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Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a form of optical emission spectroscopy that can be used for the rapid analysis of geological materials in the field under ambient environmental conditions. We describe here the innovative use of handheld LIBS for the in situ analysis of rock varnish. T...

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Autores principales: Harmon, Russell S., Khashchevskaya, Daria, Morency, Michelle, Owen, Lewis A., Jennings, Morgan, Knott, Jeffrey R., Dortch, Jason M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8433696/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34500634
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules26175200
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author Harmon, Russell S.
Khashchevskaya, Daria
Morency, Michelle
Owen, Lewis A.
Jennings, Morgan
Knott, Jeffrey R.
Dortch, Jason M.
author_facet Harmon, Russell S.
Khashchevskaya, Daria
Morency, Michelle
Owen, Lewis A.
Jennings, Morgan
Knott, Jeffrey R.
Dortch, Jason M.
author_sort Harmon, Russell S.
collection PubMed
description Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a form of optical emission spectroscopy that can be used for the rapid analysis of geological materials in the field under ambient environmental conditions. We describe here the innovative use of handheld LIBS for the in situ analysis of rock varnish. This thinly laminated and compositionally complex veneer forms slowly over time on rock surfaces in dryland regions and is particularly abundant across the Mojave Desert climatic region of east-central California (USA). Following the depth profiling examination of a varnished clast from colluvial gravel in Death Valley in the laboratory, our in situ analysis of rock varnish and visually similar coatings on rock surfaces was undertaken in the Owens and Deep Spring valleys in two contexts, element detection/identification and microchemical mapping. Emission peaks were recognized in the LIBS spectra for the nine elements most abundant in rock varnish—Mn, Fe, Si, Al, Na, Mg, K, Ca and Ba, as well as for H, Li, C, O, Ti, V, Sr and Rb. Focused follow-up laboratory and field studies will help understand rock varnish formation and its utility for weathering and chronological studies.
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spelling pubmed-84336962021-09-12 Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Harmon, Russell S. Khashchevskaya, Daria Morency, Michelle Owen, Lewis A. Jennings, Morgan Knott, Jeffrey R. Dortch, Jason M. Molecules Article Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a form of optical emission spectroscopy that can be used for the rapid analysis of geological materials in the field under ambient environmental conditions. We describe here the innovative use of handheld LIBS for the in situ analysis of rock varnish. This thinly laminated and compositionally complex veneer forms slowly over time on rock surfaces in dryland regions and is particularly abundant across the Mojave Desert climatic region of east-central California (USA). Following the depth profiling examination of a varnished clast from colluvial gravel in Death Valley in the laboratory, our in situ analysis of rock varnish and visually similar coatings on rock surfaces was undertaken in the Owens and Deep Spring valleys in two contexts, element detection/identification and microchemical mapping. Emission peaks were recognized in the LIBS spectra for the nine elements most abundant in rock varnish—Mn, Fe, Si, Al, Na, Mg, K, Ca and Ba, as well as for H, Li, C, O, Ti, V, Sr and Rb. Focused follow-up laboratory and field studies will help understand rock varnish formation and its utility for weathering and chronological studies. MDPI 2021-08-27 /pmc/articles/PMC8433696/ /pubmed/34500634 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules26175200 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Harmon, Russell S.
Khashchevskaya, Daria
Morency, Michelle
Owen, Lewis A.
Jennings, Morgan
Knott, Jeffrey R.
Dortch, Jason M.
Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
title Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
title_full Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
title_fullStr Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
title_short Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
title_sort analysis of rock varnish from the mojave desert by handheld laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8433696/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34500634
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules26175200
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