Projects

Understanding the long-term fate of nitrate in terrestrial ecosystems: Organic N species

Lead Institution

Cornell University

Principal Investigator

Carmen Martinez

Project type

Exploratory Research

We propose a series of experiments aimed at elucidating the mechanisms associated with the incorporation of nitrate (NO3-) into soil organic matter (SOM), with broad implications for the N…

Investigation of mycogenic elemental selenium nanoparticles produced by Se(IV/VI)-reducing fungi under anoxic conditions

Lead Institution

University of Minnesota

Principal Investigator

Cara Santelli

Project type

Exploratory Research

Selenium (Se) is both a micronutrient required for most life and an element of environmental concern due to its toxicity at high concentrations. Selenium can exist as volatile, aqueous, or insoluble…

Unraveling Mechanisms of Complex Associations of Organic Carbon with Iron Oxide Minerals during Redox Transformations

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Kevin Rosso

Project type

Exploratory Research

Fe(III)-oxide nanominerals are ubiquitous primary sorbents of organic carbon, organic acid exudates, and toxic metals in terrestrial, aquatic, and subsurface ecosystems. In soil ecosystems,…

Mapping the Organic-Mineral Interactions Responsible for Calcification in a Biogeochemically Significant Microbe

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Alexander Gagnon

Project type

Exploratory Research

The pace of skeletal growth in shells and bones is impacted by interactions between biologically produced organic compounds and the growing mineral. The organic component within biominerals is small,…

Chemical reactivity at complex solid/liquid interfaces for environmental and energy processes

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Malsoon Lee

Project type

Exploratory Research

Modeling of the selective electrochemical hydrogenation for upgraded bio-oil at complex solid/liquid interface is important for a fundamental understanding and prediction of elctrocatalytic…

Computational Models and Methods for Describing Biogeochemical Transformations of Mercury

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jerry Parks

Project type

Exploratory Research

The objectives of this proposal are to develop realistic, environmentally relevant models of Hg-containing systems, investigate key mechanisms of Hg transformations that are important to global Hg…

Applying multi-dimensional solid state NMR to explore the nanoarchitecture of native and engineered plant cell walls

Lead Institution

University of Adelaide

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Mortimer

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Plants fix carbon via photosynthesis, the majority of which is incorporated into cell wall polysaccharides. These polysaccharides are synthesized in different cellular compartments, but are assembled…

Towards a metabolic model of circadian clock control of metabolism in Neurospora crassa.

Lead Institution

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Hurley

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Biofuel production using cellulases extracted from fungi has the potential to be a major resource to replace fossil fuels and regulating the synthesis of these and other enzymes is crucial for the…

A systems biology approach to identifying the native function of Hg methylation proteins in Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ND132

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Dwayne Elias

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Methylmercury (MeHg), an organic Hg compound, is a potent toxin that bioaccumulates in food sources and is primarily produced by microorganisms in anaerobic organic-rich soils and sediments. To date,…

Nano-scale examinations of the sequestration of metal(loid)s by organic matter and mineral surface coatings in soils

Lead Institution

University of Manitoba

Principal Investigator

Michael Schindler

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Airborne particulate matter (PM) - suspended solid particles with diameters between a few nanometers (nm) and several micrometers - has always been a constituent of the Earth's atmosphere. Man…

Investigation of chemical form effects on Zr isotopic ratios measured by atom probe tomography

Lead Institution

University of California, Berkeley

Principal Investigator

Peter Hosemann

Project type

Exploratory Research

The goal of this work is to determine the effects of hydrides and oxides on isotopic measurements obtained using atom probe tomography (APT). Zirconium enriched to 72-97% 92Zr is proposed as the…

Deciphering Lignin-forming Supramolecular Protein Complexes for Facile Biomass Deconstruction

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Norman Lewis

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Our overall aim is to further identify, dissect, and exploit dirigent protein (DP) mediated supramolecular protein complexes for macromolecular lignin assembly in order to ultimately achieve facile…

Quantum Calculations on Ion Channels, Especially Voltage Gated Channels

Lead Institution

City College of New York

Principal Investigator

Michael Green

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The properties of ion channel proteins, found in essentially all organisms, will be computed using quantum calculations. The principal techniques include optimization at Hartree-Fock level …

Molecular understanding of nutrient sorption on model mineral surfaces

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Kelsey Stoerzinger

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Iron (Fe)-containing minerals exert a significant influence on soil and sediment geochemistry, such as the cycling of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrients in the bioavailable form of dissolved…

Mechanistic Study of Sulfur Oxidizing Bacteria Using a Combined Experimental and Theoretical Approach: The Role of the SoxB Protein

Lead Institution

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Ping Yang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The goal of this proposal is to characterize the molecular mechanisms associated to the a Mn2(II,II) core of the SoxB protein. This protein plays a central role in the sulfur oxidizing catalytic…

Oceans as a source of airborne metabolites and primary biological aerosol particles

Lead Institution

State University of New York at Stony Brook

Principal Investigator

Daniel Knopf

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Ocean waters, which cover 71% of the Earth's surface, contain dissolved organic carbon (DOC) including lipids, humics and organic acids, and free macromolecules, the precursor material for the…

Organic carbon characterization in a warming coastal wetland

Lead Institution

Smithsonian Institution

Principal Investigator

James Megonigal

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Coastal wetlands are global hotspots of carbon storage, but the future carbon stock stability of coastal wetlands is uncertain as data are lacking on responses to factors such as warming and elevated…

Iron Chelator-Mediated Biotransformation of Lignin by Novel sp., Tolumonas lignolytica BRL6-1, in Anoxic Conditions

Lead Institution

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Principal Investigator

Kristen DeAngelis

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Climate change is a current crisis that requires reduced reliance on non-renewable fuels, and lignocellulose offers an abundant and undervalued renewable fuel alternative. Lignin is a strong barrier…

What, exactly, inhibits decomposition at low temperature?

Lead Institution

University of Toledo

Principal Investigator

Michael Weintraub

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Arctic soils contain large carbon (C) stores, and the balance of C fluxes is likely to shift because Arctic temperatures are rising at twice the global rate. However, predicting soil responses is…

Shales across scales: Identifying conserved biogeochemistry and microbial metabolism across geographically distinct deep subsurface ecosystems

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The hydraulic fracturing of hydrocarbon bearing shales to yield oil and gas is now a critical part of the US energy portfolio. Microorganisms present in injected fluids colonize these environments,…