The facilities provide a good basis for graduate project and research work, particularly in the support of field studies. A geomorphology laboratory on the ground floor of the lab block has just been upgraded and contains equipment for analysis of fine and coarse sediments respectively. The facilities include balance rooms, a sieve shaker room, chemical analysis and general work areas. An extensive range of basic and advanced field equipment is available. This includes data loggers and atmospheric sensors, GPS, surveying, snow and soil study equipment, a variety of wave and current recorders, and equipment for the manufacture and analysis of dye-tracers.
Workshops provide for the design and construction of instruments and other field equipment.
An electronics workshop includes facilities for testing and calibration purposes. Metal and wood workshops are used for light engineering. Three full-time technicians provide laboratory, electronics and workshop support. Some members of staff, and some graduate students, make summer visits to Scott Base, the New Zealand base in Antarctica. The department owns a four-wheel drive vehicle.