Back

Earth and Atmospheric Science

Former Lawrence Fellow David Lobell receives MacArthur fellowship

Former Lawrence Fellow David Lobell , who has done groundbreaking work on the agricultural impacts of climate change, has received a MacArthur fellowship.He is among 24 individuals honored this year by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation , which recognizes exceptionally creative individuals with a track record of achievement and the potential for even more…

Lawrence Livermore study finds human activity affects vertical structure of atmospheric temperature

Human influences have directly impacted the latitude/altitude pattern of atmospheric temperature. That is the conclusion of a new report by scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and six other scientific institutions. The research compares multiple satellite records of atmospheric temperature change with results from a large, multi-model archive of…

Lawrence Livermore engineering team makes breakthrough in solar energy research

LIVERMORE, Calif. - The use of plasmonic black metals could someday provide a pathway to more efficient photovoltaics (PV) -- the use of solar panels containing photovoltaic solar cells -- to improve solar energy harvesting, according to researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).The LLNL Materials Engineering Division (MED) research team has made…

Americans continue to use more renewable energy sources

Americans used more natural gas, solar panels and wind turbines and less coal to generate electricity in 2012, according to the most recent U.S. energy charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory . Each year, the Laboratory releases energy flow charts that track the nation's consumption of energy resources. Natural gas use is up particularly in the…

Livermore develops the world's deepest ERT imaging system for CO2 sequestration

LIVERMORE, Calif.-- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have broken the record for tracking the movement and concentration of carbon dioxide in a geologic formation using the world's deepest Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) system.The research provides insight into the effects of geological sequestration to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gases.The…

Livermore scientists develop CO2 sequestration technique that produces 'supergreen' hydrogen fuel, offsets ocean acidification

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Lawrence Livermore scientists have discovered and demonstrated a new technique to remove and store atmospheric carbon dioxide while generating carbon-negative hydrogen and producing alkalinity, which can be used to offset ocean acidification.The team demonstrated, at a laboratory scale, a system that uses the acidity normally produced in saline water…

Research shows humans are primary cause of global ocean warming over past 50 years

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- The oceans have warmed in the past 50 years, but not by natural events alone. New research by a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and international collaborators shows that the observed ocean warming over the last 50 years is consistent with climate models only if the models include the impacts of observed increases in…

Guilderson takes the guess work out of climate change

Climate change and the carbon cycle are tied so closely that geochemist Tom Guilderson can study an isotope of carbon and find out how the climate has varied in the past, how rapidly it changed and the external and internal factors that may have affected it. That was the subject of Guilderson's talk "Radiocarbon: Chronometer and Geochemical Tracer of the Carbon Cycle,"…

Separating signal and noise in climate warming

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- In order to separate human-caused global warming from the "noise" of purely natural climate fluctuations, temperature records must be at least 17 years long, according to climate scientists. To address criticism of the reliability of thermometer records of surface warming, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists analyzed satellite…

Increased production of smelly sulfur compound in Southern Ocean tied to climate change

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- An organic compound that smells like cabbage and has been called the "smell of the sea" could be more sensitive to global climate change than commonly believed. In a recent report, a Livermore researcher, along with colleagues from Los Alamos and Oak Ridge national laboratories and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, found through…

Learning from climate's sedimental journey

By analyzing sediments up to 4,000 years old, Susan Zimmerman is hoping to provide a tool to help predict future climate change.Ancient records of what was happening with climate conditions can be used with regional climate models to tell a story of what happened in the past and to correlate it to the present and the future. Current models typically use data only for the…

Report gives carbon sequestration framework

The Laboratory's Julio Friedmann, in collaboration with the Center for American Progress, the Asia Society Center and the Monitor Group, on Wednesday released the report, "A Roadmap for U.S.-China Collaboration on Carbon Capture and Sequestration."The report provides a framework for long-term bilateral cooperation in the development and use of carbon capture and…

Funds injected into carbon sequestration effort

The Laboratory has received $3 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars to capture and transport 1 million tons of carbon dioxide from Bay Area power plants and inject it more than two miles underground.Laboratory researchers will collaborate with Lawrence Berkeley and C6 Resources, a Shell Oil Company affiliate, on the carbon sequestration project.The…

Underground testing for carbon sequestration

Who would be willing to pay a higher energy bill to help save the planet? Roger Aines would. And he’s doing his part to lend a hand to the planet by spearheading a Laboratory effort that looks at sequestering carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) — produced by coal or natural gas power plants — in geological formations in Montana and Wyoming. Aines’ project is part of Phase III of the…

Livermore Lab and American Shale Oil team to study carbon sequestration

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and American Shale Oil, LLC (AMSO), a subsidiary of IDT Corporation, announced today that they have entered into a technical cooperation agreement to develop carbon sequestration technologies for in ground shale oil production processes.Specifically, LLNL will partner with AMSO to study how to use depleted…

DDLS presentation dives into carbon sequestration in ocean depths

Chemical experiments in the deep sea will be discussed in depth when Peter Brewer, senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, presents the next Director’s Distinguished Lecturer Series. The talk takes place at 3:30 p.m., Monday, March 12, in the Bldg. 123 auditorium.The initial work of Brewer and his colleagues at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research…