Saskatchewan Isotope Laboratory

The Saskatchewan Isotope Laboratory1 in the Department Of Geological Sciences2, at the University of Saskatchewan, has facilities for the analysis of a wide range of stable and radiogenic isotopes for use in environmental, paleoclimate and geological investigations. It serves as a center for environmental and climate change research in Canada and around the world.

The SIL is fortunate to have a range of modern equipment, supported by an ACTIVE group of staff and students. The SIL provides analyses in many isotope systems, including Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd and Pb-Pb analyses of rocks, minerals, ores and other samples; H, C, O and/or N analyses of water, carbonates, phosphates and organic materials. Analytical capabilities in non-traditional isotopes such as Cr, Ca and Mg as well as in U-series dating are also being developed. In order to pursue questions of climate variability and animal behavior at the highest possible resolution, the Saskatchewan Isotope Laboratory has developed a series of custom robotic micromilling devices that recover time-specific aliquots of accretionary materials at unprecedented spacial resolution.

Projects undertaken at the SIL regularly range from local, provincial, national to international in scope and are performed in collaboration with academics, government agencies, exploration and mining companies or with environmental consultants. Currently, the Saskatchewan Isotope Laboratory is collaborating with over 300 scientists in more than 70 countries.

The SIL also hosts a number of databases for international use, including the DateView geochronology and Ion Exchange Resin databases. Various software packages for the processing of isotope and geochemical data have been developed by SIL staff and May Be downloaded from this site.