We use a PDZ Europa 2020 Mass Spectrometer (MS-2020; now supplied by Sercon Ltd., UK) with a coupled self-constructed laser fluorination line for analyzing stable oxygen isotopes in biogenic silica samples (diatoms, radiolaria, sponge spicules). Our research focuses mainly on Arctic lake systems. For measuring stable oxygen isotopes in biogenic silica, a sediment sample undergoes several preparation steps including wet chemistry and heavy liquid separation to achieve a pure opal sample (> 97% …

Three Finnigan MAT Delta-S Mass Spectrometers are used for Stable Water Isotope Analytics (δ¹⁸O, δD) in the Stable Isotope Laboratory at AWI Potsdam since many years. The widely identical mass spectrometers are coupled with two equilibration units each to measure hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of water and ice samples. The equilibration technique uses thermally constant GFL water shaking baths units. Hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of water and ice samples are measured from the same aliquot (ca. 3 …

In the Isotope Laboratory, stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen are investigated by determining the ratio of individual isotopes (atoms of one element whose nuclei contain different numbers of neutrons) in the sample material. The isotopic composition of the sample allows conclusions about, for instance, the prevailing temperature and precipitation regime when the material was formed. In addition to paleoclimatology, stable isotopes are also utilized in geological, …

In our laboratory, the stable isotopes of the light elements carbon (C), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H) in continental geoarchives such as lake sediments and speleothems as well as in precipitation and surface water are measured. Stable isotopes are non-radioactive nuclides of an element with the same number of protons and different numbers of neutrons and thus different atomic masses. This results in different physical properties that can lead to a shift in the isotope ratios in a …