Projects | Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

As a scientific user facility, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) provides expertise, instrumentation, and resources to 250 projects each year.

EMSL projects displayed on the EMSL web site project page reflect project abstracts and information migrated to this page before April 30, 2024. To review current and past EMSL user projects, visit EMSL Science Central.™

Linking multi-organism-environment interactions across lab and field scales to estimate viral contributions to soil C cycling

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Amy Zimmerman

Project type

FICUS Research

Interactions between soil viruses and their microbial hosts can significantly impact microbial population dynamics, metabolism, and evolution, with cascading effects on soil carbon (C)…

Multiscale multimodal analysis of brown rot fungal decay mechanisms for improved biomimetic lignocellulosic biorefinery processes

Lead Institution

United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service

Principal Investigator

Joseph Jakes

Project type

FICUS Research

An improved understanding of non-enzymatic brown-rot decay mechanisms in lignocellulosics, such as wood, could inspire improved biomimetic biorefinery processes to elevate lignocellulosic materials…

Functional and structural analysis of microbial expansin-related proteins that
loosen lignocellulosic and chitin fiber networks

Lead Institution

University of Toronto

Principal Investigator

Emma Master

Project type

FICUS Research

This project brings together functional genomics, structural biology, and advanced techniques in material science, to evaluate the untapped potential of microbial expansin-related proteins in the…

The role of microbial predation and cooperation on soil carbon pathways measured through multi-omics

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Bram WG Stone

Project type

FICUS Research

Soil microorganisms drive the decomposition of terrestrial carbon, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere and retaining additional pools belowground. Thus, a critical parameter in climate modeling efforts…

Structural and biochemical characterization of glycosyltransferase 47 family proteins from Spirodela to enable predictive biology

Lead Institution

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Samantha Ziegler

Project type

FICUS Research

Complex carbohydrates comprise the majority of plant biomass and are assembled by large families of glycosyltransferases (GTs) that transfer sugars from activated donors to a wide range of acceptor…

Systems Analysis of Embolism Resiliency in Grasses for Biofuel Production Under Marginal Environments

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Andrii Smertenko

Project type

FICUS Research

Production of grass lignocellulosic biomass for biorefining can be significantly diminished by periods of acute high temperature known as heat waves. High temperature disrupts folding of proteins…

Integrating microbial meta-omics, isotopes and methane metabolites to connect belowground microbial processes to aboveground methane emissions in seasonally-inundated Amazonian floodplain forests

Lead Institution

University of Arizona

Principal Investigator

Scott Saleska

Project type

FICUS Research

The seasonally inundated floodplain forests of the Amazon River and its tributaries are iconic examples of ecosystems at the terrestrial-aquatic interface that are dominated by hydro…

Baggs MONet Request: The effects of agricultural nitrogen fertilization regimes on soil geochemistry

Lead Institution

Sound Agriculture

Principal Investigator

Erin Baggs

Project type

MONet

Agriculture impacts the environment through several biogeochemical cycles that are relevant at local to global scales. To efficiently obtain high yielding harvests farmers are required to use…

Ward Jones MONet Request

Lead Institution

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Principal Investigator

Melissa Ward Jones

Project type

MONet

Climate warming is benefitting high latitude agriculture by increasing air temperatures and the growing season length. However, permafrost (perennially frozen ground) thaw is accelerating and causing…

Becklin MONet Request

Lead Institution

Syracuse University

Principal Investigator

Katie Becklin

Project type

MONet

Climate change is altering the timing of important developmental events, such as when plants emerge, flower, and senesce during the growing season. These phenological events determine the timing of…

PI Goemann MONet Request

Lead Institution

Montana State University

Principal Investigator

Hannah Goemann

Project type

MONet

Just as humans rely on a healthy gut microbiome for resilience to illness, plants rely on a healthy root microbiome for resilience to environmental abiotic stress (heat, drought). To achieve a…

Ricketts MONet Request

Lead Institution

Argonne National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Michael Ricketts

Project type

MONet

Switchgrass is a potential bioenergy feedstock and has adapted to a wide range of environments by exhibiting a variety of trait combinations that has resulted in multiple ecotypes across its range…

Characterization of soil functions following forest conversion

Lead Institution

United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service

Principal Investigator

Carl Trettin

Project type

MONet

The objective of this proposal is to characterize changes in soil functions associated conversion of the forest cover type from loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) to longleaf pine (Pinus palustris). This…

Soil mineralogy control on SOC stability in soils

Lead Institution

United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service

Principal Investigator

Zamir Libohova

Project type

MONet

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) pools and stability are influenced by interactions between climate, management, and soil properties. Numerous studies have determined the size and stability of SOC pools by…

Grazing Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Chemistry and Microbial Community Structure and Functions in a Mixed-Grass Ecosystem

Lead Institution

University of Wyoming

Principal Investigator

Mengqiang Zhu

Project type

MONet

Grasslands cover approximately 40% of the Earth's land surface and represent about 70% of the agricultural area. They contain about 10% of terrestrial biomass and contribute about 20–30% of the…

Waldbauer MONet Request

Lead Institution

University of Chicago

Principal Investigator

Jacob Waldbauer

Project type

MONet

The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, and Arctic soils currently store twice as much carbon as the entire atmosphere. These two facts make understanding how Arctic soil…

Redlins MONet Request

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Alexander Redlins

Project type

MONet

Hydraulic redistribution (HR) is the passive movement of water within the soil profile via biological pathways (namely roots and fungal hyphae) from wetter areas to drier areas. The translocation of…

Spatial Architecture of Extracellular Electron Shuttle Production for Iron Cycling in a Model Soil Habitat

Lead Institution

University of Texas at Austin

Principal Investigator

Charles Werth

Project type

Exploratory Research

Iron minerals are some of the most reactive and ubiquitous components of soils, sediments, and groundwater. They contribute to the oxidation and reduction of many pollutants and natural organic…

Characterization of Novel Synthetic Biological Materials

Lead Institution

Washington University in St. Louis

Principal Investigator

Marcus Foston

Project type

Exploratory Research

Synthetic biology and genome engineering allows us to harness the machinery of nature to synthesize materials with properties comparable to, or even beyond, the performance of natural materials. We…

Root modulation of soil pore architecture as a potential driver of divergent C accrual between two cover crop types

Lead Institution

United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service

Principal Investigator

Lauren Hale

Project type

Exploratory Research

Global carbon (C) storage in soils is critical to mitigating climate change. However, there are substantial uncertainties as to how terrestrial C building practices, such as agricultural cover crops,…

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