ORNL 2007 Biological & Environmental Research Report
Climate Change ORNL Review
ORNL Awarded $125M Bioenergy Research Center
Resurgence of Bioenergy ORNL ReviewFacilities
Center for Structural Molecular Biology (CSMB)
CSMB is a user facility anchored on the cold neutron source at the upgraded High Flux Isotope Reactor with a small angle neutron scattering instrument dedicated to biology users. It includes state-of-the-art biological mass spectrometry, as well as computational biology resources.
Joint Institute for Biological Sciences
Recognizing the role of biology in the 21st century and the desire as well as need to work cooperatively, ORNL and the University of Tennessee established the Joint Institute for the Biological Sciences. The Institute's mission is to promote and develop support for collaborative research and development in the biological sciences.
Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) Field Research Center (FRC)
Established in 2000, the Center is part of the U.S. Department of Energy's NABIR program. The goal of the NABIR program is to increase the understanding of fundamental biogeochemical processes that will advance methods to remediate and monitor DOE's legacy waste sites contaminated with metals and radionuclides. The FRC provides field samples to scientists and hosts major field-scale campaigns involving scientists, universities, and other national laboratories to explore how naturally occurring microorganisms and microbial communities interact with contaminants in the subsurface.
Mouse Genetics Research Facility
For over 50 years, the Mouse Genetics Research Facility (MGRF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has attracted a highly qualified staff of mouse geneticists and molecular biologists who use its standard and mutant strains of laboratory mice for basic research in analyzing gene function and identifying mouse models of human genetic disease. In May 2004 the MGRF opened a new, 36,000-ft2 vivarium on the main ORNL campus at ORNL.
Walker Branch Watershed
Located on the ORNL reservation, the 97.5 ha Walker Branch Watershed has been the site of long-term, intensive environmental studies since the late-1960's by staff from ORNL and staff from the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, Air Resources Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Their research hasl contributed to a more complete understanding of how forest watersheds function and has provided insights into the solution of energy-related problems associated with air pollution, contaminant transport, and forest nutrient dynamics. This is one of a few sites in the world characterized by long-term, intensive environmental studies.
National Environmental Research Park
The National Environmental Research Park, located on the DOE reservation at Oak Ridge, provides over 8,000 ha (20,000 acres) of protected land for research and education in the environmental sciences. Lying in the heart of an eastern deciduous forest area of streams and reservoirs, hardwood forests, and extensive upland mixed forests, the research park offers the unique advantages of a large information base, close proximity to educational institutions, and on-site resources, including the services of environmental scientists and the field and laboratory facilities at ORNL.
The Oak Ridge park is one in a DOE network of seven National Environmental Research Parks. It was designated an international biosphere reserve in 1989. It is also a unit member of the Southern Appalachian Biosphere Reserve and part of the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere (SAMAB) Cooperative.
Carbon Dioxide Information and Analysis Center (CDIAC)
The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center includes the World Data Center for Atmospheric Trace Gases and is the primary global-change data and information analysis center of the U.S. Department of Energy.
CDIAC responds to data and information requests from users from all over the world who are concerned with the greenhouse effect and global climate change. CDIAC's data holdings include records of the concentrations of carbon dioxide and other radiatively active gases in the atmosphere; the role of the terrestrial biosphere and the oceans in the biogeochemical cycles of greenhouse gases; emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere; long-term climate trends; the effects of elevated carbon dioxide on vegetation; and the vulnerability of coastal areas to rising sea level.
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Data Archive
The ARM Program was created in 1989 with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Sponsored by DOE's Office of Science and managed by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research, ARM is a multi-laboratory, interagency program, and is a key contributor to national and international research efforts related to global climate change. A primary objective of the program is improved scientific understanding of the fundamental physics related to interactions between clouds and radiative feedback processes in the atmosphere. ARM focuses on obtaining continuous field measurements and providing data products that promote the advancement of climate models.
The ARM Archive supports the scientific field experiments of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program by storing and distributing the large quantities of data collected from these experiments. These data are used to research atmospheric radiation balance and cloud feedback processes, which are critical to the understanding of global climate change.
ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC)
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) was established in 1993 as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Earth Observing System (EOS) Program. The ORNL DAAC serves as a primary repository for ground-based biogeochemical dynamics and terrestrial ecological data for use by global change researchers, policy makers, educators, and the public. The kinds of data available from the ORNL DAAC include ground-based and remote-sensing measurements related to biogeochemical and ecosystem processes. Sources of data include NASA-funded field campaigns, selected relevant measurements from EOS satellites, and other biogeochemical dynamics data useful to the global change research community. In addition, the ORNL DAAC acquires, archives, and distributes data related to biogeochemical cycling that facilitates interpretation, processing, and validation of EOS remote-sensing measurements and data products.
Bioenergy Science Center
Center for Molecular Biophysics
 Office of Science |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
 Department of Energy |