Terrestrial & Subsurface Ecosystems
The Terrestrial and Subsurface Ecosystems science theme focuses on the dynamics of nutrients, metabolites, and contaminants at biogeochemical interfaces in heterogeneous environments across multiple scales. By providing a mechanistic understanding of biogeochemical and microbial processes in soils and the subsurface, and linking those processes via pore-scale hydrological models, EMSL can improve strategies for sustainable solutions to contaminant attenuation, remediation and biogeochemical cycling.
EMSL is expanding its focus to include research in the terrestrial ecosystem by creating advanced capabilities to determine the chemical form of natural organic matter in soil and groundwater; developing a mechanistic understanding of the carbon cycle in the terrestrial ecosystem; and improving the linkage of fundamental studies of molecular geochemistry/biogeochemistry to field-scale modeling and predictive studies. EMSL is also developing in situ tomographic imaging capabilities for the study of intact root and nutrient allocation; and expanding its pore- to intermediate-scale capabilities in unsaturated porous media.
Within this science theme, EMSL will employ our research and that of our users for:
- Hydrobiogeochemical elemental cycling: Develop a molecular-to pore-scale mechanistic understanding of the coupled biogeochemical controls, reactions and elemental cycling to advance a predictive understanding of the feedbacks between the water cycle and ecosystem biogeochemistry and inform biogeochemistry components of earth system models.
Leads
No leads are available at this time.
Instruments
The Bruker Elexsys 580 electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer performs continuous wave and pulsed magnetic resonance using electron spins...
Custodian(s): Eric Walter
The SMSAS is a multi-technique surface analysis instrument based on elemental mapping using either scanning small spot X-rays or the electronics in...
Custodian(s): Shuttha Shutthanandan
Systems Configuration and Operational Overview
All work involving the following systems and any experiments conducted in EMSL laboratories must be...
Custodian(s): Tamas Varga, Mark Bowden
The W-band pulsed EPR spectrometer, introduced in 2011, is one of only two of its design worldwide. It uses a Quasi-optical bridge and an induction-...
Custodian(s): Eric Walter
The Thermo Scientific™ Q Exactive™ Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer can identify, quantify and confirm more compounds rapidly and with...
Custodian(s): Ron Moore, Mary Lipton
Publications
Downscaling-based segmentation for unresolved images of highly heterogeneous granular porous samples
Direct numerical simulations of pore-scale flow and transport in natural sediment columns require the accurate knowledge of pore-space topology. The...
In this study, a suite of complementary environmental geochemical analyses, including NMR and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses...
Cementitious waste forms present a low-temperature, low-cost option for the immobilization of nuclear wastes. At the U.S. Department of Energy...
Soil redox conditions exert substantial influence on biogeochemical processes in terrestrial ecosystems. Humid tropical forests are often...
Heating a mixture of uranyl(VI) nitrate and tantalum(V) oxide in the molar ratio of 2 : 3 to 1400 °C resulted in the formation of a new compound,...
Science Highlights
Posted: September 10, 2018
The Science
In most terrestrial ecosystems, plant growth is limited by nitrogen and phosphorus. Adding either nutrient to the soil usually impacts...
Posted: August 27, 2018
The Science
A boon to natural gas production, hydraulic fracturing or fracking introduces surface microbes thousands of feet below the Earth’s...
Posted: August 20, 2018
The Science
Microbes deep in the soil influence plant health by releasing potent natural antibiotics such as PCA (phenazine-1-carboxylic acid). PCA-...
Posted: August 13, 2018
The Science
One promising approach to stabilize uranium contamination in soils is to envelop the radioactive uranium into iron-bearing minerals like...
Posted: July 16, 2018
The Science
Rising temperatures mean permafrost—ground at or below freezing for two or more years— begins thawing, releasing carbon in the form of...
Instruments
Our goal is to explicitly link microbial function for decomposition of soil organic matter to substrate organic chemistry to improve process...
The Terrestrial and Subsurface Ecosystems science theme focuses on the dynamics of nutrients, metabolites, and contaminants at biogeochemical interfaces in heterogeneous environments across multiple scales. By providing a mechanistic understanding of biogeochemical and microbial processes in soils and the subsurface, and linking those processes via pore-scale hydrological models, EMSL can improve strategies for sustainable solutions to contaminant attenuation, remediation and biogeochemical cycling.
EMSL is expanding its focus to include research in the terrestrial ecosystem by creating advanced capabilities to determine the chemical form of natural organic matter in soil and groundwater; developing a mechanistic understanding of the carbon cycle in the terrestrial ecosystem; and improving the linkage of fundamental studies of molecular geochemistry/biogeochemistry to field-scale modeling and predictive studies. EMSL is also developing in situ tomographic imaging capabilities for the study of intact root and nutrient allocation; and expanding its pore- to intermediate-scale capabilities in unsaturated porous media.
Within this science theme, EMSL will employ our research and that of our users for:
- Hydrobiogeochemical elemental cycling: Develop a molecular-to pore-scale mechanistic understanding of the coupled biogeochemical controls, reactions and elemental cycling to advance a predictive understanding of the feedbacks between the water cycle and ecosystem biogeochemistry and inform biogeochemistry components of earth system models.