HELGES – Cosmogenic Nuclides Sample Preparation Lab

GFZ - German Research Centre for Geosciences
last updated: July 19, 2023

About the Laboratory

HELGES – Cosmogenic Nuclides Sample Preparation Lab

GFZ - German Research Centre for Geosciences
@ Section 3.3 Earth Surface Geochemistry
This Laboratory is part of:

Access

  • Tbd
Contact
Visit us on our website in DE / EN

Description

Pre-treatment of river sediment and soil samples for cosmogenic isotope analyses (¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al) includes purification steps to obtain pure quartz sands prior to dissolution and element separation by ion chromatography column chemistry. From sieved samples, minerals are separated by magnetic separation and/or heavy liquids, and silicate and oxide minerals are chemically separated from quartz by leaching with acids (HF, HCl, HNO₃) at elevated temperatures.

Instruments

  • Heavy Liquid Separation Line
  • Frantz Magnetic Separator

Analytical Methods


  • Ion Exchange Chromatography
  • Mineral Separation

Laboratory Keywords

  • Acid Dissolution
  • Acid Leaching
  • Chemical Leaching
  • Magnetic Separation
  • Purification

Disciplines

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