Mission Statement
ESAL is the only university soils laboratory in Nevada providing routine analyses of soil, plants, and water to the general public. ESAL’s mission is to maximize efficiency of laboratory resources by providing accurate, reliable, and prompt services to the research programs within UNLV, and to external public and private entities in Nevada and the region, at reasonable costs.
At ESAL, all soil samples are analyzed according to the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Survey Laboratory Methods Manual (Soil Survey Staff, 2004). Analysis of plants and water follows standard methods and procedures recommended by SSSA or regional authorities (reference sources vary with individual items). All analyses are performed under rigid routine quality control procedures.
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Our Laboratory
The Environmental Soil Analysis Core Laboratory (ESAL) is part of the Department of Geoscience, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). It is located in the new Science and Engineering Building (SEB), rooms 4119 & 4120. ESAL is capable of providing routine analyses of soil, plants, and water, including chemical, physical and mineralogical analysis of soils, and chemical analyses of plant and water samples.
Equipment
- Vario MAX CNS Elemental Analyzer (Elementar Inc.)
- ICS 3000 Ion Cheromatography (Dionex)
- Analyst 400 Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (Perkin Elmer)
- Lambda 25 Spectrometer (Perkin Elmer)
- Ethos D Microwave Digestion system (Milestone)
- MS 2000 Laser Particle size analyzer (Malvern)
- Model 24VE Programmable Vacuum Extractor (MAVCO Industries)
- AS 200 Analytical Wet Sieving Set (Retsch GMbH)
- Eppendorf 5810 Centrifuge (Eppendorf)
- Model TJ-6 Centrifuge (Beckman)
- IEC HN-SII Centrifuge (Damon/IEC)
- RX-86 Sieve Shaker
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Our Team
Director
• Brenda J. Buck, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Chair: International Union of Soil Science Commission 1.1
Email: buckb@unlv.nevada.edu
Telephone: (702) 895-1694
Website: http://geoscience.unlv.edu/brendajbuck.htm
Associate Director
• Debbie Soukup, Ph.D.
Specializing in soil chemistry
Email: gsoukup@bak.rr.com
Lab Manager
• Yuanxin Teng, Ph.D.
Dr. Teng was previously Forest Soils Laboratory manager at University of Toronto for fifteen years before moving to UNLV.
Email: tengy@unlv.nevada.edu
Office Telephone: (702) 895-3583
Lab Telephone: (702) 774-1457
Research Professor
• Dirk Goossens, Ph.D.
Researches soil erosion, air pollution, and dust dynamics
Graduate Students
• Colin Robins, Ph.D. candidate
Dissertation: Genesis of Authigenic Clay Minerals in Petrocalcic Horizons, Southwest U.S.A.
• Amanda Williams, Ph.D. candidate
Thesis:
Distribution of Biologic Soil Crusts: Implications for Land Management, Muddy Mountain Wilderness Area, NV
• Michelle Stropky, M.S. Candidate
Research Assistant for ESAL: Chemical Analyses of Dust for Human Health, Nellis Dunes, NV, USA
Undergraduate Students
• Praveen Raj
ESAL Research Assistant
High School Students
• Dana Olsen
ESAL Research Assistant
Previous Students
• Michael Howell, M.S. candidate
Thesis: Genesis and Geomorphology of Soils in Extreme Aridity: Atacama Desert, Chile
• Judy Costa, B.S. candidate
Research Assistant: SEM analyses of Cyanobacteria in Extreme Environments: Implications for Life on Mars
• Jonathan Carter, B.S. candidate
Research Assistant: Nellis Dunes: Affects of Soil Distribution on Air Quality
• Rhonda Fairchild, B.S. candidate
Research Assistant: Testing the Effects of Soil Characteristics on Dust Emissions, Nellis Dunes, Nevada
• Robert Davis, B.S. candidate
Research Assistant: Dust Emissions from Off-road Usage, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Mark Reed, B.S. candidate
Research Assistant: Measuring Surface Roughness for Wind Models
• Seth Pages, B.S. candidate
Research Assistant: Micromorphology of Soil Biological Crusts
• Jonathon Egelin, High school student
Research Assistant: Testing Field Proxies for Soil Cyanobacterial Crusts
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Tests/Analyses and Fees
| Test Code |
Cost ($) |
Sample size (g) |
A: Soil Analyses
|
|
|
| Soil Chemical Analyses |
|
|
| A0: Sample preparation |
3.50 |
|
| A1: pH |
3.50 |
100 |
| A2: ECe |
3.50 |
100 |
| A3: pH & ECe |
10.00 |
100 |
| A4: Available P (Olsen or Bray) |
8.00 |
5 |
| A5: Available K |
8.00 |
5 |
| A6: Available P + K |
10.00 |
5 |
| A7: NO3-N (KCl extract) |
10.00 |
10 |
| A8: NH4-N (KCl extract) |
10.00 |
10 |
| A9: NO3-N & NH4-N |
17.00 |
10 |
| A10: SO4-S |
12.00 |
10 |
A11: Available micro nutrients (DTPA extractable) Cu, Fe, Mn & Zn |
30.00 |
10 |
| A12: Available B |
15.00 |
15 |
Organic C (organic matter) |
|
|
| A13: Walkley-Black |
25.00 |
5 |
| A14: Loss-on-ignition |
11.50 |
20 |
| A15: Combustion (C+N+S) |
20.00 |
5 |
| A16: Total N (Kjeldahl) |
15.00 |
5 |
| Water Soluble (saturated paste) |
|
250 |
| A17: K, Ca, Mg, Na, & SAR* |
40.00 |
|
| A18: CO3 + HCO3 |
12.50 |
|
| A19: Cl |
12.50 |
|
| A20: NO3-N |
12.50 |
|
| A21: SO4-S |
12.00 |
|
| A22: All ions above plus B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Zn |
60.00 |
|
| A25: CaCO3 Equivalent |
12.00 |
10 |
Cation Exchange & Exchangeable Cations (NH4OAc extractable) |
|
|
| A23: K, Ca, Mg, Na, & ESP** |
40.00 |
50 |
| A24: CEC*** |
40.00 |
50 |
*Sodium Adsorption Ratio;
**Exchangeable Sodium Percentage; ***Cation Exchangeable Capacity |
|
|
Soil Physical Analyses |
|
|
| A26a: Texture (hydrometer) |
30.00 |
100 |
| A26b: Texture (laser) |
26.00 |
5 |
| A26c: Texture (pipette) |
80.00 |
100 |
| A27: Sand Sieving |
12.00 |
20 |
| A28: Texture & Sand Sieving |
28.00 |
120 |
| A29: Moisture Content |
3.50 |
20 |
| A30: Water Holding Capacity |
20.00 |
50 |
| Soil Mineralogical Analyses |
|
|
| A31: Glass Counts |
75.00 |
10 |
| A32: Mineral counts (add $25 for each additional mineral) |
75.00 |
10 |
B: Plant Analyses |
|
|
Plant Chemical Analyses |
|
|
| B0: Sample preparation |
3.50 |
|
| B1: Pack 1 (NPK, Ca, Mg) |
20.00 |
1 |
B2: Pack 2 (Pack 1 & Cu, Fe,Mn, Zn, Na, S)
|
35.00 |
1 |
| B3: C & N |
12.00 |
1 |
| B4: C, N, and S |
20.00 |
1 |
| B5: Ash |
10.00 |
5 |
C: Water Analyses |
|
|
Water Chemical Analyses |
|
|
| C0: Sample Preparation |
5.00 |
|
| C1: pH |
3.00 |
10 ml |
| C2: EC |
3.00 |
10 ml |
| C3: NO3-N |
10.00 |
10 ml |
| C4: NH4-N |
10.00 |
10 ml |
| C5: NO3-N & NH4-N |
15.00 |
10 ml |
| C6: P |
7.00 |
10 ml |
| C7: Cl |
10.00 |
10 ml |
| C8: K, Ca, Mg, Na |
15.00 |
10 ml |
| C9: Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn |
15.00 |
10 ml |
| C10: CO3 & HCO3 |
15.00 |
30 ml |
| C11: Total Suspended Solids |
15.00 |
200 ml |
Test Order Form
Credit Card Authorization Form
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Mailing Address
(Where to send samples):
Environmental Soil Analysis Laboratory
Science and Engineering Building
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
4505 S. Maryland Parkway
Las Vegas, NV 89154-4022
|
Contact Person:
Dr. Yuanxin Teng
Office Tel: (702) 895-3583
Lab Tel: (702) 774-1457
Fax: (702) 895-4064
Email: tengy@unlv.nevada.edu
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