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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

School of Natural Resources

From Earth to Sky and Everything In Between

Laboratories


SNR also has numerous labs for a variety of research and teaching purposes. These include:

  • An aquatic ecology and limnology (lake study) lab, housing an indoor microcosm facility with 32 artificial streams and 25 1,000-liter tanks;
  • A climate and bio-atmospheric teaching laboratory, which houses eight computers on a local network and plenty of countertop space for experiments;
  • A fisheries and wildlife laboratory;
  • A field environmental geophysics facility;
  • The Groundwater Chemistry Laboratory, which houses state-of-the-art analytical instruments. It also has agreements with other universities to provide researchers with a full spectrum of geochemical tools, including analysis of stable, radiogenic and radioactive isotopes, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and Nobel gases.
  • Groundwater modeling facilities and equipment;
  • The High Plains Regional Climate Center, which maintains an automated weather data network for the High Plains that provides a wealth of climate data for teaching and research;
  • The Soil Environmental Chemistry and Xenobiotics Laboratories, which are well equipped for environmental assessment of managed or disturbed ecosystems with state-of-the-art equipment. For instance, chemical fate and transport of contaminants can be assessed with a soil-column transport system;
  • The Soil Geomorphology Laboratory, which is well equipped with instruments for measuring clay mineralogy (x-ray diffractometer, particle size analysis, etc.).
  • The Water Sciences Laboratories, which provide cutting-edge analytical capabilities for pesticides and their metabolites, endocrine disrupters, heavy metals, and stable isotopes;
  • The University of Nebraska Agricultural Research and Development Center (ARDC) at Mead, about 35 miles from Lincoln, which features first-rate field facilities and hardware systems for research in a variety of SNR program areas. These are in climate assessment, forestry, and geospatial information, as follows:
    • The Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT) maintains many field data-collection vehicles and boats at the ARDC. Its research focuses mostly on agroecology, commercial and educational uses of remote sensing, site-specific agriculture for economic and environmental benefits, and remote sensing of wetlands and aquatic systems, among other applications. CALMIT is also an equal partner with two other UNL units in the Nebraska Aircraft Remote Sensing Facility, which operates a Piper Saratoga aircraft equipped for remote sensing that allows researchers to schedule their own overflights.
    • The Agro-Meteorology Laboratory is also located at the ARDC. It includes measuring stations for the National Atmospheric Deposition (acid rain) Program (NADP), the U.S. Department of Agriculture UV-B (ultraviolet B) Monitoring Network and the Automated Weather Data Network; and
    • An agroforestry laboratory at the ARDC that includes 450 acres of agricultural land protected by shelterbelts. This facility provides support for teaching in sustainable agricultural systems.