X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Loss on Ignition Analysis of Riverbed Sediments from Varying Lithology

Recent advances in sample preparation and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analytical techniques have allowed bulk elemental chemistry measurements of soil and sediment samples to be included in published studies. Previous studies have often faced limitations in the number of elements analyzed due to sample size considerations. In the case of riverine sediments, dilution of elemental concentration can come as the result of input from varying watershed lithology. Reduction of sample quantity via loss on ignition, particularly from organic carbon, carbonate, and bound water in minerals has also been found to complicate these measurements. Furthermore, many studies publishing XRF analytical data for soil and sediment have not provided precision and accuracy values for known standards analyzed as samples. Here we show results for riverbed sediments of mixed lithology prepared and analyzed via XRF microscopy for major oxides and select minor and trace elements at both 1:4 and 1:10 sample to flux ratios. Our results reveal publication quality results can be readily achieved and reproduced with as little as one gram of sample.