Scientific lead
Lab manager
Associated researchers
Research support staff
PhD / Post-doctorate fellows
The Noble Gas facility is a research laboratory dedicated to the analysis of noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe) and nitrogen from solid samples (rocks and minerals originating from the terrestrial mantle and crust or various planetary bodies), liquid samples (water and subsurface fluids), or gaseous samples (atmospheric, volcanic, or geothermal gases).
For this purpose, various techniques are employed: (1) Extraction (crushing, 193 nm or 213 nm laser ablation, induction heating or laser heating using CO2 or diode lasers), (2) Purification under ultra-high vacuum (UHV); (3) Analysis by high-resolution noble gas mass spectrometry.
The facility, hosted at the CRPG, is integrated locally within the ANATELo network and the Carnot Icéel institute, and nationally within the RéGEF network of the INSU.
The facility provides analytical services for CRPG researchers as part of internal collaborations. Each year, it also hosts Master’s students, doctoral students, post-doc researchers, and visiting scientists. Finally, upon approval by the steering committee, analyses may be performed for other laboratories, whether academic or private.
Equipment
Nu Instruments Noblesse HR
Coupled systems:
UHV purification line
Systems of extraction under UHV (grinder, induction furnace, laser)
Analyses:
Ne, Ar, and N2 in rocks
Thermo Scientific Helix MC "Gris"
Coupled systems:
UHV purification line
Systems of extraction under UHV (grinder, induction furnace, laser)
Analyses proposées:
He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe in rocks
Thermo Scientific Helix MC "Bleu"
Coupled systems:
UHV purification line
Systems of extraction under UHV (grinder, induction furnace, laser)
Analyses:
He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe in gas-rich samples
Thermo Scientific SFT "Cosmo"
Coupled systems:
UHV purification line
Systems of extraction under UHV (grinder, induction furnace, laser)
Analyses:
3-4He and 20-21-22Ne in rocks
Thermo Scientific SFT "Air"
Coupled systems:
UHV purification line
Systems of extraction under UHV (grinder, induction furnace, laser)
Analyses:
3-4He and 20Ne in fluids (gas and liquid)
Ligne d'analyse Datation U/He
Coupled systems:
UHV purification line
Systems of extraction under UHV (Laser 193 nm and 988 nm)
Analyses:
4He and 20Ne in separated minerals
CONDITIONS OF ACCESS/PRICES
Access: Access to this facility is obtained by contacting the manager, who will evaluate the feasibility of the project (contact the scientific lad and lab manager by email or using the request form below).
Prices: Contact the facility manager.
ANALYTICAL REQUEST FORM
Request form:
members
RECENT AND NOTABLE PUBLICATION
Recent publications
Bekaert, D.V., A. Caracausi, B. Marty, D.J. Byrne, M.W. Broadley, G. Caro, P.-H. Barry, A.M. Seltzer (2024). The low primordial heavy noble gas and 244Pu-derived Xe contents of Earth’s convecting mantle. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 642, 118886.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118886
Doll, P., S.R. Eaves, B.M. Kennedy, P.-H. Blard, A.R.L. Nichols, G.S Leonard, D.B. Townsend, J.W Cole, C.E. Conway, S. Baldwin, G. Fénisse, L. Zimmermann, B. Tibari (2024). Cosmogenic 3He chronology of postglacial lava flows at Mt. Ruapehu, Aotearoa / New Zealand, Geochronology, 6, 365–395. https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-365-2024
Gamblin, J., E. Füri, B. Marty, L. Zimmermann, D.V. Bekaert (2024). Dissecting the complex Ne-Ar-N signature of asteroid Ryugu by step-heating analysis. Geochem. Persp. Let., 31, 44–48. https://doi.org/10.7185/geochemlet.2431
Lauretta, D. S. and the OSIRIS‐REx Sample Analysis Team (2024). Asteroid (101955) Bennu in the laboratory: Properties of the sample collected by OSIRIS‐REx. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 59(9), 2453-2486. https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.14227
Morbidelli, A., Y. Marrocchi, A.A. Ahmad, A. Bhandare, S. Charnoz, B. Commerçon, C.P. Dullemond, T. Guillot, P. Hennebelle, Y.-N. Lee, F. Lovascio, R. Marschall, B. Marty, A. Maury, O. Tamami (2024). Formation and evolution of a protoplanetary disk: Combining observations, simulations, and cosmochemical constraints. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 691, A147. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202451388
Notable publications
Marty, B., L. Zimmermann, P.G. Burnard, R. Wieler, V.S. Heber, D.L. Burnett, R.C. Wiens, P. Bochsler (2010). Nitrogen isotopes in the recent solar wind from the analysis of Genesis targets: Evidence for large-scale isotope heterogeneity in the early solar system. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 74, 340–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2009.09.007
Blard, P.-H., G. Balco, P.G. Burnard, K.A., Farley, C.R. Fenton, R. Friedrich, A.J.T. Jull, S. Niedermann, R. Pik, J.M. Schaefer, E.M. Scott, D.L. Shuster, F.M. Stuart, M. Stute, G. Winckler, L. Zimmermann (2015). An inter-laboratory comparison of cosmogenic 3He and radiogenic 4He in the CRONIS-P pyroxene standard. Quaternary Geochronology, 26, 11–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2014.08.004
Tibari, B., A. Vacherat, M. Stab, R. Pik, D. Yeghicheyan, P. Hild (2016). An alternative protocol for single zircon dissolution with application to (U-Th-Sm)/He thermochronology. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 40, 365–375. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-908X.2016.00375.x
Füri, E., E. Deloule, R. Trappitsch (2017). The production rate of cosmogenic deuterium at the Moon’s surface. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 474, 76–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.05.042
Almayrac, M.G., D.V. Bekaert, M.W. Broadley, D.J. Byrne, L. Piani, B. Marty (2022). The EXCITING experiment exploring the behavior of nitrogen and noble gases in insterstellar ice analogs. The Planetary Science Journal, 3, 252. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac98b0