Reply to “Re-examination of the boron isotopic composition of tourmaline from the Lavicky granite, Czech Republic, by secondary ion mass spectrometry: back to normal” by H. R. Marschall and T. Ludwig: Critical comment on “Chemical and boron isotopic compositions of tourmaline from the Lavicky leucogranite, Czech Republic”

Abstract

New SIMS data (Marschall and Ludwig, 2006) indicate that some of the boron isotopic compositions of tourmaline from the Lavicky granite (Czech Republic) previously reported by us (Jiang et al., 2003) are erroneous. The problems are discussed in this paper. This lesson tells us that special cares must be taken when analyzing boron isotopic compositions of solid materials with complex matrices. Sample dissolution, purification of boron via column chemistry, and mass spectrometric measurements have to be carefully evaluated.