In situ trace-element analysis of individual silicate melt inclusions by laser ablation microprobe-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LAM-ICP-MS)

Abstract

This paper reports the successful application of laser ablation microprobe-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LAM-ICP-MS) to the in situ analysis of a diverse suite of twenty trace elements including Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, Y, and REEs, in individual silicate melt inclusions in phenocrysts from Fantale volcano, Ethiopia. The UV laser, a frequency quadrupled Nd: YAG operating at 266 nm, significantly improves the ablation characteristics of minerals that do not absorb strongly at near-IR wavelengths (e.g., quartz and feldspar). Furthermore, it allows for a significant reduction in ablation pit size to ca. 10 μm, thereby permitting numerous applications that require high-resolution sampling. Multiple ablations in individual melt inclusions in the size range 10–50 μm demonstrate both the effectiveness of the technique and the generally homogeneous character of the inclusions. Comparison of the LAM-ICP-MS data for international reference material RGM-1 (a rhyolite), with recommended values, indicates an analytical precision of <10% for most of the trace elements determined in this study. The trace element abundances of the Fantale melt inclusions, determined by LAM-ICP-MS, are typical of those of pantellerites (i.e., peralkaline rhyolites), and are consistent with their origin as tiny volumes of melt trapped in quartz and alkali-feldspar phenocrysts during the final stage of fractional crystallization of the host peralkaline magma.