Evaluation of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for detection of trace element variation through stalagmites: potential for paleoclimate series reconstruction

Abstract

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is applied to evaluate the potential of this technique for characterizing trace element ratios (particularly Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca) in the speleothems (cave deposits of calcium carbonate such as stalagmites) that are commonly used to reconstruct time series of past climate change. These geological materials are characterized by a relatively simple internal stratigraphy that reflects their growth history and geochemical changes through that history can reflect variability in environmental parameters such as temperature and rainfall. In this paper, the characterization of methodological and experimental parameters such as sample preparation, microsample size and representativity, sensitivity, linearity, and replicability reveals the high potential of the technique and show clear advantages versus other commonly-used techniques.