Housed in beautiful Clapp Laboratories, the Department of Geology and Geography maintains state-of-the-art laboratories for research and instruction in geochemistry, petrology, and geographic information systems. See below for examples. We also have our own computer lab, weather station, 12 passenger van, camping gear, and a wide array of field equipment.
Stable Isotope Lab
A geochemistry laboratory fully equipped to collect carbon dioxide from carbonates and from combusted graphite and organic materials. Read more about the Stable Isotope Lab...
GeoProcessing Laboratory (GPL)
A state of the art facility featuring Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing technologies. Read more about the GeoProcessing Lab...
Quaternary-Holocene Geology and Lake Research Laboratory
A well-equipped research lab primarily for the analysis of sediment cores from lakes. Work in this lab is used to unravel climate over the past 15,000 years.
The Department maintains a complete rock preparation facility, including slabbing saws, trim saws, Hilquist thin sectioning equipment, and thin section polishing laps. We also have a drill press for coring rock samples and a large polishing table.
Scanning Electron Microscope
The Biology and Geology and Geography Departments maintain an FEI Instruments Quanta 200 "environmental" scanning electron microscope. Purchased in 2003, this microscope is equipped with an EDAX Phoenix Pro Energy Dispersive Spectrometer system and X-ray analysis software. This lab is equipped with a variety of sample preparation equipment and supplies.
Petrographic Microscope Laboratory
The Department maintains a microscopy laboratory with 12 new Leica DMEP petrographic microscopes, a variety of student grade Olympus and Nikon microscopes, and several research grade petrographic microscopes (including a digital camera and video with monitor) for use by students and faculty in classes and research.