Mikroskopsystem zur Spaltspuren-Analytik

• Subject Area: Geology and Palaeontology
• Term: Funded in 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 449546326

Fission track analysis is widely used in Geosciences and is applied, amongst, others, for quantifying erosion and exhumation of the upper crust, bracketing timing of fault movements, dating large-scale tectonic processes, determining sediments provenance in source-to-sink studies, and constraining thermal evolutions of sedimentary basins, often in association with hydrocarbon exploration. The section "Geodynamics of Polar Regions", University of Bremen, uses fission track analysis as its core expertise, and has successfully run a fission track laboratory for the last decades. The current equipment of the laboratory consists of two stage systems dating from the 1990´s. We aim to replace them by two state-of-the-art stage systems allowing for (semi-)automated fission track analysis. (Semi-)automation and digital image analysis will enable us to (i) facilitate and speed up data generation, (ii) improve counting statistics, both in terms of number of dated grains and number of measured lengths, (iii) provide digital records of analysed grains, which in turn enables us to change from the External Detector Method to the micro-destructive Laser-Ablation Fission Track Analysis (iv) improve training opportunities for PhD students and other early-stage researchers, (v) supports documentation, archiving, and exchange of basic and raw data used for thermal history reconstructions.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Mikroskopsystem zur Spaltspuren-Analytik
• Instrumentation Group: 5040 Spezielle Mikroskope (außer 500-503)
• Applicant Institution: Universität Bremen
• Leader: Professorin Dr. Cornelia Spiegel