Micropaleontological Preparation Laboratory

CONTACT

Scientific Lab Manager : Christine Paillès, IR1 CNRS, pailles@cerege.fr, lpm@cerege.fr

Technical Lab Manager : Jean-Charles Mazur, AI CNRS, lpm@cerege.fr

Technical Staff: Sandrine Conrod, TCE CNRS, lpm@cerege.fr

The micropaleontology preparation laboratory is part of the climate thematic team at CEREGE. This platform brings together researchers who use bio-indicators present in oceanic and continental sedimentary archives to reconstruct the evolution of environmental parameters on different time scales.

Studied bio-indicators:

Pollen

Phytoliths

Diatoms

Coccolithophores

Benthic and Planktic Foraminifera

Samples analysed

Natural aquatic (net fishing, bottle, water-sediment interface)

Plants (field or herbarium samples)

Pedological

Sedimentary (cores)

Extraction

The extraction of bio-indicators is a crucial step that determines the quality of future analyses.

Extraction protocols are adapted according to the nature (carbonated, siliceous, organic) of the bio-indicators and the degree of purity required for subsequent analyses.

The bio-indicators are then analysed microscopically (optics, SEM-EDX cf. Automated Microscopy Laboratory) or geochemically (ICP-AES, ICP-MS, IRMS, nanoSIMS, 14C-AMS cf. Stable Isotope Laboratory).

Laboratory Space

The micropaleontology laboratory dedicated to calcareous and siliceous bioindicators occupies an area of 48 m² + 2 annexes of 15 m².

It offers 10 work stations including 6 under fume hoods.

Equipement

5 fume hoods (150 x 90 cm)

1 laminair flow hood

1 ventilated cupboard for chemical storage 500 L

1 tentacular hood

2 precision balances (Sartorius, Metler)

1 ultra micro balance (Metler)

1 oven (Thermolyne, 1000°C)

1 centrifuge (Sigma, rotors 6 holders)

1 centrifugeuse (VWR, rotors 6 holders)

1 micro-centrifuge (Eppendorf)

1 rotating agitator (GFL 3040, 16 échantillons)

1 horizontal agitator (GFL, 20 échantillons)

3 ultrasonic baths

1 vegetation grinder

1 laminar flow particle separator (PostNova) + 4 peristaltic pumps (Ismantec & Heidolf)

Magnetic stirrer plates (18 postes)

2 sand hotplates (20x30 cm)

3 multiprobes (VWT, temp, ph, cond, potentiel redox, dissolved O2)

1 digital label machine (Dymo)

1 MilliQ water system

1 reverse osmosis water purification system

The palynology laboratory occupies a surface area of 40 m² with 6 work stations two of which are under fume hoods.

2 fume hoods (150 x 90 cm)

2 centrifuges (Sigma, rotors 6 holders)

2 hot plates (20X30 cm)

1 fume hood with strong ventilation for hydrofloric acid storage

Services offered

Extraction of bio-indicators (CNRS official pricing on request)

The different bio-indicators are extracted and concentrated by :

(1) a series of selective chemical extractions consisting of removing constituents that may interfere with observation or analysis.
(2) by sieving and/or filtration.

The residue obtained after extraction is then:

mounted between slide and coverslip (pollen, diatoms, phytoliths and coccoliths)
"picked" under a binocular microscope (foraminifera)

High Purity Extraction for geochemical analysis δ¹⁸O, δ¹⁷O, δ¹³C carbonates and silicates (CNRS pricing on request)

Obtaining high-purity concentrates is a prerequisite for geochemical analyses of certain bio-indicators (foraminifera, diatoms and phytoliths). For this purpose, the chemical extraction steps are multiplied and diversified at controlled temperatures. A physical separation phase by SPLITT (continuous aqueous laminar flow particle separator) may be necessary. The purity of the concentrates is checked by SEM-EDS.