Major, trace and rare earth element concentrations in NIST Standard Reference Material® 1646a analyzed by ALS Global using Method ME-MS61r

This technical note compares analytical results obtained from ALS Global Method ME-MS61r with the certified and previously published results for NIST Standard Reference Material® 1646a, Estuarine Sediment. The results are grouped into major, trace and rare earth elements, and focus on elements used by sedimentary geochemists, for example in studies of sediment provenance. The results from ALS Global Method ME-MS61r are internally consistent and generally robust when compared with published analyses. However, acid digestion may not completely dissolve resistant minerals, leading to under-reporting of some elements such as Ti, Cr, Zr, heavy REE and Y.