The Earth & Marine Sciences building on the main UCSC campus has IMS-managed office spaces and laboratories to support researchers, postdoctoral scholars, and visiting scientists. A suite of shared-use IMS laboratories known as the Marine Analytical Laboratories is open to faculty, researchers, postdoctoral scholars, specialists, and students associated with IMS.

Located within the Earth & Marine Sciences Building, the Marine Analytical Laboratories is an open core facility for marine-related research. In this central lab complex, scientific instrumentation and equipment support research in marine chemistry, environmental toxicology, marine biology, and geology. Analytical instrumentation, instruction in the use of equipment, consultation in experimental design, sampling, analysis, and data interpretation, and general assistance in all aspects of analytical science are provided by the lab manager, Brian Dreyer. The labs also frequently host projects in undergraduate courses in Chemistry (Instrumental Analysis), Ocean Sciences (Field and Laboratory Methods in Coastal and Aquatic Science), and Earth and Planetary Sciences (Practical Geochemistry).

The facility is distributed into two individual service labs, which are designated as the Plasma Analytical Lab (PAL) and the Marine Analytical Lab (MAL).

The Plasma Analytical Lab includes an ICP-OES, a quadrupole ICP-MS, a magnetic sector ICP-MS, and 3 a Laser Ablation system. These instruments, and the support provided to users by the lab manager, have resulted in numerous research proposals, publications, and thesis projects.

The Plasma Analytical lab has recently been funded by the NSF to acquire a state-of-the-art multiquadrupole ICP-MS and a suite of “front-end” accessory devices specifically to support advancements in earth and marine science and toxicology. Cost-sharing was provided by the campus, the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences (PBSci) (via salary support), IMS, and the Earth and Planetary Sciences, Ocean Sciences, Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology [METX], and Chemistry departments. The high cost of consumables and maintenance of instruments in the Plasma Analytical Facility does require a recharge for use, but it is less than other comparable facilities. The Institute of Marine Sciences uses funds from the Packard Ocean Endowment to frequently provide modest amounts of matching funds to help purchase new instruments for the lab as proposals come forward.

The Marine Analytical Labs provides analytical support to a wide variety of users, including some from non-marine fields (Agroecology; Anthropology; Chemistry; Ecology and Evolutionary [EE] Biology), Environmental Studies; Earth and Planetary Sciences METX and Molecular, Cell, and Developmental [MCD] Biology. The general access nature of the labs, the existence of equipment not available elsewhere on campus, and the continued acquisition of research equipment allow the labs to remain a valuable part of IMS. This model is often used as an example of how communal equipment and space can be managed. On-campus marine scientists frequently cite the Marine Analytical Laboratories as an invaluable resource for faculty, researchers, and graduate students, and one that has been far more efficient, cost-effective, and better maintained than most labs managed by individual scientists. This critical facility is maintained at a very modest annual cost: Brian Dreyer’s salary, instrument and equipment service and repair, consumables and other supplies, and a little student assistant time. Most of the equipment is available for use without charge.

For inquiries, please contact the Lab Manager, Dr. Brian Dreyer.