News Releases
Earth Sciences
Earth Sciences
Earthquake 'Memory' Could Spur Aftershocks
January 3 — Using a novel device that simulates earthquakes in a laboratory setting, a Los Alamos researcher and his colleagues have shown that seismic waves - the sounds radiated from earthquakes - can induce earthquake aftershocks, often long after a quake has subsided.
Solar Wind Slowed by Helium, Researchers Suggest
May 16 — Like a sea anchor slacking the pace of a wind-driven ship, helium may be the drag that slows the solar wind in its million-mile-per-hour rush across the cosmos.
Scientists discover vast intergalactic plasma cloud
April 19 — A team of researchers have discovered a new giant in the heavens, a giant in the form of a previously undetected cloud of intergalactic plasma that stretches more than 6 million light years across.
Scientists develop ecological early warning device
April 9 — Working with collaborators from around the globe, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a method for constantly measuring climate change impacts at ecosystem scales using the stable isotope composition of atmospheric CO2 in plants.
Storms and society: where things go wrong
February 26 — Tying images of a powerful ice storm to scenes of downed power lines and darkened homes does not take a great leap of imagination - but the science of their interrelationships is more complex.
Los Alamos National Laboratory deploys climate station in Germany
February 13 — From the tropical islands of the Western Pacific to the lush forests of Southwest Germany, Los Alamos National Laboratory is taking global climate research by storm as an integral player in the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM).
Bradbury Science Museum talk 'shakes things up'
November 21 — Los Alamos National Laboratory researcher Emily Schultz will talk about earthquake hazards during a presentation November 27 at the Laboratory's Bradbury Science Museum.
Learning the magnetic ropes
November 16 — At the Sun's edge, in a region called the heliosphere, magnetic fields and electrical currents align and twist themselves in massive three-dimensional structures called "magnetic flux ropes."
New computer model to track contaminants
October 17 — A powerful new massively parallel computer model for studying subsurface processes in the Earth will be developed by a team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists.
Los Alamos scientist to speak about optical refrigeration
September 18 — Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Richard Epstein will describe the unusual and counterintuitive practice of using lasers to cool certain materials at a "Frontiers in Science" series lecture in Albuquerque.
Los Alamos National Laboratory's hurricane response wins medal
August 24 — The Environmental Protection Agency this week recognized members of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Integrated Reachback Center.
Seeing the unseen universe
July 31 — A new method for incorporating astronomical observational data into computer simulations promises to be a significant advance in enabling future cosmological surveys aimed at understanding dark energy and dark matter.
Astronomy Days kicks off Tuesday at Bradbury Science Museum
June 16 — The Bradbury Science Museum's ninth annual Astronomy Day lectures begin on Tuesday (June 20).
Scientists predict pulsar starquakes
June 5 — Scientists have discovered how to predict earthquake-like events in pulsars, the dense remains of exploded stars.
Los Alamos, LSU Hurricane Center, join forces
February 13 — Understanding hurricanes and their effects is a specialty for the Louisiana State University's Hurricane Center, and now they will have an additional set of tools and scientific expertise with which to work.
High energy gamma rays may emanate in the Milky Way
December 14 — Los Alamos scientists have evidence from the Laboratory's Milagro telescope that TeV (one trillion electron volts) gamma rays, the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation known, can originate in the plane of the Milky Way galaxy.
Journey to inside the sun: talk Tuesday at Bradbury Science Museum
November 9 — That bright shining star in the sky, the sun, vibrates like a giant bell with its acoustic modes measured to develop general notions of its interior structure with a high degree of precision.
Drought, heat and bark beetles a deadly trio
October 11 — Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, working in collaboration with scientists from the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, the U. S. Geological Survey, and four additional universities, believe that severe drought, coupled with high temperatures and a bark beetle coup de grace, was the cause of death for millions of piñon pines throughout the American Southwest.
Bradbury Science Museum talk focuses on getting people to Mars
September 6 — Los Alamos National Laboratory technical staff member Elizabeth (Betsy) Cantwell will talk about some of the critical risks for ambitious manned flights beyond Earth's low orbit in a talk Sept. 13 at Los Alamos' Bradbury Science Museum. The talk begins at noon and is free and open to the public.
Los Alamos computers map hurricane utility impacts
November 10 — Predicting with uncanny accuracy the effects of recent hurricanes, Los Alamos National Laboratory computer models are helping the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Assurance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other organizations plan for future disasters. For those in the paths of hurricane devastation, tools such as the Los Alamos infrastructure models could mean their lights and gas return to service hours or even days more rapidly.
New climate education resource for teachers, students is online
November 8 — Students, teachers, parents and the general public can access information about climate, weather and atmospheric science online through a program offered by Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Department of Energy.
Los Alamos wizardry to aid new Mars science laboratory
December 22 — Having analyzed Mars from afar via orbiting satellite, Los Alamos National Laboratory instruments will next be on their way to get out and play in the Martian dirt. Two of the eight instruments aboard NASA's planned Mars Science Laboratory rover, scheduled for launch in 2009, include Los Alamos technology.
Backgrounder: Los Alamos studies nerve activity to improve artificial retina
October 14 — Los Alamos National Laboratory is supporting the Department of Energy's artificial retina project by developing better ways to visualize and interpret the patterns of neural activity that result when the retina is stimulated. Employing new and existing techniques, a team from Los Alamos' Biological and Quantum Physics Group has produced movies of the dynamic responses that characterize the function of the ganglion cells that make up the optic nerve.
Los Alamos instrument yields new knowledge of Saturn's rings
October 13 — University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have begun to analyze data from an instrument aboard the joint U.S.-European spacecraft Cassini. Although Cassini has only been orbiting the planet Saturn since July 1, data from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) has already begun to provide new information about the curious nature of Saturn's space environment.
Telling a salty tale of martian water
October 7 — University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, along with a scientist from Indiana University have devised a method for determining whether sulfate salts can account for evidence of water on Mars. The work could pave the way to a better understanding of the martian environment and the history of water on Mars.
Scientists study carbon exchange in Valles Caldera grasslands
June 30 — Over the past nine months, University of California scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have been working as part of the AmeriFlux carbon exchange research project with researchers from the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) and Colorado State University using sophisticated eddy monitors--monitors that detect minute changes in wind flow--to study carbon dioxide flow variations and grassland carbon cycle dynamics in a small section of the Valles Caldera. From these wind and moisture eddy current studies, the team hopes to help climate scientists and policy makers around the world gain a better understanding of the surprisingly complicated role that grasslands play in ecosystem carbon exchange.
Scientists explore complexities of sea ice from high desert venue
May 10 — For nearly a decade, University of California researchers working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have been upgrading and fine-tuning a sea ice modeling program created at the Laboratory.
Hot dry rock goes supercritical
April 21 — By proposing a method for using carbon dioxide under high pressure to extract energy from geothermal reservoirs, a University of California scientist working at Los Alamos National Laboratory has put a new twist on a historic Laboratory project. The proposed invention has the potential to take global geothermal energy science in new and exciting directions.
Desert varnish shines as environmental monitoring tool
March 31 — A University of California researcher working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in collaboration with earth scientists from the University of Nevada and Eastern Washington University, has discovered that desert varnish may be an ideal passive environmental monitor for atmospherically-deposited heavy and potentially toxic metals, including radionuclides.
Los Alamos and business partner ZECA Corporation recognized by ScientificAmerican
December 3 — Los Alamos National Laboratory and ZECA Corp. have been recognized in Scientific American's December issue as providing one of the most significant "path-breaking developments that have taken place in recent months in laboratories, corporate suites and the halls of government," according to the article.
Vast nitrogen reserves hidden beneath desert soils
November 7 — A University of California scientist working at Los Alamos National Laboratory in collaboration with researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, the University of Nevada, the University of Arkansas and Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nev., has recently found evidence that there may be significantly more amounts of nitrogen, in the form of nitrates, than previously estimated in desert landscapes. The discovery of these vast subsoil nitrate reservoirs could have implications for groundwater quality in arid/semi-arid environments worldwide, as mobilization of the nitrates could adversely affect drinking water supplies.
Los Alamos releases new maps of Mars water
July 24 — new maps of likely sites of water on Mars showcase their association with geologic features such as Vallis Marineris, the largest canyon in the solar system.
Taos goes Lunar: hosts international science meeting
September 11 — The Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory is hosting an international gathering of lunar scientists in Taos, N.M. beginning Thursday. Los Alamos, who played a major role in the recent Lunar Prospector mission to the moon, together with the University of California Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Los Alamos' Center for Space Science and Exploration and the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, is organizing and hosting "The Moon Beyond 2002: Next Steps in Lunar Science and Exploration."
Laboratory works on Romanian environmental site
July 18 — Researchers from the National Nuclear Security Administration's Los Alamos National Laboratory are collaborating with scientists from the Romanian Institute of Nuclear Research to assist the Romanian government in establishing an effective shallow-land disposal site for the disposition of low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes. The proposed disposal site is located near the town of Cernavoda along the Danube River, in southeastern Romania.
Hot polymer catches carbon dioxide better
May 29 — A new and economical technology for the separation and capture of carbon dioxide from industrial processes could lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions to the atmosphere. Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing a new high-temperature polymer membrane to separate and capture carbon dioxide, preventing its escape into the atmosphere.
Los Alamos names new IGPP director
May 1 — Gerald L. Geernaert has been selected as the new director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory branch of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, a multi-campus scientific research unit of the University of California.
Researchers find time in dusty polar ice
June 12 — Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory recently unveiled a direct radiometric dating method for determining the age of polar ice. Further development of the novel dating method could improve mankind's knowledge of glaciers and the terrestrial history of meteorites as well as improve the accuracy of paleoclimate records.
Study presents problem for geophysicists' understanding of plate tectonics
December 15 — Geophysicists may have to take another look at the mechanisms in plate tectonics due to a study by researchers from the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of California, Riverside.
Lab microdrilling technology can cut cost of oil exploration
October 20 — A microdrilling technology developed by the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory could fundamentally change the face of oil and gas exploration, a multi-billion-dollar a year global industry.
Polymer filtration offers mining pollution solution
May 4 — Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist have developed a novel technology capable of removing toxic metal contaminants from acidic mine runoff. The technology provides a potential remedy for some of the world's most challenging environmental problems.
Los Alamos geologist studies environment of prehistoric man
April 23 — A geologist from Los Alamos National Laboratory played a significant role in determining the geological setting of a new 2.5-million-year-old species of human ancestor discovered in the Afar Rift system of Ethiopia.
Los Alamos payload rides team RE/MAX global balloon flight
January 4 — As the Team RE/MAX Global Balloon Flight circles the globe in coming weeks it will carry a science payload designed by scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
Los Alamos and Surrey Satellite contract for Cibola flight experiment platform
March 10 — Los Alamos National Laboratory and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) announced today a contract agreement for development of an advanced satellite platform for ionospheric and lightning studies.
Los Alamos makes first map of ice on Mars
February 15 — Lurking just beneath the surface of Mars is enough water to cover the entire planet ankle-deep, says Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Bill Feldman.
Predicting El Niño: Lab researcher has some answers, more questions
January 17 — The Spanish term El Nino has been used for centuries by South American fishermen to describe the annual occurrence of warm, southward-flowing oceanic current waters off the coast of Ecuador and Peru around Christmas. El Niño, or the child, specifically refers to the Christ child.
Los Alamos Volcanologist: apply lessons from meteorology
December 15 — Reducing the danger posed by volcanoes will require volcanologists to integrate data from throughout volcanology to build predictive simulations and models, according to Greg Valentine, a volcanologist at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory. By effectively integrating geological, geochemical, geophysical, and remote-sensing data through the use of geographic information systems, or GIS, volcanologists will be able to create easy-to-understand visualizations of volcanoes.
Claudia Lewis awarded Fulbright grant for study in Spain
December 4 — Claudia J. Lewis, a technical staff member in the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory's Geology and Geochemistry group has been awarded a second Fulbright grant to continue her study of the structural geology and tectonics of a particular area of the Spanish Pyrenees. The study will be done in collaboration with colleagues at Desert Research Institute, Las Vegas, Nev., and the Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain.
Los Alamos unleashes GENIE on Cerro Grande destruction
July 25 — The U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory is using a sophisticated image analysis technology to create high-resolution maps of the destruction caused by the Cerro Grande wildfire.
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