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Central Michigan University - Department of Geology ELECTRON MICROPROBE FACILITY Dr.
David Matty, Director What are microprobe analyses used for? EDS analyses are used to quickly identify minerals and to rapidly denote large compositional differences between different materials in a sample. WDS analyses are used to generate very accurate and precise chemical composition information for a sample. These data may then be used for a variety of purposes depending on the overall study. Most commonly, geologists use WDS microprobe analyses of minerals to calculate the temperatures (geothermometry) and pressures (geobarometry) at which those minerals formed. Other geologists use microprobe analyses to evaluate changes in mineral chemistry related to evolving magma systems or to metamorphism of an area or a rock unit. Microprobe analyses may also be used, for example, to evaluate the composition of ore minerals during mineral exploration , to classify various types of meteorites, or even to study the composition of oxide coatings that slowly grow on sediment grains in many rivers and streams. In addition to the above, our microprobe has been used to analyse pre-Inca pottery sherds from Peru, and - believe-it-or-not - dog kidney stones (compositional info used to prescribe treatment for the pups...). In fact, microprobe studies can be applied to the inorganic analysis of most materials; as such the microprobe is a very versatile tool. | Welcome | What is a microprobe? | What
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