Research on soils and plants, including modern and fossil plants (paleobotany)
The environmental science laboratory has a range of analytical equipment available to determine the composition of soils, plant tissues, and water samples taken from the field. In addition, research on plant fossils (e.g. pollen and leaves) reconstructs ancient environments from Arctic and western Canada with a focus on Eocene and Pliocene epoch sites.
Analysis of samples of water, soils, plants, and fossil pollen and leaves (palynology / paleobotany).
Research services for research collaborators, stakeholders, and for recruiting graduate students; no private or public services available.
- Agriculture, animal science and food
- Education
- Environmental technologies and related services
Specialized labs and equipment
| Specialized lab | Equipment | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical suite | Shimadzu total nitrogen and total carbon analyzer | Total N, organic C, and total C on aqueous samples |
| Astoria segmented flow spectrophotometer | Ionic species in solution, including orthophosphate, nitrate, and ammonium | |
| Varian ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma CCD detector) | Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Concentration in solution of a wide range of metals and other elements. | |
| BioTek cell plate spectrophotometer | Protein concentration | |
| Microscopy suite | Olympus MVX10 stereo-microscope with digital image capture | Microscopic examination of hand samples, e.g. seeds, leaves. Epifluorescence + image analysis. |
| Olympus BX51 Fluorescence Microscope (compound microscope with digital image capture) | Microscopic examination of plant tissues and pollen samples prepared and mounted on glass slides. Epifluorescence + image analysis. |
Additional information
| Title | URL |
|---|---|
| Microbe biomass in relation to organic carbon and clay in soil | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8789/4/3/41 |
| Variation in potassium and calcium uptake with time and root depth. | https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10.4141/cjps-2014-227 |
| Dietary palaeoecology of an Early Cretaceous armoured dinosaur (Ornithischia; Nodosauridae) based on floral analysis of stomach contents | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.200305 |
Plant community ecology and climate on an upland volcanic landscape during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum: McAbee Fossil Beds, British Columbia, Canada | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.09.010 |
| What a dinosaur's last supper reveals about life in the Cretaceous period | https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/nodosaur-borealopelta-stomach-1.5600224 |