Palaeoecology Laboratory (Pollen-Lab)
Contact: Dr.T.R. Premathilaka , Senior Lecturer, PGIAR, University of Kelaniya
E mail: premathilake@hotmail.com
(for any inquiries about our laboratory facilities, projects, and analytical possibilities of past climate,land-use history, land-cover reconstruction and a wide range of environmental changes.)
The Environmental Archaeology-Paleoecology Laboratory has developed multi-proxy methods and fieldwork facilities to understand human interactions with ecosystems. The aim is to provide a platform for research students and our collaborators to collect new data on past climate, human activities, and environmental reconstruction.
The Environmental Archaeology-Palaeoecology Lab is equipped with a suite of facilities to analyze and interpret past environmental and human-ecosystem interactions, including climate and vegetation change, land-use history and extreme events.
The lab supports research using multi-proxies:
Palynology: pollen and spore science
Phytoliths and diatom: siliceous microfossil analysis
Micro-charcoal analysis
Macro-botanical analysis
Sediment analyses, including:
Loss on Ignition (LOI)/Organic carbon
Grain size
Bulk Density
The lab facilitates the analysis of various organic and inorganic microfossils (pollen and phytoliths), plant macrofossils, and microcharcoal, including peat, organic accumulations, soil, and sediment cores from terrestrial and lagoon/freshwater environments spanning the past to the present. Our laboratories facilitate sample documentation, analytical work using various organic and inorganic microfossil analysis protocols and instrumentation, and data acquisition. We also provide fieldwork support, eg, stratigraphical coring and collection of peat and sediments from various environments using Russian Peat Cores and Jackhammer technologies.
Contact: Please contact premathilake@hotmail.com for any inquiries about our laboratory facilities, projects, and analytical possibilities of past climate, land-use history, land-cover reconstruction and a wide range of environmental changes.
Research students work at the laboratory
Research support with the laboratory staff
(A) (B)
Aro-biology and allergy science: Pollen, spores and various micro-biological particles from an atmospheric sample collected in the Colombo City area (A). Grass pollen (B) Scale bar=10µm
Sea-level change research:
Fossil pollen grains and variety of organic micro fossils found in sediment cores obtained from Batticaloa lagoon, Sri Lanka.
Fieldwork: sample collection from a rock shelter site for phytolith and palynological experiments with a research student
Fieldwork in the Horton Plains; Jackhammer technology
Archaeo-palynology and siliceous microfossil analysis: observing a sediment core with stratigraphy
