The ElMiE Lab is a research-oriented facility and part of the Helmholtz center in Potsdam. The ElMiE – Lab offers the sample preparation and analyses of geological or environmental inorganic samples for element concentrations and mineralogy of inorganic materials. Laboratories and instruments associated with the ElMiE Lab include the XRD, XRF, …

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 …

In the Organic Surface Geochemistry Lab (OSGLab) of the Geomorphology section, the smallest of molecules and isotopes open a door to the past. In the OSGLab we conduct research on regional differences of the causes and effects of past climate change and variations in biochemical cycles. In some projects, we can determine the "traces" of climate change down to a decade, in other projects biogeochemical processes are traced over millions of years.
In the laboratory, changes in the carbon …

For solid state analyses, a thermo combustion based CHN analysis of organic materials is applied.   Further, a Horiba LabRAM HR Evolution Raman spectrometer with motor driven table and Olympus microscope can be used. This spectrometer is equipped with a Nd:YAG laser at 532 and 785 nm. A LINKAM stage enables studies under a wide in situ temperature range. The Raman set-up is shared with section 3.1.