Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer

Main focus of our investigations is the age determination and interpretation of mainly continental climatic archives for the reconstruction of late quaternary climatic cycles combined with the luminescence dating method, the palynology and stable isotopes measurements. For the precise measurements of the Uranium- and Thorium isotopic composition the lab is equipped with a Finnigan Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometer (TIMS) MAT 262 RPQ using the software RunIt26x of spectromat GmbH in Bremen. The chemical preparation of the Uranium and Thorium isotopes is performed in a near by clean room.

The main focus of our work in the TIMS-lab is based on the 230Th/U dating technique. It allows reliable dating of carbonate, cave deposits, travertine and peat in the time range of the last 500.000 years. The sample selection of suited parts of the sample material is most important and therefore sample selection is subject to strong selection criteria. Sample sizes depend on the Uranium and Thorium concentrations of the analysed material and are in the order of 0.4 g for organic material with high U-concentrations of up to 20 ppm and respectively 1-2 g for calcium carbonate with U-concentrations of 0.1-1 ppm.