Pheasant Memorial Laboratory

Stable isotope lab

Elemental and isotope compositions of H, C, N, and O from inorganic and organic materials can be analysed in this laboratory.

Flame esmission (FA) and atomic absorption (AA) are useful methods to determine trace amounts of metals (alkali, alkali earth, and transition metals) in geological and environmental materials. Samples were decomposed in chemical laboratories, and diluted to desired concentrations. Digested sample solution is nebulized and introduced into the flame to atomize elements. The emitted radiation power is measured by photodetector in FA mode, while adsorption of optical radiation is measured in AA mode.

Methods and techniques:

R. Tanaka and E. Nakamura (2017). Silicate-SiO reaction in a protoplanetary disk recorded by oxygen isotopes in chondrules, Nature Astronomy, 1, 0137.

R. Tanaka and E. Nakamura (2013). Determination of ¹⁷O-excess of terrestrial silicate/oxide minerals with respect to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW), Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 27(2), 285-297.

Stable Isotopes Laboratory - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Technical Utilities

Thermo Scientific MAT253 IRMS
TC/EA
Flash2000
Gas Bench II
GC-C
Fluorination system
Flame emission/atomic absorption spectrometer (Shimadzu AA-6200 equipped with autosampler ASC-6100F)
Clean fume food (Yamato CYG120)
Dry ovens (Iuchi LDO-450S, Advantec VO-230, AsOne AVO-250N)
Centrifugal (AsOne CN-1040N)

Analytical Capabilities

Isotope and compositional analyses of H, C, N, and O
Flame emission mode: Determination of potassium abundance for K-Ar dating [0.5–1.5 ppm with uncertainty less than 1% (1σ)]
Rapid analyses with automated sample exchange (10 samples in an hour)
Atomic absorption mode: Determination of trace amounts of Cd in industrial and laboratory wastes

Related Work

Nakamura et al. (2019). Hypervelocity collision and water-rock interaction in space preserved in the Chelyabinsk ordinary chondrite, Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B, 95(4), 165-177.
Nakao et al. (2019). Asian dust increases radiocesium retention ability of serpentine soils in Japan, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 204, 86-94.
Zakharov et al. (2019). Triple oxygen isotope systematics as a tracer of fluids in the crust: A study from modern geothermal systems of Iceland, Chemical Geology, 530, 119312.
Pack et al. (2016). The oxygen isotope composition of San Carlos olivine on the VSMOW2‐SLAP2 scale, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 30(13), 1495-1504.
Nakao et al. (2015). Aeolian-Dust-Derived Micaceous Minerals Control Radiocesium Retention in Andosols in Japan, Soil Science Society of America Journal, 79(6), 1590-1600.
Rehman et al. (2014). Oxygen isotopes in Indian Plate eclogites (Kaghan Valley, Pakistan): Negative d¹⁸O values from a high latitude protolith reset by Himalayan metamorphism, Lithos, 208-209, 471-483.
Nakamura et al. (2012). Space environment of an asteroid preserved on micrograins returned by the Hayabusa spacecraft, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(11), E624-E629.