| A recently developed analytical technique, ion chromatography, has been applied to the analysis of a wide range of interesting geological and environmental samples. Combustion and pyrohydrolytic sample preparation methods have been coupled with final measurement by ion chromatography to yield a novel overall analytical scheme that is capable of rapidly, accurately and precisely determining total fluorine, chlorine and sulfur in solid samples. The significance of these elements in geological samples is noted and previous methods of determination are discussed and compared to the methods developed here.; In the newly developed methods, samples are heated under an oxygen flow in an induction furnace and the resulting combustion products and volatiles are trapped in basic aqueous solution to be analyzed by ion chromatography. Experimental variables that have been investigated and empirically optimized include trapping solutions, methods of blank compensation, oxygen flow rate, burn times, accelerator combinations, carbon content of samples and standards, sample size, accelerator temperatures, and water content of the oxygen flow. A number of standard reference materials have been analyzed and the results are compared to available literature values.; Specific applications discussed here include investigations of the Yellowstone, Castle Hot Springs and Coso geothermal areas; analysis of total and leachable anionic species in meteorites; study of Mt. St. Helens volcanic ash; analysis of drill cores; characterization of the local aerosol; and analysis of miscellaneous rock, mineral, soil and water samples. |
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