Northwestern’s Quaternary Sediment Lab is part of GeoCAL – the laboratories for Geoperspectives on Climate and Life. Lab members and our collaborators have access to equipment for a wide range of sediment analyses, including:
- Geotek MSCL core logger with scanning XRF, color reflectance spectrophotometry, and magnetic susceptibility
- high-resolution line-scan system for imaging sediment cores
- Malvern Mastersizer for laser particle size analysis [note our ability to make this instrument available to outside researchers is on pause due to lack of staffing]
- microscope facility devoted to identification of biological remains preserved in lake sediments
- two dedicated cold rooms with alarms and backup compressors for long-term sediment core storage
- Geotek core splitter
- freeze dryer, analytical balances, muffle furnace, drying ovens, spectrophotometer, sonic bath, centrifuge and three fume hoods
Lab users also have access to extensive complementary facilities within the Department’s Integrated Labs for Earth & Planetary Sciences, including a well-equipped and professionally staffed stable isotope lab.
The QSL’s collection of field equipment facilitates diverse lake characterization and sampling, and includes:
- Edgetech acoustic sub-bottom profiling system
- 12-foot Aire cataraft with coring tripod and platform
- ultraportable (back-packable) coring platform
- heavy-duty Nesje percussion piston corer
- Livingston/modified Bolivia piston & rod corer
- surface corers
- Ekman dredge
- small to medium-sized Zodiacs
- equipment for remote camping and satellite-based communications
