The Earth Science Stable Isotope Laboratory of the Vrije Universiteit (VU, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) plays an important role in the work of many researchers and students of different clusters of department of Earth Sciences at the VU, who wish to answer questions covering a wide range of academic disciplines: (carbonate) geology, palaeontology, hydrology, palaeoceanography,(paleo-)climatology, archaeology, forensics and planetary sciences.
The Earth science Stable Isotope Laboratory also caters to external research institutes and universities, as well as to research demands of private petrochemical and water companies.
Stable Isotope Analysis
The Earth Science Stable Isotope Laboratory routinely provides precise and accurate stable carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) isotope measurements on biogenic and inorganic samples.
Innovation at the Earth Science Stable Isotope Laboratory comprises stable C and O isotope analyses of minute amounts of carbonate (<5 μg) and the H and O isotope analysis of fluid inclusions extracted from rock samples such as speleothems and hydrothermal minerals.
| Sample type | Isotopes |
| Carbonates (Calcite, Aragonite, Dolomite, (fossil) shells and foraminifera | δ18O and δ13C |
| Apatite (Bone and teeth) | δ18O and δ13C structural carbonate δ18O phosphate |
| Fresh- and saltwater | δ18O and δ2H δ13C (DIC) |
| Organic matter (from sediment, hair, collagen and diamonds) | δ15N and δ13C |
Fluid-inclusions in minerals (speleothems, corals, hydrothermal minerals) | δ18O and δ2H |
Fluid-inclusions in minerals (CO2 in quartz minerals) | δ18O and δ13C |
Contact information:
For information of our stable isotope service, routinely performed analyses and pricing please contact the stable isotope laboratory:
Suzan Verdegaal-Warmerdam (operational manager)
s.j.a.verdegaal-warmerdam@vu.nl
+31 20 59 87327
Jeroen van der Lubbe (scientific leader)
Jeroen van der Lubbe — Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (vu.nl)
h.j.l.vander.lubbe@vu.nl
Instrumentation
The Earth Science Stable Isotope Laboratory houses:
Thermo Finnigan Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometers (IRMS):
- Continuous Flow Deltaplus IRMS equipped with a Gasbench II and a CombiPal autosampler and a Cold Trap
- Continuous Flow Deltaplus XP IRMS coupled to a Flash Elemental Analyzer, High Temperature Conversion Elemental Analyzer (TC/EA) and/or the in-house developed Amsterdam Device
Picarro cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) Analyzers:
- Picarro L2140-i CRDS analyzers connected to autosampler and newly developed Amsterdam II Device
- Picarro G2201-i CRDS analyzer
Elemental Scientific Instruments MicroMill2 System allowing high-resolution milling of samples for isotopic and geochemical analysis
Some highlighted research
The Mesozoic terminated in boreal spring. / During, Melanie A. D.; Smit, Jan; Voeten, Dennis F. A. E.; Berruyer, Camille; Tafforeau, Paul; Sanchez, Sophie; Stein, Koen H. W.; Verdegaal-Warmerdam, Suzan J. A.; Lubbe, Jeroen H. J. L. van der. Nature, Vol. 603, No. 7899, 23.02.2022, p. 91-94.
Carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of CO2 trapped in silicate minerals. / Luciani, Natascia; van der Lubbe, Jeroen H.L.; Verdegaal-Warmerdam, Suzanne J.A.; Postma, Onno; Nikogosian, Igor K.; Davies, Gareth R.; Koornneef, Janne M. Chemical Geology, Vol. 602, 120872, 20.07.2022, p. 1-13, 2022.
Restricted internal oxygen isotope exchange in calcite veins : Constraints from fluid inclusion and clumped isotope-derived temperatures. / Nooitgedacht, C. W.; van der Lubbe, H. J.L.; de Graaf, S.; Ziegler, M.; Staudigel, P. T.; Reijmer, J. J.G. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 297, 15.03.2021, p. 24-39.
High-precision stable isotope analysis of <5 μg CaCO3 samples by continuous-flow mass spectrometry. / Vonhof, Hubert B.; de Graaf, Stefan; Spero, Howard J.; Schiebel, Ralf; Verdegaal, Suzan J.A.; Metcalfe, Brett; Haug, Gerald H. RCM. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, Vol. 34, No. 19, e8878, 15.10.2020, p. 1-11.