Stable isotopes laboratory of the Geotop center at UQAM

Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec
What the facility does

Isotopic geochemistry

Areas of expertise

The laboratory’s customers are from fields such as geology, biology, environment, geography and kinanthropology. The laboratory’s mission in the field of stable isotopes has been threefold for more than 30 years. Its mission is now to train undergraduate and graduate students, participate in cutting-edge research and provide service to external customers. Specifically, the laboratory performs analyses of stable isotopes of hydrogen (1H, 2H), oxygen (16O, 17O, 18O), carbon (12C, 13C), nitrogen (14N, 15N) and sulfur (32S, 34S) on a variety of organic and inorganic samples. The laboratory’s main projects are numerous: paleoclimatology, physical effort, ocean biogeochemistry, ocean circulation, hydraulic and biogeochemical tracing in big rivers, carbon cycle in peat bogs, soil biogeochemistry, paleonutrition, ancient population movement, detection of agri-food fraud, etc.

Research services

Isotopic analysis

Sectors of application
  • Agriculture, animal science and food
  • Environmental technologies and related services
  • Fisheries and aquaculture
  • Forestry and forest-based industries
  • Mining, minerals and metals
Specialized lab Equipment Function
Geotop – Stable isotopes - UQAM Isoprime DI with AquaPrep d2H and d18 analysis of water
  Isoprime 100 with Microgas d13C analysis of dissolved inorganic carbon and exhaled CO2
  Labconco freeze dryer Freeze drying samples
  High-precision Sartorius microbalance Weigh samples in a range from milligrams to micrograms
  Los Gatos Research: Liquid Water Isotope Analyzer Analyze water levels in 160, 170 and 180
  Isoprime 100 with Vario MicroCube d13C and d15N analysis of solid samples by combustion (elementary analysis)
  Isoprime DI with MultiCarb d13C and d18O analysis of microsamples of carbonate
  Isoprime Vision with Vario PyroCube d13C, d15N and d34S analysis of solid samples by combustion (elementary analysis). d18O analysis of solid samples by pyrolyse
  • Hydro-Québec
  • International Atomic Energy Agency
  • Centre ACER
  • Institut National de Recherche en Agronomie (France)
  • AECOM
  • WSP Canada