DOE WEEKLY REPORT

NOVEMBER 2, 2009

OFFICE OF BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH

 

 

I.          This Week’s Accomplishments 

 

Understanding the Role of Marine Aerosols in Climate.  The primary source of reactive inorganic chlorine and bromine in marine air is the production of sea-salt aerosols by waves breaking at the sea surface.  Chemical reactions involving these halogens influence oxidation processes that in turn impact global radiation and climate.  A recent study led by DOE-sponsored researcher Keene from the University of Virginia analyzes measurements from distinct climatic flow regimes over marine environments in the east Atlantic, including, Europe, North Africa, the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone and the South Atlantic.  This study sheds insights into the role of processes involving multiphase chemistry of marine aerosols that may need to be accounted for to improve coupled model simulations.  A DOE Global Change Education Program graduate student, Michael Long, co-authored this study.

Reference:  Keene, W. C., M. S. Long, A. A. P. Pszenny, R. Sander, J. R. Maben, A. J. Wall, T. L. O'Halloran, A. Kerkewg, E. V. Fischer, and O. Schrems, Latitudinal variation in the multiphase chemical processing of inorganic halogens and related species over the eastern North and South Atlantic Oceans, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 7361-7385, 2009 (http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/9/7361/2009/acp-9-7361-2009.html).

 

Protein Sequences Help Scientists Decipher Uranium Bioremediation Processes.

Native microbes in subsurface environments interact with contaminants, play a role in modifying contaminant mobility in the subsurface environment and can be used as part of biology-based remediation strategies.  A multi-disciplinary, multi-institution team of investigators working at a field research site in Rifle, CO, (a former uranium mill tailings site managed by the DOE Office of Legacy Management) characterized the genomes of the dominant microbial populations and the proteins they expressed (proteomics), demonstrating that an understanding of cell metabolism can be used to diagnose the status of subsurface microbial communities involved in uranium bioremediation and as monitors of environmental processes in general.  Changes in microbial central metabolism, energy generation and microbial strain composition over time reflected the changing geochemical conditions stimulated in situ during the field test.  The results yielded important insights into the functioning of subsurface microbial communities, providing mechanistic information that can used to inform models of uranium bioremediation.  This “proteogenomic” approach enables scientists to study the mechanistic basis for the growth and functioning of active microbes and microbial communities in the environment.

Reference:  Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 2009, 75(20): 6591-6599

 

Tree Mortality and Insights from a Decade of Climate Change Research.  Ongoing global climatic change is expected to result in longer and more frequent droughts.  Recent drought in the western United States has been associated with widespread mortality of pine trees, but because the mechanism of action has been unclear it has been impossible to realistically account for such mortality in global climate models.  Now, after 10 years of DOE-sponsored research, it has been determined that long-term drought reduces photosynthesis (carbon assimilation) in pine trees to such an extent that they become “carbon starved.”  As a result, they are not able to ward off other stresses, such as attack by bark beetles.  This new insight into the mechanism of action of drought on tree health will allow global climate models to appropriately account for potential ecological effects of climatic change.

Citation:  Breshears, D.B., Myers O.B., Meyer, C.W., Barnes, F.J., Zou, C.B., Allen, C.D., McDowell, N.G., Pockman, W.T.. (2009) Tree die-off in response to global change-type drought: mortality insights from a decade of plant water potential measurements. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7:185-189.

 

II.                Program Focus for the Week Ahead, includes Major Projects and Initiatives                                                                                                                                  

 

III.             Public Events/Meetings

 

IV.             Recovery Plan

 

All of the BER Recovery Act projects submitted data and information for inclusion in OMB’s quarterly recipient reporting web site (federalreporting.gov).  The ARM Climate Research Facility project at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has awarded more than 80% of their planned contracts.  The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory project at PNNL has received several planned purchases, including an advanced architecture “test” computer (“Barracuda”) for developing the next generation NWChem software; an Atomic Force Microscope, an Atom Probe, and several machine shop fabrication systems.  The Integrated Assessment (IA) research project at PNNL is finalizing a “Master Agreement” with the University of Maryland for facility space and for operating the computing and data storage systems.  In addition, the technical specifications documents for the computer and data storage systems are close to being completed, and space has been identified at PNNL and at the M Square building in College Park, MD, to house the data display capabilities.  The Joint Genome Institute (JGI) project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) contracted for a server and computational cluster to be installed at the HudsonAlpha Institute and received disk storage arrays, Ethernet ports, and other server auxiliary equipment.  The Kbase project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is set for the planned workshop at SC09, a community wiki site is being established, the three pilot projects are developing detailed plans, and the planned hardware purchases are being prioritized.  The Joint Bioenergy Research Institute (JBEI) at LBNL received infrastructure quotes for the installation of growth chambers at JBEI and completed scientific and financial reviews of all bids submitted for the purchase of the growth chambers for UC Davis and JBEI.  The Bioenergy Science Center (BESC) at ORNL prepared technical specifications for a High Performance Liquid Chromatography system as well as three RFPs for multi-fermentor systems.  The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) at the University of Wisconsin forwarded the visualization equipment purchase order for processing, and the PO is expected to be obligated imminently.

 

V.                Reform-Based Actions

 

VI.             Meetings/Events

 

VII.          Potential or Expected Press Stories

 

VIII.       Legislative Activity

 

IX.             Senior Personnel Announcements

 

X.                Issues for Attention