Section 4.2: Inorganic and Isotope Geochemistry

Head of Section: Prof. Dr. Jörg Erzinger

What are the constituents of geologic materials and which physical and chemical characteristics do they have? Such questions are at the core of our research in Section 4.2. To answer these questions, we investigate not only rocks and minerals but gases and fluids as well. We interpret their chemical and physico-chemical characteristics and perform inorganic analytics down to the smallest concentrations and to the tiniest submicroscopic scales. We combine field work with experiments in the laboratory and we also model geochemical processes numerically. Other important topics of our work are the development of new geochemical techniques and measuring devices and the continuous improvement and standardisation of geochemical data. Using isotope analysis on noble gases and other elements, we also contribute to the advancement of geochronology.