Sample Preparation for Isotopic Analysis on the Multicollector ICP-MS

• Aqueous Geochemistry Home
• Modeling Applications & Reaction Pathways
  • Geochemical Modeling and Data Analysis Tools
  • The Geochemist's Workbench® Computer Program
  • Reaction Pathways and Geochemical Modeling
• Method Development
  • Uranium-Series Isotopes as an Environmental Tracer
  • Development of Elemental and Isotopic Fingerprinting Tools
  • Sample Preparation for Isotopic Analysis on the Multicollector ICP-MS
  • Using Fluoride/Chloride (F/Cl) Ratios to Evaluate Water Sources and Transport Pathways
  • Improving Techniques for the Collection of X-ray Absorption Spectra from Geologic Samples
• Speciation Studies
  • Assessing Element Speciation, Bioavailability, and Cycling using Diffusive Gradients in Thin Films (DGT)
  • Speciation and Isotopic Composition of Sulfide and Sulfate Minerals
  • Use of Stable Isotopes to Examine Metal Attenuation and Release Processes in a Fluvial Tailings Deposit
  • Application of Improved Methods of Sediment Characterization to Describe Arsenic Contamination in the Bengal Delta
• Biocatalysis Studies
  • Rates of Microbially-mediated Ferrihydrite and MnO2 Dissolution: Evidence for Slower Reaction Rates due to Decreased Surface Reduction Sites and Increased Dissolved Metals
  • Bacterial Sorption to Sulfide Mineral Surfaces
  • Microbial Methylmercury Production in Soil
  • Development of a Technique for the Rapid Screening of Microbial Diversity in Environmental Samples
  • Field Calibration of Stable Isotopic Fractionation Associated with Biotic and Abiotic Sulfate Removal Processes
• Technical Outreach

Richard Wanty, Ian Ridley, Paul Lamothe, Ruth Wolf and David Borrok

The Minerals Program's new MC-ICP-MS represents an exciting tool capable of sensitive isotopic analyses of trace constituents in environmental samples. However, the great sensitivity of this instrument also necessitates that environmental samples be carefully prepared to separate the constituents of interest from the rest of the sample matrix. Our first efforts are directed at separating Cu, Fe, and Zn from each other and from the sample matrix.

USGS High Resolution ICP-MS Laboratory

Products

Journal Articles, Review Volumes, and Theses

Balistrieri, L.S., Borrok, D.M., Wanty, R.B., and Ridley, W.I., 2008, Fractionation of Cu and Zn isotopes during adsorption onto amorphous Fe(III) oxyhydroxide: Experimental mixing of acid rock drainage and ambient river water: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 72 (2) p. 311-328. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2007.11.013

Abstracts, Presentations, and Posters for Professional Technical Meetings

Balistrieri, L.S., Borrok, D.M., Wanty, R.B., and Ridley, W.I., 2007, Fractionation of Cu and Zn isotopes during adsorption onto amorphous Fe(III) oxides: Experimental mixing of acid-rock drainage and ambient river water [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, no. 6, p. 177. Available online at https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007AM/finalprogram/abstract_125388.htm.

Borrok, D.M., Ridley, W.I., Lamothe, P.J., and Wanty, R.B., 2006, Separation of Cu, Fe, and Zn from complex aqueous solutions for isotopic measurement [abs.]: 16th Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference 2006, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, August 27-September 1, 2006, Session S1-06. (Abstract and presentation)

Wanty, R.B., Ridley, W.I., Wolf, R., Lamothe, P., and Adams, M., 2005, Separation of copper, iron, and zinc from complex aqueous solutions for isotopic measurement: metal sources and processes of acid-rock drainage [abs.]: Geological Society of America 2005 Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah, October 16-19, 2005, Abstracts with Programs, v. 37, no. 7, p. 50. (Abstract and presentation) Available online at http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2005AM/finalprogram/abstract_92678.htm.

Contact Information

Rich Wanty
Box 25046 MS 964D Denver Federal Center
Denver, CO 80225-0046
Phone: (303) 236-1819
Email: rwanty@usgs.gov

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