Instrumentation

Description of facilities, equipment and resources available for projects.

     

  • Condensed Matter

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  • Geobiology

    The GL has extensive, open access facilities to address problems in geobiology, stable isotopes, organic geochemistry, and high-pressure science.

    1. Large capacity refrigeration units (2), five freezers including a Fisher Solvent storage freezer and –80 C Freezer
    2. Labconco freeze drier for drying large and small volume liquid or solid samples
    3. Shimadzu UV-visible scanning spectrophotometer and StellarNet Fiber optic portable UV-Vis spectrometer
    4. Analytical balances (6) for weighing samples, including a Sartorius Microbalance
    5. Fisher Isotemp programmable furnace and forced air convection ovens (2) for preparing stable isotope or samples of organic matter for analysis
    6. Refrigerated centrifuges (Beckman GS-15R), high speed benchtop centrifuge (Sorvall), microcentrifuges for preparing biological specimens

    Organic Geochemistry

    • Varian gas chromatographs (3400) equipped with FID, NPD, and electron capture detectors for separation and analysis of organic molecules
    • Hewlett Packard high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) with fluorescence detector for reverse phase liquid chromatographic separation of organic molecules
    • Hewlett Packard gas chromatograph (HP6890) interfaced with quadrupole mass spectrometer (HP5972) for molecular characterization
    • Agilent GC-MS with autosampler
    • CDS 1000 Pyroprobe with heated interface for pyrolysis GC/MS and GC/FID analysis
    • Solid-state NMR with probes for measuring 13C, 15N, 31Si, and H NMR in solid samples,
    • Shimadzu gas chromatographs for complete gas phase analysis
    • Waters LC-MS-MS system, a compact system relying on Ultraperformance LC linked to a tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer.

    High Pressure Resources

    A broad range of high-pressure resources are available. These include:

    • high temperature reactor device with flow-through capacity and complete computerized control for conducting hydrothermal organic synthesis experiments
    • Diamond anvil cells
    • Hydrothermal laboratory with pressure/temperature vessels (5-10)
    • Piston cylinder laboratory for mantle mineral experiments

    Stable Isotopes

    For Stable Isotopes studies, we have:

    • Infrared CO2 laser fluorination system for analysis of oxygen isotopes in silicate, phosphate and oxide whole mineral grains
    • Finnigan MAT 252 mass spectrometer for C, H, N, and O isotopes
    • Ultraviolet excimer laser fluorination system for in situ analysis of 16O/17O/18O in silicate, phosphate and oxide minerals
    • Finnigan Delta + XL mass spectrometer with an elemental analyzer for analysis of C, N and S at the natural abundance level, a gas chromatographic combustion interface for compound specific analysis of organic molecules for C, H and N (new model to be delivered in 2008), and a high temperature pyrolysis unit for analysis of O and D/H in inorganic and organic materials
    • UV laser plus CO2 laser system for laser fluorination of sulfide minerals for  δ33S, δ34S, and δ36S
    • Finnigan MAT 253 isotope-ratio mass spectrometer for measuring the four isotopes of S

    Molecular Biology and Microbiology

    • Axon 4000B Microarray reader for measuring sample reaction on microarray chips
    • Labsystems microplate reader for enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISA)
    • PAGE gel electrophoresis and blotting apparatus units for macromolecular protein analysis
    • Ciphergen Protein chip reader for high molecular weight compound analysis, specifically proteins
    • Bioprobe field ATP Luminometer for enumeration of microbes in soils, sediments, and rocks in the field
    • Anaerobic chambers (2) for microbial growth
    • Cepheid Real-time, quantitative PCR and 2 PCR robocyclers for analysis of DNA and RNA
    • Arrayit, Spot Bot personnel array printer for protein and DNA assays
    • Agilent 2100 Bioanalyser Lab on a Chip design for instantaneous analysis of proteins and nucleic acids
    • Field molecular biology laboratory equipped for extracting DNA and running identification

    Imaging

    • Olympus BX61 Fluorescence Microscope with complete imaging
    • Inverted microscope for imaging DAC
    • Witec α-Scanning Near Field Optical microscope. Containing confocal Raman mapping capability, Atomic Force microscope, near field fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging
    • Field emission gun Scanning Electron Microscope for nanoscale imaging of rocks, fossils, and biological samples
    • JASCO MicroFTIR/microRaman microscopes (to be delivered in 2008)

     

  • Geochemistry 

    Petrology

    • 3 solid-media, high pressure apparatus
    • 2 multi-anvil, high-pressure apparatus
    • 7 cold-seal, externally-heated apparatus
    • 1 internally-heated, gas-media apparatus
    • Bell-Mao type internally and externally heated diamond anvil cells
    • Bassett type Hydrothermal diamond anvil cells
    • Externally-heated, diamond-windowed cell for in-situ, high-pressure and high-temperature fluid studies
    • 6 1-atm vertical quench furnaces (to 1700˚C), 3 equipped for gas mixing
    • 1 1-atm vertical quench furnace (2000˚C)
    • Hi-temperature cells, for in-situ studies of melt and crystal structure at temperature and ambient pressure
    • Micro-FTIR spectroscopy
    • Micro-Raman spectroscopy
    • MAS NMR spectroscopy
    • Mossbauer spectroscopy

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  • High Pressure
    A broad range of high-pressure resources are available. These include:
    1. high temperature reactor devices
    2. Hydrothermal laboratory with
    3. pressure/temperature vessels
    4. Piston cylinders
    5. Multianvil laboratory
    6. A wide variety of diamond anvil and other gem anvil cell instrumentation.

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  • Mineralogy

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  • Planetary Science