Chromatography in geology I just started reading about the technique of chromatography and learning how important it is.

Now I'm trying to focus on whether is possible to use this technique in the geological fields (fossils and dating for example.)

I'm just brainstorming so any thoughts will help here.
A typical example for the application of models and experimental methods of chromatography for geologic materials (e.g. soil, sediment) is the $K_\mathrm d$ model, which can be used for understanding the long-term behaviour of contaminants in the subsurface environment (e.g. the rooting zone of crops).

The parameter $K_\mathrm d$ is the partition coefficient, i.e. the ratio of the concentration of a contaminant sorbed on a specified solid phase (e.g. soil) to the concentration in a specified liquid phase (e.g. groundwater): 

$$K_\mathrm d=\frac{\text{concentration in solid phase (per kg)}}{\text{concentration in liquid phase (per l)}}$$

The partition coefficient $K_\mathrm d$ can be used to calculate the retention factor $k$:

$$k=\frac\rho\varepsilon K_\mathrm d$$

where
$\rho$ is the dry bulk density of the solid phase, and
$\varepsilon$ is the total porosity of the solid phase.
Typical values for soil are $\rho=1.4\ \mathrm{kg\ l^{-1}}$ and $\varepsilon=0.3$.

This parameter is related to the retardation factor $R_\mathrm F$:

$$R_\mathrm F=\frac1{k+1}$$

The retardation factor $R_\mathrm F$ corresponds to the ratio of the distance travelled by the contaminant to the distance simultaneously travelled by the mobile liquid phase:

$$R_\mathrm F=\frac{v_\text{contaminant}}{v_\text{mobile phase}}$$

For example, if the annual precipitation exceeds the evaporation by $300\ \mathrm{mm}$ and the porosity of the soil is about $\varepsilon=0.3$, the drainage water travels with an average velocity of $v_\text{mobile phase}=100\ \mathrm{cm\ a^{-1}}$ downward through the soil.

Assuming a mean value for the partition coefficient of plutonium in all soils of 

$$K_\mathrm d=7.4\times10^2\ \mathrm{l\ kg^{-1}}$$

the corresponding retention factor is

$$\begin{align}
k&amp;=\frac\rho\varepsilon K_\mathrm d\\[6pt]
&amp;=\frac{1.4\ \mathrm{kg\ l^{-1}}}{0.3}7.4\times10^2\ \mathrm{l\ kg^{-1}}\\[6pt]
&amp;=3.5\times10^3
\end{align}$$

and the retardation factor is

$$\begin{align}
R_\mathrm F&amp;=\frac1{k+1}\\[6pt]
&amp;=\frac1{\frac\rho\varepsilon K_\mathrm d+1}\\[6pt]
&amp;=\frac1{\frac{1.4\ \mathrm{kg\ l^{-1}}}{0.3}7.4\times10^2\ \mathrm{l\ kg^{-1}}+1}\\[6pt]
&amp;=2.9\times10^{-4}
\end{align}$$

Therefore, the migration rate is

$$\begin{align}
v_\text{contaminant}&amp;=R_\mathrm F\cdot v_\text{mobile phase}\\[6pt]
&amp;=2.9\times10^{-4}\times100\ \mathrm{cm\ a^{-1}}\\[6pt]
&amp;=0.029\ \mathrm{cm\ a^{-1}}
\end{align}$$

i.e. a downward migration of $1\ \mathrm{cm}$ takes about 35 years.