Facilities and resources

We house state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and field equipment for palaeoenvironmental investigation. We have all of the field equipment needed for lake and bog coring, as well as facilities for core storage and sediment subsampling. Our newly refurbished laboratory facilities include a dedicated pollen laboratory as well as laboratory facilities for chironomid analysis, tree-ring research and other forms of palaeoenvironmental analysis.

Laboratory equipment includes:

      A full suite of microscopes, including:

• high quality Leitz/Leica research microscopes (light microscopes with phase contrast),
• stereo microscopes,
• metallurgical microscope (specifically for charcoal analysis),
• digital microscopes with imaging software,
• several dissecting scopes,
• over 20 teaching-quality microscopes.

• For tree-ring measurement: boom arm microscope, 18” unislide measuring tray, digital measurement encoders
• Bartington MS2 magnetic susceptibility meter with MS2B dual frequency sensor
• Centrifuge, fume hoods, muffle furnaces and drying ovens
• Analytic balances
• Photographic facilities for digital documentation of sediment cores and micro- and macrofossils
• Cold room for core storage
• Comprehensive software for pollen, tree-ring and palaeolimnological data analysis and representation
• Full suite of glassware, plastic ware, consumables  and chemicals for a range of palaeoenvironmental analyses
• Equipment and consumables for preparation of marine carbonates for trace metal analysis

Field equipment includes:

      Sediment coring equipment:

• Usinger piston corer that is capable of coring to depths of 40m and associated platform
• Livingstone piston corer w/ 20m of rods and associated rafts/portable platform
• Russian peat corer (1-meter chamber) with extension rods
• Glew gravity corer (30m line) and associated sectioning equipment
  
  
• Hummingbird fishfinder w/ built-in GPS to map lake bathymetry
• Full suite of inflatable boats, 2.5 hp motor, electric motor, and associated equipment
• Tree coring equipment, including  12” and 16”, 2-thread and 3-thread increment borers
• Portable water quality meters: dissolved oxygen meter w/ 10m lead, pH and conductivity meters
• Hobo Tidbit digital data loggers and housing units (temperature)   

      Geophysical equipment:

• Bartington MS2 magnetic susceptibility meter with MS2D search-loop, MS2F surface point probe
• Geoscan twin-probe electrical resistance meters

      GPS and digital surveying equipment:

• High-precision hand-held Trimble GPS units
• Trimble R8 VRS Rover (shared with Ryan Institute)
• Nikon DTM332 and Nikon Nivo 5.m Total Stations

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