The NSW DPI can provide environmental sampling and advice to state & local government and private corporations. We provide expert advice in the following areas:

• Pasture improvement
• Site rehabilitation
• Development applications requiring an acid sulfate soil or salinity report
• Nutrient budgets
• Waste water assessment
• Acid sulfate soils
• Saline soils
• Environmental monitoring, e.g. reporting as required by EPA, and environmental protection licenses
• Statutory environmental audits
• Health risk assessments related to soil or water contamination
• Contamination remediation and validation
• Surface water and groundwater studies

We also create educational/informational displays to communicate soil information, e.g. soil monoliths.

Our Expertise

Our staff are certified practising soil scientists certified by the Australian Society of Soil Science Inc as meeting rigorous standards, which require ongoing professional training. For information go to www.cpss.com.au. We only use laboratories accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities to analyse clients’ samples.

Equipment

We have soil coring machinery for use in most terrains. This equipment is also available for hire (operator must accompany the machine).

The Proliner

A hydraulic, truck-mounted soil auger (right) designed to take soil cores of 50 - 300 mm diameter up to several metres deep.

The Proline auger can also be used to take cores for special purposes, such as preparing sites for installing piezometers and taking cores of acid sulfate soils, above or below a water table, with a gouge auger or collecting large (<300mm) undisturbed cores for plant growth experiments in the glasshouse.

Trailer Mounted Hydraulic soil corer

Mechanised soil coring equipment is used not only for soil surveys but also for a wide range of agricultural research and environmental monitoring projects throughout Australia.

The soil corer has a long mast (below right) which can be tilted hydraulically from a horizontal to a vertical position. It supports a hydraulic ram and power hammer which drives the steel soil coring tube to depths of up to 6 m.

If resistance to penetration (due to hard dry conditions or dense clay subsoil) prevents coring to the desired depth, the tube can be hammered down using the hydraulically-powered hammer attached to the ram. The corer can penetrate weathered rock, but at the risk of damage to the tip of the tube. When the desired depth is reached, usually within a minute, the long ram inside the mast withdraws the tube, automatically switching off the hammer. The pin holding the top end of the tube to the hammer is removed and the soil core inside is pushed out with a rod by hand.

The tube is typically 50mm in diameter with a reinforced top to reduce damage when hammering. The tip diameter is 1-2mm narrower than the internal diameter to prevent the core sticking to the inside walls, and has a similar bulge around the outside about 40mm from the end to clear the outside wall from the surrounding soil.

Contact

For an obligation free quote or for more information please contact us on 4633 8327 or e-mail.