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

化学系、地理、地质和规划系以及生物系正在合作开发电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱仪（ICP-AES）系统。 ICP-AES是一种广泛使用的分析技术，可测量多种样品的元素组成，包括金属和合金;地质样品，包括矿物、岩石、矿石和土壤;水，包括地下水、海水和废水;以及农业和生物材料。 ICP-AES系统主要用于高级实验室课程和本科生研究。 在化学系内，ICP-AES正用于仪器分析课程，以确定合金成分，并在环境化学实验室课程，以确定污染土壤实地研究中重金属含量。 在地理、地质和规划系，ICP-AES正用于矿物学课程，以确定矿物的元素组成，用于水文学课程，以测量地下水中的金属含量，并用于地球化学实地研究项目，以测量垃圾填埋场附近土地和溪流中的重金属污染物。 在生物系，电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法正用于确定植物和淡水生态系统中的金属浓度。 ICP-AES系统也可用于各种本科环境研究项目，旨在评估进入河流的重金属污染物的命运，环境样品中有毒金属的水平和分布，以及工业污染物对空气质量的影响。

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.