Soil is a heterogeneous material with significant variations possible within a single sampling site due to different topography, agricultural procedure, soil type, e.g. clay content, drainage and underlying geology. Soil sampling can be carried out, for example, using an auger, spade or trowel. A hand auger such as the corkscrew type allows you to acquire a sample from a reasonable depth while a trowel is more appropriate for surface material. Since all three devices are made of stainless steel, the risk of contamination is reduced. However, great care must be taken to avoid cross-contamination from one sampling location to another. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Obtain an original essay Once the sample has been obtained, it must be placed inside a suitable container such as a geological soil bag, sealed and clearly labeled with a permanent marker pen. After obtaining the soil sample, replace any unwanted soil and cover with sod, if appropriate. The sample will then be transported back to the laboratory for pretreatment. In the laboratory, the soil sample will be dried by air drying or in a drying cabinet. Drying time and temperature are variable, but typically air drying at less than 20℃ can take 7 days, while in a dryer at 40℃ it can take 48 hours. The potential loss of contaminants due to the use of elevated temperatures must be taken into consideration. After drying, the sample should be sieved through a nylon or stainless steel filter. Typically, soil samples would be sieved with particles less than 2mm in size. It may be necessary to reduce the overall amount of sample required for subsequent sample processing/analysis while maintaining sample homogeneity. This can be done using a process called "conizing and quartering". The process involves settling the soil sample onto an inert, contamination-free surface. For example, clean sheets of polyethylene, to form a cone. Subsequently the cone is manually divided into 4 quarters using a stainless steel trowel. Then, two opposite quarters of the cone are removed and reformed into a new substance, but smaller than the original cone. By repeating the process as many times as necessary, an appropriately sized subsample is now ready for sample extraction or digestion. Diagram shows portable auger Preparing Environmental Solid Samples for Inorganic Analysis Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer Please note: This is one sample only. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay Flame atomic absorption spectrometer is used for the detection of metals in soil, which is a common technique for soil analysis. In this technique, a light beam of the correct wavelength to be specific to a particular metal is directed through a flame. The flame atomizes the sample, producing atoms in their lowest electronic energy state, also known as the ground state. For flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS) measurement to excite the ground state atoms an external light source is required. These are able to absorb the radiation from the lamp. The nebulizer is part of the FAAS and this part is very important and complicated for this spectrometer. The nebulizer and burner combination provides.