Research Facilities and Instrumentation in E&ES
Clean Analytical Geochemistry Laboratory
Completed in 2016, the department houses a new ~750 sq ft clean lab complex. The lab includes Class 1000 room conditions, as well as eleven Class 100 laminar fume hoods and/or work cubbies, two weighing stations, acid distillation fume hood, clean MilliQ water supply, a fume hood for beaker cleaning, and ample storage space for samples and materials. The lab will be used primarily for sample dissolution and column chromatography for TIMS analysis.
Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) Facility
Installed in 2016, Isotopx Phoenix TIMS instrument; equipped with nine movable Faraday detectors and an ion counting Daly detector. The TIMS permits acquisition of high precision 143Nd/144Nd and 87Sr/86Sr isotope data for the smallest samples down to the sub-nanogram level. A New Wave MicroMill device for high precision sampling will be available in the adjacent mineral preparation laboratory.
Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Lab
Upgraded in 2016, Thermo Delta V plus IRMS; the mass spectrometer is equipped with universal triple collectors and three additional Faraday cups for multiple sulfur isotope analyses by the SO-SO2 method in continuous flow. The Delta V is linked to the two elemental analyzer peripherals with a Conflo IV, two NC 2100 and ECS 4010 elemental analyzers to generate SO2 gas for multiple S isotope analysis and CO2 and N2 gases for C and N isotope analyses, respectively.
Electron and Optical Microscopy Lab
Upgraded in 2015, Tescan Vega 3 variable pressure (VP) scanning electron microscope equipped with a LaB6 source and a variety of analytical detectors including: secondary electron (SE), backscattered electron (BSE), cathodoluminescence, and VP-SE. SEM is also equipped with an Oxford Instruments X-MaxN 50 mm2 SDD x-ray detector and a NordlysMax2 electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) detector for rapid characterization of mineral compositions and crystallographic orientations. Optical microscopes include Zeiss Axioskop40 transmitted/polarized light microscope, Leica Z6 APO macroscope, and a Leica MZ16 stereomicroscope for mineral picking. Support facilities also include grain and thin-section polishing equipment. For additional information on analytical capabilities and supporting instrumentation please visit the SEM Lab website.
Sample Preparation in the IRMS Lab
- Mini Drill System to obtain powders for stable isotope analyses by IRMS
- Polishing Machine
- High-Resolution Scanner
- Polarizing Petrographic Microscope
Hydrogeochemistry Lab
- Hydrogeochemistry Lab serves studies of natural water systems
- Dual Channel Dionex IC System (ICS-1000 and ICS-2100) - anion and cation analysis
- Shimadzu TOC-V Total Carbon Analyzer
- Metrohm 798 MPT Titrino Automated Titrator
- Millipore Labscale Tangential Flow Filtration Station
- PS Analytical Millennium Excalibur with HPLC Column - total arsenic and arsenic speciation
- Elix and Milli-Q Millipore DI Water System
- Drying Oven and Lindberg Furnace
- Sequential Filtration Equipment, Vacuum Pumps
- Field Instrumentation: Conductivity Meters (Hach and YSI), LDO Meters (YSI), Combination DO, pH, Conductivity Meters (YSI), Multiprobes (Hydrolab and YSI), Henry Micro Push Point Samplers, Water Grab Samplers, Field Water Sampling Pumps (Geotech) and QED Bladder Pump, Generator (Honda).
Coastal Processes Lab
The Coastal Processes lab is equipped for sediment transport field studies with an assortment of electromagnetic and acoustic current meters (Marsh McBirney EMCMS, RDI ADCP, Sontek ADV), CTDs (conductivity, temperature, depth sensors from RBR and YSI), a dual frequency echo sounder (Knudsen Engineering), optical backscaterrance sensors (Campbell Scientific), a pump system for in situ water sampling and vacuum filtration manifold for determination of suspended-sediment concentrations. Sediment paricle size analyses are carried out with a Micoromeritics Sedigraph III5120 for fines (silt and clay) and standard sieving at quarter-phi intervals for sands.
Geomorphology Lab
- Computer-based Facility for analysis of changing landscapes
- Leica TPS1200Total Station with Integrated GPS
- SonTek/YSI Argonaut-SW Acoustic Doppler Flow System
- Marsh McBirney EM Current Meters Model 2000 (2) Portable Flow Meters
Laser Technology Laser Range Finder - Other Field Instrumentation: Handheld Trimble GPS GeoXT and Trimble GPS GeoXM, Trimble Juno SB Handheld GPS unit, Garmin 420s color GPSMAP Chartplotter, YSI Conductivity Meter Professional Plus
Rock Processing and Preparation Lab
- 2 Bico/Braun Chipmunck Rock Crushers
- Bico/Braun Disc-Mill Grinder
- Hydraulic Vices
- Shatterboxes with Sintered Alumina and Tungsten Carbide Heads
- Assorted Rock Saws
- Ro-Tap Grain Size Analysis Shaking Apparatus (sand and gravel)
Mineral Separation Labs
- Outotec Wilfley table
- Heavy Liquid Separation
- Frantz Magnetic Separator
- New Wave MicroMill Device (coming soon)
- Tungsten Carbide Rock Crushers
- Sieves
- Hand Picking Microscopes
- Petrographic Microscopes
- Mineral and Rock Mounting and Polishing
Balances
- Mettler Toledo AX205 Deltarange 0.01mg
- Sartorius CPA2P 0.0001mg Balance
- Plus 5 other balances
Departmental Computer Lab
- Installed Software: ArcGIS 10.1, Matlab, Mathematica; On Campus: SPSS, SAS, Stata, Visual Modflow
- Input Data Facilities: Scanners, OCR
- Output Facilities: Color Laser Printers, 44 inch wide Poster Plotter - Epson Stylus Pro 9800, other B/W Laseprinters
Data Visualization Lab
The Data Visualization Lab—created in partnership with the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, the Schiller Institute, and the Engineer Research & Development Center at the US Army Corps of Engineers—includes seven high-powered computer workstations, 4-K resolution monitors, an 8-K resolution video wall, and VR headsets. It is a space where the BC community can create interactive maps, illustrations, charts, diagrams, and other graphics to represent complex data visually. The lab offers in-class training, one-on-one consultations, and hands-on tutorials on the use of data viz tools, such as:ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, Matlab, Python and R data visualization libraries, Adobe Creative Suite, Tableau, etc.
Data Visualization Lab
The Data Visualization Lab—created in partnership with the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, the Schiller Institute, and the Engineer Research & Development Center at the US Army Corps of Engineers—is a space where the BC community can create interactive maps, illustrations, charts, diagrams, and other graphics to represent complex data visually.