Laboratory for Oceanographic and Environmental Research
The Laboratory for Oceanographic and Environmental
Research at Texas A&M University in Galveston contains state-of-the-art
analytical instrumentation for determination of major, minor, and trace
constituents and radionuclides in environmental samples. The LOER also has
available numerous types of field sampling equipment for collection of sediment,
water, suspended particulate, and biological samples.
Class-100 Clean Laboratory Facilities
A major component of LOER is a class-100 positive pressure
clean laboratory facility designed for ultra-trace element sample preparation
and analysis. The interior walls and ceiling were specially remodeled using non-particulating
and nonmetallic materials to minimize trace metal contamination problems.
Researchers enter the clean room through a small anteroom which serves as an
airlock between the interior of the clean laboratory and the outside air. Prior
to entering the clean room, researchers remove their street shoes and put on
particle free protective clothing that are stored in the ante room to maintain
clean conditions. Positive pressure is maintained within the clean room (to
exclude outside air entering) by forcing air from the air conditioning ductwork
through three class-100 HEPA filters into the interior of the laboratory. The
clean room houses a 8 ft. wide nonmetallic class-100 acid fume hood (NUAIRE) for
sample digestion using concentrated acids and volatile organic solvents under
particle free conditions; two class-100 clean-air benches for instrumentation or
sample handling and preparation, and a quartz sub-boiling distillation system
for preparing ultra-pure acid, water, and other chemical reagents. All sample
preparation and handling for trace element analysis and low level thorium
radioisotope work is conducted only within this room to maintain stringent
non-contaminating conditions.
Analytical Instrumentation
 | Thermo Finnigan Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer |
| (2) Canberra Gamma System 100 Counting System with 3 HPGe Low Level Gamma Detector |
| Canberra Alpha Counting System with 8 Detectors |
| Canberra Low Background Beta Counting System |
| Canberra Field portable gamma counting system |
| Solon Technologies sodium iodide well-type crystal detector |
| Beckman LS8100 Scintillation Counters |
| VG Excell Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer |
| Perkin-Elmer 5100 Atomic Absorption Spectrometer, equipped with Zeeman background correction and hydride system |
| EG&G Polarography/Voltammetry Analyzer (equipped with rotating carbon and hanging drop Hg electrodes) |
| Non-dispersive atomic fluorescence spectrometer (for Hg measurements). |
| Perkin-Elmer 2400 CHNS/O Carbon Hydrogen Nitrogen Analyzer |
| Siemens X-Ray Diffraction Equipment |
| Shimadzu TOC-5000 organic carbon analyzer |
| Dionix BIO-LC Ion Chromatography |
| Waters Millennium 32 High Performance Liquid Chromatograph equipped with 626 pump, 717 plus autosampler, dual absorbance wavelength dector, 474 scanning fluorescence detector, and 426 pulsd electrochemical detector |
| Pharmacia Biotech Multiphor II Electrophoresis system |
| Fisher Biotech FB 650 Electrophoresis system |
| CEM MDS-8ID Microwave Digestion System |
| Bechman GS-6 Ultracentrifuge |
| Lanconco LYPH-LOCK 12 Freeze Dryer |
| SPEX 8000 mixer/mill |
| Fisher 550-126 high temperature furnace |
| Buchi Rotavapor R-114 concentrator |
| Branson 5200 ultrasonic bath |
| MetOne laser particle counter |
| Perkin-Elmer AD-4 Microbalance |
| (10) Class-100 laminar flow clean-air benches |
| Quartz sub-boiling distillation unit |
| UV-irradiation unit |
| 2 Barnstead NanoPure 1 B-PURE and 1 Millipore Milli-Q50 Ultra-Pure Water System with Reverse Osmosis system |
Field Sampling Equipment
| A large volume (1000-10,000 L) deep sea in-situ filtration and extraction system (multiple in situ pumping system, MIPS, also called "six-shooter") for radionuclides |
| Two large volume (1-100 L) deep sea in-situ filtration and extraction systems (Seastar) for trace metals |
| Two large area (0.5 m2) time series swimmer-repellent sediment traps |
| Benthic lander |
| Three benthic chambers (for sediment-water exchange studies) |
| Eight sediment whole core squeezing pore water sampling equipment |
| Two large volume (100-1000 L) ultrafiltration systems with 10,000 and 1,000 dalton cut-off (Amicon DC-10 and DC-30), which are used for organic and radioisotope field work |
| Three ultra-clean large volume (5~60 L) ultrafiltration system with 0.1µm, 10kDa and 1kDa cutoff with all Teflon assemblages for trace metal speciation field work |
| Three ultra-clean small volume (100~2000 mL) modified Amicon Miniplate ultrafiltration system (100 kDa , 30kDa, 10 kDa and 3 KDa cutoff), with all Teflon assemblages for trace metal speciation field work |
| Two Amicon stirred cell ultrafiltration systems |
| Seabird SEACAT portable CTD instruments package |
| YSI model 55 dissolved oxygen meter |
| Orion 140 temperature/conductivity/salinity meter |
| Honda EX1000 portable generator |
| 12 various portable Masterflex peristaltic pumps |
| Piston corer, gravity corers, and vibra core |
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