Berkeley Lab Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (EESA)

🌳 🏔️ 🏞️ Field sites are often in remote locations - ranging from the middle of a tropical forest hundreds of miles from civilization, to a the base of a snowy mountain that can only be reached by cross country skiing. While these locations are ideal for helping us better understand ecosystems, they present challenges for collecting data since there is often no wifi or cell service. That's why our scientists teamed up with the Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) to develop a prototype of an off-the-grid cell tower that brings data from the field right to your laptop, allowing scientists to monitor things like precipitation, water levels, temperature, soil moisture, and more, 24/7/365. Learn more: https://bit.ly/41oxOg0 Berkeley Lab

🌎 🪨 The San Andreas Fault is one of the world's largest active faults, running roughly 750 miles along the length of California. Our scientists are learning how seismic activity affects permeability (the ease with which water moves through a rock's cracks and pore spaces) and what that might mean for industries that pump fluids up or down through bedrock. This research has implications for fields like geothermal power generation, oil and gas extraction, and underground CO2 storage. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Wy5DWy Berkeley Lab

👏🏼Join us in extending warm congratulations to two exceptional Berkeley Lab scientists, Margaret Torn (of our EESA team) and Kristin Persson, for their election to the National Academy of Engineering.

🌍 💗 Love is in the air (and the soil...and the water...) If only we could measure just how much with some remote sensing or field sampling! This #Valentine's Day, we're celebrating one of our greatest loves—planet Earth. And of course, our scientists and staff that help uncover its greatest mysteries. 🙌 Berkeley Lab

🔋 Flowing beneath southern California's Salton Sea, superheated brines oozing through rocks a mile underground contain millions of tons of dissolved lithium—a crucial element needed to supply the nation's batteries. These brines are brought to the surface at a nearby geothermal energy power plant, where they produce steam as they cool and turn turbines that power electricity. So why not extract the lithium while we're at it? Berkeley Lab scientists are studying how to recover lithium from geothermal brine that could help meet the demand for lithium that is expected to surge fifty times by 2030. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3ReAIyZ

🚰 🌎💧 #Groundwater is essential to meeting our freshwater demand, especially in California, where it accounts for up to 60% of the state's total water supply. However, as it's invisible from the subsurface, it can be challenging to track down the location and volume of groundwater that countless communities rely on. Berkeley Lab scientists have developed a way to estimate groundwater volume using satellite images that, combined with computer models, can estimate changes in aquifers from observed ground deformation. Learn more about the model and its potential to help inform water management: https://lnkd.in/gw_s8Hgz

🪨 Considering that they are thousands of feet below the surface, #geothermal systems may not be at the forefront of our minds—but these systems below our feet can help us address energy challenges at the surface. With the potential to meet 8% of U.S. electricity demand by 2050, #GeothermalEnergy can significantly help meet our energy security needs. Berkeley Lab is studying geothermal systems to enhance geothermal energy production, while also studying how they can help us store excess thermal energy underground and increase the nation's #lithium supply. Learn more about geothermal systems and these research efforts in our fact sheet below: ⬇️

🎉 🌎 We are so excited about the progress of BioEPIC, and can't wait for the science and collaboration to start here soon! Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this dream-turned-reality, and cheers to new discoveries that will help us better understand how microbes can help us address environmental, water, and energy challenges. 🙌

Exciting Summer 2025 INGENUITY Internship @ Berkeley Lab for Nuclear Waste Disposal Science The 10-week INGENUITY program (June–August) is dedicated to cultivating a diverse and skilled next-generation workforce in geologic nuclear waste disposal. A core pillar of INGENUITY is engaging students from underrepresented backgrounds to inspire their participation in shaping the future of this critical industry. Our ultimate goal is to raise awareness and excitement about careers in nuclear waste disposal research. Below are links to program details and the application form. This summer, we’re offering seven exciting new projects that range from experimental research to simulations and machine learning. These projects are ideal for students in earth, environmental, and geosciences, as well as computational sciences, nuclear engineering, and related disciplines. INGENUITY Internship Website: https://lnkd.in/gP2j5s6C 2025 Application Link: https://lnkd.in/gXmwGm7q - deadline to apply is Feb 28, 2025

I’m speaking at @World Agri-Tech in San Francisco this March! Join me as we discuss Innovation & Investment: Funding R&D for Real-World Applications. Find out more: www.worldagritechusa.com #WorldAgriTech