Equipment and Facilities

The following is a brief summary of the equipment and facilities available for the Hydrogeology program.

Computer Lab

The hydrogeology program has its own computer facility dedicated to hydrogeologic research. There are six Gateway computers, two 333 MHz Pentium Pro computers with 128 MB RAM and 21-inch monitors (one has a writeable CD drive), one G6-200 Pentium Pro with 128 MB RAM and 21-inch monitor and 3 P5-100's with 32 MB RAM and 17-inch monitors, all using Windows 95. We also have a large format color printer (HP DesignJet 755CM), HP ScanJet 4C color scanner, a 44 by 60-inch CalComp Digitizer, and a black and white HP 5N Laser printer. All computers are networked in a local neighborhood as well as tied to the campus network and internet. Wall space, a light table, flat files and a work table are also available to complete the lab. Software available includes, SigmaPlot, CorelDraw, AutoCad 14, MS Office 97 Professional, Visual MODFLOW, GMS, FLOWNET, FLOWTRANS, among others. Access to slide scanners, slide makers and other color printers are available in the department over the network. We also have a Gateway Solo field computer.

In addition, a new University GIS laboratory with 20 new computers is available in the room next door to the hydro lab. The GIS lab has ArcInfo/ArcView available along with other mapping software.

Field Equipment

Field equipment on hand includes 4 In Situ Trolls (pressure transducers and data loggers), an Insitu Hermit 1000C data logger with two PXD 261 pressure transducers, two Global Water flow meters, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and pH meters with accompanying flow cell and assorted miscellaneous supplies and equipment. We have one Stevens F water level recorder which is currently being used on a long-term stream gaging project for the Town of Amherst. We have also acquired two Heron water level indicators, assorted pvc, teflon, and plastic bailers, a grundfos submersible pump with 150 feet of hose, generator and variable frequency drive, a peristaltic pump, inertial pumps, and two foot pumps (whale) for purging wells. We also have in hand a Topcon 111D Total Station surveying system, a Leica real-time differential GPS for sub-centimeter kineamatic and static surveying, and two handheld Trimble GPS units.

Shared Resources

In addition, we have other equipment and facilities available within the department that are commonly shared with hydrogeology. These include seismic refraction equipment, a proton precession magnetometer, ground penetrating radar, electromagnetic induction equipment (EM-34), a downhole EM tool, and DC resistivity equipment, very low frequency (VLF) equipment, and a Sting 2D Resistivity Profiler. We also have access to AA, ICP and ion chromatography equipment within the school. The Department will soon have an ICP unit of its own.

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