The URI Marine Geological Samples Laboratory is an open-access, national facility located on the Narragansett Bay Campus.
The MGSL is jointly funded by NSF and NOAA to curate and make openly available geological samples collected during agency funded scientific research cruises. The collections include >15,000 specimens of seafloor lava, marine sediments, polymetallic crusts and nodules, hydrothermal vent deposits, and more. Samples and facility tours may be requested for research and education/outreach activities by request to the facility staff, either through the facility website (https://web.uri.edu/gso/research/marine-geological-samples-laboratory/) or by direct email contact to the curators at mgsl@etal.uri.edu.
Furthermore, we accept rock and sediment core collections from NSF and NOAA funded projects conducted by URI and outside researchers, provided sufficient metadata accompany the specimens. The facility hosts in-person visitors, and staff also assists remote users in identifying and subsampling suitable materials for specific projects. The MGSL houses the following supporting equipment facilities that are available to URI and external requester communities for research and education/outreach activities:
- Jaw Crusher: One bench-top Secor alumina-plate jaw crusher for reducing rocks to chip-sized fragments.
- Powdering Mill: One Spex 8000M mixer/mill, equipped with alumina and tungsten carbide vessels, for reducing chipped rock fragments to fine powder.
- Rock Saws:
- Two large rock saws (10” and 24”) for cutting and trimming rock samples, and
- One Buehler IsoMet low-speed sectioning saw for smaller specimens.
- Binocular stereo and petrographic microscopes:
- Two Nikon SMZ-800 binocular stereo microscopes for microscopic observation, imaging, and picking;
- Two petrographic microscopes (Reichert and Meiji) for observation and imaging of petrographic thin sections and smear slides.
- Polishing Equipment:
- One Buehler 8” lapping wheel with swappable grit plates, and
- One Buehler HandiMet roll grinder for grinding and polishing rock and mount surfaces.
- Smear Slide Equipment:
- Epoxy, glass slides, and curing equipment for creating smear slides of marine sediments.
- Sampling Materials:
- Bags, scoops, and other supplies for filling sample requests for rocks and sediments.