Research Activities
- Biological Monitoring
- Natural Resources Management
- Remediation Science
- Fisheries Assessment
- Environmental Sustainability
- Large-Scale Change Analysis
Biological Monitoring
Bioindicator, Bioaccumulation, and Fish Community Studies
Fish are collected and analyzed for physiological health, contaminant accumulation, and population analyses.
Benthic Macroinvertebrate Studies
Benthic macroinvertebrate communities are studied to assess ecological condition and recovery.
Toxicity Testing
The toxicity of water, sediment, and soils are evaluated
BMAP
The Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program began in the mid-1980s to evaluate stream ecological conditions. The comprehensive long-term program has added significantly to the scientific understanding of ecological recovery from industrial pollution
Natural Resources Management
Wetland and Stream Mitigation
Wetland delineation and mitigation studies, including innovative out-of-kind mitigation, are implemented at multiple Department of Energy and Department of Defense sites.
Habitat Management
Plant management activities include controlling invasive plant species and native plant restoration (including prairies, forests, and ponds).
Wildlife Management
Oak Ridge Reservation wildlife management includes surveys and protection of rare wildlife species and habitat, control of nuisance species, and contaminant monitoring.
Remediation Science
Analytical Capabilities
Ultra sensitive analytical techniques are applied to evaluate remediation performance.
Mercury Remediation
New remediation technologies and approaches are developed for mitigating mercury problems in aquatic systems.
Source Investigations
Caged Asiatic clams and semi-permeable membrane devices are used successfully to identify discrete sources of PCBs.
Ecological Management and Enhancement
ORNL scientists developed an innovative remediation strategy, the first of its kind approved by EPA, to interrupt contaminant exposure pathways while enhancing habitat quality.
Fisheries Assessment
Field Studies
Fish protection and mitigation options are tested at field sites.
Laboratory Experiments
The aquatic ecology laboratory is used to simulate impacts from power plants, such as high temperature and impingement, on fish health and survival.
Power Plant Impacts
The environmental impacts of hydro- and thermoelectric power production on fish populations are evaluated in the lab and field.
Environmental Sustainability
Rare Species Status
New techniques for evaluating threatened and endangered species status have been developed by ORNL scientists, including the use of statistical sampling designs and a physiological-based framework for assessing species health.
Risk Assessment
A Military Ecological Risk Assessment Framework has been applied to evaluate the effects of tracked vehicles on desert hydrology and wash vegetation.
Decision Support for the Department of Defense
ORNL scientists support the military's environmental stewardship activities by helping develop and apply risk assessment tools, low impact development strategies, and ecological sampling designs.
Large-Scale Change Analysis
Modeling
Sophisticated models are developed and applied to assess impacts on aquatic resources at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.
Biogeochemical Research
The Walker Branch Watershed is one of few sites in the world characterized by long-term, intensive environmental studies of hydrologic processes in a forested watershed.
Mercury Cycling
ORNL scientists contribute to a better understanding of processes that regulate global atmospheric cycling and bioaccumulation of mercury in aquatic ecosystems.