Electron Microprobe

The JEOL JXA-8800 Superprobe housed in the School of Geological Sciences operates with four wavelength-dispersive spectrometers and is capable of analysing solid materials for elements from nitrogen to uranium.

Contact Information:

 Please contact Dr. Jüergen Reinhardt at the School of Geological Sciences for more information on our current rates

Publications:

Saha, L., Hofmann, A., Xie, H., Hegner, E., Wilson, A., Wan, Y., Liu, D. and Kröner, A., 2010, Zircon ages and metamorphic evolution of the Archaean Assegaai – De Kraalen granitoid-greenstone terrain, southeastern Kaapvaal Craton, American Journal of Science, 310, 1384-1420.

Saha, L., Hofmann, A., Jele, N. & Harris, C., Palaeoarchaean sea-floor alteration and metamorphism of pillow basalts from the Nondweni Greenstone Belt, SE Kaapvaal Craton, (in preparation).

LA-ICP-MS

The trace element laboratory at the School of Geological Sciences is equipped with a Perkin-Elmer Elan 6100 quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) and a New Wave UP 213 laser ablation system. These instruments are supported by a wet-chemistry lab for sample preparation and digestion that includes Anton Paar and CEM microwave ovens. Routine analyses focus on silicate rocks, but a large variety of samples including water and biological materials can be investigated for a wide range of elements.

Contact Information:

Please contact Mr. Logan Vandeyar at the School of Geological Sciences for more information on the analytical procedures and our current rates

Publications:

Saha, L., Hofmann, A., Jele, N. & Harris, C., Palaeoarchaean sea-floor alteration and metamorphism of pillow basalts from the Nondweni Greenstone Belt, SE Kaapvaal Craton, (in preparation).

MALVERN MASTERSIZER PARTICLE ANALYSER

The School of Geological Sciences houses a Malvern Instruments Mastersizer 2000 laser diffractometer with Hydro 2000MU pump accessory. This instrument is mainly used for the particle size analysis of sediment and other particulate matter in the size range of 0.02 – 2000 μm.

The instrument is based on the principle of laser diffraction. Two light sources are utilized, a red He-Ne laser at 0.632 μm and a blue LED at 0.466 μm. Diffracted light is measured by 52 sensors and accumulated in 100 size fraction bins. The Mastersizer 2000 utilizes Mie theory to convert the scatter of light energy to grain size and reports grain-size distributions as volume percentage for each size bin.

The Mastersizer 2000 is used by different research groups in Geological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, and Chemical Engineering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Analyses for research and commercial purposes for clients outside the university are also carried out. The most common application is the particle size analysis of sedimentary material, although the grain size of any non-toxic, water-insoluble particulate matter can be determined in our laboratory.

Contact Information:

Please contact Mr. Logan Vandeyar at the School of Geological Sciences for more information on the analytical procedures and our current rates