[Note: These are the web pages of the former Section 4.6 Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution. It has moved with effect from 1.10.2024. The research topics and projects will be moved to other sections. This will only be reflected on the website in the coming weeks].
With the monitoring in the framework of the TERENO-project we aim at better understand the formation processes of lake sediments for an advanced reconstruction of past climate and environment.
The thin section preparation is used to make or produce sections of soft sediments (lacustrine and marin), hard rock, minerals, frozen kernels, organic materials, soils, ores and hygroscopic samples such as salts and clays.
The laboratory for microscopy focuses on the specific requirements of microfacies analysis of lake sediments, but also offers a wide range of possibilities for other applications.
The laboratory for XRF Element Scanning provides qualitative and non-destructive analyses of sediment compositions based on X-ray Fluoresces. These analyses provide detailed element records and maps that can be used to characterise past depositional, environmental and climatic conditions.
In our laboratory are being measured the stable isotopes of the light elements Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), Oxygen (O) and Hydrogen (H) in different terrestrial climate archives such as lake sediments and speleothems as well as in precipitation and surface water.
In the laboratory for tephrochronology, visible and invisible (crypto-) tephras are extracted from sediment records and prepared for geochemical fingerprinting of the volcanic source as a chronological tool for palaeoclimate archives.
The Dendroclimatology Laboratory serves for the reconstruction of temporal and spatial variability of the climate of the past utilizing multi-parameter tree ring analysis.
