Bascom Multi-Sensor Core Logger (BASCORE) Laboratory
High-resolution imaging and automated logging of whole and split sediment and rock cores
GeoTek MSCL-S multi-sensor core logger
Whole-core logging and split-core line-scan imaging
GeoTek MSCL-XZ multi-sensor core logger
Automated, high-resolution split-core logging
Bascom Multi-Sensor Core Logger (BASCORE) Laboratory
Located in the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center at the U.S. Geological Survey headquarters in Reston, Virginia, the laboratory houses state-of-the-art core logging equipment for collecting high-resolution line-scan images and geophysical and geochemical measurements.
The Bascom Multi-Sensor Core Logger (BASCORE) Laboratory houses two state-of-the-art GeoTek loggers that collect high-resolution line-scan images and automated, non-destructive geophysical and geochemical measurements on whole and split soft sediment and rock cores as well as discrete subsamples and hand samples.
The lab is equipped to process cores containing a variety of rock and sediment types including peat, lacustrine, estuarine, coastal, and near-shore sediments, glacial material, and bedrock cores. A major component of the lab’s work focuses on sediment cores from peatland and lacustrine (lake) studies in the eastern US, supporting natural hazards research and studies of past environmental conditions and ecology, and the lab also supports geologic mapping, critical minerals and energy research, and other work being done nationally and globally. The laboratory produces data used to inform energy and resource assessments and decision-making surrounding land management issues. The lab’s tools and equipment (see “Capabilities” tab at left) are used to support researchers working across a range of USGS Mission Areas.
The lab’s capabilities are available to USGS researchers and can also be provided to other federal, state, and academic entities upon agreement. Contact lab management for more information.
The GeoTek MSCL-S system in the BASCORE Lab is used to collect gamma density, p-wave velocity, and magnetic susceptibility data on whole cores, as well as high-resolution line-scan images of split cores.
The GeoTek MSCL-XZ system in the BASCORE Lab is used to collect X-ray fluorescence (XRF), color spectrophotometry, and magnetic susceptibility point data on split cores.