Instrumentation

Students in teaching labs, as well as those conducting independent research, have access to the department's wide range of sophisticated calibrating and measuring instruments, which enable graduate-level analysis of data.

Placeholder — Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
A scanning electron microscope, acquired in 2016 with a grant from the National Science Foundation, provides a powerful tool for students, faculty, and visiting researchers to study the structure and composition of rocks, minerals, shells, and corals.

Image of microstructure from the electron backscatter diffraction — Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD)
The EBSD system, by HKL Technology Inc., is an instrument used for the observation and analysis of microstructures and for phase identification.

Buoy — The Bowdoin Buoy
Made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation and the result of a partnership among Bowdoin, Bigelow Laboratory, and St. Joseph's College, the scientific buoy near the Schiller Coastal Studies Center in Harpswell Sound was installed to study Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).

Titrator — Titrator

Gaz analyzer — Trace Gas Analyzer LI-7810

High performance CO2, CH4, and N2O gas analyzers for the field and lab.

Gas Chromatograph — Varian 450 GC

The Gas Chromatograph allows us the measure the concentration of CO2, CH4, and N2O gas in air samples.

High-pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) — Agilent 1260 Infinify II HPLC

HPLC separates compounds dissolved in a liquid sample and allows qualitative and quantitative analysis of what components and how much of each component are contained in the sample.

Laser in-situ scatter transmissometry machine — LISST-100X

The LISST is a submersible multi-parameter system for in-situ observations of particle size distribution and volume concentration.

Student pointing at nutrient analyzer — Nutrient Analyzer

The Smartchem 170 can analyze nitrate, ammonia, ortho-phosphate, Kjeldahl nitrogen and phosphate and silicate in water and soil samples.

Spectrophotometer — Cary 300 Spec

This instrument measures the light absorbed, transmitted, or reflected by the sample at each wavelength in the UV and Visible spectrum.

Salinity, Temperature, and Depth System (STD) — Seabird CTD

The SBE 19plus V2 SeaCAT measures conductivity, temperature, and pressure in marine or fresh water environments.

YSI 6600 machine — YSI 6600
Measures temperature, salinity, turbidity, oxygen, chlorophyll and pH levels of seawater.