SEES: Community Driven Management of Synchrotron Facilities for Earth and Environmental Science

Synchrotron for Earth and Environmental Science (SEES) will develop, manage, operate, and support user access to U.S. synchrotron-based experimental and analytical capabilities necessary to advance Earth and environmental sciences. SEES will enable cutting-edge research and train the next generation of scientists with a focus on generating new understanding of Earth and environmental material properties, processes, and behavior under the full range of conditions found on and within the Earth, from the atmosphere to the deepest interior.

SEES will provide expanded access and support for the Earth and environmental science community at beamlines situated at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory, Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lab (SSRL). The expansion in the number of beamlines available to the community under this award, coupled with new analytical and experimental capabilities, will provide significant new benefit for environmental science research activities.

SEES will leverage the planned DOE upgrades at APS and ALS to further increase research capabilities for all Earth and environmental sciences research activities. In this way, SEES will enable fundamental research that has direct societal benefits addressing, for example, environmental stewardship, human health, natural hazards, and the resources that will drive the technology of the next decade.

In terms of broader impacts, SEES will conduct a significant portfolio of education and outreach activities, working collaboratively with education and outreach programs at the DOE-managed synchrotron light sources.

Synchrotron radiation based analytical methods have revolutionized the study of physical and chemical properties of Earth materials and associated natural processes. These advanced capabilities have been proven to be critical in obtaining our current understanding of these systems, and will allow fundamental questions about the Earth to be addressed, including: How did plate tectonics begin?

How did deep mantle structures form? What is the connection between initial differentiation and the early mechanisms of crust formation and recycling? How does oxidation state impact the depth of melt initiation in the mantle?

What fluid-assisted physical processes control the rates at which faults propagate? How do minerals, aqueous colloids, and particulate aerosols affect the transport of critical elements at the Earth’s surface? How long can soils and oceans sequester carbon and what is the impact on climate?

How do biogeochemical cycling and fluid-mineral interactions affect bioavailability and toxicity of environmental contaminants? The availability of unique experimental and analytical capabilities in the beamlines at DOE-operated national synchrotrons enable thousands of cutting-edge experiments to be conducted annually by scientists and students from around the world.

Further advances will occur with the planned synchrotron source upgrades at APS and ALS, allowing fundamentally new types of studies to be pursued. This project will enable the Earth and environmental science community to take full advantage of these new source capabilities to remain at the forefront of scientific discovery.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.