South Coast Nutrient Analysis Lab

The South Coast Nutrient Analysis Laboratory (SCNAL) is a joint venture between the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA), and the Centre for Ecohydrology. It is based in DAFWA’s Albany office, and its role is to support a range of projects by undertaking nutrient and other analyses on water, soil and plant materials.

To do this SCNAL uses a number of analytical instruments and staff. The principal instruments include a flow segmentation auto-analyser which is used for routine analysis of water samples for nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen in a number of forms. Additionally there is a Near Infra Red (NIR) Rapid Content Analyser which is used for rapid determination of properties of a range of materials such as soil and plant material. Once calibrated the NIR can help to overcome the need for laborious wet chemistry techniques. This instrumentation is supported by ancillary laboratory equipment for sample preparation including filtration and digestion.

The instrumentation is operated by a number of contract and casual staff to deal with the seasonal requirements of the analysis. Lyn Calvert operates the auto-analyser and organises casual staff to undertake ancillary analyses such as pH, EC and Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and undertake preparatory work such as sample digestion in autoclaves, or filtration for soluble analytes.

Casual staff preparing samples and entering data.

Auto-analyser used to undertake simultaneous determination of phosphate and nitrate in water samples, soil and plant extracts or digests.

Lyn Calvert viewing results from the auto-analyser and preparing the results to report to research staff.