Submitting and Sending Samples for Analysis
Laser fluorination analyses require 2-5 mg of oxygen-rich sample. Leached or unleached samples can be sent as chips or powders in individually labeled (with sample ID) and sealed containers.
Please read the Authorship and Acknowledgement Expectations Guidelines before submitting samples and fill out the External Sample Submission Form before sending samples. For meteorite samples we request that all submitted samples are in accordance with guidelines designated by the Collection, Trade and Curation of Extraterrestrial Materials Position Statement of the Meteoritical Society.
Then, send samples to:
ATTN: Prof. Daniel Ibarra
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
Brown University
324 Brook Street, Box 1846
Providence, RI 02906-1846
Please use UPS or FedEx (rather than USPS) if at all possible.
Analysis Cost
Standard laser fluorination of silicates: $180.00 per sample replicate (external rate)
For more information regarding the fee structure, including alternative analysis procedures, please refer to the Environmental Geochemistry Facility Fee Structure Page.
Equipment and Instrumentation
Yamato ADP200C Vacuum Drying Oven
Bromine pentafluoride (BrF5) fluorination vacuum extraction line
Nickel sample holder and stainless steel sample chamber
Elemental Scientific MIR102 Heating and Fusion System continuous wave CO2 laser (P = 30W, λ = 10.6 μm)
Thermo ScientificTM 253 PlusTM 10 kV isotope ratio mass spectrometer with a custom O2 collector (m/z = 32, 33, 34, 35, 35.5 and 36)
Data Output
Triple oxygen isotopic composition (17O/16O and 18O/16O) of sample and same-chamber, same-day San Carlos Olivine isotopic standard.
We encourage the submission of obtained cosmochemical data to the Astromaterials Data System.
References Detailing Laser Fluorination Methods and Line Setup
Clayton, Robert N, and Toshiko K Mayeda. “The Use of Bromine Pentafluoride in the Extraction of Oxygen from Oxides and Silicates for Isotopic Analysis.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 27, no. 1 (January 1963): 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(63)90071-1.
Ibarra, Daniel E. et al. “Triple Oxygen Isotope Systematics of Diagenetic Recrystallization of Diatom Opal-A to Opal-CT to Microquartz in Deep Sea Sediments.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2022, 20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2021.11.027.
Sharp, Zachary D. “A Laser-Based Microanalytical Method for the in Situ Determination of Oxygen Isotope Ratios of Silicates and Oxides.” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 54, no. 5 (May 1990): 1353–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(90)90160-M.
Wostbrock, Jordan A.G. et al. “An Internally Consistent Triple Oxygen Isotope Calibration of Standards for Silicates, Carbonates and Air Relative to VSMOW2 and SLAP2.” Chemical Geology 533 (February 2020): 119432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.119432.