Christos Salmas

The Mineralogy - Geology laboratory was founded in 1920, one of the oldest in Europe. It comprises the Section of Geological Sciences of the Department of Natural Resources and Agricultural Engineering of the School of Environment and Agricultural Engineering in the Agricultural University of Athens. The lab and its personnel draw upon a range of topics through an extensive research network that is broadly grouped in: Mineralogy: Mineralogy – Mineral Chemistry, Petrography- Petrochemistry, Geochemistry- Pollution, Economic Geology- Industrial minerals and rocks. Geology: Structural and Tectonics, Neotectonics, Geological mapping, Environmental Geology, Hydrogeology (management and exploitation of subterranean water) , Geophysics, Natural Hazards, Water and Soil Pollution. Geomorphology: Physical Geography, Geomorphology, Quaternary Geology, Oceanography. Remote Sensing: General Principles, Data analysis, Classification, Photo-Interpretation, Applications, Combining data use of Remote Sensing and GIS. Over the last decade, the Laboratory participated in more than 30 research projects, under private, national or EU funds. These projects include environmental and hydrogeological studies, water and soil quality inspections, rock mechanics, geotechnical properties and natural hazards assessment. It is one of the best equipped laboratories in Greece, for environmental monitoring, for studying natural resources and natural hazards, hydrogeological properties as well as the physical and mechanical properties of earth materials. It is divided in 4 internal Units: a) Hydro-geochemistry, b) Remote Sensing and Geological Mapping, c) Soil and Rock mechanics, d) Optical and electronic microscopy. It is equipped with instruments that provide precise results for a wide range of major and trace elements, physical (e.g. pH, Eh, TDS, electrical conductivity) and biogeochemical (COD, BOD, TOC) parameters in water and soil analyses. It is also equipped with samplers for soil or waterbed sediments for hydrological and environmental studies.