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Environmental analysis

The School is equipped with a wide range of analytical facilities dedicated to the analysis of water and soil samples. These facilities allow students to conduct research on a variety of environmental topics, such as water quality, soil contamination, and climate change.

Environmental Analytical Lab

Equipment and analytical services offered by the Environmental Analytical Lab:

  • Ion chromatography (Metrohm Eco IC)
    Quantification of anions (Cl, F, NO2, NO3, PO4, SO4, Br) in aqueous samples
  • ?Elemental analysis (Vario Elementar)
    Quantification of C, H, N & S in a variety of samples
  • ICP-OES (Spectro Genesis) and ICP-MS (Perkin Elmer NexIon 2000)
    Routine elemental analysis of water, soil, and sediment samples

Enquiries: Mokgaetji Monyai | mokgaetji.monyai@wits.ac.za

Environmental Geochemistry Lab

The Environmental Geochemistry Lab analyses a variety of environmental samples including water, sediment, plant and animal tissues. Elemental analysis on water, plant and animal tissues is performed by ICP-MS. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is used for major oxides and trace elements in rock and sediment samples.

  • ICP-MS (Agilent 7700)
    Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a powerful analytical technique that can be used to measure the elemental composition of a wide variety of materials. The technique is very sensitive and can be used to measure most elements on the periodic table.

Enquiries: Dr Letitia Pillay | Letitia.pillay@wits.ac.za

  • XRF (Bruker S2 Ranger)
    X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials. XRF is a versatile technique that can be used to analyze a wide variety of materials, including sediments, rocks, metals, cements and ceramics.
  • Uwitec piston coring system
    Designed by Uwitec of Austria, our floating sediment piston coring system can collect cores up to 20 meters long from lakes, wetlands and estuaries. These calm depositional environments preserve sedimentary records through geological time that can provide valuable information about past changes in environment and climate. The piston system allows the retrieval of contiguous 2 m sections at water depths up to 100 m.

Enquiries:  Prof. Marc Humphries | Marc.Humphries@wits.ac.za

 

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