Method development for interdisciplinary isotopic research using multi-collector ICP - mass spectrometry

-In 2006, a new multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) was installed at the Ghent University for multidisciplinary research in chemistry, geology, ecology (financed by the Flemish government through a grant to the Ghent University, KULeuven and Vrije Universiteit Brussel).

MC-ICP-MS is a highly performant technique for the measurement of isotopic ratios of all elements (except H, C, N, O, S, and noble gases). The VUB priorities in research are defined below:

1) Cr isotope to identify the type of projectile (the meteorite) responsible for the formation of impact craters in the geological record,

2) Use of the Os and Sr isotopic signature as a paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental record and to identify the effects of various oceanic and terrestrial processes on the biogeochemical cycles

3) U-Th geochronology to date recent carbonates deposits (speleothems, shells)

4)11B/10B analyses as an indicator of paleo-pH and salinity in paleoceanography and paleoclimatology