Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry in Geology, Chemistry and Biology

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The Department of Chemistry, the Department of Geography, Geology, and Planning, and the Department of Biology are collaborating on an inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) system. ICP-AES is a widely used analytical technique that provides measurement of elemental composition for many types of sample, including metals and alloys; geological samples including minerals, rocks, ores, and soil; water, including groundwater, seawater, and waste water; and agricultural and biological materials. The ICP-AES system is being used primarily for upper-level laboratory courses and undergraduate research. Within the Department of Chemistry, ICP-AES is being employed in instrumental analysis courses to determine alloy composition and in an environmental chemistry laboratory course to determine the quantities of heavy metal levels in field studies of contaminated soil. In the Department of Geography, Geology, and Planning, ICP-AES is being used in a mineralogy course to determine the elemental composition of minerals, in a hydrology course to measure metal content in ground water, and in a geochemistry field study project to measure heavy metal contaminants in the land and streams near landfills. In the Department of Biology, ICP-AES is being used to determine metal concentrations in plants and in freshwater ecosystems. The ICP-AES system can also be employed in a variety of undergraduate environmental research projects aimed at evaluating the fate of heavy metals contaminants which enter streams, the levels and distribution of toxic metals in environmental samples, and levels of industrial pollutants on air quality.