M3 Research Laboratory

Welcome to the USGS M3 Research Laboratory. We specialize in analyses for mercury, other trace metals/elements, and microplastics. We have a multi-disciplinary team of researchers that is dedicated to developing field and analytical methods for the reliable detection of metals and microplastics. For metals, we have expanded capabilities to examine concentrations using optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry techniques as well as a high-resolution multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer to examine isotope ratios. The lab also specializes in low-level concentration and speciation methods for mercury. New capabilities include the enumeration and identification of microplastics using Raman and IR spectroscopy techniques. Check out our capabilities page for more information!