Herein is described an apparatus for adaptation to existing GC/MS systems, utilizing a splitless injector as the desorption oven with a liquid CO.sub.2 cooled low thermal mass cryo trap that eliminates the need for flash heating of volatile compounds.

A method for the cryogenic fractionation of air, in which a liquid volume present in a vaporization chamber in a distillation column system of an air fractionation plant is fed by means of a cryogenic liquid and in which a proportion of the liquid volume is continuously transferred into the gas phase by vaporization, wherein, in addition to oxygen, the cryogenic liquid contains components, including xenon, which are higher-boiling than oxygen. The content of xenon in the cryogenic liquid is determined and used as a measure of any enrichment of the components which are higher-boiling than oxygen in the cryogenic liquid. A corresponding air fractionation plant is also described.

Systems and methods for extracting and analyzing gases trapped in inclusions in solid rock, mineral, or subterranean samples. Systems include a rotating ball mill in fluid communication with analytical instrumentation.