Rare gases mass spectrometry laboratory (IGG-CNR, Italy)
The five stable noble gases or “rare gases”, Helium, Neon, Argon,
Krypton, and Xenon, are chemically inert, making them good tracers for
physical processes. Due to their elevated volatility, they have a strong
affinity for the gas phase. Noble gases provide a group of 23 stable
isotopes widely used to investigate physical processes in nature (earth
and extra-terrestrial systems ). Three major terrestrial reservoirs
contribute to noble gas inventory in terrestrial fluids (water, gas,
oil): (i) Atmosphere and Air Saturated Water (ASW); (ii)
Solid-Earth-derived fluids, related to the radiogenic or nucleogenic
production, from parent radionuclide dispersed in the rock matrix and/or
in embedded fluids; (iii) Mantle fluids have a significantly different
signature from the other reservoirs mainly for high 3He enrichment in
fluids. All these reservoirs have a quite distinct chemical and isotopic
signature that allows for efficient tracing of the different relative
contribution in geological matrices. Noble gases have found large
application as tracers in: hydrogeology, geothermal
prospection/exploitation, volcanology, gas/oil reservoirs management,
viability assessment of CO2 geological storage, further to as
indicators of: climate variations in ice cores, pore sediments and fluid
inclusions in stalagmites, and degassing/mixing processes during the
formation of the Solar system and of the Earth.
The research and services at the Rare Gas Lab are based on the use of
noble gases to determine the origin of fluids from different tectonic
environments.
The Rare Gas lab contains a mass spectrometer system, capable of precise
isotopic measurements of the noble gases, made up of:
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Mass Analyser Products Ltd. MAP215-50 noble gas mass spectrometer;
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SpectraLab200 Quadrupole mass spectrometer;
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UHV gas inlet system equipped with a cryostat and designed to be
versatile and to extract noble gases from a variety of materials.
Website:
https://www.igg.cnr.it/en/laboratories/analytical-laboratories/rare-gases-mass-spectrometry-lab/
