Projects

Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry, NMR and Computation to Elucidate Biomolecular Structural Features that Enable Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysis in Fuel Cells

Lead Institution

University of Texas at Austin

Principal Investigator

Yi Lu

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This proposal addresses a major under-explored area of research in our understanding of foundational principles for predictive biology central to energy production, i.e., the role of post…

Hydrologic imprinting across terrestrial-aquatic gradients: unraveling the spectrum of ecosystem responses to freshwater limitation and salt exposure

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Nicholas Ward

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The availability of freshwater exerts a direct influence on the growth and health of plants both in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (e.g., wetlands). Upland soils can experience accumulation of…

Controlling ion transport and topotactic phase transition processes in oxide thin films

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Yingge Du

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The overarching goal of this proposal is to understand, predict, and ultimately control ion transport and topotactic phase transition (TPT) processes occurring in structurally ordered transition…

The mechanism of pyrite formation: Implications for metal mobility during iron-sulfide transformations

Lead Institution

University of California, Riverside

Principal Investigator

Timothy Lyons

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Sulfidic sediments are a key sink for many potentially toxic trace elements in marine settings, with much of these elements ultimately being concentrated into the mineral pyrite. Pyrite can be an…

Geochemical controls on soil resiliency to carbon loss following permafrost thaw in Alaskan soils

Lead Institution

University of California, Davis

Principal Investigator

Rebecca Lybrand

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Global air temperature rise exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions endangers Arctic carbon previously protected by permafrost. The resiliency of soil landscapes to carbon loss will be determined by…

The Root of the Matter: Soil Carbon Mobilization in the Rhizosphere

Lead Institution

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Principal Investigator

Marco Keiluweit

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The exploratory work we propose aims to improve mechanistic understanding of links among rhizodeposition of organic compounds by plant roots, microbial growth and activity, and the strength of…

Microbe-Mineral Interactions for Rare Earth Recovery

Lead Institution

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Yongqin Jiao

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Lanthanides are composed of 15 metallic chemical elements (La-Lu). Combined with Sc and Y, they are often collectively known as the rare earth elements (REEs). Although lanthanides are ubiquitous in…

Assessing the environmental activity of ultra-small cells with deuterium oxide labeling and proteomics

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Stephen Giovannoni

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Reports of ultra-small cell and streamlined genomes have flooded into the field of microbiology, providing support for the idea that the prevalence of streamlined bacteria in nature has been…

Spatiotemporal Controls on Organic Matter Availability and Decomposition Rates across Floodplain Sediments

Lead Institution

Stanford University

Principal Investigator

Scott Fendorf

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Although depositional environments such as floodplains are key regulators of ecosystem carbon storage and downstream metal loadings, they are not very well represented in earth system models…

Unraveling the catabolism of lignin-derived compounds in white-rot fungi (part II)

Lead Institution

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Davinia Salvachua Rodriguez

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

White rot fungi (WRF) are the most efficient organisms for the depolymerization and mineralization of lignin to CO2 and H2O in Nature and thus, WRF play a pivotal role in carbon cycling. Lignin…

Integrating thermodynamic and microbial mechanisms to understand coupled controls of carbon and nitrogen on hyporheic zone metabolism

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James Stegen

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Terrestrial-aquatic interfaces are widely recognized as active zones of organic matter metabolism, and hyporheic zones in particular are critical in determining the fate of organic matter globally…

Can Mineral Growth by Oriented Attachment Lead to Incorporation of Uranium into the Structure of Fe(oxyhydr)oxides?

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Eugene Ilton

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Previous laboratory work has shown that uranium can be incorporated into the structure of hematite and goethite during co-precipitation and redox transformation of ferrihydrite, respectively. However…

Redox And Reactive Minerals: The Impact Of Redox Fluctuations On Mineral-Organic Matter Associations And Microbial Carbon Transformations In Tropical Forest Soils

Lead Institution

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Pett-Ridge

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

In tropical ecosystems, changes in future Earth Systems will likely affect both the amplitude and periodicity of redox oscillations due to predicted increases in temperature and changes in the…

Understanding Reactive Nitrogen Recycling on Soil and Mineral Dust Surfaces

Lead Institution

Indiana University - Bloomington

Principal Investigator

Jonathan Raff

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

A fundamental understanding of the factors controlling the lifetime and fate of reactive nitrogen oxides (NOy = NO, NO2, HNO2, N2O5, etc.) in the atmosphere is critical for accurately representing…

Characterizing a tripartite plant - fungus - bacteria symbiosis important to peatland carbon and nitrogen cycling

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

David Weston

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The importance of plant-microbiome systems on terrestrial carbon and nitrogen processes is perhaps most pronounced in Sphagnum dominated ecosystems, which occupy 3% of the Earth's land surface…

Biosystem dynamics and analysis of Rhodobacter sphaeroides strains with increased lipid accumulation

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

Timothy Donohue

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

We are requesting access to EMSL microscopy, including transmission electron microscopes, the helium ion microscope, and atomic force microscope. We also are requesting access to high-resolution…

Fundamental studies of the sorption of organic molecules within engineered soil surrogates

Lead Institution

Louisiana State University

Principal Investigator

Robert Cook

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The sorption of molecules into the organic matrix of soils (a.k.a soil organic matter [SOM]) is of great importance for a number of environmental issues; in particular 1) carbon cycling via carbon…

Spatially-resolved -omics to target reaction partitioning mechanisms in a unique lignocellulose-degrading fungus

Lead Institution

University of Minnesota

Principal Investigator

Jonathan Schilling

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Brown rot fungi are among a select group of filamentous fungi able to deconstruct lignocellulose, and their biochemical pathways have potential biofuels applications and carbon cycling implications…

Identification of protein interaction networks, cofactors and protein structures essential for mercury methylation in anaerobic bacteria

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Alexander Johs

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Mercury is a pervasive global pollutant. Methylation of mercury (Hg) by anaerobic bacteria is the primary source of toxic methylmercury, which bioaccumulates up trophic levels and affects humans…

Towards Lignin Valorization: Investigation of biological, chemical and hybrid approaches to suppress lignin recondensation and maximize depolymerization

Lead Institution

Joint BioEnergy Institute

Principal Investigator

Seema Singh

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The primary goal of this proposed work is to use both experimental and computational approaches to understand and develop an integrated lignin conversion process for better utilization of lignin…