The Laboratory

Our facilities are under construction, but science continues apace! Our research requires the combination our field data — maps, stratigraphic columns, annotated photos, and sketches — with optical microscopy, spectroscopy, and elemental + isotopic analyses of contextualized samples of rock.

Our laboratory facilities will include (1) space and equipment for processing rocks into polished thin sections, epoxy-mounted thick sections, and powders, (2) polarizing light microscope and c-mount camera, (3) Raman microscope with 4 incident laser wavelengths available, (4) space and equipment for benchtop taphonomy experiments (e.g., batch cultures of microorganisms), and (5) space and equipment for chemical separation and drying of rock powders.