Geography And Environmental Facilities
Geographical and Environmental Resources Laboratory
The Geographical and Environmental Resources Laboratory (GER Lab) is a dedicated area for undergraduate students who gather together for research and group work.
Our specialist technical staff are there to offer advice and support and deal with subject related queries.
Resources include:- aerial photographs and specialist maps
- OS 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 maps of England and Wales
- information related to field course studies
- recent research publications by staff
- videos of programmes on environmental and geographical topics
Geographical Information Sciences Laboratory
The Geographical Information Sciences Laboratory (GISci Lab) is a dedicated IT teaching and research lab for students and staff that work with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS). It provides both hardware and software facilities that are essential to GIS project design and implementation and a senior technician is at hand to provide advice and support.
Lab equipment includes:
- high specification networked PCs
- digitising board
- differential GPS systems with download facilities
- flatbed scanner
- a total station and access to high precision differential GPS receivers
- ArcGIS ArcInfo Workstation
- ERDAS Imagine (including the latest version of OrthoBASE for digital photogrammetry)
- Idrisi and Cartalinx
Geosciences Laboratory
This new laboratory has specialist equipment for the testing of sediments that enable a comprehensive range of tests to be carried out, including particle size analysis by wet sieving and sophisticated laser diffraction methods, basic soil properties, as well as compressibility and shear strength of soils.
Physical Geography Laboratory
This lab is especially designed to support students’ practical learning activities in subject areas such as physical geography, geology, environmental sciences.
Facilities include:
- a full suite of UK Geological Maps at 1:50,000 scale
- many specialist maps at different scales
- maps of various other countries where field work has been carried out by our staff and students
The lab is extremely well stocked with all the major igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock types plus a fossil collection, and also contains 25 binocular petrological microscopes for the analysis of rocks samples in thin-section. A dedicated PC in the lab has specialist software including a 'virtual petrological microscope' and soils analysis software.
Bayfordbury Field Station
Our University has its own Field Station which is used by our Geography and Environmental Sciences students during their degrees. The field station is situated in the Lee valley just outside of Hertford and it includes:
- a science block
- plant growth facilities
- an Environmental Agency funded stream research facility
- 50 types of habitats, including ancient woodlands, grassland and a lake