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Twenty years of field studies reveal that as the Earth has gotten warmer, plants and microbes in the soil have given off more carbon dioxide. So-called soil respiration has increased about one-tenth of 1 percent per year since 1989, according to an analysis of past studies in today's issue of Nature.

Ships blowing off steam are helping researchers understand how man-made particles might be useful against global warming. New results from modeling clouds like those seen in shipping lanes reveal the complex interplay between aerosols, the prevailing weather and even the time of day the aerosol particles hit the air, according to research presented Saturday morning at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting.

The Federal Laboratory Consortium has given PNNL two awards for partnering with companies to either develop new or advance existing technologies or processes that advance scientific research and manufacturing.

The new Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System is better suited to track the migration of juvenile salmon in deep, fast-moving rivers than comparable methods, suggests a paper published in the January edition of the journal Fisheries.

New research reveals how wind shear -- the same atmospheric conditions that cause bumpy airplane rides -- affects how pollution contributes to isolated thunderstorm clouds. The work improves scientists' understanding of how aerosols -- tiny unseen particles that make up pollution -- contribute to isolated thunderstorms and the climate cycle. How aerosols and clouds interact is one of the least understood aspects of climate, and this work allows researchers to better model clouds and precipitation.

A pilot project could help better manage the planet's strained natural resources by using space-age technologies to help manage natural resources like land and water. In Sequim, Wash., the North Olympic Peninsula Solutions Network is using NASA satellites and sensors to provide the information needed to make more accurate, daily flow predictions for the Dungeness River. Now four other communities across the country are looking at similar technologies to help manage their unique water and land use needs.

Time-lapsed video of individual breast tissue cells reveals a never-before-seen event in the life of a cell: a protein that cycles between two major compartments: the nucleus, where genes are turned on and off, and the cell proper, where proteins work together to keep the cell functioning. The results give researchers a more complete view of the internal signals that cause breast tissue cells to grow, events that go awry in cancer.