Analytical method for chemical compositions of volcanic glasses in Tono Geoscience Center; Quantitative measurements of Major Elements by using EPMA and Minor Elements by LA-ICP-MS

Kagami, Saya   ; Yokoyama, Tatsunori   ; Umeda, Koji*

To make a contribution to safety assessment for geological disposal of high level radioactive and/or TRU waste, we need to assess long-term stability of geological environment and predict long-term changes of geotectonic events that will occur in the future, especially for Quaternary period ( 2.6 million years ago-present). In the most case, we investigate chronological data of geological events by radiometric dating. When some geological samples have no objects to which radiometric dating method can be applied (e.g., zircon, biotite, wood fragments and plant residues), we can use tephrochronology, which is geological dating method using each layer of tephra (erupted volcanic ash), for dating of geological layers. This chronological method is essential in Japan, where volcanism is very active. Tephra is usually characterized by petrographic characteristics and/or chemical composition (mainly major elements) of volcanic glasses and/or minerals in tephra. In Tono Geoscience Center (Japan Atomic Energy Agency), we develop an analytical technique of chemical composition including trace elements of volcanic glasses for detailed tephra identification. In this paper, we report a sample preparation procedure and analytical methods of chemical compositions of individual volcanic glass shards by using an electron probe microanalyzer and a laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer.