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Project Objectives

develop new and emerging geoanalytical techniques that the Geologic Discipline will need within the next 5 years,
maintain geochemical analysis instrumentation, laboratories, and techniques for use by other projects,
provide training and oversight to other scientists in the use of geoanalytical hardware and software,
develop new geological standard reference materials that can are used by scientists to calibrate analytical instruments and monitor laboratory performance, and
maintain a specialized in-house chemical analysis capability for use in the characterization of new reference materials, and for use with outside funded projects on difficult-to-analyze sample matrices that are beyond the capabilities of the contract laboratory.

Relevance & Impact

The primary goal of this project is the continued development of new, state-of-the-art geoanalytical tools that can be applied to topical studies in geology, climate history, mineralogy, ecology, and biology. Therefore, the impact of this project is highly significant to integrated science activities across the USGS.

This project has participated in NOAA-sponsored sediment round-robin exercises for the past 9 years. Our geochemistry laboratories have consistently achieved high scores for both precision and accuracy, and for the past two years (rounds 13 and 14) we were the highest rated laboratory out of 30 internationally recognized geochemistry laboratories. (Ref: Willie, S., 2003, Sixteenth round intercomparison for trace metals in marine sediments and biological tissues: Prepared for the Coastal Monitoring and Bioeffects Division Office of Ocean Resources Conservations and Assessment, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

Several projects within the Mineral Resources Program utilize the sequential extraction techniques that have been developed in this project for the determination of mode-of-occurrence of constituents. This technique provides information on current and potential availability and mobility of chemical elements, especially those with possible ecosystem health effects such as arsenic (As). It will be applied to studies in (1) the Fairbanks As in drinking water project, (2) Warrior Basin As Project, looking at the residence of As in sediments related to coal and Au mining in the basin, (3) Alaskan biogeochemical studies looking at Cd and other trace element mobilities in mineralized and un-mineralized areas, and (4) Bangladesh As studies, looking at the mode of occurrence of As in sediments to assess sources of high As in drinking water wells.

Project Chief:

Paul Lamothe	Box 25046 MS 964 Denver, CO 80225	303-236-1923 plamothe

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