Instant geochemistry from mountain tops to the mid ocean ridges: X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectroscopy on the move

结合XRF光谱和其他传感器的无损、高分辨率沉积物和岩石岩心扫描仪是石油、采矿和环境工业应用中的一项关键技术，目前已广泛应用于地球和环境科学。它们从根本上提高了我们理解陆地和海洋环境中自然发生和人为过程的能力。目前缺乏的是一种适应性系统，它可以在野外和实验室条件下提供手样和沉积物岩心的即时地球化学成分，包括稀土元素(REE)。此外，现场即时分析可以根据现场的化探结果对样品采集和选址进行战略性改变。这种设备提供精确和准确的现场测量，可以代表原始数据，或用于以后的实验室方案。NERC Science目前无法进入市场领先的奥林巴斯XRF VANTA M，这是唯一可以与Geotek多传感器岩心测井仪(MCSL)集成的具有REE功能的传感器。该仪器将使BOSCORF能够促进沉积物和其他环境样品的同步XRF和地球物理性质分析，并将进一步增强BOSCORF在国际上公认的卓越声誉。VANTA系统的增加将在很大程度上填补大大扩展工作流程的分析空白。XRF的海洋部分将为科学方带来新的机会，并将使船舶时间得到更有效的利用(海上一天的成本约为35K GB；每个实验室分析的成本为100 GB)。目前，在海上采集的大部分样本是在探险后进行实验室分析的。因此，有必要进行重复的考察，以进一步调查现场，这对科学家和资助机构来说都是一个昂贵和耗时的过程。使用便携式XRF对岩石和沉积物成分进行近乎实时的评估将在现场提供动态决策支持，即采样策略可以针对最有希望的目标，从而产生具有成本和时间效益的现场活动，并最大限度地产生预算和科学产出。BOSCORF的MSCL系统使一套关于沉积物或岩石岩心的地球物理测量能够快速、准确和自动地获得。只有奥林巴斯便携式XRF可以与BOSCORF目前拥有的Geotek MSCL-XYZ系统集成。没有其他便携式XRF可以安装用于自动沉积物/岩石岩心测井，并与物性传感器相结合。MSCL-XYZ是一种独特的自动化多岩心测井系统，用于进行各种地表岩心测量。通过将VANTA添加到该系统中，可以将多个芯段(最多七个1.5 m芯段)加载到工作站上，然后将其记录在一次操作中。这为快速收集高质量数据提供了低用户交互系统。XRF系统的进步包括：1.奥林巴斯VANTA M将包括一个高千伏电源(高达50千伏)，能够获得市场上许多其他便携式XRF无法获得的稀土信息。奥林巴斯VANTA系列得益于市场领先的名为“Axon”的信号处理技术。Axon技术是一种软件开发，它优化了探测器，以提供更高的每秒X射线计数和更快的结果。这将允许用户在典型的15秒分析时间内进行操作。

Non-destructive, high-resolution, sediment and rock core scanners incorporating XRF spectrometry and other sensors are a key technique in petroleum, mining and environmental industrial applications and are now widely used in the earth and environmental sciences. They have radically improved our capability to understand naturally occurring and man-made processes in the terrestrial and marine environments. What is currently missing is an adaptive system that can provide instant geochemical compositions, including rare-earth elements (REEs), of hand specimens and sediment cores within field and laboratory situations. Furthermore, immediate analyses in the field may allow strategic changes to sample collection and site selection based upon geochemical results in the field. Such equipment provides precise and accurate field measurements that can represent primary data or be used to inform later laboratory protocols. NERC science currently does not have access to the market leading Olympus XRF Vanta M, the only sensor with REE capability that can be integrated with the Geotek Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MCSL). This instrument will allow BOSCORF to facilitate simultaneous XRF and geophysical properties analysis of sediments and other environmental samples and will further enhance BOSCORF's internationally recognised reputation of excellence. The addition of a Vanta system will substantially fill an analytical gap to significantly extend workflow. The seagoing-component of the XRF will introduce new opportunities to the science party and will allow a more efficient use of ship time (one day at sea costing ~£35k; £100 per laboratory analysis). Currently, the majorities of samples taken at sea are laboratory analysed post expedition. Thus, repeat expeditions are necessary to further investigate the field site, which is an expensive and time-consuming process for the scientists as well as for the funding agency. Near-real to real time assessment of rock and sediment compositions with a portable XRF will provide a dynamic decision support while being in the field, i.e. sampling strategies can be orientated towards the most promising targets, resulting in a cost and time efficient field campaign with maximum output for budget and science.The MSCL systems at BOSCORF enable a suite of geophysical measurements to be obtained rapidly, accurately and automatically on sediment or rock cores. Only Olympus portable XRFs can be integrated with the Geotek MSCL-XYZ system that BOSCORF currently has. No other portable XRF can be installed for automated sediment/rock core logging and combined with physical property sensors. MSCL-XYZ is a unique automated multi-core logging system for undertaking various surface core measurements. By adding the Vanta to this system multiple core sections (up to seven 1.5 m core sections), can be loaded onto the workstation, which are then logged in a single operation. This provides low user interaction system to collect high quality data rapidly.XRF System advances include:1. The Olympus Vanta M will include a high kV source (up to 50 kV) offering the ability to obtain information on the REEs that are not possible from many other portable XRFs on the market.2. The Olympus Vanta series benefits from market-leading signal processing technology called "Axon". Axon technology is a software development that optimises the detector to provide higher X-ray counts per second and faster results. This will allow users to operate on a typical 15 second analysis time.