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Facilities

Axial-torsion ice rig

A custom-made apparatus for measuring the strength of ice under a broad range of glaciological conditions. Designed in collaboration with ADMET, Inc.. Cylindrical ice samples sit within a cryogenic environmental chamber and can be deformed to large strains in compression, extension, torsion, and transpression/transtension. High resolution sensors record stress, strain, and strain rate during each experiment.

Zeiss Supra 40VP SEM

We regularly use scanning electron microscopy to examine deformed rock and ice samples. The Central Microscopy Facility at the Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole village) houses a Zeiss Supra 40VP SEM equipped with state-of-the-art EBSD and EDS detectors. An Oxford Instruments Symmetry EBSD detector, capable of analyzing 3000 points per second, was installed in December 2020. EBSD (electron backscatter diffraction) is a powerful, non-destructive technique for investigating the micron-scale structure and orientation of crystalline materials (e.g., rock, ice, minerals, corals, shells, metals, ceramics). We are also capable of performing transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) and high-angular-resolution EBSD (HR-EBSD) analyses, which provide spatial and angular resolution down to 10 nm and 0.006°, respectively.

Triaxial Griggs apparatus

The Griggs rig is a workhorse of experimental rock and mineral physics. Modified from a piston-cylinder design, this apparatus is used to measure the strength of small rock samples at high temperatures (up to 1300°C) and high pressures (up to 1.5 GPa). This apparatus was inherited from the late Harry Green II. It is currently undergoing restoration.

Petrographic microscopes

The lab contains a Leica DM2700 P polarizing light microscope, and a Leica S9 D stereoscope, which are used to examine natural and experimental rock samples. The DM2700 P has plane-polarized, cross-polarized, and reflected light capabilities, at magnifications up to 50x. The S9 D can take large field-of-view images (up to 38 mm across) at up to 55x magnification. A 12-megapixel CMOS camera enables us to capture high-resolution photomicrographs.

Sample preparation equipment

To cut and prepare polished rock samples for microscope analyses, we have a Buehler Isomet 1000 low-speed saw, and a Buehler Vibromet 2 vibratory polisher.

Workshop

We have a small in-house workshop, containing a benchtop lathe, drill press, band saw, and 10-ton hydraulic bench press for cutting, shaping, and coring materials.