Using FEEA as a student
FEEA is available to postgraduate and undergraduate students within the University as part of their normal programmes of work. Some typical applications of the equipment within particular disciplines are given below, but FEEA staff are particularly receptive to the challenges presented by new materials or unusual problems in allied disciplines.
Costs
FEEA resources are free to all St Andrews students as part of bona fide research or teaching programmes within the School. All users of FEEA facilities must obtain permission and clear any health and safety requirements before any analytical work is undertaken.
Postgraduate students from outside St Andrews may also have access under certain circumstances and should seek advice from FEEA or via a member of staff within the school.
Outside users may be asked to provide financial support or consumables for their time at St Andrews.
Some typical FEEA facilities listed by discipline
Petrology
X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) for mineral identification, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) for the trace, minor and major element compositions of solids, Electron Probe MicroAnalysis (EPMA) for the minor and trace element content of small (micron-sized) areas within individual minerals and luminescence petrography (CL), which is widely used as a petrographic tool in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.
Sedimentology
Comprehensive sediment laboratory facilities with muffle furnace and Coulter LS230 laser granulometer.
Geomorphology
Survey equipment (hand survey equipment, Leica theodolites and Leica total station, GPS with DGPS capability), sediment analysis (see above), luminescence dating, field montitoring equipment and dedicated loggers, Schmidt hammer, soil auger, and equipment to measure the strength of vegetion mats.
Hydrology
Seki discs, deep water samplers, suspended sediment samples and grab samplers, remote controlled boat, inflatable boat, flow meters, temperature and pressure sensors, conductivity meters, water analysis laboratory facilities.
Geochronology
Sediment laboratory, dedicated palynology laboratory, luminescence dating facilities, mineral magnetics, oxygen isotope laboratory. Luminescence spectroscopy is available to supplement luminescence dating experiments.
Meteorology
Two automatic weather stations and dedicated dataloggers and hand-held meteorological equipment.
Glaciology
High precision survey equipment (see Geomorphology above), automatic weather stations, and hand-held radiometers for mass balance monitoring, ice drill, cold lab facilities.
Geophysics
A range of geophysical equipment is held within the school as part of the Geophysical Equipment pool.
Quaternary change
Dedicated palynology and microscope laboratories for analysing proxies for environmental change, also sediment, magnetics, luminescence and oxygen isotope laboratory facilities.
