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A. F. Dorrzapf

Publications and source records attributed to A. F. Dorrzapf.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Analytical performance of a low-gas-flow torch optimized for inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

An inductively coupled Ar plasma (ICP), generated in a lowflow torch, was investigated by the simplex optimization technique for simultaneous, multielement, atomic emission spectrometry (AES). The variables studied included forward power, observation height, gas flow (outer, intermediate, and nebulizer carrier) and sample uptake rate. When the ICP was operated at 720-W forward power with a total gas flow of 5 L/min, the signal-to-background ratios (S/B) of spectral lines from 20 elements were either comparable or inferior, by a factor ranging from 1.5 to 2, to the results obtained from a conventional Ar ICP. Matrix effect studies on the Ca-PO4 system revealed that the plasma generated in the low-flow torch was as free of vaporizatton-atomizatton interferences as the conventional ICP, but easily ionizable elements produced a greater level of suppression or enhancement effects which could be reduced at higher forward powers. Electron number densities, as determined via the series until line merging technique, were tower ht the plasma sustained in the low-flow torch as compared with the conventional ICP. ?? 1984 American Chemical Society.

Analytical Chemistry↗

Methods for the separation of rhenium, osmium and molybdenum applicable to isotope geochemistry

Effective methods are described for the chemical separation of rhenium, osmium and molybdenum. The methods are based on distillation and anion-exchange chromatography, and have been the basis for rhenium—osmium isotope studies of ore deposits and meteorites. Successful anion-exchange separation of osmium requires both recognition and careful control of the osmium species in solution; thus, distillation of osmium tetroxide from a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide is preferred to anion-exchange. Distribution coefficients measured for perrhenate in sulfuric acid media are sufficiently high ( K d > 500) for rhenium to be directly loaded onto an ion-exchange column from a distillation residue and subsequently eluted with nitric acid. Polymerization of molybdenum species during elution is prevented by use of a solution that is 1 M in hydrochloric acid and 1 M in sodium chloride.

Talanta↗

Spark ablation-inductively coupled plasma spectrometry for analysis of geologic materials

Spark ablation—inductively coupled plasma (SA-ICP) spectrometry is applied to the measurement of hafnium—zirconium ratios in zircons and to the determination of cerium, cobalt, iron, lead, nickel and phosphorus in ferromanganese nodules. Six operating parameters used for the high-voltage spark and argon-ICP combination are established by sequential simplex optimization of both signal-to-background ratio and signal-to-noise ratio. The time-dependences of the atomic emission signals of analytes and matrix elements ablated from a finely pulverized sample embedded in a pressed disk of copper demonstrate selective sampling by the spark. Concentration ratios of hafnium to zirconium in zircons are measured with a precision of 4% (relative standard deviation, RSD). For ferromanganese nodules, spectral measurements based on intensity ratios of analyte line to the Mn(II) 257.610 nm line provide precisions of analysis in the range from 7 to 14% RSD. The accuracy of analysis depends on use of standard additions of the reference material USGS Nod P-1, and an independent measurement of the Mn concentration.

Talanta↗

Composition of fluid inclusions in Permian salt beds, Palo Duro Basin, Texas, U.S.A.

Several methods have been developed and used to extract and chemically analyze the two major types of fluid inclusions in bedded salt from the Palo Duro Basin, Texas. Data on the ratio K: Ca: Mg were obtained on a few of the clouds of tiny inclusions in "chevron" salt, representing the brines from which the salt originally crystallized. Much more complete quantitative data (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Sr, Cl, SO4 and Br) were obtained on ??? 120 individual "large" (mostly ???500 ??m on an edge, i.e., ??? ??? 1.6 ?? 10-4 g) inclusions in recrystallized salt. These latter fluids have a wide range of compositions, even in a given piece of core, indicating that fluids of grossly different composition were present in these salt beds during the several (?) stages of recrystallization. The analytical results indicating very large inter-and intra-sample chemical variation verify the conclusion reached earlier, from petrography and microthermometry, that the inclusion fluids in salt and their solutes are generally polygenetic. The diversity in composition stems from the combination of a variety of sources for the fluids (Permian sea, meteoric, and groundwater, as well as later migrating ground-, formation, or meteoric waters of unknown age), and a variety of subsequent geochemical processes of dissolution, precipitation and rock-water interaction. The compositional data are frequently ambiguous but do provide constraints and may eventually yield a coherent history of the events that produced these beds. Such an understanding of the past history of the evaporite sequence of the Palo Duro Basin should help in predicting the future role of the fluids in the salt if a nuclear waste repository is sited there. ?? 1987.

Chemical Geology↗

The Georges Bank monitoring program 1983: Analysis of trace metals in bottom sediments

From July 1981, when drilling began on Georges Bank, to May 1982, the concentration of barium, a major element in drilling mud, has increased by a factor of 3.5 in bulk sediments 200 m from the drill site in block 410 and by a factor of 2.3 at the drill site in block 312. The postdrilling barium concentrations are within the range of predriiling concentrations measured at other locations on Georges Bank. We estimate that no more than 21 percent of the barite (principal barium-bearing mineral) discharged during drilling remains within 6 km of the drill site in block 312. No drilling-related changes in the concentration of chromium or other metals have been observed in bulk sediments from blocks 410 or 312. The chemical signal of drilling mud in surficial sediments has been enhanced by separating and analyzing the sediment fraction finer than 60 ?m. Barium concentrations in the fine fraction have increased by factors of 36 and 22 at the drill sites in blocks 410 and 312, respectively. At the drill site in block 410, aluminum, chromium, copper, and mercury concentrations in this fraction temporarily increased by approximately a factor of 2 and then decreased to background. The concentrations of aluminum, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, organic carbon, vanadium, and zinc in surface sediments of Georges Bank both before and after drilling are low compared to concentrations in average crustal rocks and are characteristic of unpolluted, coarse-grained sediments as found in other Continental Shelf areas.

Georges Bank↗

Sets of spectral lines for spectrographic thermometry and manometry in d.c. arcs of geologic materials

Sets of 5 Fe(I) lines and 3 Ti(I) Ti(II) line pairs have been characterized for precise spectrographic thermometry and manometry, respectively, in d.c. arcs of geologic materials. The recommended lines are free of spectral interferences, exhibit minimal self absorption within defined concentration intervals, and are useful for chemically-unaltered silicate rocks, arced in an argon—oxygen stream. The functional character of these lines in thermometry and manometry of d.c. arcs for evaluations of electrical parameter effects, for temporal studies, and for matrix-effect investigations on real samples is illustrated.

Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy↗

Spectrochemical computer analysis - argon-oxygen d-c arc method for silicate rocks

Use of an argon-oxygen atmosphere eliminates the interference of cyanogen bands with many sensitive analytical lines. The jet-controlled atmosphere also improves the stability of the arc. These procedural changes, coupled with computerized analysis of the spectra, result in increased detectability, precision, and speed as compared to the former visual semiquantitative technique.

Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey↗