An evaluation of methodologies for calibrating Itrax X-ray fluorescence counts with ICP-MS concentration data for discrete sediment samples

Abstract Core-scanning X-ray Fluorescence (XRF-CS) is a well-established technique for rapid ( 30 replicate analyses for up to 180 samples in a single XRF-CS run. These replicate measurements allow for rigorous testing of precision and accuracy of XRF-CS data. To determine the ideal method of data transformation to improve XRF-CS calibration to quantitative geochemical concentration, 100 lake sediment-surface samples collected from Harvey Lake, New Brunswick, Canada, were analyzed using Itrax-XRF-CS, and then with ICP-MS analysis after multi-acid digestion. Normalization using the CIR and correction for water content showed strong correlation coefficients (Kendall's τ) for elements with atomic number > 18 and high concentrations in the sediment. Results for lighter elements and those with lower concentrations did not perform well using these calibration methods. The MLC provided the most accurate reproduction of observed ICP-MS trends and strong correlations (R) between predicted and actual geochemical concentrations. Based on these results, CIR-normalized or wet-corrected calibrations are ideal for studies where absolute geochemical values are of lesser importance, and the MLC method is appropriate for studies with large numbers of sediment samples (n > 100), or those where absolute concentrations of elements are of greater importance.

• Publication year

  2019

• Venue

  Chemical Geology

• Publication date

  2019-09-05

• Fields of study

  Geology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/J.CHEMGEO.2019.05.008
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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