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Erin Webb, lead for the Bioresources Science and Engineering group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers — the society’s highest honor. 

New research predicts peak groundwater extraction for key basins around the globe by the year 2050. The map indicates groundwater storage trends for Earth’s 37 largest aquifers using data from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory GRACE satellite. Credit: NASA.

Groundwater withdrawals are expected to peak in about one-third of the world’s basins by 2050, potentially triggering significant trade and agriculture shifts, a new analysis finds. 

ORNL

ORNL took home the top honors in three categories at the second annual DOE Geospatial Science Poster competition, held on National GIS Day. For the second year in a row, DOE awarded ORNL top prize as Best Geospatial Program. Additionally, ORNL geospatial researchers took home first place prizes for their posters in the Best Departmental Element Alignment and Best Cartography categories.

LCDR Rich Harvey, pictured on the left, poses with two colleagues at the 2023 POST Conference. Credit: Rich Harvey

Lieutenant Commander Rich Harvey has spent the last three decades of his career serving his country. Harvey's efforts supporting the Office of Naval Research has earned him the 2023 Junior Scientist Officer of the Year award for coordination and computer modeling support for a project called TALISMAN, his leadership roles and other exemplary service markers. 

: ORNL climate modeling expertise contributed to an AI-backed model that assesses global emissions of ammonia from croplands now and in a warmer future, while identifying mitigation strategies. This map highlights croplands around the world. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

ORNL climate modeling expertise contributed to a project that assessed global emissions of ammonia from croplands now and in a warmer future, while also identifying solutions tuned to local growing conditions.

From left, Craig Moss, Major Micah McCracken, Tim Delk and Lt. Col. Jessica Critcher pose with awards given at a small ceremony recognizing ORNL’s 2022 military fellows. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

In front of family and friends, Lt. Col. Jessica Critcher and Maj. Micah McCracken gave their final report on their eye-opening year as ORNL military fellows.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers quantified human behaviors during the early days of COVID-19, which could be useful for disaster response or city planning. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have empirically quantified the shifts in routine daytime activities, such as getting a morning coffee or takeaway dinner, following safer at home orders during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With seismic and acoustic data recorded by remote sensors near ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor, researchers could predict whether the reactor was on or off with 98% accuracy. Credit: Nathan Armistead/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

An Oak Ridge National Laboratory team developed a novel technique using sensors to monitor seismic and acoustic activity and machine learning to differentiate operational activities at facilities from “noise” in the recorded data.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers built an Earth-to-space communications system to work with private and government partners with the goal of directly connecting data downlinks to high performance computing. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is debuting a small satellite ground station that uses high-performance computing to support automated detection of changes to Earth’s landscape.

The ORNL-developed AquaBOT measures a range of water quality indicators, providing data for studies focused on clean water and sustainable energy. Credit: Natalie Griffiths/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Measuring water quality throughout river networks with precision, speed and at lower cost than traditional methods is now possible with AquaBOT, an aquatic drone developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.