Water Laboratories
The purpose of the UKCEH Water Labs at Edinburgh and Lancaster is to analyse water samples for a range of chemicals and freshwater biota.
Category
Analysis labs
Capabilities
UKCEH Water Labs are equipped for high quality chemical analysis of water samples (including nutrient concentrations, pH, alkalinity, conductivity and chlorophyll a concentrations) plus microscopy facilities suitable for plankton analysis.
Lifecycle
The Water Labs provide an ongoing service for UKCEH research. Analytical equipment in the Water Labs has an average lifespan of about 5 years and microscopes have a lifecycle of about 10-15 years. Equipment is maintained and replaced on a constant cycle, either at end-of-life or as newer technologies become available.
Uniqueness
UKCEH Water Labs are unique in being able to rapidly process water quality and biological samples in parallel, providing high quality data to support process based understanding of freshwater ecosystems.
Partners
See UKCEH Lake Observatories.
Access
The Water Labs are available to UKCEH and other researchers, usually through project collaborations with UKCEH freshwater groups at Edinburgh and Lancaster.
Location
The Water Labs are based at UKCEH Edinburgh and UKCEH Lancaster
Funding sources
UKRI-NERC National Capability funding: UK-SCaPE programme; plus research project grants and contracts.
Users
See UKCEH Lake Observatories.
Last updated
09 April 2025 09:24
Contact
Linda May & Steve Thackeray
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology