In spring, the organic geochemistry platform acquired a GC-IMRS for isotopic measurements of carbon and hydrogen on specific molecules.
The organic geochemistry platform of GeoTrAc team specialises in compound specific analysis using gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) techniques. The arrival of a GC coupled with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) was therefore eagerly awaited.
The new instrument, a GC 8890 (Agilent Technologies) coupled with a GC5 combustion furnace (Elementar) and a precisION IRMS (Elementar), was installed and tested in the spring. It is configured for δ13C or δ2H measurements on specific compounds. Since its installation, the study of molecular signatures, in δ13C or δ2H, from natural, environmental and archaeological matrices has become routine on the technical platform. The research questions addressed are various in nature, such as for instance the identification of food sources in ancient ceramics or the reconstruction of past vegetation and hydrology.This new apparatus provides crucial data for ongoing national and international research projects ANR SESAME, ANR EGOUT, ERC AGROCHRONO, ERC MILLWAYS and to collaborations with external partners.