Department of Geology and Geophysics
 

Minnesota Isotope Group

 

 
 

The Minnesota Isotope Group studies a wide range of timescales, from millions of years ago to modern.  We are well equipped with a variety of lab space, mass spectrometers and other equipment.  Please peruse these pages for further information on research interests and capabilities. 

 

Groups:

 

Trace Metal Isotope Geochemistry Group 

Limnological Research Center

David Fox’s Group

 

 

 

People

   Professors:

Larry Edwards 

David Fox

Emi Ito

    Researchers:

· Hai Cheng, TIMS Lab Manager

· Maniko Kamei, Stable Isotope Lab Manager

· Victor Zabielski

    Graduate Students:

· Rebecca Clotts

· Carolyn Dykoski

· Megan Kelly

· Sam Matson

· Sushmita Ray

· Mark Shapley

· Rebecca Thomas

· Laura Triplett

· Xianfeng Wang

 

Facilities:
 

Minnesota Isotope Laboratory

· TIMS facility:

· Thermal ionization mass spectrometers with multiple cups, high-abundance sensitivity and ion-counting capabilities.

· An inductively coupled plasma magnetic sector mass spectrometer.

· Clean rooms for purification and separation of trace metals.

· Stable Isotope Laboratory facility:

· Finnigan MAT Delta E mass spectrometer

· Finnigan MAT 252 mass spectrometer with Kiel device (to measure isotope ratios of C, N, O and S; the Delta E also can measure HD ratios)

· Diurnal incubators

· Circulating and shaking water baths

· Analytical balances

· Muffle furnace and drying ovens

· Vacuum extraction lines supporting stable isotope analysis of carbonates (C, O), water (O, H, DIC), silicates and oxides (O), and organic material (O, C).

 

Limnological Research Center
 

· State-of-the-art Sediment Core Research Facility (an NSF National Facility)

· Field  systems for collection of cores from diverse lake types

· Integrated Core Studies Laboratory comprising:

· A: Initial Core Description stations including multi-sensor logging, splitting,  microscopy, photo-digital documentation, laser-grain size.

· B: Geochemical Stratigraphy stations including inorganic and organic carbon couloumetry, sulfur, and biogenic silica

· C: Optical microscopy lab with stations for paleoecology, organic and mineral petrography, and fluorescence

· D: Special studies stations including AMS Radiocarbon target preparation, digital image and spectral analysis, and sample separations for external analyses.

· E: Library of sediment cores from lakes worldwide

 
 

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