5:15 PM - 6:45 PM
[MIS05-P04] Developing Practical Guidelines for XRF-Core Scanning in Paleoenvironmental Studies: Insights from IODP Expedition 386
Recent advancements in paleoenvironmental research have increasingly utilized X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning to explore sediment sequences, crucial for unraveling both deep temporal dynamics and spatial variations within extensive sediment records. Despite its critical role, the reliability and practicality of XRF scanning across long cores and multiple laboratories present ongoing challenges, largely due to prolonged scanning campaigns and the need for consistent data quality.
The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 386, targeting the investigation of long-term earthquake records along the Japan Trench, has provided a unique platform to confront these issues. With a collection of 29 Giant Piston Cores from 11 trench-fill basins, spanning over 842 meters, this expedition has yielded a vast dataset for developing robust event-stratigraphic correlations across the Japanese margin. This endeavor underscores the necessity of systematic XRF scanning and data quality assurance for identifying chemical fingerprints within sediment cores.
To address these challenges, we implemented an interlaboratory approach, leveraging two Itrax-XRF core scanners (CS-45 at Innsbruck and CS-49 at AIST) equipped with different generations of XRF detectors, alongside U-channel samples. This strategy aimed to identify optimal and stable XRF settings, establish a systematic quality control procedure, and enhance data application for subsequent analyses. Additionally, distributing multiple cores from the same site between the two labs tested the efficacy of our procedural guidelines.
Normalizing elemental counts to their mean values across each core facilitated the calibration of data from different machines. This normalization, coupled with multivariate statistical analyses such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA), enabled the rapid, high-resolution differentiation of event deposits. Consequently, this approach has provided detailed chemostratigraphic correlations along the Japan Trench, offering a foundation for future studies and highlighting the applicability of these guidelines in other research areas requiring analysis of long-term sedimentary records.
The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 386, targeting the investigation of long-term earthquake records along the Japan Trench, has provided a unique platform to confront these issues. With a collection of 29 Giant Piston Cores from 11 trench-fill basins, spanning over 842 meters, this expedition has yielded a vast dataset for developing robust event-stratigraphic correlations across the Japanese margin. This endeavor underscores the necessity of systematic XRF scanning and data quality assurance for identifying chemical fingerprints within sediment cores.
To address these challenges, we implemented an interlaboratory approach, leveraging two Itrax-XRF core scanners (CS-45 at Innsbruck and CS-49 at AIST) equipped with different generations of XRF detectors, alongside U-channel samples. This strategy aimed to identify optimal and stable XRF settings, establish a systematic quality control procedure, and enhance data application for subsequent analyses. Additionally, distributing multiple cores from the same site between the two labs tested the efficacy of our procedural guidelines.
Normalizing elemental counts to their mean values across each core facilitated the calibration of data from different machines. This normalization, coupled with multivariate statistical analyses such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA), enabled the rapid, high-resolution differentiation of event deposits. Consequently, this approach has provided detailed chemostratigraphic correlations along the Japan Trench, offering a foundation for future studies and highlighting the applicability of these guidelines in other research areas requiring analysis of long-term sedimentary records.