Studying the subsurface life also encounters the quantification of total cell abundance. Imaging and optical analysis methods are used for this. In the Flow Cytometry Lab, samples are studied via fluorescence microscopy for the visualization of microorganisms by fluorescent labelling. Thereby, phase-contrast images are used for direct observation of microorganisms. Flow cytometry is applied for cell detection and sorting.

The laboratory for microscopy focuses on the specific requirements of microfacies analysis of lake sediments, but also offers a wide range of possibilities for other applications. Sedimentological, petrographic and microfacies analyses on all kinds of covered and uncovered thin sections and polished sections with transmitted and incident light are performed.