SHORT COURSE - LASER ABLATION-ICPMS IN THE EARTH SCIENCES: CURRENT PRACTICES AND OUTSTANDING ISSUES

摘要

Laser-ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is a powerful technique that is capable of providing micron-scale analyses of trace element concentrations and isotopic ratios in a variety of minerals and other objects of geologic interest. Seven years ago, the Mineralogical Association of Canada sponsored a landmark short course that helped bring the potential of laser-ablation ICPMS to the attention of Earth scientists around the world. Since then the technique has become arguably the fastest-growing analytical method in the Earth sciences, with tremendous advances in the understanding of basic laser-sample interactions and the practices used to obtain the most precise and accurate data possible.