Lab Resources
Laboratory equipment
Radiometric dating
Radiometric dating equipment at the Environmental Sedimentology Laboratory includes a OCTÊTE-PLUS Integrated 8-Chamber Alpha Spectrometer station including a portable pump and software, polonium distillation equipment, and 209Po and 210Pb standards. This capacity allows one to two short cores to be dated in a short period. We have dated cores from the Gulf of Eilat, the Mediterranean, Dead Sea and terrestrial environments as wetlands and even fluvial deposits to assess sediment erosion.
Microscopy
A polarizing microscope (OLYMPUS BX53) and a binocular (LEICA M205 C ) with digital imaging are available in the lab for thin slide and smear slide visualization of mineralogical and sediment grain interpretations and micropaleontological studies. In addition, the School of Marine sciences is equipped with a NeoScope benchtop SEM with high resolution imaging at a 10X-60,000X magnification and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Microscopy and accessories are subject to availability.
Mineralogical and carbon analysis
Granulometry
Sediment grain-size analysis is one of the most fundamental requirements in Geology. Settling sediment grains bear important information on the transport processes, sediment provenance, and environmental and climatic factors. The laboratory has a Beckman Coulter Analyzer laser diffraction particle size analyzer LS 13 320 series. This multi-wavelength system incorporating a ‘patented’ Polarization Intensity Differential Scattering technology covers a grain size range from 0.04 mm to 2 mm with maximum accuracy.
