Service, data and software

Framework conditions of a co-operation and/or service

The team manages a large research platform funded by the DFG and the state of Baden-Württemberg with a variety of instrumental techniques and applications (ETIS - Environmental TRACE Isotope Infrastructure) under the leadership of Prof Nobert Frank, Dr Martina Schmidt and Dr Sophie Warken, as well as the directors of the Institute of Environmental Physics and the Institute of Geosciences (the latter in relation to the use of the Pico-Trace Clean Laboratories in INF234, 6th floor). The scientific reasons for the provision and operation of the instrumental systems (see section 2) are described in the applications for the funding programme ‘Forschungsgroßgeräte’ (INST35/1143-1 FUGG, INST35/1270-1) according to Art. 91b GG, as well as in an application of Heidelberg University to the Structural and Innovation Fund of the State of Baden-Württemberg (SI-BW). The scientific focus of our work is presented on the website under Research of the Physics of Environmental Archives team, as well as on the websites of the Greenhouse Gases and Water Isotopes team and the Tropical Climate Variability and Speleothemes team. Additional funding for the ETIS infrastructure components was provided by the Excellence Initiative II and individual DFG research grants. The ETIS infrastructure concept includes further components of the technical equipment of the Institute of Environmental Physics (IUP), which are available for analysing environmental trace substances and for determining the age of natural sediment archives, water, air and ice samples. This also includes a growing collection of speleothems, tropical corals and cold-water corals, as well as marine and drinking water. ETIS forms an equipment centre in Heidelberg that is available to national and international research initiatives and individual scientific projects as part of scientific collaborations or, in individual cases, as a full service.

Instrumentation and available methods

The analytical platform comprises the instruments and laboratories described below, which can be used:

1. Multicollector inductively coupled plasma source mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) (ThermoFisher Neptune+), equipped with a variable series of high impedance amplifiers and coupled with desolvators (ARIDUS II and APEX HF) and autosamplers (ESI - SC).
2. Inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometer (ICPQMS) (ThermoFisher iCAP-Qs), equipped with a collision cell, an APEX HF desolvation system (ESI) and an autosampler (ESI)
3. 193 nm laser ablation system that can be coupled with either the MC-ICPMS or the ICPQMS (New Wave)
4. Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer (IRMS) equipped with a multiport inlet and baseline detectors and coupled to an automated carbonate dissolution and digestion system (ThermoFisher MAT253 + Gasbench II)
5. Cavity ring down spectrometer (CRDS) for the analysis of CO₂, CH₄, H₂O and isotopes (PICARO and Los Gatos)
6. A ¹⁴C preparation laboratory for the extraction of CO₂ from carbonate and water samples in contractual co-operation with the KTL in Mannheim (MICADAS - Ion Physics)
7. A PICOTRACE clean laboratory infrastructure (aerosol-free and acid-resistant environments) can be used to carry out chemical separation and cleaning processes
8. Numerous chemical preparation laboratories including HF-capable fume cupboards are available at the IUP (but no microwave digestion system)
9. A micromilling system was recently set up
10. A diamond band saw for cutting speleothems
11. A sandblasting machine and a Dremel tool are available for the mechanical cleaning of samples.

Prices (coming soon)