The Geoscience Research Foundation performs
recognized world-class earth and atmospheric sciences research and development to
support Sandia's national security missions.
Why our work matters
Knowledge of the Earth's subsurface properties,
structure and processes, and surface and atmospheric phenomena, as well as how
engineered systems interact with the earth, can help Sandia contribute solutions
to areas of national importance, including energy security, defense,
intelligence, nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, disaster response, and climate
security.
Our unique value
Expertise in energy production, storage, and
security, as well as carbon capture, reuse, and sequestration
Persistent monitoring for nonproliferation,
defense applications, and border security
Geotechnical systems analysis and engineering
Competencies in solving applied problems in
subsurface flow and transport
World-class modeling, simulation, and imaging
capabilities
Deep engineering expertise
Immense computational resources
Corporate foundation of scientific expertise in a range of fields
Our approach
Subsurface understanding
Goal
Improve the fundamental understanding of the Earth's subsurface to
advance solutions in multiple critical areas
Strategies
Develop methods and techniques for subsurface
interrogation to enhance knowledge of the Earth's near-surface (<30-km depth) properties,
structure, and processes
For coupled subsurface phenomena, predict the
large scale from observing the small scale and vice versa
Detect and characterize undetectable or buried
structures
Develop subsurface imaging at high resolution
and reliability
Develop atomistic-, molecular- and nanoscale
understanding of solute–mineral–fluid systems
Address such challenges as high-noise environments
and signal characterization, high-fidelity simulation of pseudo-elastic media,
and instrumentation sensitivity and dynamic range
Engineer the earth from the surface
Goal
Improve the intersection of man-made systems with the
subsurface
Strategies
Develop knowledge to enable earth-coupled fuel
cycles (fossil, nuclear, and renewable) and use of strategic earth materials
Predict induced seismicity based on the
geological and geomechanical environment
Understanding of subsurface fluid flow at a
variety of scales, including mechanical, thermal, and chemical effects
Improve the understanding of biological effects on
geo-processes in the deep subsurface
Develop drilling systems that are rapid, silent,
and environmentally friendly and that operate at high pressures and temperatures
Address such technical challenges as predicting the
behavior of multiply coupled systems at multiple scales, determining in-situ
subsurface stresses with high reliability, and the computational burden of
simulations
Prediction of atmosphere/surface phenomena
Goal
Reliably predict atmosphere/surface phenomena
Strategies
Provide tools to explore the Earth's surface and atmosphere, including climate models, geoengineering tools, and water systems
Understand the impacts of atmospheric conditions on
surface phenomena
Develop surface-based measurements to validate
atmospheric models
Develop premier ice models (sea and land) for
climate simulations
Explore the effects of climate change on surface
water and water chemistry
Address such challenges as modeling cloud
systems, creating accurate models for both sea and land ice, and developing
technologies for greenhouse gas monitoring