Alicja Wudarska, PhD

 

 

Address:
Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences
Research Centre in Warsaw
Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland

Position: Assistant Professor

E-mail:  ndgiera@cyf-kr.edu.pl

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Research interests:

isotope geochemistry, minerals of the apatite group, secondary ion mass spectrometry, reference materials development

Education:

2014–2020: PhD in the field of Exact Sciences and Natural Sciences, in the discipline of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the Institute of Geological Sciences PAS, Warsaw

2013–2014: MSc. in Mining and Geology at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow

  • Specialization: Applied Mineralogy and Gemology
  • Master’s thesis title: Arsenate substitution in lead hydroxyl apatites: Rietveld refinements and Raman spectroscopic study. Supervisor: prof. dr hab inż. Maciej Manecki

2009–2013 - BSc. in Mining and Geology at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow

Professional career:

Institute of Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Research Centers in Cracow and Warsaw

  • Assistant Professor (Nov. 2020–now)
  • Research Assistant (Dec. 2018–Oct. 2020)
  • Geochemist (Technician staff; Oct. 2018–Nov. 2018)
  • PhD student in the research project (Nov. 2014–Jul. 2018)

Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 3.1. Inorganic and Isotope Geochemistry

  • Guest Scientist (Feb. 2020–now)
  • Short-term and long-term research stays in the SIMS laboratory (a total of 18 months; Jul. 2015–Jan. 2020)

Bureau for Forest Management and Geodesy in Cracow

  • Internship at the accredited soil testing laboratory (Jul.–Aug. 2013)

Other activities and positions held:

Publications:

  • Grema H.M., Magnall J.M., Gleeson S.A., Milton J.E., Wudarska A., Schleicher A.M., Schulz H-M. Mineralogy and paragenesis of the Boundary Zone Zn-Pb±Ag prospect, Yukon, Canada. Economic Geology (in press).

  • Gumsley A., Słaby E., Dey S., Chew D., Gmochowska W., Wudarska A., Gumsley A., Szopa K., Krzykawski T., Marciniak-Maliszewska B. & Drakou, F., 2024. The evolution of Archean crust undisturbed for three billion years: A case study from the Bahalda Pluton, Singhbhum Craton, eastern India. Precambrian Research, 406, 107385.
  • Narkiewicz K., Narkiewicz M., Wudarska A., 2023. Significance of conodont data for explaining geosystem perturbations during the Middle Devonian Kačák Episode. Marine Micropaleontology, 185, 102307.
  • Wudarska A., Wiedenbeck M., Słaby E., Lempart-Drozd M., Harris C., Joachimski M.M., Lécuyer C., MacLeod K.G., Pack A., Vennemann T., Couffignal F., Feng D., Glodny J., Kusebauch C., Mayanna S., Rocholl A., Speir L., Sun Y., Wilke F.D.H., 2022.Inter-laboratory characterisation of apatite reference materials for oxygen isotope analysis and associated methodological considerations. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 46, 277–306.
  • Wudarska A., Sordyl J., Manecki M., Zawiła A., Bajda T., 2022. Vibrational spectroscopic study of synthetic analogs of schultenite PbHAsO4–“phosphoschultenite” PbHPO4 solid solution series. Polyhedron,  211, 115534.
  • Wudarska A., Słaby E., Wiedenbeck M., Barnes J.D., Bonifacie M., Sturchio N.C., Bardoux G., Couffignal F., Glodny J., Heraty L., John T., Kusebauch C., Mayanna S., Wilke F.D.H, Deput E., 2021. Inter-laboratory characterisation of apatite reference materials for chlorine isotope analysis.Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 45, 121-142.
  • Wudarska A., Słaby E., Wiedenbeck M., Birski Ł., Wirth R., Götze J., Lepland A., Kusebauch C., Kocjan I., 2020. Chlorine isotope composition of apatite from the >3.7 Ga Isua supracrustal belt, SW Greenland. Minerals, 10, 27.
  • Słaby E., Gros K., Förster H.-J., Wudarska A., Birski Ł., Hamada M., Götze J., Martin H., Jayananda M., Moyen J.-F., Moszumańska I., 2020. Mineral-fluid interactions in the late Archaean Closepet granite batholith, Dharwar craton, southern India. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 489, 293-314.
  • Birski Ł., Słaby E., Wirth R., Koch-Müller M., Simon K., Wudarska A., Götze J., Lepland A., Hofmann A., Kuras A., 2019. Archaean phosphates: a case study of transformation processes in apatite from the Barberton greenstone belt. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 174, 25.
  • Wudarska A., Wiedenbeck M., Słaby E., Lepland A., Birski Ł., Simon K., 2018. Halogen chemistry and hydrogen isotopes of apatite from the >3.7 Ga Isua supracrustal belt, SW Greenland. Precambrian Research, 310, 153–164.
  • Birski Ł., Wirth R., Słaby E., Wudarska A., Lepland A., Hofmann A., Schreiber A., 2018. (Ca-Y)-phosphate inclusions in apatite crystals from Archean rocks from the Barberton Greenstone Belt and Pilbara Craton: First report of natural occurrence. American Mineralogist, 103, 307–313.
  • Słaby E., Förster H.J., Wirth R., Wudarska A., Birski Ł., Moszumańska I., 2017. Validity of the apatite/merrillite relationship in evaluating the water content in the Martian mantle: implications from shergottite Northwest Africa (NWA) 2975. Geosciences, 7, 99.
  • Giera A., Manecki M., Bajda T., Rakovan J., Kwaśniak-Kominek M., Marchlewski T., 2016. Arsenate substitution in lead hydroxyl apatites: A Raman spectroscopic study. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 152, 370–377.

Research projects:

Oxygen isotopes in conodonts from Baltica as indicators of Ordovician climate change

Development of new reference materials for boron and sulphur isotope analyses of apatite

Minerals of the apatite group can incorporate minor or trace amounts of sulphur and boron in their crystal structure, making them useful isotope archives with a special focus on biogenic materials. The aim of this project is to develop homogeneous, well-characterized reference materials for sulphur (δ34SVCDT) and boron (δ11BSRM951) isotope measurements to enable high-quality in situ investigations, expanding SIMS and LA-ICP-MS methods applications to a wide range of paleoenvironmental and (paleo)ecological studies of vertebrate inorganic tissues. This project takes advantage of existing apatite specimens that are available in large amounts, and therefore, when fully characterised for δ34S or δ11B data calibration would last for many years to come.

Team members:

Alicja Wudarska (Principal Investigator)

 

Michael Wiedenbeck (GFZ, Potsdam, Germany),

Frédéric Couffignal (GFZ, Potsdam, Germany),

Johannes Glodny (GFZ, Potsdam, Germany).

Determination of the relative age of fossil teeth using the fluorine dating method

The main component of teeth and bone is hydroxylapatite Ca10(PO4,CO3)6(OH,CO3)2 , whose chemical and isotopic composition is an important indicator in paleoenvironmental studies. The structure of apatite allows numerous isomorphic substitutions, and its composition may be altered after deposition in sediment. One of the transformation processes of bioapatite is F– substitutions in the (OH)– position, the quantification of which has been used in the past to determine the age of fossil bones. However, due to the complex crystallochemistry of apatite and complex sub-deposition processes, a number of problems have been identified in the interpretation of results not only when comparing samples from different locations, but also within a single site. With the development of research methods used in the reconstruction of palaeoenvironments, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman microscopy have become increasingly important as tools for assessing the degree of diagenetic alteration of fossils (e.g. by determining CI crystallinity and C/P ratio). The main goal of this research is to test suitability of both methods for determining the age of fossil teeth based on the F contents in their structure.

  • Funding body: Statutory research grant IGS PAS 2022-2023

Team members:

Alicja Wudarska (Project Coordinator),

Maciej Krajcarz (LIS),

Małgorzata Lempart (ClayLab),

Anna Mulczyk (LUT),

 

Magdalena Krajcarz (UMK, Toruń),

Maciej Manecki (AGH, Kraków).

Preliminary isotope study of fossils from the Cradle of Humankind caves, South Africa

Underground karst forms of the Bolt’s Farm located within the UNESCO World Heritage List Hominid Fossil Sites of South Africa World Heritage Site are being intensively explored by geologists and anthropologists searching for fossil material of Pliocene and Pleistocene fauna and, most importantly, archaic human species. A goal of our preliminary study is to asses the suitability of oxygen isotope analysis by SIMS and GS-IRMS as well as spectroscopic analysis using FTIR and Raman microscopy for the investigation of mammalian fossil teeth from the Bolts’ Farm.

  • Funding body: IGS PAS statutory grant 2021

Team members:

Alicja Wudarska (Project Coordinator),

Maciej Krajcarz (LIS),

Małgorzata Lempart (ClayLab),

 

Michael Wiedenbeck (GFZ, Potsdam, Germany),

Jan Kramers (University of Johannesburg, S Africa),

Tebogo Makhubela (University of Johannesburg, S Africa),

Dominique Gommery (Sorbonne Université, Paris),

Lazarus Kgasi (Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria),

Loïc Segalen (Sorbonne Université, Paris),

Nonny Vilakazi (University of Johannesburg),

Maciej Manecki (AGH, Cracow).

Development of the reference material(s) for U-Pb dating of apatite

Minerals of the apatite group commonly incorporate trace amounts of uranium into their structure. Due to the different closure temperature of the U-Pb system for apatite, it can complement zircon or it may serve as the sole way of the age determination of rocks. In cases, where limited amount of the material is available, the in situ analysis using SIMS is the method of choice. However, SIMS is hampered by the lack of homogeneous apatite reference materials, and therefore, the goal of our project is to develop new, well-characterized reference material(s) for U-Pb dating of apatite.

Team members:

Alicja Wudarska (Principal Investigator),

Ewa Słaby (PetroGen),

 

Michael Wiedenbeck (GFZ, Potsdam, Germany),

Frédéric Couffignal (GFZ, Potsdam, Germany),

Johannes Glodny (GFZ, Potsdam, Germany)

Sarah Glynn (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, S Africa).

Development of new reference materials for oxygen isotope analysis and U-Pb dating of apatite

  • Funding body: Institute of Geological Sciences PAS (research grant for the early career researchers);
    co-operation with the SIMS laboratory at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
  • Time period: Sept. 2018 – June 2019
  • Role: Principal Investigator

Variation of isotope ratios in early Archaean apatites as a source of information on the origin of water/ volatiles on the Earth

Research scholarships:

Awards:

  • IAG Young Scientist Award 2021 from the International Association of Geoanalysts

  • Award for the best student oral presentation at the 10th International Conference on the Analysis of Geological and Environmental Materials, Geoanalysis 2018, Sydney, Australia
  • Award for the Outstanding Early-Career Poster at the EGU Galileo conference Geoscience for understanding habitability in the solar system and beyond in Furnas, Azores in 2017
  • 2nd place for the Best Oral Communication at the XXIVth Session of the Petrology Group of the Mineralogical Society of Poland in 2017
  • Award for the best graduate of the Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection at the AGH University of Science and Technology in 2014
  • 3rd place in the XVIth edition of Diamonds of AGH competition for the best thesis in the category of the best theoretical thesis
  • Honorable mention for the oral presentation at the XVth International Conference of Young Geologists HERĽANY 2014

Conference contributions:

Updated on 24 Sept 2024