A new device to mount portable energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (p-ED-XRF) for semi-continuous analyses of split (sediment) cores and solid samples

Philipp Hoelzmann,Torsten Klein,Brigitta Schütt,Frank Kutz

doi:10.5194/gi-6-93-2017

Abstract

Abstract. Portable energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (p-ED-XRF) have become increasingly popular in sedimentary laboratories to quantify the chemical composition of a range of materials such as sediments, soils, solid samples, and artefacts. Here, we introduce a low-cost, clearly arranged unit that functions as a sample chamber (German industrial property rights no. 20 2014 106 048.0) for p-ED-XRF devices to facilitate economic, non-destructive, fast, and semi-continuous analysis of (sediment) cores or other solid samples. The spatial resolution of the measurements is limited to the specifications of the applied p-ED-XRF device – in our case a Thermo Scientific Niton XL3t p-ED-XRF spectrometer with a maximum spatial resolution of 0.3 cm and equipped with a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to document the measurement spot. We demonstrate the strength of combining p-ED-XRF analyses with this new sample chamber to identify Holocene facies changes (e.g. marine vs. terrestrial sedimentary facies) using a sediment core from an estuarine environment in the context of a geoarchaeological investigation at the Atlantic coast of southern Spain.

Highlights

Bulk-sediment chemistry data of split-core sediment surfaces provided by non-destructively measured portable Xray fluorescence (XRF) are important for the determination of sedimentary composition, the interpretation of varying facies, and the reconstruction of environmental conditions.computer-controlled core-scanning XRF tools are often successfully applied (Jansen et al, 1998; Koshikawa et al, 2003; Kido et al, 2006; Richter et al, 2006) and supply bulk-sedimentary data at nearly continuous micron-scale resolution, first of all for environments that provide highly resolved archives with low sediment accumulation rates such as in cores from marine or lacustrine environments
This paper introduces a hands-on, low-cost device that uses common adapters to mount portable energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (p-ED-XRF) devices so that these can provide bulk-sedimentary chemistry data from nondestructive measurements at the surface of a split sediment core or from other solid samples at a spatial resolution from 0.3 cm × 0.3 cm to 0.8 cm × 0.8 cm
We demonstrate the strength of combining p-ED-XRF analyses with this new sample chamber to identify Holocene facies changes using a sediment core from an estuarine environment in the context of a geoarchaeological investigation

Summary

Introduction

Computer-controlled core-scanning XRF tools are often successfully applied (Jansen et al, 1998; Koshikawa et al, 2003; Kido et al, 2006; Richter et al, 2006) and supply bulk-sedimentary data at nearly continuous micron-scale resolution, first of all for environments that provide highly resolved archives with low sediment accumulation rates such as in cores from marine or lacustrine environments These instruments are extremely cost-intensive, and especially terrestrial sediments (e.g. laminated or homogenous) often show a lower temporal resolution that justifies the application of basic XRF instruments with much lower spatial resolution. At the archaeological site Ayamonte (southern Spain), located at the estuary where the Guadiana River flows into the Atlantic in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, sediment archives were investigated in order to provide input for an improved environmental re-

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Conclusion