Date and Time: Wednesday, March 26th 2025 at 7pm
Developments in the field of geochemistry have been transformative for our understanding of processes that have shaped our planet over geological time. This visit is a chance to see some of the new kit at UCD in its new home laboratory. You will be guided through the methods and instrumentation used in generating evidence to support our understanding of the timing and order of Earth processes.
The National Centre for Isotope Geochemistry at UCD (NCIG) is a world-class analytical facility that was established by Prof. Stephen Daly in 2009. The facility currently comprises two high-resolution multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers (Thermo Scientific Neptune and Thermo Scientific Neoma), a thermal ionisation mass spectrometer (Thermo Scientific Triton) and two Thermo Scientific iCAP Q-ICP-MS instruments. The laboratory is also equipped with an Analyte G2 193nm Excimer laser (Teledyne Technologies) that can be coupled with one of the iCAPs, the Neptune or the Neoma instruments for laser ablation in-situ analyses. Total investment in capital equipment and lab facilities, to date, amounts to more than €3M.
The two iCAP Q-ICP-MS instruments are used respectively for solution-based trace element analyses of waters and acid digested geological and archaeological materials and for trace element measurements (spot and mapping) and U-Pb dating of minerals such as zircon, apatite and rutile by laser ablation.
The laboratories have recently moved to a state-of-the-art facility in UCD’s Science South building that includes new clean labs for sample dissolution and ion-exchange separations as well as mineral separation and other sample preparation methods. Isotope ratio measurements are routinely made in the U-Pb, U-Th, Pb-Pb, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, Re-Os systems, in a wide range of geological materials. The recently installed Neoma instrument will extend the range of isotope systems that can be investigated and will allow in-situ laser ablation dating of Rb-rich minerals.
The visit will be led by Prof. Frank McDermott, who was appointed to the full-time lecturing staff in the UCD Dept. of Geology in 1999. He is currently Professor of Geochemistry at UCD and has been Director of the National Centre for Isotope Geochemistry since 2021. His research spans aqueous and low-temperature geochemistry, mineral weathering, isotope geology and U-series dating methods, palaeoclimatology and related atmospheric processes. He served as a Member of the Editorial Board for the international geochemistry journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta from 2014-2023. He was elected as a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA) May 2020.
To register for this event please CLICK HERE. Numbers are restricted to 20 participants.
Meeting Place: Participants should assemble at 6.45 for 7pm on March 26th 2025 at Science Centre East at University College Dublin (Belfield site) in room E0.61 (ground floor), near the Pi Restaurant).
Location link = https://maps.app.goo.gl/jNrfYFp7Tib81p1j6
The NCIG supports research across the Geosciences, including in Geochemistry, Petrology, Geochronology, Earth Resources, Marine & Earth Surface Processes, Palaeoclimatology and Quaternary Geology.