Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
The William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) user facility. EMSL is the DOE's premier molecular sciences laboratory with state-of-the-art instruments, such as powerful microscopes, spectrometers, and an advanced scientific computing infrastructure. EMSL offers the scientific community a diverse range of unparalleled expertise and advanced instrumentation, and the ability to collaborate with researchers from academia, government labs, and industry. Studying nature at the molecular level provides critical information about the drivers of large-scale environmental functions. The ability to study the processes and interdependencies between proteins and other biological molecules helps researchers understand how
microbes
and plants affect soils,
watersheds,
ecosystems,
regional climate, and, ultimately, Earth systems.
EMSL Science Areas
Getting to the root of carbon storage (Image by N. Johnson, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Environmental Transformations and Interactions Area
The Environmental Transformations and Interactions Area focuses on the mechanistic and
predictive understanding
of environmental
(physiochemical,
hydrological, biogeochemical), microbial, plant and ecological processes in above and belowground ecosystems, the atmosphere, and their interfaces. EMSL provides the experimental, computational, and simulation expertise to investigate and model cycling, transformation, and transport of critical nutrients, elements, contaminants, and atmospheric
aerosols.
Experiment and modeling approaches will accelerate mechanistic understanding of coupled soil-microbe-plant-atmosphere molecular processes and their interdependencies, ultimately informing models of ecosystem processes and land-atmosphere interactions at larger scales.
Mickey Rogers is using mass spectrometry to analyze the chemical composition and morphology of algae in the atmosphere. (Image by Andrea Starr, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Functional and Systems Biology Area
The Functional and Systems Biology Area focuses on elucidating and harnessing the biochemical pathways that connect gene functions to complex phenotypic responses through a deep understanding of interactions within cells, among cells in communities, and between cellular membrane surfaces and their environment for microbes (archaea, bacteria, algae), fungi, and plants. This understanding will encompass experimental observations,
metabolic reconstruction
and modeling, leading to improved strategies for designing plants, fungi, and microbes for
biofuels
and bio-based products, as well as unraveling the complexities of carbon, nutrient, and elemental cycles within cells and their immediate environment.
Scientists develop more accurate numerical models of bacterial transport to better understand bacteria’s role in hydrobiogeochemical processes (Image by N. Johnson, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Computing, Analytics, and Modeling Science Area
The Computing, Analytics, and Modeling Science Area focuses on using state-of-the-art experimental data to develop a predictive understanding of biological and environmental systems through advanced data analytics, visualization, and
computational modeling
and simulation. EMSL's cohesive approach to integrating experimental and computational methods advances predictive approaches to biodesign for biofuel and
bioproduct
production and accelerates research to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying biological and
hydro-biogeochemical processes
controlling the
flux
of materials, such as carbon, nutrients, and contaminants, in the environment.
TOUR EMSL
EMSL is one of the 28 DOE Office of Science user facilities. EMSL is housed on the campus of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. DOE’s BER program supports EMSL and several other user facilities facilities, enabling users to conduct research related to the fundamental understanding and prediction of complex biological, Earth, and environmental systems for energy and infrastructure security.