Research program
Research plan
PhD projects
ESR 1
ESR 2
ESR 3
ESR 4
ESR 5
ESR 6
ESR 7
ESR 8
ESR 9
ESR 10
ESR 11
ESR 12
ESR 13
ESR 14
ESR 15

ESR 3 – Laser ablation for water isotopic analysis with particular focus in spectral estimation for diffusion studies

Early stage researcher: Eirini Malegiannaki (Univ. of Copenhagen, DK)

Supervisors: V. Gkinis (Univ. of Copenhagen, DK), Carlo Barbante (Univ. of Venice, IT)

Academic secondment: Univ. of Venice (IT); Non-academic secondment: PICARRO (USA)

Abstract

The water isotopic composition is going to be one of the most important parameters to be measured on the Oldest Ice Core (OIC). Together with the Greenhouse Gas Concentrations from the air bubbles trapped in the core, the water isotopic composition will provide invaluable information about the interplay between temperature and Greenhouse Gas Forcing over periods of millenia.

It is therefore pivotal to obtain accurate and precise measurements of the water isotopes from the OIC together with robust depth registration and high resolution. With these goals in mind, within the PhD project of ESR 3, we will take advantage of modern technologies in high-power Femtosecond Laser-Pulse generation in combination with high precision Infra-Red Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy in order to develop a novel system for the water isotope analysis of ice core samples.

The new system called Laser Ablation – Cavity Ring Down Spectrometer (LA-CRDS) will allow us to obtain extremely high quality measurements of water isotopes while at the same time using a minimum amount of the precious ice cores sample.

During the project ESR3, will develop skills in IR spectroscopy, control of ultrashort laser pulses, robotics and digital/analog electronics as well as CAD design, CNC manufacturing and 3C printing.

Key words: Stable Water Isotopes, Laser Ablation, Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy, High-Resolution Analysis

Credit: V. Gkinis (Univ. Copenhagen)

Scientific results

News

Presentation by Eirini Malegiannaki at EGU2022 :

CR2.7 – From climate to ice core proxy signal and reverse – primary and secondary signal formation processes, room 1.15/16 on Tuesday, 24 May 2022, 13:56 CEST – EGU22-4226
Optimization of ’cold’ laser ablation sampling for water isotopic analysis on ice cores
by Eirini Malegiannaki, Vasileios Gkinis, Carlo Barbante, and Dorthe Dahl-Jensen