Projects & References

MASA Institute offers customised analysis strategies in the field of materials research and development as a service for industry and science.

Material composition and physical properties

  • Industry/research: Material characterisation down to the nanometre range for the analysis, optimisation or development of material properties and production processes and damage assessment
  • Industry/research: Chemical characterisation of raw materials and their origin
  • Industry/agriculture: Origin analyses of food, wood and groundwater
  • Industry/environment: heavy metal analysis of water and soils (including garden soils)
  • Geosciences/archaeometry: age determination of rocks and bones
  • Archaeometry: Reconstruction of manufacturing processes (tools, coins, weapons) and origin analyses of ceramics and other archaeological objects such as bones, ivory, mammoth teeth


services provided to date:

  • (Trace) element analyses of inorganic and organic materials
  • Optimisation of metalworking production processes
  • Determination of the properties of metallic and geological materials
  • Mineralogical and technical phase analyses of rocks and industrial materials
  • Mineralogical analyses of building materials and their source materials
  • Age dating using various isotope systems
  • Provenance analyses of foodstuffs, (industrial) raw materials, archaeological materials

Revised publications

Becker, T., Nolte, N., Wilsky, F., Depiné, M., Kleinhanns, I., Klemd, R., Mhopjeni, K., Muvangua, E., Wiegand, B., Wemmer, K., Sergeev, S., Sudo, M. (2023): The Geology of the Kamanjab Inlier, Northern Namibia. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Namibia 23. https://mme.gov.na/publications/?designation=gsn. ISBN 978-99945-0-093-2 (online).

Alles, J., Ploch, A.-M., Schirmer, T., Nolte, N., Liessmann, W., Lehmann, B. (2018): Rare earth element enrichment in post-Variscan polymetallic vein systems of the Harz Mountains, Germany. Mineralium Deposita. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-018-0847-8

Emam, A., Zoheir, B., Radwan, A.M., Lehmann, B., Zhang, R., Fawzy, S., Nolte, N. (2018): Petrogenesis and evolution of the Nuweibi rare-metal granite, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt. Arabian Journal of Geosciences. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-018-4051-z

Cabral, A.R., van der Kerkhof, A.M., Sosa, G.M., Nolte, N., Ließmann, W., Lehmann, B. (2018): Clausthalite (PbSe) and tiemannite (HgSe) from the type locality: new observations and implications for metallogenesis in the Harz Mountains, Germany. Ore Geology Reviews 102, 728-739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2018.09.027

Siegesmund, S., Oriolo, S., Heinrichs, T., Basei, M.A.S., Nolte, N., Hüttenrauch, F., Schulz, B., (2018): Provenance of Austroalpine basement metasediments: tightening up Early Palaeozoic connections between peri-Gondwanan domains of central Europe and Northern Africa. International Journal of Earth Science 107, 2293-2315.

López de Luchi, Mónica, G., Siegesmund, S., Wemmer, K., Nolte, N. (2017): Petrogenesis of the postcollisional Middle Devonian monzonitic to granitic magmatism of the Sierra de San Luis, Argentina. Lithos doi: 10.1016/j.lithos.2017.05.018.

Dill, H.G., Luana, L. I., Nolte, N., Hansen, B. T. (2016): Chemical, isotopic and mineralogical characteristics of volcanogenic epithermal fluorite deposits on the Permo-Mesozoic foreland of the Andean volcanic arc in Patagonia (Argentina). Chemie der Erde – Geochemistry, Volume 76, Issue 2, June 2016, Pages 275-297.

Kleinhanns, I.C., Whitehouse, M.J., Nolte, N., Baero, W., Wilsky, F., Hansen, B.T., Schoenberg, R. (2015): Mode and timing of granitoid magmatism in the Västervik area (SE Sweden, Baltic Shield): Sr–Nd isotope and SIMS U–Pb age constraints. Lithos 212-215, 321-337.

Dill, H.G., Nolte, N., Hansen, B.T. (2014): Lithology, mineralogy and geochemical characterization of sediment-hosted Sr-F deposits in the eastern Neo-Tethyan region – With special reference to evaporation and halokinesis in Tunisia. Journal of African Earth Science 92, 76-96.

Arp, G., Kolepka, C., Simon, K., Karius, V., Nolte, N., Hansen, B.T. (2013): New evidence for persistent impact-induced hydrothermal activity in the Miocene Ries impact structure, Germany. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 1-26; doi:10.1111/maps.12235.

I.C. Kleinhanns, T. Fullgraf, F. Wilsky, N. Nolte, D. Fliegel, R. Klemd and B.T. Hansen (2013.): U-Pb zircon ages and (isotope) geochemical signatures of the Kamanjab Inlier (NW-Namibia): constraints on Palaeoproterozoic crustal evolution along the southern Congo craton. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, doi: 10.1144/SP389.1.

Gernot Arp, Martin Blumenberg, Bent T. Hansen, Dietmar Jung, Claudia Kolepka, Olaf Lenz, Nicole Nolte, Klaus Poschlod, Andreas Reimer & Volker Thiel (2013): Chemical and ecological evolution of the Miocene Ries impact crater lake, Germany: A reinterpretation based on the Enkingen (SUBO 18) drill core. Geological Society of America Bulletin, doi: 10.1130/B30731.1.

Nolte, N., Kleinhanns I.C., Baero, W., Hansen, B.T, (2011): Petrography and whole-rock geochemical characteristics of Västervik granitoids to syenitoids, southeast Sweden: constraints on petrogenesis and tectonic setting at the southern margin of the Svecofennian domain. GFF 133:3-4, 173-196.

Krabbenhöft, A, Eisenhauer, A, Vollstaedt, H, Fietzke, J, Liebetrau, V, Hansen, BT, Nolte, N, Peucker-Ehrenbrink, B, Augustin, N, Wallmann, K (2010): Natural strontium isotope fractionation (87Sr/86Sr*-δ88/86Sr) in the marine realm: first application of a 87Sr/84Sr-Double Spike in order to estimate present-day global ocean strontium budget. Geochemica Cosmochemica Acta. 74, 4097-4109.

Gueye M, Siegesmund S, Wemmer K, Pawlig S, Drobe M, Nolte N, Layer P (2007): New evidences for an Early Birimian evolution in the West African Craton: An example from the Kédougou-Kénieba inlier, SE- Senegal. South African Journal of Geology, 110: 511-534

Selected conference papers

Walter, J.M., Nolte-Moser, N., Wemmer, K., Merk, S., Revay, Z. (2019): Non-Destructive Bulk Analysis of Critical Metals in Smartphones. MLZ User Meeting 2019 (10.-11.12.), München, Germany

Walter, Jens M.; Moritz, Thomas; Hillebrecht, Herbert; Klett-Drechsel, Johannes; Löbens, Stefan; Nolte, Nicole; Simon, Klaus; Weber, Roman; Wellhäuser, Alexander (2016): Herkunftsanalysen von Keramiken - Eine systematische geochemische Untersuchung mithilfe kontrollierter Brennexperimente. Jahrestagung „Archäometrie und Denkmalpflege 2016“, Göttingen, 28. September bis 01. Oktober 2016.

Jens M. Walter, Augusto Brandenburg, Herbert Hillebrecht, Johannes Klett-Drechsel, Andreas Kronz, Stefan Löbens, Thomas Moritz, Nicole Nolte, Klaus Simon, Roman Weber, Alexander Wellhäuser (2014): „Clay-DNA“– Analytic Tests for a High Resolved Determination of Ceramic Provenances and Firing Temperatures by Experiments in a Reconstructed 13th Century Furnace. Siebter Archäologischer Workshop für junge Wissenschaftler/Innen, Naturwissenschaftliche Analysen vor- und frühgeschichtlicher Keramik: Methoden, Anwendungsbereiche, Auswertungsmöglichkeiten, Hamburg, Germany, February 2014

Pospiech, S., Nolte, N., Bäro, W, Walter, J. M. (2013): Development of a new method for provenance studies of tea plant Camellia sinensis - Possibilities of fingerprinting, 16th Panalytical Symposium, Weimar, Germany, June 2013

Other contributions

Walter J.M., Nolte N., Wellhäuser, A., Kronz, A. (2015): Untersuchung ausgewählter Büsten und Statuen der Wallmodensammlung mittels portabler Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse (pRFA) am 23.01.2014 im Archäologischen Institut der Universität Göttingen, Nikolausberger Weg 15, D-37073 Göttingen

Walter, J.M., Moritz, T., Hillebrecht, H., Klett-Drechsel, H., Löbens, S., Nolte, N., Simon, K., Weber, R., Wellhäuser, A. (2015): Clay-DNA – Neue archäometrische Untersuchungen zur Charakterisierung und Provinienz von Keramiken der Burg Plesse – Ein Feste Burg, Mitteilungen 2015, pp. 25-29, Hrsg. Freunde der Burg Plesse e.V., Bovenden, Germany

Walter J.M., Nolte N., Löbens S., Moritz T., Klett-Drechsel J., Hillebrecht H., Weber R. (2013): “Clay-DNA” - oder Provinienzanalyse von Keramiken. Ein Feste Burg – Mitteilungen 2013, 49-52, Freunde der Burg Plesse e.V.

Expertise reports

Wolter, K.-D., Gründel, A., Nolte, N. (2015) Werratalsee (Eschwege) Kurzstellungnahme der Expertenrunde. 42 S. Auftraggeber: Magistrat der Stadt Eschwege.

Public lectures

Walter, J.M., Nolte, N., Bäro, W. (2016): „MAS-Analytics: Von einer guten Idee zum Unternehmen“. PFH Entrepreneurship School 2016, 19.05.2016 Burg Ludwigstein

Nolte, N. (2015): Werratalsee Eschwege-Meinhard „Kurzstellungnahme der Expertenrunde“ – Geologie, Hydrogeologie & Hydrologie, Bewertung und Einschätzung. 06.10.2015 Meinhard-Schwebda

Supervised theses

supervised master's theses:

  • Sebastian Merk (2023) - Geographische Differenzierung chinesischer Teegärten mit Hilfe von geochemischen Methoden
  • Marina Brinkmann (2017) - Isotopengeochemische Charakterisierung tertiärer Basaltintrusionen im Werra-Kalirevier
  • Than Phu Felix Nguyen (2017) - Isotopengeochemische Charakterisierung regionaler Holzvarietäten in Deutschland
  • Alexander Wellhäuser (2016) - Origin and chronology of amphibolite-facies metabasites at the southern margin of the Svecofennian orogen, Västervik area in south-eastern Sweden
  • Natalie Höppner (2014) - Validierung unterschiedlicher Aufschluss- und Trennungsverfahren für Strontium-isotopenanalysen zur Provenienzstudie von Spargel

supervised bachelor's theses:

  • Kim Dominik Seewald (2018) - Isotopengeochemische Charakterisierung von indonesischen und lateinamerikanischer Kaffeebohnen
  • Sebastian Merk (2017) - Geographische Herkunftsanalyse von grünen Kaffeebohnen mit Hilfe von isotopengeochemischen Methoden
  • Kristina Sass (2016) - Geographische Herkunftsanalyse nicht zertifizierter Teeproben unter Anwendung des Strontium Isotopensystems
  • Marina Brinkmann (2014) - Sr Isotopencharakterisierung von Teepflanzen (Camellia Sinensis) aus S-Darjeeling (NE-Indien)
  • Sarah Louis (2014) - Major and trace element analysis of experimentally fired pottery in the interests of a provenience study of ancient ceramics
  • Jan Hendrik Dammasch (2014) - Sr Isotopencharakterisierung von Teepflanzen (Camellia Sinensis) aus N-Darjeeling (NE-Indien)
  • Alexander Wellhäuser (2013) - Methodische Überprüfung einer Provenienz-Analyse an experimentell gebrannten Keramiken mittels Haupt- und Spurenelementen sowie Isotopensystematik

supervised geo projects (master course):

  • Sebastian Merk (2019) - Critical metals in smart phones
  • Sarah Weik (2018) - Provenienz-Analyse an Holz
  • Anna Krahl (2016) - Sr-Isotopenanalyse an Camellia Sinensis Teepflanzen aus Darjeeling und Assam
  • Marina Brinkmann (2016) - Sr-Isotopencharakterisierung von chinesischen Tees (Camelia sinensis)
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