers find surface evaporation drives circulation and summer precipitation in the Tropical West Pacific.May 2018
• A Medal for Metal
  Industry/national labs research team earns American Iron and Steel Institute MedalMay 2018
• Hurricane Intensity Is More Than Surface Deep
  Improving the representation of upper-ocean layers in hurricane forecast models enhances their predictive skill.May 2018
• Science, Society, and Your Career: Learn More in the Current Issue of Transformations
  May 2018
• WSU, PNNL Strengthen Research Ties to Shape the Future: Together
  May 2018
• PNNL Plays Important Role in Development of Powerful Earth System Model
  May 2018
• Chromium's Crowning Achievement: Breaking Dinitrogen's Triple Bond
  Catalyst forms ammonia precursors, valuable for fertilizers, plastics, and fuelApril 2018
• Modeled Clouds in the Tropics Get a Reality Check
  Scientists established a new procedure to evaluate the ability of Earth system models to simulate various cloud types in the tropics.April 2018
• Dunning Discusses NWChemEx for Let's Talk Exascale Podcast
  April 2018
• Rallo Elevated to IEEE Senior Member
  April 2018
• Wetter Winters Could Be in Store for Western U.S.
  Scientists discovered stronger and longer atmospheric rivers that lead to increasing precipitation extremes over the region.April 2018
• Utilizing Hindcasting to Calibrate a Human-Earth System Dynamics Model: an Application to Future Food Consumption
  April 2018
• Shippert Contributes to First-ever Observations of Methane’s Impact on Greenhouse Effect
  Work detailed in ‘Nature Geoscience’ shows how methane acts as heat-trapping greenhouse gasApril 2018
• Sulfate Aerosols: Sources and Effects on Arctic Climate
  Scientists found that cooling from sulfate aerosols can partially offset Arctic warming from absorbing aerosols.April 2018
• John Peters Named Microbiology Fellow
  April 2018
• Understanding the formation and prevention of an unusual kind of defect in films of complex materials
  New research suggests new ways to control crystal growthApril 2018
• Mastering Clouds: A New Approach for Modeling Convective Storm Systems
  Researchers developed a probability-based framework for representing storm clouds and rainfall in climate models.April 2018
• Praveen Thallapally Quoted in DOE Feature Article
  April 2018
• How Small-Scale Processes in Clouds Influence Large-Scale Precipitation Variability and Extremes
  Observed large-scale rainfall statistics could be used to directly constrain small-scale microphysical parameters in models.April 2018
• Form Damages Function and Magnetism Suffers
  Researchers discover mechanism that decreases the magnetism of metallic core particles with a metal-organic framework shell, opening doors to new material designsApril 2018
• McDowell-Led Study on Tropical Forest Mortality Attracts Global Attention
  April 2018
• Intensification of China Haze Has International Connections
  Slowed reductions in foreign emissions this century revealed the impact of rising domestic emissions in China.April 2018
• Influence of Hydroclimate Variability on Power System Operations Revealed Through Integrated Modeling
  Integrated multi-sector modeling shows that variations in water availability associated with El Niño have a strong influence on the western U.S. electric grid.April 2018
• Award-winning CCSI Toolset Gets Open-Source Release on GitHub
  April 2018
• Elias Nakouzi Joins the 2017 Class of Pauling Fellows
  April 2018
• Fire Particles Have Large Radiative Effects on Short Timescales
  Using a new modeling strategy, researchers found that fire aerosols can alter both liquid and ice clouds that reflect or absorb energy.April 2018
• Consistently Identifying Proteins from Fewer Cells
  April 2018
• Research Hints at Double the Driving Range for Electric Vehicles
  PNNL scientists spice up electrolyte solution to increase charge cyclesMarch 2018
• The Roles of Atmosphere and Ocean in Moving Heat to the Poles
  Increased ocean heat transport to the polar regions enhances polar-amplified warming.March 2018
• How Some Aerosols Transform From Atmospheric Bystanders Into Climate Actors
  New research improves the understanding of how ultrafine particles in the atmosphere grow into climatically active sizes.March 2018
• Quarterbacking Catalysts by Positioning Atoms
  Single oxygen atoms are vital to designing better catalysts from the ground upMarch 2018
• Importance of Model Ensembles for Estimates of Regional Climate Uncertainty
  Researchers find use of a large single-model ensemble or small ensembles from multiple models and scenarios can consistently quantify internal variability.March 2018
• Methane Goes Out With Carbon Dioxide, But There's a Catch
  Scientists uncover unusual structures in natural gas that alter how it behavesMarch 2018
• Scholtz Recognized with SIGCHI Academy Award
  March 2018
• A Challenging Future for Tropical Forests
  Dead trees are on the rise along with increases in tree mortality drivers and mechanisms.March 2018
• Stronger Storm Systems Linger Longer Over Central United States
  Simulations show that organized storms lasting at least nine hours can modify the surrounding environment to further extend their longevity.March 2018
• Szanyi and Gao Invited to Share Their View of Nitrogen Oxides for Nature Catalysis
  March 2018
• Shilling Co-Authors Wildfire Paper on Journal's Most Downloaded List
  March 2018
• Rallo Named to Panel Examining Life Science-Technology Connections
  March 2018
• The Effect of Deep Convection on Phytoplankton Blooms in the Northern Labrador Sea
  Weakened mixing in the ocean depths under a warmer climate could severely reduce spring blooms in the North Atlantic.March 2018
• Encouraging Global Innovation
  Xantheas will join Tokyo Tech’s World Research Hub Initiative to focus on chemistryMarch 2018
• Snapshots of the Atomic Interface Shuffle Featured in MRS Bulletin
  March 2018
• Small Differences, Large Impacts, and a Classic Connection
  Scientists define subtle details for calcium carbonate synthesis, a fundamental and ubiquitous reactionMarch 2018
• Tracking Mechanisms of Crystallization in Real Time
  Aluminum's coordination change occurs in extreme environmentsMarch 2018
• Corralling Xenon Gas Out of Waste Streams
  PNNL demonstrates tiny porous materials can economically separate gas for growing demandMarch 2018
• Getting the Catalytic Details
  Using molecular spectroscopy to study reaction mechanismsMarch 2018
• DOE Under Secretary for Science Visits Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis
  March 2018
• New Historical Emissions Trends Estimated with the Community Emissions Data System (CEDS)
  The data system will allow for more detailed, consistent, and up-to-date global emissions trends that will aid in understanding aerosol effects on Earth system processes.February 2018
• At the Edge, Ions Act
  Ion separation is suppressed at the liquid-air interface, a fundamental finding that alters how we control solutions for energy productionFebruary 2018
• Sue Clark to Help Evaluate DOE's Environmental Cleanup Technology Development
  February 2018
• New Analysis Yields Missing Pieces in Modeling the Global Carbon Cycle
  Scientists identified key environmental factors and hydrological processes important for modeling sediment yield and particulate organic carbon yield in Earth system models.February 2018
• PNNL Researchers Share Earth Science Expertise
  Annual science and policy forum includes AAAS Fellows L. Ruby Leung and Phil RaschFebruary 2018
• From BSD, Three AAAS Participants
  February 2018
• Taming Big Data Analytics Workloads
  HPC scientists to showcase SHAD developer framework at upcoming IEEE/ACM CCGrid 2018 ConferenceFebruary 2018
• PNNL Atmospheric Scientist Leads Research Covered in Science, Media
  February 2018
• A Unique Look at Clouds and Their Radiative Impacts from the GoAmazon2014/5 Field Campaign
  A two-year effort shed light on the cloud life cycle and cloud-aerosol interactions in the Amazon basin.February 2018
• Grant Johnson Co-Organizes Mesilla Chemistry Workshop
  February 2018
• To Speed Precision Medicine, a ‘Co-Laboratory’
  February 2018
• Ambitious IDREAM Meeting Nets Insights and Ideas
  February 2018
• For the Hyporheic Zone, a Novel Thermodynamic Mechanism
  A Nature Communications paper on the coupled river-subsurface ecosystem describes new insights into the dynamics of mixing groundwater and river water and its biogeochemical and microbial effects.February 2018
• Bond-Lamberty, Rasch Contribute to National Academies Reports
  February 2018
• Lumsdaine Honored with 2018 Better Scientific Software Fellowship
  February 2018
• Future Hydropower Generation and Consequences for Global Electricity Supply Investment Needs
  Changes in precipitation and temperature could affect electricity investments across the globe.February 2018
• Water Molecules Play Unexpected Role in Mineral Formation
  The arrangement of water molecules aligns particles to attach to each other during mineral formationFebruary 2018
• Tumeo Discusses ‘The Next Platform’ in Graph Analytics
  February 2018
• Kevin Rosso Joins National Academies' Committee
  February 2018
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Washington Team Up to Make the Materials of Tomorrow
  January 2018
• Read the Latest Issue of Transformations
  January 2018
• Training Day
  PNNL team explores how training neural networks can improve modeling of physical systemsJanuary 2018
• Kravitz Co-Authors Eos Report on Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project Meeting
  January 2018
• Simple Preparation, Fast Lasers Overcome Analysis Roadblock
  New technique offers quick, precise data on the metals in ores and other solidsJanuary 2018
• Lightweighting with a Heavy Hitter
  General Motors teams with PNNL’s Computational Engineering group to enhance performance modelsJanuary 2018
• Roche 'Talks Exascale' with the ECP
  January 2018
• Water: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way
  Elegant theory shows how water helps dissociate ions involved in materials synthesis, catalysisJanuary 2018
• PNNL Researchers Co-Author National Science Review's Most Read Paper of 2017
  January 2018
• Satellites Illuminate Challenges in Simulating Clouds
  Comparisons reveal consistency in climate model deficiencies for low clouds.January 2018
• Let the Good Tubes Roll
  Inspired by biology, a PNNL-led team of scientists has created new tiny tubes that could help with water purification and tissue engineering studiesJanuary 2018
• Young Adds New Outlook to the SIAM Committee on Science Policy
  January 2018
• For Infectious Viruses, Alterations in Epigenetic Landscapes
  Uncovering the DNA manipulation strategies of viral attacks widens the path to future therapies.January 2018
• Environmental Health Risks and the Human Microbiome
  January 2018
• Simulations Show How Atoms Behave Inside Self-Healing Cement
  A first-of-its-kind simulation model reveals self-healing cement performs better than originally thoughtJanuary 2018
• Kelsey Stoerzinger Earns Young Investigator Lectureship
  January 2018
• Evaluation of Integrated Assessment Model Hindcast Experiments: a Case Study of the GCAM 3.0 Land Use Module
  Applying metrics in a case study, scientists found that no single evaluation measure likely exists for all variables in an integrated assessment model.January 2018
• For the Microbiome, and for Nature, a Science Interlude in Chile
  January 2018
• Asrar's Stellar Career Honored with Prestigious Cleveland Abbe Award
  Joint Global Change Research Institute director recognized for exceptional leadership at NASA and the World Climate Research ProgrammeJanuary 2018
• Go with the Flow: Redox Material Investigated for Non-Aqueous Flow Batteries
  Research team also develops promising spectroscopy approach to address battery chemistry and design challengesJanuary 2018
• Detailed Look at Hanford Site Waste Offers Insights, Ideas
  January 2018
• Improving the Recipe for Fracking
  January 2018
• Fan Receives American Meteorological Society Outstanding Service Award
  January 2018
• PNNL Postdoctoral Fellows Win 2017 Yuxiang Young Scholar Awards
  January 2018
• How Many Weather Stations Are Enough to Accurately Simulate Building Energy Demand?
  PNNL researchers found that using fewer stations in models led to larger biases.January 2018