Microstructural Analytics Laboratory

The Microstructural Analytics Laboratory at UBC Okanagan specializes in microstructural characterization and interpretation of geologic specimens. The lab has the capability to examine specimens from the decimeter scale down to the micron scale. It houses an optical crystal fabric microanalyzer; the only one of its kind in North America. This equipment can be used to determine the orientation of individual crystals in a rock (down to five microns in size), which can provide information on deformational characteristics such as shear sense, temperature, and vorticity of flow.