Research Field: Isotope Geochemistry
Stable isotope geochemistry has the potential to be powerful tracers in a variety of geological settings. The principal focus of our research has been the use of stable isotope systematics to understand the evolution of continental crust and ore formation, with a special interest in the interactions among them over geological time.
The current projects including:
1) iron isotope systematics, studying its fractionation mechanisms in high-silica igneous rocks and using it to trace compositional differentiation magmatic orogens;
2) magnesium isotope systematics, understanding its fractionation behaviors in felsic magmatism and tracing the recycling of supracrustal materials during oceanic subduction at convergent margin;
3) sulfer isotope systematics, developing and optimizing analytical methods and applying it to track ore-forming processes.
The tools that we use include multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS, for Fe and Mg isotopes) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS, for S isotopes).
So far, we have obtained some achievements as following:
1) fractional crystallization is the dominant mechanism that controls Fe isotope fractionation in high-silica igneous rocks; 2) two standards for S isotope in-situ analysis have been developed (HTS4-6: chalcopyrite, YP136: pyrrhotite) and off-mount calibration of sulfur isotope determination has been established on SIMS.