TIMS—See Thermal ionization mass

A large number of samples (over 80) from various locations inside the cave — both active and inactive speleothems — were analyzed using the Th- U thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) method and only a brief summary will be given here (see also Spotl et al., 2002). U contents are invariably high (see above) and activity... 

In the early days of mass spectrometry, research was focused on gas source isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) or thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), with as the main aim the determination of the isotopic composition and molar masses of the elements. Since the 1940s, isotope ratio measurements have also been used for the determination of isotope ratios involving a radiogenic nuclide and for quantitative element determination via isotope dilution (see also Chapter 8). The age of the solar system and the Earth were also of particular interest within isotope ratio science. With the establishment and improvement of TIMS instrumentation, the awareness of the importance of precision and accuracy and the need to be able to reproduce a result in another laboratory grew, while... 

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