Global warming could leave salmon high and dry — Changes in rain and snow pack patterns anticipated by global warming could significantly affect all of us who depend on water for survival, especially fish. Under future climate scenarios, stream temperature changes may delay upstream migration of adult salmon. In addition, early spring snowmelt will compress the time for spawning, incubation and rearing prior to smolt migrating downstream.
Applying the models to the Yakima River Basin in Washington state, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists established a historic climate model with three future climate scenarios based on likely increases in global population, economic growth and energy production.
This modeling tool will provide a valuable resource for water resource managers as they anticipate critical issues and face daunting decisions tied to global warming.
Lighting the Future — Imagine windows that light up at night or walls that radiate light as you walk into a room. Solid-state lighting is an emerging technology that could change the way we light homes, offices and industrial facilities. Novel organic and inorganic thin films would replace conventional thermal sources such as the light bulb.
PNNL is assisting the Department of Energy’s research and development in this area, and has unique facilities and capabilities necessary to develop a key technology called Organic Light Emitting Diodes.
In its simplest form, an OLED consists of a layer of organic luminescent material sandwiched between two electrodes. Using organic light-emitting molecules, lighting sources could potentially be applied like wall paper or even painted onto a surface.
What chemicals are in our air? — In today’s uncertain world, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Chemical Testing Chamber may play an important role in protecting citizens. The testing chamber can be used to identify harmful chemicals in the air as well as test the performance of sensors used to detect weapons of mass destruction.
PNNL’s testing chamber is different from other chemical testing chambers in that it gives scientists the capability to work with the very low concentrations characteristic of semi-volatile chemicals. Semi-volatile chemicals are used to produce pesticides and herbicides, but also can be used in chemical weapons made by terrorists.
Scientists at PNNL recently began final performance testing of the Chemical Testing Chamber and expect to have it ready later this spring.