Sulfur isotope ratio measurements of individual sulfate particles by NanoSIMS

Abstract The sulfur isotopic compositions of barite (BaSO4), anhydrite (CaSO4), gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), mascagnite ((NH4)2SO4), thenardite (Na2SO4), boetite (K2SO4), epsomite (MgSO4·7H2O), magnesium sulfate (MgSO4·xH2O) and cysteine (an amino acid) were determined with a Cameca NanoSIMS 50 ion microprobe employing a Cs+ primary ion beam and measuring negative secondary ions. This ion microprobe permits the analysis of sulfur isotope ratios in sulfates on 0.001–0.5 ng of sample material, enabling the analysis of individual S-bearing particles with diameters as small as 500 nm. The grain-to-grain reproducibility of measurements is typically 5‰ (1σ) for micron-sized grains,