Elemental Scientific Lasers’ Scientific Publications

This work shows the development and optimization of simultaneous 193 nm LA-ICP-MS & LIBS methods for the spatially resolved analysis of polymer thin films of polyimide, polystyrene, and polyvinylpyrrolidone, which were exposed to a UV treatment and weathered in a corrosive atmosphere containing hydrogen sulfide, to investigate polymer ageing and degradation in harsh environments. Evaluating the information from a broadband multichannel LIBS instrument enabled the spatially resolved discrimination of the used polymer types with a lateral resolution of 40 mm. At the same time, a high-resolution spectrometer with an ICCD camera could detect oxidation derived from the UV treatment, and ICP-MS data could measure differences in the sulfur uptake ...

The work presented herein employs two laser-based analytical techniques (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)) to spatially determine the elemental and isotopic composition of uranium bearing minerals. Uniquely, this work leverages the high-speed applicability of LIBS to "screen" the sample(s) for their elemental constituents. After determining the location of the uranium inclusions (via LIBS), high-resolution LA-ICP-MS was employed to further characterize the inclusions. The high-resolution (sub-μm) capabilities of LA-ICP-MS were able to extract important information from the uranium minerals including discerning its chemical form (e.g., finchite fr...

There are many processes that affect the measured concentration of elements determined by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Depending on the element of interest, a range of corrections are required to account for sensitivity drift and downhole effects, as well as other sources of inaccuracy. Here, we present a new method of calibrating LA-ICP-MS measurements taking into consideration time-dependent sensitivity changes to produce a three-dimensional calibration surface through time. These 3D calibration surfaces result in up to 20% improvements in our example dataset for some elements. To ensure calibration surfaces that are created using multiple reference materials are not degraded by matrix effects a...

California's Chinook salmon populations (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are undergoing severe and widespread population declines and extirpations, and examples of recovered or restored wild runs of salmon in California are rare. Most salmon returning to California streams are of hatchery origin and have largely replaced salmon of natural origin. I provide a case history for the dynamics of a Chinook salmon population currently recovering in a dam-controlled stream. Following implementation of a functional flow regime and other restoration actions, spawning Chinook salmon returned to Lower Putah Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River, for the first time since the waterway was dammed in 1958. The return of Chinook salmon to Putah Creek followi...

Records of high latitude oceanic and climate dynamics obtained from high-resolution marine archives like the high arctic crustose coralline alga Clathromorphum compactum are invaluable for placing current environmental change in the context of historical variability. In addition to serving as an excellent marine archive, these algae also perform important ecosystem services by providing substrate and habitat for many benthic fauna, as well as contributing to regional primary productivity and carbon sequestration. This dissertation aims to advance our knowledge of the subannual-scale growth and calcification in the long-lived crustose coralline alga Clathromorphum compactum in the context of environmental change and historical reconstruction...

The chemical composition and trace element concentration in stibnite from the Kizhnica-HajvaliaBadovc (KHB) ore field (Kosovo) was studied. Trace element measurements in stibnite from 2 localities (Janjevo stibnite-quartz vein and Badovc stibniterhodochrosite breccia) were conducted using LA-ICP-MS technique. In addition to the typical enrichments in As, Pb, Hg, or Cu known from the literature, stibnite from the KHB ore field shows the highest known concentrations of Tl (up to 213 ppm) and Ag (up to 146 ppm). In addition, elevated concentrations of As (up to 4,100 ppm), Pb (up to 2,000 ppm), Hg (up to 316 ppm), and Cu (up to 46.9 ppm) are observed. The following three independent mechanisms of incorporation of the above-mentioned trace elem...

Alcohol and cannabis are some of the most ubiquitous substances on college campuses. While the reason for use varies between each individual, from social lubricant to sleeping aid, nearly half of higher-education students endorse alcohol and/or cannabis use in the last month. Despite this popularity, there is still a deeply ingrained level of stigma around substance use and substance use disorders and people who use substances or struggle with substance use disorders are subject to a litany of damaging perceptions, such as being deemed violent, unpredictable, weak, and untrustworthy.. Most research on the stereotypic thinking surrounding substance use focuses on explicit judgements about the moral character of users. However, to the best of...

Fulgurites are glasses formed by the rapid heating of rock, sand, or soil by a cloud-to-ground lightning strike, and they take their name appropriately from the Latin term for lightning, fulgur (Arago 1821). Theoretically, fulgurites are natural structures with a high compositional diversity as they can be formed from anything struck by lightning. Lightnings are natural phenomena that occur at a global flash rate about 45 times per second on Earth (Christian, vd., 2003), mostly (%75-90) by transmission of electricity from the cloud to the continental land mass. The channel diameter of a lightning strike through air is typically between two to five centimeters (Rakov and Uman 2003). As it is difficult to directly observe the properties of li...

Various tagging methods are currently applied in fisheries science for monitoring and managing fish populations worldwide. Tagging technology can often be limited by characteristics of the target species and can come with side effects such as lowering individual fitness. Otolith marking is a widely used alternative tagging technique that is effective in marking individual fish while not causing harmful side effects to the fish. An otolith mark will persist throughout the individual?s life, allowing for a permanent mark. A transgenerational isotopic otolith mark is the process of marking all offspring of a single individual by administering the mark to only the parent, with the mark transferring to one single generation, thus minimizing the ...

Near Copiapó, Chile, volcanic-dominated rocks of the Early Cretaceous Punta del Cobre Formation host Fe-oxide(-Cu-Au) (“IOCG”) mineralization with varied development of metamorphic mineral assemblages. Western occurrences, such as the Candelaria deposit, lie within the metamorphic aureole of the composite Copiapó batholith (110-120 Ma), while other, more easterly deposits in the district lack evidence of high-grade metamorphism. This allows comparison of features seen at Candelaria, but not at the other deposits, that may have resulted from contact metamorphism. Petrography and scanning electron microscopy of Candelaria samples reveal early penetrative, planar fabrics overprinted by texturally and mineralogically recrystallized assemb...

Many tin deposits in Central Europe (e.g. Erzgebirge) are related to the emplacement of granites at the late stages of the Variscan Orogeny. The cassiterite crystals from selected, primary tin occurrences in Western Sudetes (Gierczyn-Przecznica, Czarnów, Piława Górna pegmatite) where investigated using LA-ICP-MS age of the mineralisation and trace elements composition. The results of cassiterite age from Czarnów and Piława Górna are slightly older than available data (dating of zircons, monazites and uraninites). The age of cassiterite from Gierczyn-Przecznica reveals that two distinguished types of cassiterite represent two separate events. The first event at 353±14 and 360±5 Ma can be related to the regional metamorphism event whi...

The Alps is one of the most well-studied mountain belts on the Earth, but nonetheless there are areas which are still largely unexplored. The southern Dora-Maira Massif has been intensely studied since the discovery of coesite in 1984, whereas only a few studies focused on its northern sector. Recently, a new ultra-high pressure unit (i.e. the Chasteiran Unit) has been discovered in this part of the Massif, emphasizing the necessity to refine the geometry of the northern Dora-Maira Massif. Therefore, this study aims to define the different geological units and their tectonic boundaries in the Germanasca valley in northern Dora-Maira by combining petrological and geochronological data. Specifically, this thesis aims to assess if the area com...

This paper presents the discovery of Ni-Cu-Co-Bi mineralization in Valea Muntelui ultramafic bodies from the Southern Carpathians. Core samples from two exploration drill holes in the ultramafic body were studied using optical microscopy and SEM/EDS measurements. All of the described ore minerals were discovered in highly serpentinized ultramafic rocks, with the mineral association consisting of ferromagnesian and calcic amphiboles, chlorite, talc, and dolomite, as well as chromiferous spinel grains partially transformed into magnetite. Pentlandite, pyrrhotite, cubanite, cobaltite, chalcopyrite, nickeline, maucherite, parkerite, native Bi, native Pb and natural CuZn alloys were identified. The mineralization process appears to be linked to ...

We present a new δ 18O, δ 13C, and trace element record from MO-AL-3, a speleothem from Cueva del Aleman located on the western edge of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. U-series dating shows that MO-AL-3 likely grew continuously from approximately 1450–1850 CE capturing the important climatic period known as the Little Ice Age. Using these dates, we calculated an average extension rate of ~700 µm/a. Multi-trace element layer counting of MO-AL-3 was performed to improve the relative chronology, allowing further investigation of pre-industrial decadal to multidecadal precipitation variability in the Northeastern Caribbean region. The veracity of MO-AL-3’s record and age model were validated by comparison to other nearby proxy records covering...

We have studied the evolution of mineralizing fluids in the world-class San Rafael Sn-Cu lode district, Peru, by investigating the major and trace element compositions of fluid inclusions and hydrothermal chlorite from four major mineralization stages of the deposit. Hypersaline liquid, vapor, and liquid-vapor fluid inclusion assemblages in quartz, fluorite, and cassiterite have been analyzed by microthermometry, Raman spectroscopy and LA-ICP-MS. Salinity and homogenization temperature decrease from stage I to stage IV. Most element concentrations in the fluid inclusions (e.g., Zn, Pb, Na) decrease progressively from stage I to stage IV, except for B. Fluid mixing at 350-250ºC of a hypersaline, high-temperature, metal-bearing, magmatic flu...

This paper is the result of mineral exploration engineering.[Objective] In recent years, the study of sandstone-type uranium deposits has become a hotspot among geologists, especially the study of uranium-bearing strata. [Methods] Based on LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of detrital zircons from the lower part of the Lower Cretaceous Luohe Formation uranium-bearing sandstones in Zhenyuan area, southwestern Ordos Basin, the provenance and tectonic significance of uranium-bearing sandstones are discussed. [Results] The results show that the detrital zircon U-Pb ages of the lower member of the Lower Cretaceous Luohe Formation are mainly distributed in five age intervals: 166-370 Ma (n=49), 388-472 Ma (n=14), 1744-2150 Ma (n=14), 2241-2740 Ma (n=14) and ...

This paper presents new zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age data, whole rock geochemistry as well as mineral chemistry analyses for the early Miocene intrusive bodies from the Salafchegan district, central Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc (UDMA). The Salafchegan intrusive rocks include quartz-diorite and diorite. Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb ages display a mean of 22.04+0.25 Ma and 22.38+0.23Ma for the quartz-diorite and diorite phases, respectively. The data suggest that the intrusive body was emplaced in the early Miocene. These intrusive rocks were mostly formed following the extensive submarine volcanic activities in the Eocene. Based on the Geochemical data, the Salafchegan intrusive rocks are I-type granitoids, meta-aluminous (A/CNK = 0.86-1.24), arc-rela...

The basement of Borborema Province (NE Brazil) was affected by deformation during the Phanerozoic, in response to tectonic pulses as well as magmatic events, leading to uplift and the West Gondwana break-up. These combined events also led to the formation of intracontinental basins, such as Jatobá, Araripe, and Rio do Peixe, with similar depositional context and structural controls. These basins are intrinsically related to major Ediacaran, continental-scale shear zones of the Borborema Province that were reactivated during the Phanerozoic. The timing, duration and driving forces of these reactivations are still an ongoing debate. In this study we use low-temperature thermochronology to constrain the timing of cooling and possible reactiva...

With the exception of the recently discovered stable U4+ chloride complex at high temperatures under reduced conditions, genetic models for the formation of uranium deposits had almost invariably invoked the pivotal roles of soluble U6+ species for the transport of uranium-bearing fluids and their reduction to sparingly soluble U4+ as the deposition mechanism. However, the questions of when and how this reduction in most uranium deposits such as those in the Athabasca basin (Canada) occurred are often not clear. The unconformity-related uranium deposits in the Athabasca basin are commonly accompanied by extensive and intensive hematite-rich alteration halos. Previous U L3-edge XANES studies of uranium-bearing fluid inclusions and thermodyna...

In this study, Rb-Sr geochronology was used to determine the crystallization/cooling ages of muscovites and biotites from mapped primitive barren and rare element pegmatites in the Stora-Le-Marstrand Formation in the southwestern archipelago of Gothenburg. The results indicate that primitive barrens can be linked to the DG2 deformation event that occurred 1.56-1.54 Ga and suggest an anatectic origin and limits the migmatisation event to 1547 Ma. The study also found that the Leucosome sample from the SLM Fm. and the barrens have similar geochemical fractionation indicators, which supports the theory that these barrens originate from the partial melt of the SLM Fm. A correlation was identified between the degree of fractionation and the cool...

The eruption of Hunga volcano on 15 January 2022 is one of the most significant eruptions in recent history in terms of its extreme explosivity, unusual and poorly understood mechanisms, and the impacts felt worldwide. The eruption produced a 55 km-high eruption plume, with a 600 km diameter umbrella region. Multiple deadly and destructive tsunami during this eruption travelled across the Pacific Ocean, following a large air-pressure wave that encircled the globe. To understand the geological and hydrothermal properties of the pre-eruption submarine Hunga volcano, the mineralogy, petrology and geochemistry of non-juvenile ?lithic? pyroclasts within ash from the catastrophic 15 January 2022 eruption was examined. The lithics make up opx) wit...

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Hair has long been explored as a potential biomarker of lead exposure since lead is readily adsorbed into hair's keratinous matrix; however, the utility of hair as a biomarker for lead exposure is hampered by its susceptibility to external contamination: lead particles attach to the exposed hair surface, confounding estimates of endogenous concentrations. This study describes the development of a hair screening tool, in which the confounding influence of external contamination are mitigated by focusing on the unexposed hair root, to predict elevated blood lead levels (BLLs). This tool requires a single strand of scalp hair, which is analyzed using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Forty-four (44) worke...

Following an initial micro-XRF assay, 42 samples of glass from the twentieth-century excavations of the fourth-century CE production site at Jalame, Israel, were selected and analysed by EPMA, with subsets for trace elements by LA-ICP-MS (n=29 samples) and for Hf isotopes by MC-ICP-MS (n=6). Comparison of major elements for ten samples originally measured in Brill (1988) was good, although the earlier SiO2 values are slightly high. Analyses of furnace debris and contaminated glass imply that glass furnaces were made of, or lined with a lime-rich material, leading to contamination by CaO, rather than Al2O3. This confirms that higher alumina contents measured for Jalame glass relative to Roman Mn-decolourised glass of first-third century Euro...

In 1890, the U.S. Consul to Chile sent Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) the mummified remains of a young Andean girl interred in a chullpa tomb, reputedly located south of La Paz, Bolivia. She was accompanied by a group of funerary objects, and the documentation indicated that she dated from the 15th century CE and was from the Inca culture. She was repatriated to Bolivia in January 2019. During and following repatriation minimally destructive analyses were undertaken on the funerary objects that had been associated with the interment. The estimated age of 1400-1500 CE was corroborated by a series of AMS ages on maize, leather, and gourd. However, a series of small ~2.5 mm black and red beads gave the appearance...

Sedimentary provenance studies using detrital zircon U-Pb ages represent an important tool to investigate the evolution of orogenic basins and to suggest tectonic settings and paleogeography reconstructions when it comes to supercontinent modeling. Syn-orogenic basins worldwide are characterized by a large proportion of zircons with ages close to the maximum depositional period, reflecting the proximity of recently formed magmatic rocks. In this work, we combine field observations, detrital zircon U-Pb ages, whole-rock Sm-Nd and mica Ar-Ar isotopic analyses to constrain the final tectonic evolution of a restricted basin located in a poorly studied region at the easternmost limit of the Paraguay Belt in the Tocantins Province, central Brazil...

This report describes the analysis of twenty-six human scalp hairs, and one facial hair, found attached to bristles of a hairbrush recovered during underwater archaeological investigation of the wreck of HMS Erebus of the British Royal Navy’s “Franklin Expedition” which sank in the Arctic after its desertion in April 1848. Hair colour and diameter range were typical of Western Europeans, consistent with the Caucasian origins of the crew. Microscopic examination showed often severe degradation caused by biological agents and mechanical damage, and penetrative contamination by iron oxide encrustation from the wreck environment during some 170 years of marine immersion. No viable DNA was recovered to allow identification from a database ...

This work describes and discusses the geology, rocks and mineralizations of the Araxá alkaline-carbonatite complex, information never before published about the world's largest producer of niobium. The information generated by 56 years of mining in the Araxá complex made it possible to identify a core in the complex that has a composition of magnetite-phlogopite mineralized with magmatic pyrochlore. This magnetite phlogopitite reached the surface at 97.7 Ma and generated volcanoes with mineralized volcanic tuffs and crater lakes. At the bottom of the crater lakes, micro-graywacke deposited. Notably, a hydrothermal episode between t ≈ 97.6 and 86.4 Ma Ma based on the mineral composition, hydrothermal structures, and δ18O and δD values....

Late Ediacaran to Cambrian metagranitoids from the northern Veporic unit of the Western Carpathians show imprints of three metamorphic events, which can be clearly assigned to the Cenerian, Variscan, and Alpine orogeny based on electron microprobe dating of monazite. Most monazite grains in the rocks are clearly of Ordovician age (weighted average: 470 ± 3 Ma), which is a surprising result because Ordovician thermal events have so far only rarely been reported from the Western Carpathians. The Ordovician monazite formed in equilibrium with garnet, ilmenite, kyanite and quartz at P-T conditions of ca. 550-570°C and 6-7 kbar. Interestingly, few monazite cores gave an ill-defined Cambrian age (525 ± 25 Ma) which are either magmatic relics (...