ISMER palynology laboratory

andre_rochon [at] uqar.qc.ca (andre_rochon[at]uqar[dot]qc[dot]ca)
Tél. :  418-723-1986 ext. 1742

Address:

Geotop-ISMER
310 allée des Ursulines 
Rimouski, QC G5L 8X3 - Canada

  • 2 transmitted light research microscopes NIKON Eclipse 80i equipped with digital cameras and Nomarski contrast (DIC)
  • Inverted microscope NIKON Eclipse TE-2000-U equipped with a digital camera
  • Research transmitted light/fluorescence microscope Leica DM-5500B equipped with a digital camera, phase contrast and Nomarski contrast (DIC)
  • Binocular microscope Leica M-165C

  • Standard and microwave palynological preparations
  • Palynological analyses (pollen, spores, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs)
  • Phytoplankton analyses (dinoflagellates)
  • Foraminifera analyses
  • Phytoplankton culturing

Standard palynological preparations involve:

  • Wet sieving of 5 cm3 of sediment with addition of Lycopodium tablet of known concentration
  • Repeated hot hydrochloric (10%, 4x) and hydrofluoric (49%, 3x) to remove carbonate and silicate material
  • Centrifugation with distilled water between each acid treatment
  • Mounting of residue in glycerine jelly
  • Preservation of residue in distilled water with addition of phenol
  • Measure of water content of sediment