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Soil organic matter susceptible to climate change

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Soil organic matter, long thought to be a semi-permanent storehouse for ancient carbon, may be much more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought.

Journal: Nature Climate Change

Goodbye, range anxiety? Electric vehicles may be more useful than previously thought

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the first study of its kind, scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory quantitatively show that electric vehicles will meet the daily travel needs of drivers longer than commonly assumed. They found that batteries that have lost 20 percent of their originally rated energy storage capacity can still meet the daily travel needs of more than 85 percent of US drivers.

Journal: Journal of Power Sources

Experiment provides the best look yet at 'warm dense matter' at cores of giant planets

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

In an experiment at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, scientists precisely measured the temperature and structure of aluminum as it transitions into a superhot, highly compressed concoction known as 'warm dense matter.'

Organic photovoltaics experiments showcase HPC 'superfacility' concept

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A collaborative effort linking the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with supercomputing resources at NERSC and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility is yielding exciting results in organic photovoltaics research that could transform the way researchers use these facilities and improve scientific productivity in the process.

Scientists watch quantum dots 'breathe' in response to stress

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory watched nanoscale semiconductor crystals expand and shrink in response to powerful pulses of laser light. This ultrafast 'breathing' provides new insight about how such tiny structures change shape as they start to melt -- information that can help guide researchers in tailoring their use for a range of applications.

Computer sims: In climatic tug of war, carbon released from thawing permafrost wins handily

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

There will be a lot more carbon released from thawing permafrost than the amount taken in by more Arctic vegetation, according to new computer simulations conducted by Berkeley Lab scientists.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

A better way of scrubbing CO2

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Berkeley Lab researchers have discovered a means by which the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fired power plants might one day be done far more efficiently and at far lower costs than today. By appending a diamine molecule to the sponge-like solid materials known as metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs), the researchers were able to more than triple the CO2-scrubbing capacity of the MOFs, while significantly reducing parasitic energy.

Journal: Nature
Funder: US Department of Energy Office of Science ARPA-E

Lawrence Livermore deploys world's highest peak-power laser diode arrays

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Business Announcement

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has installed and commissioned the highest peak power laser diode arrays in the world, representing total peak power of 3.2 megawatts.

New 2-color X-ray laser technique could reveal atomic detail of medically important proteins

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

A unique X-ray laser innovation developed at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory may make it easier and faster for scientists to fully map medically important proteins whose structures have remained stubbornly out of reach.

Possible rare dwarf galaxies found orbiting Milky Way

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Researchers have discovered a set of eight celestial objects orbiting our home galaxy, the Milky Way, that appear to be rare dwarf satellite galaxies. Dwarf galaxies are the smallest known galaxy structures and may hold the key to understanding dark matter.