Single chamber Mg/Ca analyses of Globigerinoides ruber for paleo-proxy calibration using femtosecond LA-ICP-MS.

Mg/Ca is an independent proxy in paleoceanography to reconstruct past seawater temperature. Femtosecond Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (fs-LA-ICP-MS) was employed to determine the Mg/Ca composition of tests (shells) of the planktic foraminifer species Globigerinoides ruber albus (white chromotype) and G. ruber ruber (red/pink chromotype) sampled alive from the temperate to subtropical eastern North Atlantic with the research sailing yacht Eugen Seibold.

Comparison of Minimally Invasive Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry Approaches for Strontium Isotopic Analysis of Medieval Stained Glass with Elevated Rubidium and Rare-Earth Element Concentrations.

Different approaches for the determination of the Sr/Sr isotope ratio of high-Rb glass are compared in this work to assess the suitability of minimally invasive approaches for applications on medieval stained glass (from the ancient Abbey of Stavelot in Belgium). It was found that pneumatic nebulization multicollector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (PN-MC-ICP-MS) after acid digestion and chromatographic isolation of the target analyte out of the sample matrix can still be seen as the preferred method for the high-precision isotopic analysis of Sr in glass with high Rb and rare-earth element (REE) concentrations. Alternatively, the use of laser ablation (LA) for sample introduction is a powerful technique for the direct analysis of solid samples.

Geochemical studies on rock varnish and petroglyphs in the Owens and Rose Valleys, California.

We investigated rock varnish, a thin, manganese- and iron-rich, dark surface crust, on basaltic lava flows and petroglyphs in the Owens and Rose Valleys (California) by portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) and femtosecond laser-ablation inductively-coupled-plasma mass spectrometry (fs-LA-ICPMS). The major element composition of the varnish was consistent with a mixture of Mn-Fe oxyhydroxides and clay minerals. As expected, it contained elevated concentrations of elements that are typically enriched in rock varnish, e.

Vanadium pentoxide nanoparticles mimic vanadium haloperoxidases and thwart biofilm formation.

Marine biofouling--the colonization of small marine microorganisms on surfaces that are directly exposed to seawater, such as ships' hulls--is an expensive problem that is currently without an environmentally compatible solution. Biofouling leads to increased hydrodynamic drag, which, in turn, causes increased fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Tributyltin-free antifouling coatings and paints based on metal complexes or biocides have been shown to efficiently prevent marine biofouling.

A young source for the Hawaiian plume.

Recycling of oceanic crust through subduction, mantle upwelling, and remelting in mantle plumes is a widely accepted mechanism to explain ocean island volcanism. The timescale of this recycling is important to our understanding of mantle circulation rates. Correlations of uranogenic lead isotopes in lavas from ocean islands such as Hawaii or Iceland, when interpreted as model isochrons, have yielded source differentiation ages between 1 and 2.