GeoSciences (Individual Project - Taught Pathway) MScR

Facilities are an essential asset for our research and teaching. GeoSciences has an extensive range of analytical, laboratory, field and workshop facilities and equipment, all of which are available to postgraduate students. These include facilities for sample preparation and for analysis of a large range of natural and synthetic materials, including inorganic and organic material:

• Rock, mineral and fossils
• Soil and sediments
• Plant and other organic material
• Water/aqueous samples
• Gaseous samples

Dedicated facility technical and research staff provide training in the use of equipment and can help you identify the most relevant methods for your research projects, including developing new techniques and methodologies. 

National facilities

The School hosts and manages a number of UK national facilities on behalf of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC):

• Ion Microprobe Facility
• Geophysical Equipment Facility
• Field Spectroscopy Facility

Instrumentation

A unique cluster of state-of-the-art scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron probe micro-analyser (EPMA) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) instruments enable imaging, chemical and isotopic analysis of solid materials to 1 micron resolution.

Our X-ray µCT instrument enables micron-resolution 3D and 4D imaging of natural materials and experimental samples.

The Cosmogenic Nuclide Facility enables isotopic analysis of rocks and sediments to understand landscape evolution.

Our Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Laser Ablation facility enables high precision elemental and simultaneous isotope ion analyses for a wide range of liquid and solid materials.

A suite of stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) instruments for isotopic characterisation (N, C, O) of organics, seawater and carbonates.

X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence instruments for detailed characterisation of bulk elemental composition and mineralogy of solid materials, including high-throughput analysis of large sample sets.

Analytical and organic chemistry facilities housing equipment and instrumentation for extraction, separation, identification and quantification of a range of organic and inorganic material, including elemental, nutrient, and particle size analysis.

UK Biochar Research Centre (UKBRC)

GeoSciences also hosts the UK Biochar Research Centre (UKBRC) laboratory and pyrolysis facilities, which produce the 'UKBRC Standard Biochars', a set of research-grade biochars now used by over 100 research groups worldwide, and enable production and characterisation of biochar.

Airborne Research and Innovation, and support for field studies

We have a range of equipment and facilities which support field work, including ground-based field instrumentation and a boat for work in rivers, lakes and coasts. 

Our Airborne Research and Innovation facility boasts an Eco Diamond HK36 small aircraft and an array of UAVs, supporting research in:

• ecology
• atmospheric chemistry
• micrometeorology
• forest studies
• geomorphology
• agricultural science
• archaeology
• palaeontology

Additionally, a mechanical workshop and Instrumentation and Design Facility support the development and production of equipment which support collection of field data.

Laboratory Facilities

GeoSciences houses a number of research facilities for replicating planetary conditions and processes, including experimental aqueous geochemical laboratories, a rock physics laboratory, high temperature furnaces, high pressure/temperature experimental equipment, and applied geoscience laboratories focused on research and sustainable utilisation of subsurface low-carbon energy applications. Facilities are supported by a dedicated mechanical workshop.

Computing facilities

Computing-intensive research in geographic information systems (GIS), meteorological and climate modelling, geophysics, and analysis of space and satellite data is supported by access to our in-house GIS suite and software licences, and the Edinburgh Computer and Data Facility parallel computing and DataStore facilities. Specialist training for research staff and students in using these facilities and in High Performance Computing is provided by Information Services and the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre.

National and international facilities

Complementing our in-house facilities, GeoSciences research students and staff have access to national and international supercomputing, laboratory, experimental and field facilities. We are regular visitors to X-ray synchrotron facilities in Europe and the USA for research on many themes.

Finally, and as you might expect, one of our most important facilities is planet Earth itself. Our students and staff use field stations and facilities worldwide for research projects in the Antarctic, Arctic and tropics, on research ships in the world’s oceans, through aircraft sampling the atmosphere and via remote sensing data from satellites.