One of the nation’s top centers for science will look at how stormwater seeps into almond orchards in the Modesto area and beyond.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced Monday that it has joined a groundwater recharge study that already involves the Almond Board of California and other partners.

The lab, managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy, works in several scientific disciplines. The Modesto-based board is paying it $105,840 to use chemical, geophysical and other tools for tracking water through aquifers.