The Geology department houses a significant collection of field gear and tools. The equipment is stored in either the Olin Hall field gear storage room or the Anderson Hall Geochemistry laboratory.
GPS – Garmin eTrex & Magellan handheld units.
Current Meters – Several models (Marsh-McBirney 2000, K. Hattori, WeatherMeasure Flow Meter, Teledyne), some electronic and some mechanical. Used for finding the velocity of current in a stream or river.
Plane Tables and Alidades – Traditional equipment for drawing scale maps of an area in the field with paper and pencil, used before computers were commonplace.
Total Station – Several models (Wild, Sokkia) an electronic theodolite integrated with an electronic distance meter to read slope distances from station to a particular point.
Exploration Seismograph – Two models (Geometrics 24 channel and Bison 12 channel), of digital recording seismographs used to find the depth to bedrock or another hard layer in the ground. Uses a sledge hammer to generate seismic waves and you analyze the patterns of the refracted return waves to figure out the depth to bedrock. Requires training, and each seismic sounding takes 30-60 minutes to do.
Sediment/Soil Samplers – Various models and manufactures (AMS, Dickey John, Forestry Supplier, Turf-Tec Inter., Wildlife Supply Co., ) for sediment sampling. Auger type, corer type.
Rock Core Drill – Pomeroy gasoline powered drill is designed for paleomagnetic, geochemical and other sampling. Paleomagnetic sampling accrutrements available.
Handheld meters – Several models of YSI water quality sampling and monitoring meters (DO, pH, salinity, temperature, TDS, conductivity)
Magnetometer – (Geometrics G856) An electronic instrument for medium to small-scale surveys of bodies with a magetic character that is distinctly different from that of the surrounding rock.
Gravimeter – Two Lacoste & Romberg meters (G-272, and D-186). Main Uses of the Gravity meter are for large-scale surveys of subsurface bodies of different density or of bodies that are changing mass or volume.
Earth Resistivity Meter – An electronic instrument for mapping soil or rock anomalies in the ground. The process involves placement of 4 or 5 electrodes in the ground and passing an electric current between them, measuring the voltage drop per unit of distance of ground covered. Can be used to identify old foundations, buried river valleys, plumes of pollution in the ground water, or changes in the soil or water table.
Magnetic Susceptibilty Meter – Handheld unit used to measure very small-scale variation in the response of rocks to an imposed magnetic field; this relates not only to the composition of rocks containing magnetic minerals but also paramagnetic minerals such as clay minerals.
Canoes – Six aluminum canoes for research and class projects on lakes and rivers. The canoes can be transported by qualified drivers on a trailer.
Flat-Bottom Boat (Duck Boat) – Aluminum flat-bottomed boat useful where a stable working platform is needed. Boat can also be transported by qualified drivers on a trailer.