Field Capabilities
With over 30 years of experience in all types of terrain, the M3 Team can assist you in collecting samples almost anywhere. Need some runoff from a steep mountain slope or cliff? Surface sediments and overlying water at the bottom of an 80-meter-deep lake? Interstitial waters from an Alaskan peat bog? Zooplankton from the Great Lakes? We’ve been there, done that, and we’ll help you get started!
The USGS M3 has a comprehensive inventory of field equipment for collecting trace-metal clean samples. Many of these items are commercially available, but others are custom built for specific applications. We can help you source these items for your own inventory or provide the equipment for short-term sampling campaigns. Below is a partial list of commonly used items. Check back soon as we expand our field capabilities for microplastics!
Water
Teflon Tubing (1 to 100 m) for collecting water at depth
Peristaltic Pumps (battery Powered) for collecting water at depth
In-line Filter Cartridges (reusable or single use) for separating particulates in the field
Filter Chambers for separating particulates from whole-water grab samples
Vacuum Pumps for drawing down filter chambers
Go-Flo Bottles for triggered capture of whole-water at great depths
Pore-water Sippers for collection of interstitial water in high-porosity substrate
Rain Collectors for automated sampling with precipitation events
DH-81 for depth & flow-weighted sampling in wadable streams
ISCO Samplers for automated sampling with time
High-Capacity Well Pump for large volume collection
Sediments/Soils
Coring Device for sediment depth profiles
Ekman Dredge for surface sediment grabs
Sediment Traps for time-integrated collection of settling material in lakes
Biota/Vegetation
Plankton Nets for collecting waterborne invertebrates
Screens & Tweezers for sieving and picking biota
Ceramic Knives for cutting vegetation or filleting fish without contamination
Liquid Nitrogen Dewar for flash freezing microbial DNA samples
Sample Containers
Teflon or Glass Bottles (reusable) from 30 ml to 6 L capacity
PETG Bottles (single use) from 60 ml to 6 L capacity
Poly Jars (single use) for sediment and biota
LDPE Bags (single use) for vegetation
Teflon Bags (reusable) for air sampling or water incubations.
Teflon or Glass Vials (reusable) for water, sediments and biota
Teflon or Poly Petri Dishes (reusable or single use) for particulate mercury and SPM filters
Insitu Measurements
Flow-thru Cell for conductivity, pH, DO, and temperature
Multi-Probe Sonde for major water quality parameters
C3 Submersible Fluorometer for Turbidity, Chlorophyll and CDOM
HOBO Loggers for automatic depth and temperature readings
Pan Balances (battery operated) for determining mass
Light Meters for photodecomposition experiments
Tekran® 2505 Mercury Vapor Primary Calibration Unit
Tekran® 1130 Oxidized Mercury Speciation Module for air
DGM Flow-Through Cell for Dissolved Gaseous Mercury Measurements
Field Experiments
Purging Equipment for maintaining anoxia
Quartz Reaction Vessels (small and large) for photochemical processes
Gold Traps for capturing gaseous Hg
Incubation Core Barrels for methylation in sediments
Syringes for injecting isotopic Hg spikes into cores
Miscellaneous Gear
Coolers, Tubs, Icepacks for shipping samples and gear
Metered Kevlar Rope for measuring water column depth
Waders, Boots, Survival Jackets for personal protection
Life Vests, Safety Vests, Safety Glasses for personal protection
Gloves for personal and sample protection
Power Tools, Hand Tools for construction and repair of field equipment
Don’t see what you are looking for? Reach out to m3research@usgs.gov -- we just might have it tucked away.
Instructions for Sample Collection
How to collect a water sample for mercury analysis