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The Laboratory for Isotopes and Metals in the Environment (LIME) at Penn State University is a core analytical facility that measures the isotopic (C, N, O, Ca, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Sr, U), as well as major elemental (e.g., Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Si) and trace elemental, compositions (e.g., rare earth elements, Pb) of a variety of materials.

Please credit LIME-derived data in all publications and presentations:

“The data presented in this study were produced by the Laboratory for Isotopes and Metals in the Environment (LIME) at the Pennsylvania State University”.

Thank you!


Notes

COVID-19: We ask that LIME users wear a mask or refrain from lab work if experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness. LIME personnel will wear masks when meeting with others upon request. Thanks for your consideration of the health and well-being of others!

Sample turnaround time: Please note that turnaround time may be 2 – 3 weeks or longer, depending on how busy our labs are, the services required (e.g., solid digrestion), and the method(s) of interest. Please contact the appropriate instrument contact prior to sample delivery to discuss your specific analytical needs.


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Applications — High-quality data generated by LIME’s experienced specialists assists researchers in addressing a range of diverse questions, including:

    • Tracing provenance using isotopic and elemental compositions;
    • Indicating chemical processes occurring in natural systems (e.g., redox chemistry, mineral dissolution, recrystallization, petrogenesis);
    • Determining the age of natural materials (required to constrain reaction rates on a range of time scales); and
    • Characterizing the chemistry of natural and synthetic materials.

Materials — A range of materials can be analyzed in LIME, including:

      • Organic/biological (e.g., tree rings, bone, animal tissue, teeth);
      • Geological (e.g., silicates, oxides, sulfides, metals, carbonates); and
      • Natural waters (e.g., brines, surface water, ground water, stream water, soil pore fluid); and
      • Synthetic materials (e.g., ceramics, thin films, glass).

Interested users are encouraged to contact LIME to discuss their materials, analysis(es) of interest, and the sample preparation procedures that may be required to attain high quality data for specific sample types.

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Sample preparation and requirements — See information on sample preparation services provided by LIME and sample requirements.

Facilities — LIME offers access to several high-precision instruments for isotopic and geochemical characterization. In addition to state-of-the-art instrumentation, LIME contains a class 1000 trace metal clean laboratory for ultra-trace chemical and sample preparation prior to analysis.

Clean Lab

Our LIME analytical team is ready to work with you to help you address your research questions. Please contact the appropriate instrument specialist(s) and/or the co-Directors to inquire about LIME services, data analysis, or simply to ask how we can help you.

—— Contact us prior to sample delivery to ensure that we are able to meet your analytical needs. ——


CURRENT LIME FEE SCHEDULE

Equipment Time (/hr)Staff Time (/hr)
INTERNAL PSU$74.42$65.54
EXTERNAL ACADEMIC$183.38$103.82
EXTERNAL NON-ACADEMIC$189.17$107.09
*please contact us for a detailed cost breakdown