Learning PSA the modern way

I had done particle size analysis (PSA) for my PhD, but nothing really since. The laser particle size we had was quite old then, and I did my work in the early noughties. I figured a lot would have changed since then! But I knew that Ocean Sciences had bought a new machine, and there was an offer for being trained up to use it. I took that offer. It is a very useful skill to have! Foraminifera often care about grain size, and given that they are nowadays increasingly used as environmental indicators, and pollution really cares about grain size, it has only become more important. And this machine can even give you the shape of your particles. Jaco and I had been wondering if it can tell the difference between  foraminifera and sand, or even between planktonic and benthic foraminifera! If it can, that could save a lot of time in some projects…

We spent the morning being told and shown by an employee of the manufacturer how it works. It looks like it is fairly straightforward. Only really doing some measurements will show if that is true or not. I'm sure I can use this in some Masters projects! A good thing to get out of the way during the relatively quiet time in summer…