Determination of the nitrogen abundance in organic materials by NanoSIMS quantitative imaging

Thomen, A.; Robert, François; Rémusat, Laurent

doi:10.1039/c3ja50313e

Cited by 41 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(55 reference statements)

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“…The observed relationship -α N = 9.8051 × N/ C + 0.0029 -is equivalent to those previously determined by Nano-SIMS on flattened OM (Thomen et al, 2014;Alleon et al, 2016). This is consistent with a wealth of literature data showing that the determination of the N/C atomic ratio in situ is not biased by matrix effects (Van Zuilen et al, 2007;Thomen et al, 2014;Alleon et al, 2016;Delarue et al, 2017).…”

Section: Nanosims Analysessupporting

confidence: 77%

“…In parallel, it has been demonstrated that the emission of secondary ionic species used to monitor elements such as C or N can also be quantitatively associated with the geochemical elemental composition of both bulk OM (Thomen et al, 2014;Alleon et al, 2016) and individual organicwalled microfossils (Oehler et al, 2009(Oehler et al, , 2010Delarue et al, 2017). For instance, the 12 C 14 N − / 12 C 2 − secondary molecular ion ratio allows the determination of the N/C atomic ratio (Thomen et al, 2014), which is often used as a proxy for OM degradation during early diagenesis (Watanabe et al, 1997;Beaumont and Robert, 1999). However, the quantitative capabilities of NanoSIMS have been little used since some analytical biases may significantly alter 12 C 14 N − and 12 C 2 − emissions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Before measurements, selected microfossils were pre-sputtered using a 400 pA Cs + primary beam rastered over 45 × 45 µm 2 areas in order to remove surficial contamination and attain constant secondary ion count rates after reaching saturation fluence (Thomen et al, 2014). Analyses were then carried out using a 1 pA primary current (150 µm aperture diaphragm) on smaller areas to avoid pre-sputtering edge artifacts.…”

Section: Nanosims Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Apart from stable isotope analysis, NanoSIMS has so far been mainly used to investigate the distribution of "organic elements" such as C or N across Precambrian organic-walled microfossils (Oehler et al, 2006;Wacey et al, 2010;McLoughlin et al, 2011;Peng et al, 2016). In parallel, it has been demonstrated that the emission of secondary ionic species used to monitor elements such as C or N can also be quantitatively associated with the geochemical elemental composition of both bulk OM (Thomen et al, 2014;Alleon et al, 2016) and individual organicwalled microfossils (Oehler et al, 2009(Oehler et al, , 2010Delarue et al, 2017). For instance, the 12 C 14 N − / 12 C 2 − secondary molecular ion ratio allows the determination of the N/C atomic ratio (Thomen et al, 2014), which is often used as a proxy for OM degradation during early diagenesis (Watanabe et al, 1997;Beaumont and Robert, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…20% in non-flat objects (Thomen et al, 2014). Recently, Delarue et al (2017) have demonstrated that microtopography features below 10 µm do not significantly modify the slope (used as an in situ N/C proxy) of the correlation line relating the emissions of the 12 C 14 N − and 12 C 2 − secondary molecular ion species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can NanoSIMS probe quantitatively the geochemical composition of ancient organic-walled microfossils? A case study from the early Neoproterozoic Liulaobei Formation

Delarue

Robert

Tartèse

et al. 2018

Precambrian Research

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Assessing the biogenicity of Precambrian putative remnants of life requires solid criteria. Among possible criteria, searching for evidence of pristine biological signatures and identifying various biological organic matter (OM) precursors in close association with microfossil morphology are of interest. Nano-scale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (NanoSIMS) can provide a quantitative geochemical proxy at the scale of the individual microfossil but its use has remained limited because of potential analytical biases related to matrix effects and microtopography that may result in inaccurate NanoSIMS-derived measurement. No study so far has assessed whether these potential analytical biases were strong enough to preclude any identification of pristine OM degradation products and of organic precursors in ancient sediments. In this study, we characterized the geochemical composition of organic-walled microfossils from the early Neoproterozoic Liulaobei Formation in North China using NanoSIMS. The 12 CH − / 12 C 2 − ionic ratio allows us to distinguish filament from spheroid acritarchs, revealing the co-occurrence of two distinct pristine OM signatures that differ by their H and/or aliphatic contents. In addition, NanoSIMS data show that morphological degradation was tightly linked to a loss of H and/or hydrogenated organic compounds in spheroid acritarchs. In contrast, in situ N/C atomic ratios are homogeneous across all organic-walled microfossils studied. Although highly coherent with Proterozoic N/C atomic ratios from the literature, such homogeneity may alternatively reflect (i) a similar N content for different organic precursors or (ii) an extensive homogenization related to early degradation. Overall, these data obtained on microfossils from the Proterozoic Liulaobei Formation are the first to demonstrate that the quantitative capability of NanoSIMS can be used to track ancient OM precursors and to probe the effects of degradation on pristine OM. These findings open up tremendous perspectives and put forward new criteria for assessing the biogenicity of the putative early traces of life found in Archean metasediments.

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Section: Nanosims Analysessupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Nanosims Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Can NanoSIMS probe quantitatively the geochemical composition of ancient organic-walled microfossils? A case study from the early Neoproterozoic Liulaobei Formation

Delarue

Robert

Tartèse

et al. 2018

Precambrian Research

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Nanoscale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry determination of the water content of staurolite

Azevedo-Vannson

Rémusat

Bureau

et al. 2022

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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Rationale Staurolite is an important mineral that can reveal much about metamorphic processes. For instance, it dominates the Fe–Mg exchange reactions in amphibolite‐facies rocks between about 550 and 700°C, and can be also found at suprasolidus conditions. Staurolite contains a variable amount of OH in its structure, whose determination is a key petrological parameter. However, staurolite is often compositionally zoned, fine‐grained, and may contain abundant inclusions. This makes conventional water analysis (e.g., Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy or by chemical titration) unsuitable. With its high sensitivity at high spatial resolution, Nanoscale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (NanoSIMS) is potentially a valuable tool for determining water contents in staurolite. However a calibration with relevant standards covering a large range of water content is required to obtain accurate and reliable analyses, because matrix effects typically prevent direct quantification of water content by SIMS techniques. Methods In this study, a calibration for NanoSIMS analyses of water content by using minerals with crystallographic structures comparable to that of staurolite (i.e., amphibole and kyanite, an inosilicate and a nesosilicate, respectively) has been developed. Results Water measurements in an inclusion‐free crystal from Pizzo Forno, Ticino, Switzerland, by FTIR spectroscopy (1.56 ± 0.14 wt% H2O) and by Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA) (1.58 ± 0.15 wt% H2O) are consistent with NanoSIMS results (1.56 ± 0.04 wt% H2O). Conclusions This implies that our approach can accurately account for NanoSIMS matrix effects in the case of staurolite. With this calibration, it is now possible to investigate variations in water content at the microscale in metamorphic minerals exhibiting high spatial variability and/or very small size (few micrometers).

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Geochemistry of Eocene-Early Oligocene low-temperature crustal melts from Greater Himalayan Sequence (Nepal): a nanogranitoid perspective

Bartoli

Acosta-Vigil

Cesare

et al. 2019

Contrib Mineral Petrol

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Despite melt inclusions in migmatites and granulites have provided a wealth of information on crustal anatexis in different geological scenarios, yet a complete compositional study (including trace elements and H2O) is missing for the Himalayas. In this contribution, we focus on nanogranitoids occurring in peritectic garnet of migmatites from Kali Gandaki valley in central Nepal (Greater Himalayan Sequence, GHS). Their microstructural position proves that these melts were produced at 650-720 °C and 1.0-1.1 GPa, during the Eohimalayan prograde metamorphism (41-36 Ma) associated to crustal thickening.Nanogranitoid compositions (mostly granodiorites, tonalities and trondhjemites) resemble those of experimental melts produced during H2O-present melting of metasedimentary rocks.They have variable H2O concentrations (6.5-14.4 wt%), which approximate the expected minimum and maximum values for crustal melts produced at the inferred P-T conditions. These compositional signatures suggest that melt formation occurred in the proximity of the Click here to access/download;Manuscript;Bartoli_et_al.May2.docx Click here to view linked References H2O-saturated solidus, in a rock-buffered system. The low to very low contents of Zr (3-8 ppm), Th (0.1-1.2 ppm) and LREE (4-11 ppm) along with the weak to moderate positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* =1.2-3.3), the high B concentrations (200-3400 ppm) and the high U/Th ratio (up to 21) point to the lack of equilibration between melt and accessory minerals and are consistent with melting of plagioclase at low temperature. Kali Gandaki nanogranitoids have recorded the beginning of melting in a H2O-present scenario that, in other GHS localities, may have produced voluminous crustal melts. We demonstrate that compositional comparison with nanogranitoids may be useful to reconstruct the petrogenesis of Eohimalayan granitoids.

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Determination of the nitrogen abundance in organic materials by NanoSIMS quantitative imaging

Cited by 41 publications

References 38 publications

Can NanoSIMS probe quantitatively the geochemical composition of ancient organic-walled microfossils? A case study from the early Neoproterozoic Liulaobei Formation

Can NanoSIMS probe quantitatively the geochemical composition of ancient organic-walled microfossils? A case study from the early Neoproterozoic Liulaobei Formation

Nanoscale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry determination of the water content of staurolite

Geochemistry of Eocene-Early Oligocene low-temperature crustal melts from Greater Himalayan Sequence (Nepal): a nanogranitoid perspective

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