Recently, I’ve been working on analyzing surficial weathering of chert using Laser Ablatio
Recently, I’ve been working on analyzing surficial weathering of chert using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). In order to isolate the weathered surfaces for top-down analysis, chert fragments were mounted in epoxy, cut, ground, and polished. Because the ablation cell is small and geologic samples and lithic artifacts are often prohibitively large, I designed custom sample cups and had them 3D printed. These cups were the right size for the ablation chamber and helped to align the chert samples perfectly. A few failed (leaked), but they still served their purpose in mounting the chert samples. Tomorrow I will analyze the samples! More updates soon! -- source link
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#archaeology#anthropology#geology#laser ablation#mass spectrometer#la-icp-ms#geochemistry#geochem#archaeometry#lithics