Department of Experimental Petrology
The Department of Experimental Petrology was established in 2009 on the initiative of Professor Jacek Puziewicz. Currently, the Department is composed of:
Prof. Dr. hab. Jacek Puziewicz, PhD — Department Head
Dr. Wojciech Bartz
Dr. hab. Maciej Górka, PhD, prof. UWr.
Dr. hab. Jakub Kierczak, PhD, prof. UWr.
Dr. hab. Magdalena Matusiak-Małek, PhD
Dr. hab. Anna Pietranik, PhD, prof. Uwr.
Dr. hab. Anna Potysz, PhD.
The Department has a longstanding tradition of involving doctoral students in the research conducted by its faculty. Currently, four students from the Doctoral School are working on their dissertations at the Department: Jakub Mikrut, MSc and Daniel Buczko, MSc in their 4th year, Błażej Cieślik, MSc and Hubert Mazurek, MSc in their 2nd year. Additionally, Katarzyna Derkowska, MSc, Małgorzata Ziobro-Mikrut, MSc, and Arkadiusz Przybyło, MSc, are also finalizing their dissertations under the supervision of the Department’s faculty.
Anna Pietranik, PhD, currently serves as the Director of the Institute of Geological Sciences at the University of Wroclaw for the 2020–2024 term. Maciej Gorka, PhD, is the Director of the Interdepartmental Environmental Protection Program.
The staff of the Department are specialists of international renown in petrographic and geochemical studies of rocks and their synthetic equivalents, as well as in archaeometric studies. The Department carries out numerous research projects, which provide the necessary financial backing for its operation. All employees of the Department have made their mark with publications in leading scientific journals. Their expertise underpins the educational activities spearheaded by the Department.
The research team focused on the dynamics and geological structure of the Earth’s upper mantle ranks among the most prominent groups in Europe. Prof. Jacek Puziewicz annually leads a session on this subject at the European Geosciences Union (EGU). Our investigations encompass mantle rocks in Europe and, recently, extend to West Africa. Additionally, the Department’s team delves into the continental crust and the evolutionary processes of its associated magmas. A comprehensive study of Permian rhyolites from Central Europe is currently in progress, involving an international team..
A portion of the Department’s faculty is engaged in geoenvironmental research, primarily focusing on the stability of industrial wastes, their potential for secondary use, and the distribution and mobility of metallic elements in soils. Department researchers also delve into traditional isotope geochemistry and environmental mineralogy, which includes the study of particulate and gaseous air pollutants. The archaeometric research conducted at the Department encompasses metallurgy (examining metals, slags, and foundry crucibles), ceramic (both whiteware and structural) production, and the utilization of rock materials.
The Department’s approach to rock research hinges on preparing materials for in situ testing and carrying out analytical procedures in some of the top laboratories on the continent. This provides access to specialized analytical techniques and ensures the highest quality of data. The Department boasts a state-of-the-art optical microscopy laboratory, along with an SEM fitted with an EDS analytical component and a CL attachment. Two sputtering systems, both high-vacuum and low-vacuum, facilitate the preparation of a diverse array of samples for both in-house and external labs.
The labs at the Department of Experimental Petrology are furnished with a CRDS spectrometer, facilitating the analysis of carbon concentrations and isotopic compositions from atmospheric CO_2 and CH_4. It also allows for carbon isotopic analysis of organic matter, carbonates, and DIC in water. The STA6000 thermal analyzer, part of the department’s equipment suite, enables the study of thermal transformations of rocks, minerals, and plastics, including ancient ceramics. Furthermore, the facility houses a well-outfitted biogeochemical laboratory fully geared for controlled biogeochemistry simulations, complete with autoclaves, incubators, shakers, a HACH spectrophotometer, microbiological centrifuge, a laminar chamber with UV, and a phytotron chamber for plant cultivation.
A number of research projects are currently underway at the Department of Experimental Petrology, funded by the National Science Center (NCN), the Ministry of Education and Science (MEiN) and the European Regional Development Fund.
Projects led by the Department’s faculty:
| Project NCN OPUS 2021/43/B/ST10/01594, implementation period 2022–2026 | Preservation of metallic elements during carbonation of ultramafic rocks and associated mining and metallurgical wastes. Budget PLN 1,431,548 | Project Manager — Jakub Kierczak |
| Project NCN OPUS 2021/41/B/ST10/00900, implementation period 2022–2026 | New model of the evolution of the Earth’s non-cratonic subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Budget PLN 939,520 | Project Manager — Jacek Puziewicz |
| NCN SONATA 16 2020/39/D/ST10/00861 roject, implementation period 2021–2024 | Q-MESA | Mechanisms of Evolution of Sandstone Areas, Central and Western Europe | Project carried out by: dr. Wojciech Bartz, PhD, dr. Anna Potysz, PhD |
| Project NCN SONATA 2018/31/D/ST10/00738, implementation period 2019–2023 | Factors determining slag stability: single-phase and multiphase experimental approach. Budget PLN 998,600 | Project Manager – Anna Potysz |
Projects carried out by the Department faculty:
| Project NCN SONATINA 2022/44/C/ST10/00112; implementation period 2022–2025 | Environmental monitoring in coal mining areas: application of isotopic studies of methane fluxes. Budget (UWr) PLN 137,850 | Consortium of the AGH University of Kraków and the University of Wroclaw, head of the Consortium Yaroslav Bezyk (AGH University of Kraków), manager on the part of the University — Maciej Górka |
| Project of the European Regional Development Fund under the Operational Programme Intelligent Development 2014–2020 | ACTRIS Infrastructure for the study of aerosols, clouds and trace gases. Implementation period 2021–2023 (Axis 4 Increasing scientific and research potential, Measure 4.2 Development of modern research infrastructure of the science sector). Budget PLN 17,103,485 | carried out by Maciej Górka |
Department’s doctoral student projects:
| Project NCN PRELUDIUM 2022/45/N/ST10/00879; implementation period 2023–2026 | From serpentinization to lateritization — tracing the evolution of ultramafic massifs through detailed studies of magnesite and associated carbonates. Budget PLN 208,820 | Project manager — Blażej Cieślik |
| Project NCN PRELUDIUM 2019/35/N/ST10/00519; implementation period 2020–2023 | The Caledonian Wilson cycle from a lithospheric mantle perspective — petrological and geochemical record from ultramafic rocks from the Köli Nappe Complex and Seve Nappe Complex, Scandinavian Caledonides. Budget PLN 209,904 | Project manager — Daniel Buczko |
| Project NCN PRELUDIUM 2019/35/N/ST10/04524; implementation period 2020–2023 | Stable isotopes of copper and iron as indicators of the provenance of non-ferrous antiquities — validation for metal provenance studies. Budget PLN 209,453 | Project manager — Katarzyna Derkowska |
| Project NCN PRELUDIUM 2018/29/N/ST10/00259; implementation period 2019–2024 | Evolution of the Earth’s lithospheric mantle beneath the NE extension of the Upper Rhine trench (Vogelsberg) and in the Central Massif. Budget PLN 209,813 | Project manager — Małgorzata Ziobro-Mikrut |
| Project MEiN Diamond Grant 0093/DIA/2020/49, implementation period 2020–2024 | Processes controlling chalcophiles and siderophiles budget in lithospheric mantle rocks with diverse geochemical histories. Budget PLN 220,000 | Project manager — Hubert Mazurek |
| Project MEiN Diamond Grant DI2018 024748, implementation period 2019–2023 | Comparison of the geochemical evolution and petrology of mantle cells of rift genesis (Puke massif) and suprasubduction (Kukesi massif) from the Mirdita Ophiolite (N Albania). Budget PLN 218,577 | Project manager — Jakub Mikrut |
