On the optimal use of the seaFAST system

Science Highlights

18 April 2019

Do you wish to improve your recoveries, blanks or any other parameter of your seawater preconcentration system (seaFAST)? Or are you simply curious about it? Wuttig and co-workers (2019, see reference below) propose a critical evaluation of this system’s capabilities. They perform an impressive list of tests including system conditioning, improving blank levels, finding the optimal pH of the buffer, improving preconcentration factors for different sample matrices, estimating memory effects, the initial sample salinity and UV oxidation effects on trace element concentrations. These tests considered an array of trace elements (cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, gallium, manganese, nickel, lead, titanium and zinc) using SF-ICP-MS with data validation for some of these trace elements by flow injection analysis (iron, manganese) and/or GEOTRACES (n=42 for GSP and GSC) reference samples. They eventually make a long and useful list of recommendations for an optimal use of the system.

19 Wuttig

Figure: During this work, a commercially available seaFAST preconcentration system combined with sector-field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS) was utilised to measure six reference seawaters (SAFe S, D1 and D2; GEOTRACES GD, GSC and GSP) 3-42 times each. In this figure, our measured values were compared to the consensus values for copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and Titanium (Ti). Titanium is a novel element for this system with limited consensus values available and was compared to values determined with voltammetry by Croot, 2011. Errors are presented as 1 standard deviation (σ) for both consensus and the measured values. Note different scales for Ti.

Reference:

Wuttig, K., Townsend, A. T., van der Merwe, P., Gault-Ringold, M., Holmes, T., Schallenberg, C., Latour, P., Tonnard, M., Rijkenberg, M. J.A., Lannuzel, D., Bowie, A. R. (2019). Critical evaluation of a seaFAST system for the analysis of trace metals in marine samples. Talanta, 197, 653–668. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/J.TALANTA.2019.01.047

Croot, P.L., Rapid determination of picomolar titanium in seawater with catalytic cathodic stripping voltammetry, Anal Chem 83(16) (2011) 6395-400.

Latest highlights

Assessment of the Solomon Sea’s dissolved iron contribution to the Equatorial Under Current

Sarthou and co-workers analysed 11 vertical profiles of dissolved iron at the entrance, within, and at the exit of the Solomon Sea…

To Ba or not to Ba: Evaluating water column excess particulate barium as a proxy for water column respiration

Rahman and co-workers examine the relationship between excess particulate barium and organic matter respiration in the water column…

Major controls on the fate of dissolved manganese in the northeastern Indian Ocean

Malla and Singh investigated the key factors controlling dissolved manganese in the northeastern Indian Ocean.

An original approach to assess the particulate trace metal concentrations in seawater

Sohrin and co-workers propose defining particulate trace metal as the difference between total dissolvable and dissolved metals after a long storage of filtered and unfiltered acidified seawater.

Rechercher