Sandy Bay Campus, Geography-Geology Building, 400
The main PC laboratory (Room 404, Hobart) has 30 computers and 2 printers (A4 BW and A3/A4 colour) and a flatbed scanner. In addition to the main PC laboratory two smaller laboratories are made available exclusively for postgraduate students (Room 411 and Room 423). There are also computers with peripherals attached such as a slide scanner, A3 scanner and various specialist imaging equipment.
The Space - a large lounge area on Level 4 in the School's main building of the Hobart campus - has wireless access and is available for general use.
We also have a GIS laboratory in Room 108 of the Spatial Science Annex (near the School of Engineering). That facility is used by undergraduate and postgraduate students studying geomatics, geography and other science disciplines. The laboratory includes 25 PCs running ARCGIS 9.3, Matlab, FIXIT, SKI, Columbus and LISCAD. There is an A4 BW printer and an A3/A4 colour printer in this lab.
Contact Darren Turner (ext 2212) or Robert Anders (ext 2105) for further information.
| Climatology | The equipment that the School is able to provide includes a world-standard Brewer MkIII spectrophotometer for detailed measurements of ozone and the ultraviolet spectrum, a Biospherical PUV2500 for spectral underwater measurements, a Macam portable field spectrophotometer and several Solar Light broadband UV radiometers. Kipp and Zonen CM11 and Eppley precision radiometers are also available for acquiring broadband solar radiation data. Three Yankee Multifilter shadowband radiometers and two sunphotometers are used for spectral solar measurements and aerosol optical depth determination. In addition to the above specialised radiation instrumentation, there is also a range of instruments used in micrometeorological and remote sensing work. These include a Delphi 4 channel spectral radiometer, several Swissteco net radiometers, soil heat flux plates, six miniature precision anemometers, and several Vaisala humidity and temperature sensors. Two theodolites are available for piball balloon tracking. |
| Forest Ecology | Forest productivity and ecophysiology equipment includes a steady state water vapour porometry and photosynthesis system that estimates carbon assimilation rates by plant assemblages. A forest canopy light analysis system consisting of strip radiometers, data loggers and associated software is also available. Moisture environments are measured using a Scholander pressure chamber for determining leaf water potential and a time domain reflectometry system for soil moisture determination. There is also a Vertex hypsometer for tree height determination and laboratory laminar flow equipment for plant propagation studies. For more information, you might like to visit our Conservation Ecology cluster in Research. Contact David Green for more information. |
| Geodesy | Field data for these studies are gathered using Leica MC500 GPS units, accessed through a GPS consortium of 12 units, as well with Ashtech MicroZ GPS units, accessed through a consortium of 6 units with the Research School of Earth Sciences, ANU. In addition, there are a number of GPS buoys providing marine data. Most of this research work is supported by two work stations, a SUN SPARC20 and SUN ENTERPRISE 250 which provide dedicated computing power. For additional information, check out our Spatial Science webpage www.utas.edu.au/spatial and follow the link to Staff. For more information visit Spatial Sciences. |
| Geomorphology | Some of the equipment available for geomorphological research includes an Aquaflor handheld fluorometer and turbidity meter, which is used for karst drainage studies into underground water flow rates and turbidity. We also have a Rapid Sediment Analyser (RSA), which allows rapid analysis of sand grain size. A Topcon total station provides terrain surveys over large distances, and Hiller and Livingstone corers allow investigation of Holocene stratigraphy and sampling for environmental reconstruction. Contact Dr Kevin Kiernan for further information. |
| Qualitative Research | Sandy Bay Campus, Geography-Geology Building The School provides access to a range of qualitative research technologies, including digital audio-tape recorders, video-recorders, sound equipment and mixing desks, digital tape software, and NVivo qualitative research analysis software. Qualitative research is a very powerful method of eliciting information, knowledge and understanding about how people view a situation (such as an environmental policy response to climate change), a place (such as a coastal area subject to a development proposal), or a series of events (such as natural hazards). A number of staff in the School specialise in qualitative research methods, among them Peter Hay, Aidan Davison, Elaine Stratford, Lorne Kriwoken and Michael Lockwood. Check out their People pages to find out more. To find out more about the use of equipment for qualitative research, see Trish McKay, and Darren Turner in relation to software for digital transcription and NVivo (click on People in the left hand menu). For more information on Ethics visit Human Research Ethics. |
| Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing | Sandy Bay Campus, Maths-Physics Building , 309 A wide variety of instruments are available to support measurement programmes. In addition to the usual variety of climate instruments such as temperature and anemometer arrays and data loggers, there are also some specialised instrumentation for radiation research. They include Kipp & Zonen pyranometers, Eppley pyrgeometers, Eko sun photometers, a Delphi field spectrophotometers, Yankee multi-spectral shadowband radiometers, a Macam UV spectral radiometer and a Biospherical underwater UV spectral radiometer. Our climate group received a $500,000 Systemic Infrastructure Grant in 2002 for the upgrading of our ultraviolet radiation monitoring facilities. The grant enabled us to purchase a Brewer Spectrophotometer MkIII, a world standard in monitoring of ozone load and spectral ultraviolet radiation. Presently there are only several dozen instruments throughout the world and ours is the only one in Australia. |
| Analytical | Sandy Bay Campus, Geography-Geology Building, 319 The Analytical Laboratory houses a Hach DR4000 spectrophotometer, state of the art fume cupboard, an array of Kjeldahl digestion racks, a micro-Kjeldahl distillation unit and a distilled water unit. Contact David Green for more information. |
| Biogeography | Spotlight on Invertebrates: Invertebrates are good indicators of environmental conditions, and we need to know such conditions in order to manage ourselves and our actions - what is often called environmental management. Our Biogeography-Fauna Laboratory is located on Level 1 of Maths and Physics, adjoining Geography and Environmental Studies via a walkway. It has several stereo phototube microscopes used for sorting, counting and identifying invertebrates. Sometimes, however, more detailed information may be gained using the electron microscope facility at the Central Science Laboratory of the University (see CSL). The Molecular Genetics Laboratory in the School of Life Sciences may also be used to gain molecular level taxonomy, of use in recognising the relationship between species (Facilities). Students must ask our School's academic staff before approaching people in these other facilities for assistance. The Biogeography-Fauna Laboratory also has a collection of literature about invertebrates and a digital imagery facility for staff and student use. An extensive insect collection incorporates a synoptic set of identified Tasmanian species as well as an archive of specimens relating to particular research projects. To read about other infrastructure and equipment in the School return to Facilities page via the left hand menu. Contact David Green for more information. |
| GIS | Sandy Bay Campus, Spatial Information Science Building , Room 108 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are computer systems that are designed so users can collect, manage and analyze sometimes very large volumes of spatially referenced information and associated attribute data. They are tools for helping us understand the location, distribution and relationship of things on the Earth and are often crucial for understanding the dynamics of change, for planning and management, and for political and economic decision-making. The laboratory includes 25 PCs running ArcGIS, Matlab, SKI, Columbus and LISCAD. It also houses a colour A3 printer and B+w A4 laser printer. If you want to know more about this facility, contact Robert Anders. For more information visit Spatial Sciences |
| Motion Analysis | Sandy Bay Campus, Spatial Information Science Building , Room 153 This motion analysis facility provides access to high speed video and motion analysis equipment, including a Kodak Motion Corder Analyser high-speed digital camera and the WinAnalyse motion analysis software. The equipment can be made available to other researchers within the University or external organisations. For more information about the equipment and some of our current research projects, visit the Motion Analysis Group |
Authorised by the Head of School, Geography & Environmental Studies
26 March, 2013
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