Coastal El Niño triggers rapid marine silicate alteration on the seafloor.

Marine silicate alteration plays a key role in the global carbon and cation cycles, although the timeframe of this process in response to extreme weather events is poorly understood. Here we investigate surface sediments across the Peruvian margin before and after extreme rainfall and runoff (coastal El Niño) using Ge/Si ratios and laser-ablated solid and pore fluid Si isotopes (δSi). Pore fluids following the rainfall show elevated Ge/Si ratios (2.

Quantifying beryllium concentrations in plant shoots from forest ecosystems using cation-exchange chromatography and quadrupole ICP-MS.

Beryllium (Be) is known to be one of the most toxic elements but at the same time exerts a stimulating effect on plant growth. Despite this contradiction, little is known about the Be metabolism in living organisms, partially because of the low amounts present and because the analysis of Be in plants by ICP-MS remains challenging. The challenges arise from the complex organic matrix, the low abundance of Be relative to the other plant essential elements, and the matrix effects resulting thereof in the plasma.

Development of routines for simultaneous in situ chemical composition and stable Si isotope ratio analysis by femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Stable metal (e.g. Li, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mo) and metalloid (B, Si, Ge) isotope ratio systems have emerged as geochemical tracers to fingerprint distinct physicochemical reactions.

Mass quantification of nanoparticles by single droplet calibration using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Utilization of metallic engineered nanoparticles (ENP) is progressing rapidly; therefore, characterization of their most important properties, e.g., size/mass, elemental composition, and number concentration, is inevitable and currently uses a set of different techniques.