Marine Tephrochronology
This Special Publication includes articles presenting recent advances in marine tephrochronological studies and outlines innovative techniques in geochemical fingerprinting, stratigraphy and the understanding of depositional processes.
It represents a significant resource for the palaeoceanographic community at a time when marine tephrochronology is being more widely recognized. It will also serve as a valuable reference to a much wider community of Earth scientists, climate scientists and archaeologists, particularly in highlighting the role of tephra studies in stratigraphy and regional/extra-regional correlations, as well as in tracing the long-term history of regional and global volcanism in the deep-sea archive.
Preparation of micro- and crypto-tephras for quantitative microbeam analysis
-
Published:January 01, 2014
Abstract
The smallest tephra grains present special challenges in their preparation for quantitative microbeam chemical analysis by EPMA and LA-ICP-MS. High-quality polished surfaces are an essential pre-requisite for the collection of high quality quantitative chemical data, as these shards also present significant difficulties for analysis. A method for the preparation of tephra grains as small as 10–50 µm is described in detail. This method uses inexpensive, widely available materials and is easily implemented in facilities in which polished geological samples are prepared for microanalysis. Samples prepared in this way reduce or eliminate the difficulties in microbeam analysis associated with small grains, when appropriate analytical protocols are used.