Pollution + Storm Clouds = Warmer Atmosphere
For the first time, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have shown that pollution increases warming in the atmosphere through enlarging thunderstorm clouds. The scientists conducted a computational study with resolutions high enough to allow the team to see the clouds develop. They found that for warm summer thunderstorms, pollution particles lead to stronger storms with larger, anvil-shaped clouds, which also last longer.
Guang Lin Honored with Early Career Achievement Award
Congratulations to Guang Lin, a computational mathematics researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, on being selected to receive the Laboratory Director's 2012 Ronald L. Brodzinski Award for Early Career Exceptional Achievement. He was recognized for his leading research in uncertainty quantification and petascale data analytics applied to climate models.
Desert Dust Intensifies Summer Rainfall in U.S. Southwest
Dust is more than something to be brushed off the furniture. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that dust kicked up from the desert floor acts like a heat pump in the atmosphere, fueling the annual climate system called the North American Monsoon.
Meredydd Evans Joins Committee for Energy Codes
Congratulations to Meredydd Evans, Atmospheric Sciences & Global Change Division, on her invitation to be a part of the steering committee at the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Policy Pathways on Building Energy Codes. The committee of international experts will review draft publications and provide guidance for improvement./p>
Plump Up the Clay
For the first time, scientists have direct evidence that high-pressure carbon dioxide or CO2 migrates into the clay montmorillonite causing it to expand, according to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Montmorillonite is found in the rocks used to cap carbon sequestration sites, and scientists previously thought that only water could make it expand. Caprocks spend thousands of years halting the escape of injected CO2.
PNNL Scientist Receives Early Career Research Award
A bioinformaticist from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will receive an Early Career Research Award from DOE to advance his research identifying proteins that could be used in biofuel production. PNNL's Sam Payne will receive a grant totaling $2.5 million over five years. For more information, see the PNNL News Center.
