Department of Geography :: University at Buffalo

Facilities

GIAL
- Policies for use
- Listing of equipment

> Facilities

Geographic Information and Analysis Laboratory (GIAL)

The Geographic Information and Analysis Laboratory (GIAL) is a multipurpose facility shared by the Department of Geography and the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA). The laboratory supports the teaching and research needs of the faculty and students in all areas of interest.

Landscape-based Environmental System Analysis & Modeling (LESAM) Laboratory

The LESAM mission is the development and integration of appropriate analysis and modeling techniques in Geographical Information Science (GIScience) and Environmental Modeling Tools with readily or commonly available data sets for practical and effective decision-making in natural resources and natural hazard management.

Soils and Geomorphology Laboratory

The Department has an excellent Soils Laboratory that allows students to conduct field research & perform soil testing experiments. A partial equipment list includes hydrometers, pipettes, quantitative moisture meters, chemical analysis kits, pH meters, a direct shear box, shakers and sieves, and a diverse set of soils field research equipment, such as augers, core extractors, compaction meters, optical comparators, and microscopes.

In addition, the Department possesses a large Geomorphology Laboratory designed to study the hydraulics and erosion mechanics of overland flow. The laboratory contains two flumes and a rainfall simulator. This facility is intended primarily for graduate student and faculty research.

Further field measurement equipment includes a sophisticated electromagnetic current meter, four Price Type AA and Pygmy current meters, a stage recorder, four bed load and suspended sediment samplers, a turbidity meter, and a prefab bridge. In addition, there are a variety of surveying instruments, such as theodolites, transits, automatic levels, and Abney levels.

Biogeography Laboratory

This lab contains equipment to support fossil pollen and tree-ring analyses of climatic and ecological change. The equipment for fossil pollen analysis includes a Livingstone piston corer, a mini-Glew surface sampler, and a Nikon Labophot microscope. We also have facilities for processing sediments to extract fossil pollen, and a muffle furnace to conduct loss-on-ignition. The equipment for tree-ring analyses includes increment borers from 12" to 40" in length, and a Velmex-based tree-ring measurement system.