Small research facilities available for use | School of GeoSciences

Our Small Research Facilities (SRF) are available for hire or consultancy, and we can also provide expert training and support.

Female scientist wearing lab coat and gloves holding up a dropper in an aluminium beryllium laboratory

To support world-leading research, we are committed to sharing our facilities and expertise with external academic and industrial collaborators both locally and across the globe.

Our Small Research Facilities (SRF) are a facility or service that support our School in-house research and teaching, but are also available for external users across the University and beyond.

These are facilities where there is a charge for the facility's use. The income for facility use covers the facility running costs, as well as help fund the upgrade and replacement of equipment. Charges for using our Small Research Facilities are recognised by grant funders and can form part of a grant submission. All of our Small Research Facilities charge a reduced rate for student use.

Information on using our SRF facilities is available at the bottom of this page.

Explore our Small Research Facilities (SRF)

You can explore our Small Research Facilities below.

To discuss bookings, pricing and availability, please contact the facility directly.

Airborne Research and Innovation (ARI) Our facility operates a fleet of manned and unmanned aircraft equipped with state of the art sensors to support research and teaching across the School and beyond.	Explore Airborne R e s e ar c h a nd Innovat i on (ARI)
Chemical analysis facilities Our School offers a wide range of geochemical facilities for the the analysis of soils, sediments, plant material, water samples and biochar extracts.	Explore the chemical analysis facilities
Cosmogenic Nuclide Laboratory Our facility provides academic and external services in preparing samples for the measurement of terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides within rock and sediment.	Explore the Cosmogenic Nuclide Laboratory
The Edinburgh Materials and Micro-Analysis Centre (EMMAC) EMMAC provides integrated and interdisciplinary facilities for the application of microbeam techniques to material analysis. There are three individual facilities within the Centre. They consist of: Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) Facility (including the Tephra Analysis Unit) NERC Ion Micro-Probe (SIMS) Facility Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Facility	Explore the Edinburgh Materials and Micro-Analysis Centre
Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) Facility Our facility provides academic and commercial services in electron probe microanalysis and tephra analysis.	Explore the Electron Probe Microanalysis Facility
Experimental X-ray Microtomography Facility Our X-ray CT instrument was designed and built in-house to enable non-destructive 3D analysis of geological materials and for experimental applications.	Explore the Experimental X-ray Microtomography Facility
ICP Analysis Facility Our facility provides academic and external services in Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry analysis.	Explore the ICP Analysis Facility
NERC Ion Micro-Probe (SIMS) Facility Our facility provides academic and commercial services in Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) analysis for the chemical analysis of small volumes of material.	Explore the NERC Ion Micro-Probe Facility
Mechanical Workshop Our Mechanical Workshop provides design, build and manufacture services on different materials for a wide range of purposes.	Explore the Mechanical Workshop
Organic Geochemistry Facility Our facility provides academic and commercial services in wide-ranging analysis of natural and contaminant organic chemicals.	Explore the Organic Geochemistry Facility
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Facility Our Scanning Electron Microscope analysis provides high resolution imaging techniques together with compositional analysis and mapping.	Explore the Scanning Electron Microscope Facility
Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometry (Wolfson Laboratory) Our established stable isotope laboratory is largely used for palaeoenvironmental research such as the analysis of skeletal carbonates (including annually-banded corals and clam shells, foraminifera, and ostracods) and deep-sea sediments.	Explore the Wolfson Laboratory
Tephra Analysis Unit (TAU) Our Tephra Analysis Unit (TAU) is an internationally recognised centre for the electron probe microanalysis of volcanic glasses and melt inclusions. Access to the Tephra Analysis Unit is via the Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) Facility.	Explore the Tephra Analysis Unit
Thin Section and Sample Preparation Facility Our facility supports academic and commercial services in sample impregnation, cutting, grinding, separation and polishing for the preparation of geological samples.	Explore the Thin Section and Sample Preparation Facility
X-Ray Diffraction Facility Our facility provides academic and commercial services in X-ray diffraction analysis for qualitative or quantitative mineralogical analysis of crystalline material.	Explore the X-Ray Diffraction Facility
X-Ray Fluorescence Facility Our facility provides academic and commercial services in qualitative or quantitative elemental analysis of geological materials.	Explore the X-Ray Fluorescence Facility

Using our Small Research Facilities (SRF)

A close view of blue gloved hands dropping chemicals into yellow scientific receptacles for anion analysis

External users

We support a range of external users such as:

students and staff from other universities
external researchers and research bodies
industrial and commercial organisations and consultancy firms.

Our facilities may be used with prices on application and are dependent on availability.

To query about prices and booking a facility, please contact the facility directly. You can find contact details on the relevant facility web pages listed above.

School staff and students, and the wider University

You can find pricing for the use of our SRF facilities within our School intranet.

Staff and students within the School must also complete a technical request form.

SRF use for staff and students

Facility locations and access

Our facilities are located within multiple buildings across two University campuses in Edinburgh. There are various refreshments available on our campuses, including catering services. A range of accommodation is available in close distance to either campus.

Our main locations are:

Kings Buildings campus
Central Area campus

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Getting to Edinburgh and the University is easy no matter where you are coming from or how you choose to travel.

The University provides campus maps and accessibility guides for the campuses and buildings, including travel information.

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This article was published on 2024-07-01