River Basins Research Initiative
Facilities and Instruments

Facilities and Instruments

Facilities in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Hendricks River Basins Research Initiative Laboratory - This is the "brain" of RBRI. The lab contains two computers and has four large tables suitable for research planning with large maps and a small research library. The lab also is the archive for more than a decade of data and paper copies of research article reprints.

The Hill Biogeochemistry Laboratory - Water samples are analyzed for a variety of dissolved ions in this laboratory using the following instrumentation:

The Holder Watershed Research Laboratory - This laboratory is the headquarters for stream hydrology and biogeochemistry fieldwork. Water samples are filtered, preserved and stored in this lab. Samples are filtered using a custom-maded positive pressure N 2 gas filtration apparatus. A Barnstead Nanopure Diamond water polishing system provides organic-free deionized water.

The Blackwell GIS Laboratory - This laboratory is used for GIS analysis and processing and analysis of digital air photo and satellite imagery. RBRI students typically use this laboratory for data analysis. The laboratory has twenty four Dell Precision 450 workstations with a dedicated server, ArcGIS, Erdas Imagine, WMS, Jmp, and Microsoft Office software, HP Designjet 800PS 42" poster printer, Keocera Mita color laser printer.

Geochemistry Laboratory - Two Flow Safe Vortex II fume hoods for wet geochemical procedures and a Labconco Free Zone 1 L freeze drier used to freeze dry samples for the isotopic analysis of nitrates in surface and ground waters. Drying oven for evaporating nitrogen isotope samples. A Barnstead Nanopure Diamond water polishing system provides deionized water.

Environmental Analysis Laboratory - Currently houses a Varian 2000 ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometer) for the analysis of cation concentrations in water samples.

X-ray Analysis Laboratory - Philips PW22510 X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer for the chemical analysis of rocks, soils, and sediments. Coming soon..a new X-ray diffractometer.

Spatial Analysis Laboratory - Has sixteen student workroom with mirror stereoscopes and pocket stereoscopes for 3D analysis of aerial photos and satellite imageries. Includes a Dell precision workstation and a MacPro (with windows Vista 64bit edition dual boot option) with 12 GB RAM and 2 GB Video memory and 24 inches dual monitor for image processing and GIS work.

Sediment Analysis Laboratory - Ro-tap and sieves used for grain size analysis of sediments. Large oven for drying wet sediment samples.

 

Facilities in the Department of Biology

Graham Foundation Plant Ecology Research Laboratory - includes Millipore deionized water system, fume hood, drying ovens, muffle furnace, and an Instrumentation Laboratory 551 atomic absorption/atomic emission spectrophotometer.

The Biology Department has a number of laboratories that can be utilized by RBRI students and faculty. These include:

When the Townes Science Center construction is complete, additional laboratories that might be utilized by RBRI personnel include a Physiology laboratory, two Ecology laboratories, and two additional environmental based research laboratories.

Equipment housed in these spaces is extensive. The following is a partial listing of equipment, all of which could be potentially utilized in an RBRI research project.

 

2007©River Basins Research Initiative, Furman University
3300 Poinsett Hwy, Greenville, SC 29613
For questions or comments about the Web Page, contact Dr. Suresh Muthukrishnan