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Open-File Report 2005-1001

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U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1001
USGS East-Coast Sediment Analysis: Procedures, Database, and GIS Data skip menu

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Coulter Counter

Video Length: 1 minute, 53 seconds
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VIDEO FRAME
NARRATIVE
Image shows view of the entire coulter counter system.
 The Coulter Counter Multisizer IIe determines distributions of silt and clay-sized particles suspended in a conductive liquid by forcing the suspension to flow through a small aperture.
Image shows close-up view of sample stand (tube and electrodes).
 As a particle passes through the aperture, it changes the resistance between the internal and external electrodes. This produces a current pulse of short duration having a magnitude proportional to the particle volume.
Image shows operator introducing the sample with pipette.
 To minimize coincidence, or measuring more than one particle at a time, the concentration of the suspension may be adjusted. Acceptable concentrations limit the number of particles passing through the aperture to less than 1,000 per second.
Image shows close-up view of the control panel and pulses.
 During analysis of a sample, the series of pulses is electronically classified by size and counted.
Image shows close-up view of loggine computer.
 After an analysis is completed, the data is logged on a computer.
Image shows silt and clay fractions of sample.
 The silt and clay fractions of geological samples usually have a large particle diameter range. If this diameter range exceeds 20:1, more than one size aperture tube must be used.
Image shows the 200- and 30-micron aperture tubes.
 The first analysis is performed with a 200-micron aperture tube; a 30-micron aperture tube is used during the second analysis. The analyst first performs all of the 200-micron aperture analyses, then swaps aperture tubes and changes the machine settings.
Image shows analyst splitting sample with a 20-micron sieve.
 Before the 30-micron aperture analyses are run, the analyst must split each sample with a 20-micron sieve. When an individual sample is run as part of a group, a typical time for each multi-aperture analysis is approximately 5 minutes.
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