Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences,
The University of British Columbia

Research Spotlight Archives

  • A microanalytical investigation of feldspars in the Skaergaard intrusion, East Greenland: Ternary feldspar compositional relations and lead isotopic geochemistry

    Researchers June O. Cho, James S. Scoates, Dominique Weis, Marghaleray Amini What question or problem are you trying to address? The Skaergaard intrusion represents the archetypal example of a closed-system layered intrusion (Wager and Brown, 1968). It has long held a position of importance in igneous petrology, and…

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  • Laser ablation U-Pb geochronology of hydrothermal carbonate veins from Carlin-type gold deposits

    Researchers Andrew Steiner, Marg Amini, Dominique Weis, Ken Hickey, Corey Wall What question or problem are you trying to address? Common to many rocks, veins are geological features that form when fluids precipitate minerals into open fractures. The timing of veins provides critical temporal constraints on the timing…

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  • Investigation of matrix effects during Fe isotope analyses on MC-ICP-MS

    by Elizabeth King Collaborators: Dr. Laura Bilenker, Anaïs Fourny, Genna Patton, Evelyn Freres, Dr. Dominique Weis, Dr. Ye Zhao Iron (Fe) is of great interest to earth scientists and isotope geochemists because of its importance in the biogeochemical cycling of energy and nutrients, and its various applications in…

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  • Calibrating the Archean Eon with a New Zircon Reference Material

    by Corey Wall U-Pb zircon geochronology is one of the most precise techniques for resolving the rates of processes through geologic time. As a result, it has become a major contributor to our understanding of the timescales that Earth’s processes occur over. An important aspect of any analytical…

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  • Lead-Strontium-Neodymium-Hafnium Isotopic and Trace Element Characterization of Mafic to Ultramafic Rock Reference Materials

    by Anaïs Fourny As isotopic and geochemical researchers, we seek the most accurate and precise analyses to describe and model the systems we study. However, in multiple collector-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometers (MC-ICP-MS), the sample matrix that is analyzed may affect the instrumental mass bias and result in inaccurate…

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  • Improving our Understanding of Metal Leaching from Mine Wastes using Metal Stable Isotopes

    by Elliott Skierszkan Mining of ore deposits provides the raw materials used in the construction of vehicles, computer and telephone circuits, and buildings. As a result, it has become a major contributor to the local and national economies. However, tremendous amounts of waste rock and mine tailings are…

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  • Pb Isotopes in the Ocean

    Applications of the nUBC AttoM by Jason McAlister, Kristin Orians, Dominique Weis Billions of litres of seawater undulate against our shores. Ferry rides to islands penetrating the sea surface are set against the backdrop of a seemingly endless ocean horizon. We enjoy days at the beach, and feast…

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  • Assessing the performance of NPII for Fe isotopes

    MAGNET Internship at the Nu Instruments factory by Anaïs Fourny and Genna Patton It has been observed that one needs to match perfectly standard-sample concentrations to achieve good sample-standard bracketing precision on Δ56Fe/54Fe (‰) and Δ57Fe/54Fe (‰) when using dry plasma. The goal of our internship is to…

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  • High-precision geochemical data from basalts of the northern Garibaldi Belt, British Columbia

    Although a volcanic eruption in downtown Vancouver might sound like something out of a movie, the Vancouver area has been volcanically active for more than a hundred million years. Magmatic rocks have been unearthed at downtown construction sites and are also visible in cliffs flanking Stanley Park and…

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  • UBC Drinking Water Quality Assessment

    PCIGR recently collaborated with a group of 4th-year UBC Environmental Science students on their research project: Assessment of Drinking Water at UBC: A consideration of water quality, energy and economic costs, with practical recommendations. Objective: Determine whether heavy metal contamination of campus tap water merits cause for concern.…

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