Geochemical mapping programs carried out by the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU) have generated large databases containing information on the concentrations of chemical elements in rocks, surface sediments and biogeochemical materials. Regional geochemical data being imprecise, multivariate, spatially auto-correlated and non-normally distributed pose specific problems to the choice of data analysis methods. Commonly several methods are combined, and the choice of techniques depends on the characteristics of data as well as the purpose of study.

A large regional geochemical data set of O-horizon samples from a 188,000 km2 area in the European Arctic, analysed for 38 chemical elements, pH, electrical conductivity (both in a water extraction) and loss on ignition (LOI, 480 oC), was used to test the influence of different variants of cluster analysis on the results obtained. Due to the nature of regional geochemical data (neither normal nor log-normal, strongly skewed, often multi-modal data distributions),

Geochemistry has led to numerous success stories in mineral exploration. From the relatively simple colorimetric stream sediment analysis through to sophisticated, high technology, isotope geochemical tools, exploration geochemistry has enjoyed a rapid growth and evolution during the second half of the twentieth century. But where is geochemistry heading in the new millennium? This is the issue that this conference seeks to address. <...>

Справочник подготовлен по решению дирекции ИГЕМ АН временной аналитической комиссией - зав. центральной химической лабораторией докт. геол.-мин. наук И.Д,Борнеман-Старынкевич, зав,рентгено-химической лабораторией канд, физ.-мат.наук К.И.Нарбуттом, зав. лабораторией спектрального анализа канд. технич. наук В.Г.Дитровьш председатель комиссии).

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed as a commercial analytical technique in the early 1980’s and has since been applied to the determination of trace, minor and major elements in almost every analytical field. Strengths of the technique include:

• Wide elemental coverage - virtually all elements can be measured by ICP-MS, including alkali and alkaline earth elements, transition and other metals, metalloids, rare earth elements, most of the halogens and some of the non-metals

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) is undoubtedly the fastest‐growing trace element technique available today. Since its commercialization in 1983, approximately 5000 systems have been installed worldwide, carrying out many varied and diverse applications. The most common ones, which represent approximately 80% of the ICP‐MS analyses being carried out today, include environmental, geological, semiconductor, biomedical, and nuclear application fields.

Milestones mark great events: walking on the moon, analyzing rocks on Mars, flying a self-propelled, heavier-than-air machine, using a Bunsen burner for flame atomic spectrometry, and perhaps employing an atmospheric pressure plasma mass spectrometry as an ion source for solution mass spectrometry. Yes, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) ranks among the milestone inventions of spectrochemical analysis during the 20th century.

The transfer of small quantities of materials has become an important yet underutilized type of evidence at many crime scenes including hit-and-run accidents and other violent crimes. Although the utility of trace elemental analyses and comparisons for glass and paint fragments by sophisticated methods such as laser ablation inductively coupled plasma (LA-ICP-MS) has been shown to offer a high degree of discrimination between different sources of these materials, the high expense and sophistication of this technique has limited the adoption of this technology by the typical forensic laboratory, although there are now approximately 5 forensic laboratories in the U.S. with LA-ICP-MS capabilities.

Свойства вермикулита во многом определяются характером обменных катионов, заполняющих совместно с молекулами воды межпакетное пространство в решетке этого минерала. При детальном изучении вермикулита, кроме обычного химического анализа, необходимо поэтому количественное определение обменных катионов. Особенно это важно, когда производится расчет химической формулы минерала и выясняется зависимость свойств вермикулита от его состава. <...>

Процессы выветривания слюд представляют большой интерес не только потому, что слюдистые минералы исключительно широко представлены в зоне гипергенеза, но и в связи с практическими задачами изучения вермикули-товых месторождений. Последнее явилось важным стимулом в познании механизма гидратации железисто-магнезиальных слюд. В этом направлении достигнуты существенные успехи.