School of Earth and Environment

Our Palaeomagnetism laboratory is capable of analysing a range of magmatic properties of soils, rocks etc.

The SQUID superconducting magnetor, along with a range of demagnetisation instruments, is used for measuring the past geomagnetic directions recorded in rocks or soils. A series of rock magnetism instruments allow determination of magnetic mineralogy and analysis of parameters like magnetic susceptibility, coercivity, Curie temperatue and anisotropy.

Applications include determination of the positions and configurations of continents in the geological past, dating sedimentary rocks and thermal chemical (for example, mineralisation) events, tracking past climatic changes, and tracing environmental pollutions.

We have two laboratories for micropalaeontology and palynology preparation, as well as access to a dedicated modern hydrofluoric acid laboratory.

Laboratories are equipped for routine palnomorph, diatom, ostracod, conodont and foram extraction from a variety of sedimentary matrices. Graphite target preparation lines exist for the preparation of organic and carbonate materials for radiocarbon dating using AMS.

Our School has an extensive range of modern anaytical instrumentation, including:

• Auto Analyser
• BET surface area
• Capillary Electrophoresis (CE)
• CHN Analyser
• (Flame) Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS)
• Gas Chromatograph (GC)
• Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (GF-AAS)
• HPLC
• Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS)
• Ion Selective Electrodes
• UV/Vis Spectrophotometer
• Sedigraph
• Total Carbon and Nitrogen Analysis on Solid Samples
• X-Ray Diffraction (XRD)
• X-Ray Flourescence (XRF)
• Infrared Gas Analyser CO₂

In addition we have dedicated laboratories for the preparation, dissolution and extraction of a range of environmental matrices, including soils, plants and geological materials.

Our Geotechnical facility consists of several laboratories and workshops:

1. Impregnation lab to impregnate soft or friable samples with resins under vacuum. 
2. Crushing workshop which contains a medium jaws crusher, a ring mill, slab vibropolisher, rifle splitters and several sieve-shakers. 
3. Diamond saw room, which houses 10 different sizes and types of diamond saws and two Carborundum grit lapidary wheels.
4. Thin sectioning laboratory where samples can be sectioned using various resins, grinding laps and a precision lapping machine.
5. Meticulous polishing lab where samples can be polished flat to a 0.25 micron tolerance with diamond paste for microprobe, cathodeluminesence, isotope work, reflected light, and so on.

The school has a microscope with a stage linked to a heating and cooling system using liquid nitrogen.

This valuable system allows the examination of thin polished rock samples with inclusions of bubbles of fluid such as water and oil.