Application of Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry to studies of chemical diffusion, sorption, and transport in natural rock

Abstract

Copyright © 2012 by The Geochemical Society of Japan. versity of sample types. Materials sampled have included biological specimens such as tree rings, bone, hair, teeth, seashells, fish otoliths, fish scales, and snake tail (Raith et al., 1996; Watmough et al., 1998; Veinott, 2001; Jackson et al., 2003; Bellotto and Miekeley, 2007; Sela et al., 2007; Arora et al., 2011), airborne particulates (Wang et al., 1999; Liu et al., 2004; Hsieh et al., 2011), rocks and minerals (e.g., Fryer et al., 1993; Jackson et al., 2004; Tanaka et al., 2007), and fluid inclusions (Shepherd and Chenery, 1995; Gunther et al., 1998; Heinrich et al., 2003; Mason et al., 2008). However, publications on the use of LA-ICP-MS techniques to study diffusion, sorption, and transport of chemicals in natural rock are limited (Hu et al., 2004; Hu and Mori, 2008; Wang et al., 2011). The high spatial resolution (in the range of microns) achieved by a focused laser beam makes LA-ICPMS a very attractive tool for studies of chemical fate and transport in natural rock, where the chemical may only move a very limited distance. A rock surface of millimeter scale can be directly mapped for elemental concentration, even though the distribution of the element is limited by processes such as slow diffusion and strong sorption (Hu and Mori, 2008). Application of Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry to studies of chemical diffusion, sorption, and transport in natural rock