Interested in improving your environmental and climate science knowledge with the help of our analytical solutions? Whether you’re a student, a researcher, or a professor, we’ve got a wide range of useful articles on the most relevant applications of our atmosphere, land, and water research solutions.
The materials researched and the analytical methods used in environmental and climate science research often overlap with Agriculture and Food Sciences, and Geological Sciences, Minerals, and Mining, so you may also find useful information on those pages. The method abbreviations are explained at the bottom of this page. Enjoy exploring!
The atmosphere
Through research in meteorology, pollution, and climate change, we’re always studying the atmosphere. Here are just a few ways we can make new discoveries in atmospheric sciences. A big part of investigating our atmosphere also includes calibrating for different atmospheric conditions. Take a look at our application examples below to find out more!
The Atmosphere | Method | Sample/Subject | Application Note Title (Link) |
|---|---|---|---|
Clouds radiative properties - calibration of spectra | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Cloud and surface radiative properties | |
Night-time lights - calibration of spectra | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Night-time light using a Nightsat sensor | |
Particles, ash - automated imaging | Imaging | Volcanic ash | |
Particles, pollution - automated imaging | Imaging | 1 ml of a 2000 particles/ml counting standard (Thermo Scientific Ezy-cal lot 37088) | |
Particles, pollution - elemental analysis | XRF | EPA method IO-3.3 for 55 elements | Elemental analysis of air filters according to US EPA method IO-3.3 |
Particles, pollution - elemental analysis | XRF | As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn in air | |
Solar spectral energy - calibration of spectra | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Solar Spectral Energy |
Land
With the demands on land constantly increasing, it’s more important than ever to study land use, land erosion, and soil properties, and to map variations in biology and vegetation. To find out more about investigating mineral deposits, check out Geological Sciences, Minerals, and Mining. Land researchers can use analytical instruments to calibrate and validate airborne satellite images and carry out ground- and lab-based experiments. Take a look below to find out more about our land research solutions!
Land | Method | Sample/Subject | Application Note Title (Link) |
|---|---|---|---|
Change of use and invasive species - calibration of airborne sensor | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Land-use change and invasive species | |
Earth from space - Calibration of spectra | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Earth surface | Non-imaging Airborne Spectroscopy for Calibrating Satellite Imagery |
Earth from the air - calibration of spectra | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Calibrations or radiance spectra at Ivanpah Playa, California, and Lake Mead, Nevada | The MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) — A New Instrument for Earth Science Studies |
Soil - lab-based measurement of mineralogy and total carbon | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Soil carbon, soil minerals | |
Soil - organic carbon content | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) | Analysis of Soil Organic Carbon in Soil Samples using an ASD NIR Spectrometer |
Vegetation - review of remote sensing methods | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Review article of land-air mapping | Scaling Spectroscopic Approaches – From Leaf Albedo to Ecosystems Mapping |
Water
From Himalayan Snow to our coastal waters, we have a keen interest in water as a precious life-giving natural resource. We study water treatment for human consumption, as well as how water becomes polluted and the impact water has on our environment. Check out our application notes below to find out more about our water research solutions!
Water | Method | Sample | Application Note Title (Link) |
|---|---|---|---|
Drinking water - particle content | NTA | Drinking water before and after filtration | |
Fire protection, water mists - particle size | LD | Water, mist systems/surfactants | Characterizing fire suppression systems using the Malvern Spraytec |
Wastewater treatment - coagulation | ELS | Wastewater, coagulant | |
Water quality - chlorophyll, phosphorous, and turbidity | UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR | Water quality parameters such as chlorophyll-a, turbidity, and total phosphorus | |
Water treatment - clarification control | ELS | Severn-Trent water treatment | |
Water treatment - flocculation | ELS | Bentonite (aluminum-silicate clay particles /water model system + cationic flocculant (alum)) | |
Water treatment - nanoparticles | NTA | Researching the toxicity and environmental impact of nanoparticles | Assessing Nanoparticle Toxicity in Wastewater using Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis - Whitepaper |
Water treatment - process control | ELS | Wastewater, treated water | The role of zeta potential in water treatment process control |
Water treatment - removal of toxins | ELS | RNIP (reactive nano iron particles) to remove toxic chlorinated compounds (i.e. trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethene (PCE), chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane) | |
Water treatment - turbidity simulations | ELS | Intralipid samples to simulate turbidity | Concentration limits for zeta potential measurements in the Zetasizer Nano |
Abbreviations explained
Our products and technologies are described on the Products pages. Below you can find a quick reference to the properties measured by our instruments, together with the measurement name and its abbreviation. Click on each method to find out more about it!
Abbreviation | Method Name | Instrument(s) | Measured Property |
|---|---|---|---|
DLS | Zetasizer | Molecular size, hydrodynamic radius RH, particle size, size distribution, stability, concentration, agglomeration | |
ELS | Zetasizer | Zeta potential, particle charge, suspension stability, protein mobility | |
ITC | MicroCal ITC | Binding affinity, thermodynamics of molecular reactions in solution | |
DSC | Microcal DSC | Denaturing (unfolding) of large molecules, stability of macromolecules | |
GCI | Creoptix WAVEsystem | Real-time binding kinetics and binding affinity, label free with fluidics | |
IMG | Morphologi 4 | Imaging of particles, automated shape and size measurement | |
MDRS | Morphologi 4-ID | Imaging of particles, automated shape and size measurement, chemical identification and contaminant detection | |
LD | Mastersizer
| Particle size, size distribution | |
NTA | NanoSight | Particle size, size distribution, and concentration | |
SEC or GPC | Size exclusion chromatography / | OMNISEC | Molecular size, molecular weight, oligomeric state, polymer or protein size and molecular structure |
SPE | Le Neo
| Fused Bead Sample preparation for XRF, Peroxide solution preparations for ICP, Flux weighing for beadmaking | |
UV/ Vis/ NIR/ SWIR | Ultra-violet / visible / near infra-red / short wave infra-red spectrometry | LabSpec
| Material identification and analysis, moisture, mineral, carbon content. Ground truthing for airborne and satellite spectroscopic techniques. |
PFTNA | CNA | In-line elemental analysis | |
XRD-C | Aeris
| Molecular crystal structure refinement, crystalline phase identification and quantification, crystalline to amorphous ratio, crystallite size analysis | |
XRD-M | Empyrean
| Residual stress, texture | |
XRD-CT | Empyrean | 3D imaging of solids, porosity, and density | |
SAXS | Empyrean | Nanoparticles, size, shape and structure | |
GISAXS | Empyrean | Nanostructured thin films and surfaces | |
HR-XRD | Empyrean
| Thin-films and epitaxial multilayers, composition, strain, thickness, quality | |
XRR | Empyrean
| Thin films and surfaces, film thickness, surface and interface roughness | |
XRF | Epsilon
| Elemental composition, elemental concentration, trace elements, contaminant detection |