Computer Resources
Tischler Computer Classroom (James 221)
- 20 PC computers with standard software (e.g. MS Office, Matlab, Google Earth) and more specialized software (e.g. ArcGIS, Stella, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop).
- Students have informal access to these computers whenever the facility is not being used for classroom exercises.
Printing and Server Room (James G65)
- Large format poster printer
- Department file, web, and ftp server
Numerous other computer resources are available to students including University computer clusters and various other research-specific computer clusters in the department and affiliated research centers (e.g. EOS, CCOM).
Research Equipment and Instrumentation
The department has access to a large (and growing) suite of scientific instrumentation that represents an important resource for our research programs. Below is a description of some of the major equipment and instrumentation that is available within the department. Most instruments require training and scheduling by the faculty member who oversees the lab in which the equipment is housed.
General – Petrographic microscopes with image analysis capability, stereomicroscopes, thin-section equipment (rock saws, polishing wheels etc.), Bico Type VD Chipmunk (jaw crusher), Bico Type UD Pulverizer (disk mill), sediment sieves etc. Access to scanning and transmission electron microscopes at the UNH instrumentation center, an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) operated through the Department of Civil Engineering, and the R/V Gulf Challenger (50-foot research vessel that is owned and operated by UNH).
Geochemistry Clean Lab (Bryce, Licciardi, Came; James 364)
Class 10,000 clean lab facility used for the preparation of samples for trace elemental or isotopic analysis for applications in Earth and environmental sciences.
Plasma Geochemistry Laboratory (Bryce, Morse Hall)
The UNH Plasma geochemistry lab includes a Nu instruments AttoM® high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (HR-ICP-MS) and, with the recent support of a National Science Foundation grant, a nu plasma II ES multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS). In addition we have two lasers that can be employed for in situ analyses: a photon machines Excite 193 nm Excimer laser, a NewWave® 213 nm deep ultraviolet laser. The instrument, with its supporting clean laboratory and laser introduction systems, is optimized for trace elemental and isotopic characterization of Earth, marine, environmental and atmospheric materials.
Aqueous Geochemistry Lab (Letscher; Morse Hall)
The aqueous geochemistry lab consists of a wet lab and a trace metal clean laboratory. The wet lab includes lab and field equipment for sampling and analysis of waters and sediments including ovens, centrifuges, UV-VIS spectrophotometers, core extruding equipment, two EROMES erosion chambers and a water quality sonde. The trace metal lab has a positive pressure, HEPA filtered air handling system and a polypropylene laminar flow fume hood and is available for experiments and sample preparation that require a clean environment.
X-ray Diffractometer Laboratory (Laird; James 284).
Mineralogical analysis is carried out in this lab by a Siemens D-5000 powder X-ray diffractometer with Cu xray tube, theta/2-theta goniometer, fixed slits, graphite monochromator, and scintillation detector. Fixed, rotating, and 40-position stages; front-loading, side-loading, back-loading, clay mount, rock, and zero background sample holders.
Paleomagnetism Laboratory (Clyde; James 343).
Paleomagnetic analysis of rock and sediment samples is carried out in this lab using a HSM3 SQUID magnetometer, MOLSPIN AF demagnetizer, ASC thermal demagnetizers, ASC 1.1 Tesla pulse magnet, Bartington MS2 magnetic susceptibility system, three-dimensional DC coil low field cage, Mu metal sample shield, gas powered rock drill and other equipment necessary for field sampling.
Sedimentology Laboratories (Johnson, James 342, 346)
These labs are equipped for routine investigation of unconsolidated marine and terrestrial sediments. Associated equipment includes a walk-in cold storage refrigerator (4°C) to house split cores and samples, Leica petrographic and binocular microscopes with digital imagery capabilities, lab ovens, balances, ultrasonic baths, a freeze-drier, and equipment for smear slide/coarse fraction analyses, heavy mineral separation, and carbon acidifications/digestions. The lab also includes an Elementar Unicube CHNS Elemental Analyzer and a Malvern Mastersizer 2000 laser particle size analyzer.
Glaciochemistry and Paleoclimate Laboratory (Wake, Dibb; Morse Hall)
Monopulse radar sounder, ice coring equipment with specialized adaptations for glaciochemical studies, temperature probes for shallow boreholes, four cold rooms which accommodate sample storage, glaciochemical sample preparation and physical study areas, five dionex(tm) ion chromatographs with autosamplers and computerized data management in a dedicated laboratory, down-hole gamma-spectrometer, Canberra(tm) Alpha, Beta and Gamma counting systems in a dedicated laboratory, Elzone(tm) Model 280 electronic particle counter in a dedicated laboratory, atmospheric sampling equipment (hi-volume aerosol samplers, remote aerosol sampling systems and gas phase samplers), class 100 clean labs for sample processing and analysis, specialized firn and ice sub-sampling equipment, dedicated sedimentology wet laboratory, dedicated micropaleontology laboratory.
Hydrology Laboratory (Davis, Lightbody; James 279)
This lab includes instrumentation associated with making fundamental hydrological measurements including electronic current meters, wading rods, optical levels, laser level, suspended sediment sampler, boat, electronic theodolite/EDM (total station), air permeameter, and staff gauges.
Ocean Processes Laboratory (OPAL; Pringle; Morse Hall)
OPAL houses various instrumentation useful for marine sciences including CTDs and a nutrient analyzer. Other resources are available to the Marine Program (see facilities page).
Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM; Mayer; Chase Hall)
CCOM has numerous resources available for carrying out marine surveys and conducting experiments associated with ocean engineering.
