Marcantonio Isotope Geochemistry Group
R. KEN WILLIAMS '45
RADIOGENIC ISOTOPE GEOSCIENCES LABORATORY
Welcome to our Lab
The R. Ken Williams '45 Radiogenic Isotope Geosciences Laboratory allows College of Geosciences faculty and students to perform radiogenic isotope interdisciplinary research in diverse fields such as (but not limited to) marine geology, global tectonics, geochronology, environmental sciences, paleoceanography, and paleoclimate.
About
The R. Ken Williams ’45 Radiogenic Isotope Geosciences Laboratory at Texas A&M (completed September, 2008) is a 1550 ft2 laboratory complex that consists of a perchloric acid fume hood room, gown-up room, dilution and weighing room, clean general chemistry room (<2000 particles >0.3 μm per ft3 air), ultra-clean chemistry room (<100 particles >0.3 μm per ft3 air). Clean-air workstations in each chemistry lab are better than 100 particles >0.3 μm per ft3 air and two recirculating laminar flow hoods both tested at zero particles. The instrument room houses a Triton thermal-ionization mass spectrometer, an Element XR high-resolution inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer, and a Photon Machines Analyte 193 laser-ablation system. The radiogenic isotope geochemistry facilities also include separate rooms for dirty/wet sample preparation, rock crushing, and mineral separation.
Equipment
Triton Plus Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer (TIMS)
The TIMS system is ideal for the high-precision analysis of isotope ratios of Earth material, typically used for dating and tracing purposes. For a technical description go to: http://www.thermoscientific.com/en/product/triton-plus-multicollector-thermal-ionization-mass-spectrometer.html
High-Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer Element XR
The High-Resolution Element XR is capable of measuring the concentrations of metals and non-metals within a high dynamic range, i.e., concentrations as low as parts per trillion (ppt) to as high as parts per thousand (permil). For a technical description go to: https://tools.thermofisher.com/content/sfs/brochures/D21624~.pdf
Photon Machines Analyte 193 Excimer Laser Ablation System
The laser system is used for the ablation of solid material which is directly input to the Element XR high-resolution ICPMS. For a technical description go to: