Science Highlights | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

This image shows Bisophere 2 (a), which houses a tropical rainforest (b) where researchers performed an ecosystem-scale drought experiment. Researchers labeled the soil (c) to track the release of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds.

During Droughts, Soil Microbes Produce Volatile Carbon Metabolites

In a warmer world, microbes in drought-stricken soils convert less carbon to carbon dioxide and more to volatile intermediates.

This image shows the variation in permeability in a network of fractures due to quartz dissolving in the fractures. Each plane represents an individual fracture in the network.

Filling in the Cracks: Scientists Improve Predictions for the Dissolution of Minerals in Rock Fractures

A new correction factor for predicting dissolution rates uses measurable geological properties in fractured media.

Technical illustration of a high-performance quantum processor architecture based on fluxonium qubits.

Artificial Atoms Power a Novel Quantum Processor Architecture

Fluxonium qubits can build cutting-edge quantum devices that will harness the potential of quantum computing.

Data on Lambda particle formation came from experiments in Experimental Hall B, shown here, part of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility.

Teasing Strange Matter from Ordinary

New insights reveal details of how strange matter forms.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory chemist Isaac Arnquist examines the ‘coupons’ of ultra-low radiation copper cables specially created for sensitive physics detection experiments.

Creating Quiet Cables for Rare Physics Events

Researchers design ultra-low radiation cables to reduce background noise for highly sensitive nuclear decay and dark matter detectors.

Image of the emission of 4 neutrons (blue spheres) from the exotic nucleus oxygen-28, which consists of 8 protons (red spheres) and 20 neutrons.

Not-Quite “Magic” Oxygen-28 Observed for the First Time

An almost-bound isotope of oxygen undergoes four-neutron decay that challenges theory.

The interior of the SPRUCE experimental chamber showing instruments to monitor climate changes.

In Peatland Soil, a Warmer Climate and Elevated Carbon Dioxide Rapidly Alter Soil Organic Matter

Experiments find increased temperatures and carbon dioxide rapidly altered peatland carbon stocks, highlighting peatlands’ vulnerability to climate change.

Composite of geopotential heights [m] (contours) and anomalies (colors) at 700 Hectopascal (hPa) of air pressure for each SOM node. These nodes help unpack how high- and low-pressure systems and other climate factors contribute to Texas rainstorms.

High-Pressure Systems Favor Sea-Breeze Convection Over Southeastern Texas

AI reveals relationships between weather systems and cloud physics.

The Model for Prediction Across Scales framework uses unstructured Voronoi tessellation meshes for sea ice dynamics. This approach captures sea ice in greater complexity than other methods and allows researchers to focus on specific regions of interest.

Beyond Ice Cubes: Researchers Bring Complex Shapes to Sea-Ice Dynamics Models

Voronoi tessellation meshes focus on sea ice areas of interest and reduce computer resource needs.

The modified Majorana module in the assembly glovebox with germanium detector crystals and tantalum samples installed.

Searching for the Decay of Nature’s Rarest Isotope: Tantalum-180m

The first results from the MAJORANA experiment dramatically improve current limits on this rare isotope’s decay.

A proton’s valence quarks (blue, red, and green), quark-antiquark pairs, and gluons (springs). Scalar gluon activity (pink) extends beyond the electric charge radius (orange) that surrounds the gluonic energy core (yellow).

Scientists Locate the Missing Mass Inside the Proton

Nuclear physicists have found the location of matter inside the proton that comes from the strong force - a fundamental force that holds protons together.

Electrons emitted in radioactive beta decay in a magnetic field create radio waves or microwaves, which are then picked up by antennas to learn about the decay process and the particles they produce.

Physicists Remotely Sense Radioactive Decay to Probe Fundamental Forces and Particles

The Project 8 and He6-CRES collaborations use a new technique to set an upper limit on neutrino mass and prepare to test the nature of the weak force.