Geography & Environmental Science
Physical Geography research labs
Physical Geography Research Lab
The Physical Geography Research Lab supports hands-on research by students and faculty. This modern wet lab provides the materials and facilities necessary for the physical, chemical, and biological analysis of soils and sediment cores. Students have access to up-to-date scientific instruments for the study of geologic and biotic specimens towards the investigation of past and present environments. The research facilities also includes a walk-in cold room for storage of sediment and biotic samples.
If you have any questions about use of equipment in the Physical Geography Research Lab, please contact Dr. Colin Belby or Dr. Joan Bunbury.
Students Taking a Core Sample in 2006 Prairie Springs
![Students Taking a Core Sample in 2006 Prairie Springs]()
Bottling a Core Sample in 2006 Prairie Springs
![Bottling a Core Sample in 2006 Prairie Springs]()
Dr. Bunbury Instructing a Student in 2006 Prairie Springs
![Dr. Bunbury Instructing a Student in 2006 Prairie Springs]()
Students Analyzing Data in 2006 Prairie Springs
![Students Analyzing Data in 2006 Prairie Springs]()
Cold Storage in Prairie Springs
![Cold Storage in Prairie Springs]()
Cold Storage in Prairie Springs
![Cold Storage in Prairie Springs]()
Physical Geography Research Lab Equipment
- Malvern Mastersizer 2000 laser diffraction particle size analyzer
- Bruker TRACER III-V+ portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer
- Costech CHN Analyzer
- Nikon SMZ-1500 stereomicroscope with oblique illumination stand and fiber optic light source (0.75x to 11.25x zoom range)
- Nikon Eclipse CiL phase contrast microscope with LED illumination (10x, 20x, 40x and 100x objectives)
- Nikon DS-Fi2 color digital camera system
- 12 Nikon Eclipse E100 compound microscopes (4x-100x objectives)
- 12 Nikon SMZ-745 stereomicroscopes
- 2 large capacity drying ovens
- 2 large capacity muffle furnace
- SPEX SamplePrep Mixer/Mill 8000D
- Thermo Scientific IEC CL10 centrifuge
- Thermo Scientific Sorvall Biofuge Prima centrifuge
- Fumehoods for sample preparation and chemical analyses
- Bartington MS2 magnetic susceptibility meter with core logging sensors
- Genesys 10 UV-VIS spectrophotometer
- In addition, the soils and paleoenvironmental labs have standard supplies for physical and chemical analyses, including: desktop computers, glassware, pipettes, pH meters, analytical balances, sieve sets, sieve shaker, hot water baths, and a reciprocating shaker.
- Nikon NIS-Elements D
- ArcGIS
- SigmaPlot
- Canoco
- CorelDraw Graphics Suite