@misc{10481/102145,
year = {2025},
month = {2},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/102145},
abstract = {The trace element composition of Cr-spinel is paramount for interpreting the petrogenesis of a large group of mafic to ultramafic rocks. Although laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has proven to be very useful for the determination of trace element abundances of Cr-spinel, the characterization of Cr-spinel grains that are inhomogeneous over micrometer length scales requires the use of techniques that provide a better spatial resolution than LA-ICP-MS. In this work, we develop a protocol for the determination of trace and minor elements in Cr-spinel by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) using the software provided by the manufacturer. The optimized analytical conditions (25 kV accelerating voltage, 900 nA beam current, 60–480 s peak counting times, aggregate spectrometer data) allowed us to achieve detection limits (3
) in the range 4–26 ppm with relative analytical precisions (2
) in the range 1–3 % for all analyzed elements (Ti, V, Mn, Co, Ni, and Zn), except for Sc and Ga, for which the precision was much lower (36–46 %). The developed methodology was applied to the analysis of Cr-spinel grains from the Mayarí-Baracoa Ophiolitic Belt (eastern Cuba), in correspondence with previous LA-ICP-MS analyses, which were used to assess the reliability of the EPMA results. The root mean square percentage deviation (RMS) between the EPMA and LA-ICP-MS data was in the range 4.7–22.5 % for Ti, V, Mn, Co, Ni, and Zn, while for Ga the RMS value was 32.5 %. For Sc, the RMS value was much higher (171 %), despite the low detection limit achieved (4 ppm) for this element. Our results indicate that the trace element composition of primary Cr-spinel obtained by EPMA can be readily used, except for Sc, to constrain petrogenetic information on chromitites in a reliable way.},
organization = {MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 PID2023-147788OB-I00},
organization = {Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities  PRE 2020-092140 PhD},
organization = {Catalan Agency for Management of University 2021-SGR-00239},
organization = {Research Grants-AGAUR},
publisher = {Elsevier},
keywords = {Electron probe microanalysis},
keywords = {Trace elements},
keywords = {Cr-spinel},
keywords = {Ophiolitic chromitites},
keywords = {Data aggregation},
title = {Accurate electron probe microanalysis of key petrogenetic minor and trace elements in Cr-spinel},
doi = {10.1016/j.chemgeo.2024.122579},
author = {Domínguez Carretero, Diego and Llovet, Xavier and Pujol Solà, Núria and Villanova-de-Benavent, Cristina and Proenza, Joaquín A.},
}