Crustal Imaging and Characterization Team
Analytical instrumentation and methods are improved and developed to measure the chemical, volatile, and stable isotopic composition of fluid inclusions, with an emphasis on metals and ligands. Such data will be used to calculate the mass of ore fluid required to produce a given deposit, characterize the chemical environment of ore formation, precipitation mechanisms, fluid-rock interactions and source(s) of ore components.
A new petrographic microscope - laser ablation - induction coupled plasma - mass spectrometer (PM-LA-ICP-MS) will be brought into operation and methods developed to determine the mulitelement composition of individual fluid inclusions in quartz and carbonate minerals.
A new laser ablation - ion trap - time of flight - mass spectrometer (LA-IT-TOF-MS) will be brought into operation and methods developed to determine the major and minor gas species present in individual fluid inclusions.
An exisiting quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) will be optimized for determination of the major (H2O, CO2, N2, CH4, and other organics) minor (Ar, HCl, HF, NH3, H2S, SO2) and trace He) gas species present in fluid inclusions extracted from 1-10 gram mineral separates. Such samples are also analyzed for stable isotope (H, O, C, N) compositions (H2O, CO2, N2, CH4) of major gases.
New LA-ICP-MS and LA-IT-TOF-MS will be brought into operation, analytical methods, standards, and calibration optimized and personnel trained in its use.
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Mineral Resources |
Eastern / Central / Western / Alaska / Minerals Information |
| Crustal Imaging & Characterization / Spatial Data |
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://crustal.usgs.gov
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