From Outcrop to Ions: development and application of in-situ isotope ratio measurements to solve geologic problems
Project objectives are to (1) develop innovative analytical techniques for isotope geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), and (2) apply these techniques to collaborative research projects of high priority to the Mineral Resources Program, including studies related to the formation of "critical mineral" deposits, and studies related to Alaska and U.S. midcontinent regions.
![plasma lab instruments](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/AttoM_QICPMS_Laser-KS.png?itok=HmRDsyLq)
Scientific Issue and Relevance
The Plasma Laboratory houses a new double-focusing multiple-collector plasma ionization mass spectrometer (MC-ICPMS), a Nu Plasma II, and a new 193 nm laser ablation system (RESOlution-SE). This LA-MC-ICPMS is designed to perform in-situ high-precision measurements of radiogenic and stable isotopes of trace elements. The other instrumentation in the Plasma Laboratory includes double-focusing single-collector lasma ionization mass spectrometer (SC-ICPMS), a Nu AttoM ES, and a new Agilent 7900 quadruple (Q) ICPMS. The latter two instruments are primarily used to perform rapid in situ measurements of Pb isotope ratios (i.e., common Pb for tracer studies or radiogenic Pb for U-Pb dating) and trace element abundances.
This project will allow us to (1) develop innovative in-situ analytical techniques for isotope geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology using plasma ionization mass spectrometry and (2) apply our new analytical techniques to collaborative research projects of high priority to the
Mineral Resources Program (MRP), including studies related to the U.S. midcontinent region and Alaska, and/or processes related to the formation of critical mineral deposits.
![laser ablation craters](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/1-s2.0-S0009254118301190-gr1_lrg.jpg?itok=CRt_cUug)
Methods to Address Issue
Our next major tasks are to refine our existing techniques and establish a series of new methods for isotopic and geochronological research using a philosophy of innovation through collaboration.
Innovation: Our goal is to improve the precision and accuracy of each technique to reach or surpass the cutting edge, while increasing efficiency (i.e., reducing the time and cost per analysis). We are following a phased approach of establishing or refining the analytical techniques from the basics (e.g., in situ U-Pb dating of zircon, apatite, titanite, and rutile, Hf isotopes in zircon; Nd isotopes in monazite) to those with higher risk and greater impact (e.g., St isotopes in apatite, feldspars, carbonates, and barite; Pb isotopes in feldspar and tourmaline; Li isotopes in tourmaline; Nd isotopes in bastnaesite or scheelite; Sn isotopes in cassiterite, or in situ U-Pb dating of ore-related minerals, such as bastnaesite, columbite, cassiterite, or scheelite).
Collaboration: The closely related fields of isotope geochemistry and geochronology are the power tools in the Geologist's tool chest. A major goal of this project is to increase the usage of these tools within the USGS through collaboration with other scientists on current and future MRP projects. We will involve USGS scientists in research with isotopes through a series of case studies related to high-priority Mineral Resources Program projects.
Project tasks are focused on the following activities:
- In-situ Isotope analysis of critical mineral isotope systems for geologic applications
- In-situ U-Pb geochronology of ore-forming and ore-related minerals applied to geologic processes
- In-situ U-Pb geochronology and trace element geochemistry of ore minerals and ore-forming processes
![fume hoods](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Fume-Hoods-AP.jpg?itok=fYDB7bru)
![Tera-Wasserburg Concordia diagram](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/1-s2.0-S0009254118301190-gr3_lrg.jpg?itok=NM71_5b_)
![drying stations](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Drying-Stations-AP.jpg?itok=cqb4Ys6h)
![lab column boxes](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Column-Boxes-AP_0.jpg?itok=2Kc2Eunt)
Return to: Mineral Resources Program | Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Petrology, Tectonic Setting, and Potential for Concentration of Rare Earth Elements (REE) and High Field Strength Elements (HFSE) in the High-K Darby and Kachauik Plutons, Seward Peninsula, Alaska
Rare Earth Element Deposits in the Southeast Mojave Desert
Development and Validation of Hyperspectral Imager for Field and Lab Scanning
Geologic Map of Alaska
Below are data releases associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Explosive summit collapse of Kīlauea Volcano in 1924 preceded by a decade of crustal contamination and anomalous Pb isotope ratios
Petrographic, geochemical, and geochronologic data for cenozoic volcanic rocks of the Tonopah, Divide, and Goldfield Mining Districts, Nevada
U-Pb geochronology of tin deposits associated with the Cornubian Batholith of southwest England: Direct dating of cassiterite by in situ LA-ICPMS
A stratigraphic approach to inferring depositional ages from detrital geochronology data
Structural evolution of a gold-bearing transtensional zone within the Archean Porcupine-Destor deformation zone, southern Abitibi greenstone belt, eastern Ontario, Canada
Processes and facies relationships in a Lower(?) Devonian rocky shoreline depositional environment, East Lime Creek Conglomerate, south‐western Colorado, USA
In situ LA-ICPMS U–Pb dating of cassiterite without a known-age matrix-matched reference material: Examples from worldwide tin deposits spanning the Proterozoic to the Tertiary
Detrital zircon geochronology of quartzose metasedimentary rocks from parautochthonous North America, east-central Alaska
Evaluation of laser ablation double-focusing SC-ICPMS for “common” lead isotopic measurements in silicate glasses and mineral
Project objectives are to (1) develop innovative analytical techniques for isotope geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), and (2) apply these techniques to collaborative research projects of high priority to the Mineral Resources Program, including studies related to the formation of "critical mineral" deposits, and studies related to Alaska and U.S. midcontinent regions.
![plasma lab instruments](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/AttoM_QICPMS_Laser-KS.png?itok=HmRDsyLq)
Scientific Issue and Relevance
The Plasma Laboratory houses a new double-focusing multiple-collector plasma ionization mass spectrometer (MC-ICPMS), a Nu Plasma II, and a new 193 nm laser ablation system (RESOlution-SE). This LA-MC-ICPMS is designed to perform in-situ high-precision measurements of radiogenic and stable isotopes of trace elements. The other instrumentation in the Plasma Laboratory includes double-focusing single-collector lasma ionization mass spectrometer (SC-ICPMS), a Nu AttoM ES, and a new Agilent 7900 quadruple (Q) ICPMS. The latter two instruments are primarily used to perform rapid in situ measurements of Pb isotope ratios (i.e., common Pb for tracer studies or radiogenic Pb for U-Pb dating) and trace element abundances.
This project will allow us to (1) develop innovative in-situ analytical techniques for isotope geochemistry and U-Pb geochronology using plasma ionization mass spectrometry and (2) apply our new analytical techniques to collaborative research projects of high priority to the
Mineral Resources Program (MRP), including studies related to the U.S. midcontinent region and Alaska, and/or processes related to the formation of critical mineral deposits.
![laser ablation craters](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/1-s2.0-S0009254118301190-gr1_lrg.jpg?itok=CRt_cUug)
Methods to Address Issue
Our next major tasks are to refine our existing techniques and establish a series of new methods for isotopic and geochronological research using a philosophy of innovation through collaboration.
Innovation: Our goal is to improve the precision and accuracy of each technique to reach or surpass the cutting edge, while increasing efficiency (i.e., reducing the time and cost per analysis). We are following a phased approach of establishing or refining the analytical techniques from the basics (e.g., in situ U-Pb dating of zircon, apatite, titanite, and rutile, Hf isotopes in zircon; Nd isotopes in monazite) to those with higher risk and greater impact (e.g., St isotopes in apatite, feldspars, carbonates, and barite; Pb isotopes in feldspar and tourmaline; Li isotopes in tourmaline; Nd isotopes in bastnaesite or scheelite; Sn isotopes in cassiterite, or in situ U-Pb dating of ore-related minerals, such as bastnaesite, columbite, cassiterite, or scheelite).
Collaboration: The closely related fields of isotope geochemistry and geochronology are the power tools in the Geologist's tool chest. A major goal of this project is to increase the usage of these tools within the USGS through collaboration with other scientists on current and future MRP projects. We will involve USGS scientists in research with isotopes through a series of case studies related to high-priority Mineral Resources Program projects.
Project tasks are focused on the following activities:
- In-situ Isotope analysis of critical mineral isotope systems for geologic applications
- In-situ U-Pb geochronology of ore-forming and ore-related minerals applied to geologic processes
- In-situ U-Pb geochronology and trace element geochemistry of ore minerals and ore-forming processes
![fume hoods](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Fume-Hoods-AP.jpg?itok=fYDB7bru)
![Tera-Wasserburg Concordia diagram](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/1-s2.0-S0009254118301190-gr3_lrg.jpg?itok=NM71_5b_)
![drying stations](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Drying-Stations-AP.jpg?itok=cqb4Ys6h)
![lab column boxes](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Column-Boxes-AP_0.jpg?itok=2Kc2Eunt)
Return to: Mineral Resources Program | Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Petrology, Tectonic Setting, and Potential for Concentration of Rare Earth Elements (REE) and High Field Strength Elements (HFSE) in the High-K Darby and Kachauik Plutons, Seward Peninsula, Alaska
Rare Earth Element Deposits in the Southeast Mojave Desert
Development and Validation of Hyperspectral Imager for Field and Lab Scanning
Geologic Map of Alaska
Below are data releases associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.