Short Description
The Core Facility enables the determination of temperature-related ages from sedimentary rocks, igneous rocks or metamorphic rocks. The aim is to quantify the time-temperature history of mountains and their foothills. This data is used to determine the driving forces of landscape changes, the influence of climate change on mountain building, underground fluid flow for geothermal issues, or the long-term safety of nuclear repositories.
The core facility consists of three sub-areas. First, mineral separation, in which rocks are prepared for analysis. Rock samples are ground up and the individual minerals are separated. Individual grains of certain heavy minerals such as apatite and zircon are selected for further analysis. In the second step, the mineral separates are degassed with the "Alphachron" device in order to determine their helium content. For this purpose, individual grains (diameter <<1 mm) are packed in platinum tubes and heated with a laser. The helium stored in the crystal is released by the heating process and quantified with a mass spectrometer. In the last step, the individual grains are dissolved in acids and their chemical composition is analyzed using the "AGILENT 7900 ICP-MS" device. After ionization in a plasma with a temperature of up to 7000°C, almost all elements of the periodic table can be quantified with this mass spectrometer.
Besides its application for dating, mineral separation can be used to quantify the mineral composition of rocks, which is important for petrological and petrographic studies. The ICP-MS device can also be used in materials science, biology, chemistry and physics.
Contact Person
Dr. Bjarne Friedrichs
Research Services
Generation of low-temperature thermochronometric data on single crystals for in situ and detrital samples. Analysis of the chemical composition of aqueous, acidic, alkaline or organic solutions.
Methods & Expertise for Research Infrastructure
The data generated can be used to determine a temperature-dependent age of rocks, which is important for our understanding of mountain-forming processes, fault activity or fluid flow in the Earth. The data generated can also be used to understand physico-chemical processes in the atmo-, hydro-, bio- and geosphere.
Equipment
RHEINISCH-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen, Germany
Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG), Hannover, Germany
University of Heidelberg, Germany
University of Bergen, Norway
University of Innsbruck, Austria
Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI), Brugg, Switzerland
National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (NAGRA), Wettingen, Switzerland
General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA), Ankara, Turkey
Universität Wien, Österreich
GFZ Helmholtz-Zentrum für Geoforschung, Potsdam, Deutschland
Universität Potsdam, Deutschland
Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Türkei
Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prag, Tschechien
2022
Valentina Argante, Sumiko Tsukamoto, Dave Tanner, Christian Brandes, Christoph v.Hagke
Leibniz Universität Hannover, Deutschland; Leibniz-Institut für Angewandte Geophysik (LIAG), Hannover, Deutschland
https://www.plus.ac.at/umwelt-und-biodiversitaet/forschung/fachgebiete-der-geologie-und-physische-geographie/geologie/laufende-projekte/lunar/
ThinkAlps
2022
Sofia Brisson, Christoph v.Hagke, Florian Wellmann
Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen, Deutschland
https://www.plus.ac.at/umwelt-und-biodiversitaet/forschung/fachgebiete-der-geologie-und-physische-geographie/geologie/laufende-projekte/thinkalps/
2023
Brisson, S., Wellmann, F., Chudalla, N., von Harten, J., & von Hagke, C.
Applied Computing and Geosciences, 18
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acags.2023.100115