Open AccessCoral Ba/Ca Analysis Using ICP‐OES With an Ultrasonic Nebulizer
Author(s) -
Watanabe Takaaki K.,
Watanabe Tsuyoshi,
Ohmori Kazuto,
Yamazaki Atsuko
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.928
H-Index - 136
ISSN - 1525-2027
DOI - 10.1029/2021gc009646
Subject(s) - barium , geology , upwelling , inductively coupled plasma , mineralogy , nebulizer , inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy , analytical chemistry (journal) , environmental science , oceanography , environmental chemistry , materials science , plasma , chemistry , physics , metallurgy , medicine , quantum mechanics , anesthesia
The barium/calcium ratio (Ba/Ca) in coral skeletons has been used as a proxy to understand river floods and oceanic upwelling in the tropics and subtropics for the past centuries. Here, we establish a new method for Ba/Ca analysis using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES), which has been widely used for coral proxy analyses and can save analysis time compared to other methods. We analyze Ba/Ca by combining an ultrasonic nebulizer with the intensity ratio calibration method to improve the signal intensity of Ba. Our method can determine Ba/Ca in samples with a Ca concentration of 9 mg/L with excellent analytical precision (<0.17 μmol/mol) using ICP‐OES.