Open AccessTesting the reliability of the JEOL FEGSEM 6500F electron microprobe for quantitative major element analysis of glass shards from rhyolitic tephra
Author(s) -
COULTER SARAH E.,
PILCHER JONATHAN R.,
HALL VALERIE A.,
PLUNKETT GILL,
DAVIES SIWAN M.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
boreas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1502-3885
pISSN - 0300-9483
DOI - 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00113.x
Subject(s) - tephra , electron microprobe , rhyolite , microprobe , tephrochronology , geology , mineralogy , microanalysis , geochemistry , volcanic rock , volcano , chemistry , organic chemistry
Coulter, S. E., Pilcher, J. R., Hall, V. A., Plunkett, G. & Davies, S. M. 2009: Testing the reliability of the JEOL FEGSEM 6500F electron microprobe for quantitative major element analysis of glass shards from rhyolitic tephra. Boreas , 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00113.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Electronprobe microanalysis is now widely adopted in tephra studies as a technique for determining the major element geochemistry of individual glass shards. Accurate geochemical characterization is crucial for enabling robust tephra‐based correlations; such information may also be used to link the tephra to a specific source and often to a particular eruption. In this article, we present major element analyses for rhyolitic natural glass standards analysed on three different microprobes and the new JEOL FEGSEM 6500F microprobe at Queen's University Belfast. Despite the scatter in some elements, good comparability is demonstrated among data yielded from this new system, the previous Belfast JEOL‐733 Superprobe, the JEOL‐8200 Superprobe (Copenhagen) and the existing long‐established microprobe facility in Edinburgh. Importantly, our results show that major elements analysed using different microprobes and variable operating conditions allow two high‐silica glasses to be discriminated accurately.