The micropaleontological laboratory at Colgate University is equipped to prepare quantitative diatom slides via a settling technique and to complete biogenic silica analyses via a spectrophotometric technique. Three microscopes in the lab are dedicated to micropaleontological analyses: an Olympus Research Stereozoom Model SZX12 with PMC350X photography system, and Olympus BX50 and Olympus BX60 infinity corrected microscopes, both with BX-FLA reflected light fluorescence attachments for epi-fluorescence microscopy. The BX60 is attached to a Hitachi Digital Camera with Flashpoint digital imaging software. In addition, four research quality Nikon E400 epi-fluorescence microscopes are available at Colgate University (via an NSF/RUI award); all equipped with SPOT color CCD cameras and image acquisition software from Diagnostic Imaging.