Experimental Geoscience Facility

Our Experimental Geoscience Facility is a suite of laboratories equipped to support experimental investigations of physical, chemical and coupled Earth processes.

Many novel developments in geosciences and biology require safe and routine access to 'large-volume' fluid, gas and solid medium pressure vessel systems which operate at high pressure and controlled temperature and gas speciation. Such systems require operation and maintenance in purpose-built, blast-proof environments by experienced personnel. 

Our laboratories serve as a core facility for a range of experimental investigations of chemical and physical processes from ambient temperature and pressure to that of deep Earth environments.  We have a team of dedicated researchers and staff providing expertise in experimental design and the development and operation of novel experimental equipment.

We support in-house research and provide preparation and experimental laboratories to support experimental geoscience research programs carried out by members of the geoscience community.

Contact and location

Contact

Dr Ian Butler ian.butler@ed.ac.uk+44 (0) 131 650 5885Senior Research Fellow in Experimental Geosciences

View Dr Butler's full research profile

Location

Address: Grant Institute, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, James Hutton Road, EDINBURGH EH9 3FE

Please note that parking on campus is strictly by permit only, and parking spaces are subject to availability. Commercial and external users should contact our staff about parking arrangements.

Access and costs

Access
  • Experimental programs ranging from one-off pilot experiments and short visits through to long-term collaborative research programs, are supported. 
  • Access to the facility is available for users running funded projects established independently of collaboration with the Edinburgh facility, subject to agreement on experimental costs.
  • Our facility welcomes applications to act as a host for UK and European funded Research Fellows.
  • Access to our facility may vary depending on the laboratory and equipment used. In some cases, access may be offered on a collaborative research basis, as a grant-supported pathway or through discussion with our facility staff.
Costs
  • Access to the laboratories is provided on a 'pay-as-you-go' basis, with full experimental costs subject to the diverse nature and duration of the experimentation proposed. 
  • Prospective users are required to contact the facility to identify overall experimental costs at an early stage of project development. 
Experimental X-ray Microtomography
  • The Experimental X-ray Microtomography instrument is operated as a Small Research Facility (SRF). SRF's are available for hire or on a consultancy basis. These charges are recognised by grant funders and can therefore form part of a grant submission.

For the wider University and all external users:

Please contact the facility to discuss availability, as well as analytical requirements and charging information.  

For staff and students in the School of GeoSciences:

Pricing and access to the facility must be completed through a job request form, which can be found on the Experimental X-ray Microtomography facility (EXP) intranet page.

Experimental facilities and equipment

Our laboratories are dedicated to experimental investigations of chemical and physical processes from ambient temperature and pressure through to deep Earth environments. A full suite of preparation laboratories for experimental work is also available.

You can find more information on our laboratories and equipment under each of the drop-down menus below:

Our Experimental Aqueous Geochemistry Laboratory is equipped to investigate chemical processes at ambient pressure and temperature. In particular, experiments that require the absence of oxygen and the presence of hydrogen sulphide.

Applications that have used the laboratory have included:

  • investigations of Fe and Cu isotope fractionation during sulphide mineral reactions
  • microbial processes in subsurface environments
  • reactions of magnetic minerals in bentonite matrices to develop monitoring technologies for geological radwaste disposal.

Equipment

Laboratory equipment includes:

  • Saffron Alpha anoxic chamber (N2 atmosphere)
  • Anaerobic manifolds
  • Analytical instrument systems
  • DLK60 electrochemical analyser
  • Potentiometric analysers and sensors
  • LTE Mini-Lyotrap freeze drier
  • Camspec UV-vis spectrophotometer
  • Kern analytical balance

Access to this laboratory is offered on a collaborative research basis.


Our X-ray Microtomography CT instrument was designed and built in-house to enable non-destructive 3D analysis of geological materials. It is also used for experimental applications that require time-resolved imaging of processes from experiments carried out on-line and off-line.

In addition to the instrument itself, our laboratory has developed, and continues to develop X-ray transparent experimental environments.  This enables experimental studies of at elevated pressure and temperature such as multiphase fluid flow in porous media, deformation and pressure solution. These environments are designed to be used both in-house and at synchrotron beamlines.

Equipment

The  X-ray Microtomography CT instrument consists of:

  • a dual (transmission/reflection) head 10-160kV X-ray source
  •  a rotary air-bearing table and sample manipulator
  • dual flat panel X-ray cameras (1MP Perkin Elmer XRD0822 or 4MP Rad-Icon Shad-o-cam). 

Once acquired, tomographic slice reconstruction is performed using Octopus™ software. Visualisation and analysis of 3D and 4D data is performed using dedicated workstations running Avizo™ software.

Samples from 1mm diameter to ~10cm diameter and up to 4kg can be accommodated. Typically, the best geometric image resolution is 1/1000 to 1/2000 of the sample diameter for the Perkin Elmer and Rad-Icon cameras, respectively. Standard data acquisition requires 30 mins to 3 hours per scan.

Small Research Facility

The Experimental X-ray Microtomography Laboratory is operated as a Small Research Facility (SRF).  A Small Research Facility (SRF) is a facility or service provided by the School and used for research and teaching. SRF's are also available for use by the wider community such as external academic or commercial use.  Our SRF's are available for hire or on a consultancy basis.  These charges are recognised by grant funders and can therefore form part of a grant submission.

  • To access this laboratory including information on costs, please contact us to discuss your needs.
  • Staff and students within the School of GeoSciences must also complete a technical request form for this facility.

Our facility has two blast-proof laboratories housing cold-seal vessels and internally heated gas pressure vessels. They are useful for igneous and metamorphic petrology applications.

2 kbar cold-seal vessels 

The facility is equipped with 30 cold-seal vessels.

The furnaces are capable up operating up to 2kbar and 600°C.

Experimental charges are welded within 3mm OD precious metal capsules and pressure is generated using an Ar pressure medium.

10 kbar internally heated gas pressure vessels

Our laboratories host three internally heated gas pressure vessels (IHGPV) capable of operating up to 1100°C and up to 1GPa.

The pressure vessels and loading assembly were designed and built in-house. The furnaces can accommodate 3mm OD, 10mm long experimental charges welded into precious metal capsules. Experimental duration from minutes to months are possible. 

The laboratory is supported by a preparation facility which includes a PUK U4 -TIG impulse micro welder, analytical balances and gel preparation facilities.

To access this laboratory including information on costs, please contact us to discuss your needs.


Our laboratories have two piston cylinder presses.

The equipment has been built and maintained in-house and capable of generating up to 4GPa and 1600°C in a variety of solid media sample assemblies. Both 12.5mm and 19mm cells are available. 

The laboratories are supported by a mechanical workshop and a preparation laboratory which includes a PUK U4 -TIG impulse micro welder, analytical balances and gel preparation facilities. Further pre-preparation of experimental materials is achieved by means of the 1atm gas mixing furnaces.

To access this laboratory including information on costs, please contact us to discuss your needs.


The Rock Physics Laboratory is dedicated to studies of rock mechanics, including coupled physical and chemical processes and damage mechanics.  It is linked closely with our Experimental X-ray Microtomography Laboratory.

This laboratory was rejuvenated in 2016 with an updated triaxial deformation rig which was built in-house.  It also includes acoustic emission equipment.  Applied Seismology Richter data acquisition is combined with trigger and hit count systems and pulser receivers. 

The Rock Physics 'Big Rig', is housed in the School of Engineering. It is a triaxial press capable of handling 100mm OD samples and applying loads of up to 2MN and confining conditions up to 70MPa. The rig is being updated to accept a new control system and a new large sample True Triaxial cell.

The Rock Physics laboratory is operated as a grant-supported laboratory with access via the collaborative research pathway, with experimental costs covered as appropriate.


Our 1 atm furnaces and muffle furnaces are used for sample preparation for analysis and high partitioning and transmutation (P&T) experiments and for phase equilibria studies.

Equipment

Laboratory equipment includes:

  • Two Lenton furnaces (50mm ID worktubes) capable of 1400 and 1800°C
  • A precision wound Pt element furnace (1200°C, 25mm ID worktube) equipped with an automatic drop-quench.

Controlled oxygen fugacity is achieved by means of CO2/H2 gas mixtures calibrated versus a zirconia oxygen sensor. In addition, a Nabertherm muffle furnace (1750°C) is available for sample preparation. The laboratory is also supported by gel-making facilities.

To access this laboratory including information on costs, please contact us to discuss your needs.


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