x-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Geochemistry

Geochemical analyses are conducted on diverse materials and phases, including pure crystals and complex mixtures, such as rocks, soils, airborne particles, and natural water. To gain an understanding of the chemical characteristics of the Earth, the following analytic approaches have been carried out: (1) average composition of the complex mixtures, (2) elemental and isotopic composition of each constituent in the mixture, and (3) mineralogical and chemical state of each substance in the mixture. x-Ray fluorescence spectroscopy is commonly used to produce accurate and precise compositional data for the ten major oxides and some minor elements, whereas minor and trace elements are increasingly being assayed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy.