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General Information
Our Science
Climate, Environment, and Biosciences
Revealing Nature—from Microscopic to Atmospheric Scales
With recognized expertise in plant sciences, imaging, and climate studies, Brookhaven Lab advances some of the most promising scientific methods of achieving a sustainable future. This cross-disciplinary research seeks to understand the relationships between climate change, sustainable energy initiatives, and the planet’s natural ecosystems. As environmental and economic issues mount, this research will provide increasingly important guidance and opportunities for climate change management strategies, approaches to adaptation, and policy decisions.
Building a Sustainable Future
Major goals include:
- Significantly improving climate models based on high-quality data
- Assembling quantitative data on terrestrial greenhouse gas emissions
- Developing new options for producing sustainable, high-energy biofuels
Featured Projects
- Studying the natural exchange of greenhouse gases and the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems to quantify the potential acceleration of global warming
- Investigating microbe-plant interactions to increase productivity, photosynthetic efficiency, and yields of desired products
- Exploring the role of clouds and aerosols in climate change
- Improving methods for engineering plants and processing plant feedstocks for efficient production of biofuels
- Exploring the role of plant growth in carbon sequestration and soil-carbon fixing
- Advancing our understanding of the effects of changing atmospheric and environmental factors on plant growth
- Using positron emission tomography (PET) and radiotracer imaging techniques to help unravel atmosphere/environment/plant interactions
