Projects

High-resolution spatio-temporal modeling of root-associated microbial communities

Lead Institution

Boston University

Principal Investigator

Daniel Segre

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The goals of the proposed project is to implement high-resolution simulations of synthetic microbial ecosystems around the roots of plants. Towards this goal, we will use our platform for Computation…

The role of Fe(oxyhydr)oxides in regulating the biogeochemical cycling of the essential micronutrients zinc and copper

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Eugene Ilton

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Elements essential for plant growth and nutritious crops (e.g., Fe, Cu, and Zn) are often strongly associated with Fe (oxyhydr)oxides, particularly in more weathered terrains. For example, Zn…

Waterborne Plastics Environmental Weathering Leachates

Lead Institution

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Benjamin Maurer

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Aquatic plastics pollution is anticipated to triple globally by 2040, and many of the effects of aquatic plastics and associated degradation products and contaminants are hitherto unknown. This…

Connecting the Physicochemical Properties with Ice Nucleation Properties of Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOAs) Formed from Multiphase Chemical Processes

Lead Institution

Texas A&M University

Principal Investigator

Yue Zhang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Organic aerosols (OA), especially secondary organic aerosols (SOA), make up a large fraction of tropospheric fine particulate matter (PM) and up to 80% of the total fine PM in the upper troposphere…

Probing the Martian atmosphere and hydrosphere using micro- and nano-scale analyses

Lead Institution

Royal Ontario Museum

Principal Investigator

Kimberly Tait-Sena

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Mars has long been the primary target in the search for possible life beyond our planet, mainly due to widespread evidence that water once flowed on its surface. Water is an essential ingredient for…

Probing Iron Oxide Mineral Aggregation Behavior with Soil Organic Matters

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Xin Zhang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The goal of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding of iron oxide nanoparticle (NPs) aggregation mechanisms with soil organic matters (SOM). Heteroaggregation is a ubiquitous but…

Deciphering controls on metal migration within floodplains: The critical role of redox environments on metal-organic complexes

Lead Institution

Stanford University

Principal Investigator

Scott Fendorf

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a major but poorly understood control over the mobility of micronutrient and contaminant metals in surface and subsurface systems. Variations in the chemical…

Sticky Roots -- Implications of Altered Rhizodeposition for the Fate of Mineral-associated Organic Matter in Natural Ecosystems

Lead Institution

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Principal Investigator

Marco Keiluweit

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The proposed research aims to improve mechanistic understanding of links among rhizodeposition of reactive organic compounds by plant roots, microbial activity, and the stability of mineral…

Carbon signaling cascades that enable the carbohydrate-selective plant biomass degradation by brown rot fungi

Lead Institution

University of Minnesota

Principal Investigator

Jiwei Zhang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Fungi are dominant microbes for carbon turnover of plant biomass in terrestrial systems. Some of them, namely brown rot fungi, evolved more efficient mechanisms than others, causing the fast…

Keystone mutualisms: understanding the role of fungi in organizing soil bacterial food webs

Lead Institution

Stanford University

Principal Investigator

Kabir Peay

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The goal of our project is to create a predictive understanding of how fungi structure soil bacterial foodwebs. We will do this through an experiment designed around what is one of the fundamental…

Multiscale analysis to explore the molecular landscape of Sorghum bicolor stem over time and space

Lead Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Principal Investigator

Amy Marshall-Colon

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Sorghum bicolor is an important bioenergy crop because it has high nutrient and water use efficiency, and produces a large quantity of biomass that can be processed into ethanol for biofuels. Many…

Multi-watershed perturbation-response traits derived through ecological theory

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James Stegen

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This project will transform our ability to understand and predict how the influences of biogeochemical hot spots and hot moments on surface-subsurface systems are altered by disturbance. New theory…

Past is Prologue: Ancient Glass Analogues for the Long-Term Disposal of Vitrified Nuclear Waste

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Carolyn Pearce

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Microbes are ubiquitous in the terrestrial surface and have mastered the art of establishing equilibrium in their localized environment. Samples obtained during an excavation of Broborg, an ancient…

Why is Arctic tundra soil respiration carbon limited at low temperatures?

Lead Institution

University of Toledo

Principal Investigator

Michael Weintraub

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Soil microbial communities are active during much of the long Arctic winter, despite low temperatures, so overwinter microbial activity is important to global carbon (C) budgets. C-rich Arctic soils…

Dissecting Fe Driven Changes to Metabolism in Photosynthetic Eukaryotes

Lead Institution

Michigan State University

Principal Investigator

Stefan Schmollinger

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient for nearly all forms of life, because of its vital role in respiration, photosynthesis, central carbon metabolism, as well as other reactions involving…

Understanding the Roles of Phase State and Phase Separation in the Growth of Secondary Organic Aerosols

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Rahul Zaveri

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

We propose to investigate the fundamental roles of phase state and phase separation in the growth of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) formed from oxidation of selected volatile organic compounds (in…

Influence of hematite crystal face on organic ligand surface interactions with iron oxide/water interfaces studied using nonlinear spectroscopy techniques and molecular simulation methods.

Lead Institution

University of Puget Sound

Principal Investigator

Amanda Mifflin

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The proposed work will examine the interfacial phenomena of the organic ligand acetohydroxamic acid (aHa) at the hematite/water interface and the molecular structure at organic/aqueous interface…

Identification of plant immune-active metabolic constituents of extracellular bacterial vesicles

Lead Institution

Duke University

Principal Investigator

Meta Kuehn

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Cells release vesicles to carry out a variety of functions, including both beneficial and antagonistic inter-kingdom communication. Bacteria release vesicles constitutively and by activation, and…

Molecular understanding of nutrient and organic sorption on model mineral surfaces

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Kelsey Stoerzinger

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This proposal aims to obtain molecular understanding of the sorption of nitrogen (N) oxyanions and model organic species on model mineral surfaces, and ultimately provide better constraints in…

Surface Migration of Additives in Polymers

Lead Institution

Cornell University

Principal Investigator

Lynden Archer

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Field-induced migration of oligomers dispersed in a host polymer is a promising method for modifying the host polymer's surface to improve properties such as paintability, biocompatibility, and…