The Preparation and Preliminary Characterisation of Four New Geological Survey of Japan Geochemical Reference Materials: Soils, JSO‐1 and JSO‐2; and Marine Sediments, JMS‐1 and JMS‐2

Abstract

Four new geochemical reference materials, soils JSO‐1 and JSO‐2, and marine sediments JMS‐1 and JMS‐2, have been prepared by the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) for collaborative studies on their chemical composition. In the case of JSO‐2, thirty one compounds were artificially added to a natural soil, mostly as oxides, in order to provide a soil reference material that contains known chemical forms of minor and trace elements. Homogeneity test results and provisional values of thirty seven major, minor and trace elements are presented to support future collaborative analyses. The homogeneity tests showed that all elements studied can be considered to be homogeneously distributed. A description of the geological and mineralogical characteristics of the materials is also given.