Molecular Observation Network (MONet)

Soils represent the largest near-surface carbon reservoir on a global scale, estimated to exceed the carbon stocks of the atmosphere and vegetation pools, combined. The role of soils in the global carbon cycle is thus essential and profound. However, the complexity of ecological and biogeochemical processes that regulate soil carbon storage, and the lack of molecular and microscale soil data—standardized and at scale across the continental United States—have created large uncertainties in Earth system models.

What is MONet?

The Molecular Observation Network (MONet) is an open science network developed by the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), which is housed on the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory campus. MONet's mission is to develop a continental-scale database of standardized molecular and microstructural data to advance understanding and prediction of microbially and root-driven soil organic carbon and terrestrial aerosol processes. The information provided by MONet is essential for advancing the accuracy of multiscale Earth system models and enabling the next generation of soil carbon and aerosol research both at EMSL and within the broader user community.

With this mission in mind, EMSL is:

building an open science community of collaborators and partners at universities, national laboratories, in agriculture and industry, and community organizations, to acquire samples from ecosystems across the United States.
developing a national, high volume/high quality FAIR database that will provide open access to rich and unique data for scientists, modelers, and experimenters
integrating MONet biogeochemical and microbial process data streams into scaling relations to parameterize key variables for multiscale and larger-scale Earth system models.

To make this possible, MONet is standardizing molecular and microscale sample collection protocols and innovating high-throughput, automated analysis and processing workflows.

Get involved with MONet

There are several ways to get involved with MONet, including submitting a proposal to a soil sampling call, participating in an upcoming MONet Community Science Meeting, or joining the MONet team at a symposium or event. Learn how to get involved by visiting the participate tab.

To create data for the database, EMSL is collecting thousands of soil samples from across the continental United States.

Please consider submitting to a quarterly soil submission call as available. We invite national laboratory researchers, academic researchers, citizen scientists, undergraduate and graduate students from universities to participate.

There is no cost for participation other than submitting samples. EMSL is covering the cost of the analyses, and you will receive more than 20 different advanced data types to use in your research.

EMSL is collaborating with a broad range of partners managing an expanding network of natural, urban, and managed watershed, coastal, continental, and atmospheric sites, both experimental and observational.

The next call for soil sampling submissions opens Jan. 2, 2025.

2025 MONet Sampling Call Schedule

Spring 2025 Sampling:

Proposal Submission: January 2, 2025 to January 30, 2025
Decision Notice: Late February 2025
Sampling Period: Mid-March 2025 to May 2025

Summer 2025 Sampling:

Proposal Submission: March 18 to April 17, 2025
Decision Notice: Mid-May 2025
Sampling Period: June 2025 to August 2025

Fall 2025 Sampling:

Proposal Submission: June 17, 2025 to July 17, 2025
Decision Notice: Mid-August 2025
Sampling Period: September 2025 to November 2025

Winter 2025 Sampling:

Proposal Submission: Sept. 16, 2025 to Oct. 16, 2025
Decision Notice: Mid-November 2025
Sampling Period: December 2025 to February 2026

Participate in the MONet Contributor’s Consortium

The MONet Data Consortium is a citable authorship group that contains a collective of authors who have contributed soil cores for analysis and have opted into participation. Consortium participants will be listed as collaborators on papers where the MONet Data Consortium is cited as an author.

Upcoming Events

The 2025 MONet Community Science Meeting will be held Feb. 4-6, 2025 at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). The meeting is for MONet participants and future contributors, but all researchers in the field of environmental sciences are encouraged to attend. During the meeting, there will be an in-person training tailored for postdoctoral researchers, undergraduate students, and graduate students who want to use MONet data. For those interested in attending, register now.

The data and models generated through the Molecular Observation Network (MONet) will improve Earth systems modeling and the prediction of ecosystem function, supporting the long-term U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) goal of scientifically informed decision-making regarding the nation’s energy, environmental security, and sustainability. A beta data visualization tool has been created to help researchers interact with the data collected during the MONet pilot 1000 Soils Project. We are actively working to improve visualizations and value all feedback.

Data Types and Training

Submitted soil samples will be analyzed using an extensive suite of advanced techniques to produce different data types, including the following:

High-resolution molecular composition of soil organic matter
Metagenomic sequencing
3-D microstructure
Dissolved solutes
Respiration, microbial biomass, and potential enzyme activity.

Data Collection

Data Being Collected by the Molecular Observation Network

Data Availability

Consistent with open science principles, data is published on EMSL Science Central™, where it is publicly available without embargo according to the EMSL Data Policy. Review instructions for accessing MONet data information.

For metagenome data generated at the JGI, filtered reads, assemblies, annotations, and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) will be provided for download on the JGI Data Portal. Metagenome data will also be made available through the Integrated Microbial Genomes and Metagenomes platform for comparative analysis.

How to Acknowledge EMSL and JGI for MONet Data

“Soil data were provided by the Molecular Observation Network (MONet) at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (https://ror.org/04rc0xn13), a DOE Office of Science user facility sponsored by the Biological and Environmental Research program under Contract No. DE-AC05-76RL01830. The work (proposal: 10.46936/10.25585/60008970) conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute (https://ror.org/04xm1d337), a DOE Office of Science user facility, is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

The Molecular Observation Network (MONet) database is an open, FAIR, and publicly available compilation of the molecular and microstructural properties of soil. Data in the MONet open science database can be found at https://sc-data.emsl.pnnl.gov/.”

The MONet Team

John Bargar, EMSL
Overall questions

Emily Graham, EMSL
Omics

Odeta Qafoku, EMSL
Soil interfaces

Yuri Corilo, EMSL
Data analysis

Sara Leichty, EMSL
EMSL project management

Tanja Woyke

Tanja Woyke, JGI
Deputy for User Programs

Christa Pennacchio, JGI
JGI project management

Strategic Partners

The Joint Genome Institute (JGI) will perform and prepare sequencing, metagenome analyses, assembly files, annotation, and bins of MONet samples. Data will be available for download from the EMSL MONet database and through JGI’s portals.

The National Science Foundation's National Ecological Observatory Network will provide a national network of field and observational sites to facilitate sampling and continuous sensing opportunities.