Fast offline data reduction of laser ablation MC-ICP-MS Sr isotope measurements via an interactive Excel-based spreadsheet ‘SrDR’

Strontium isotopes are applied to a wide range of scientific fields and to different types of materials,} providing valuable information foremost about provenance and age{,} but also on diagenetic processes and mixing relationships between different Sr reservoirs. The development of in situ analytical techniques{,} such as laser ablation ICP-MS{,} has improved our understanding of Sr isotope variability in several fields of application{,} because of the possibility to discriminate small-scale changes and their spatial distribution. However{,} large outputs of Sr isotope data are produced by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS systems{,} which necessitate multiple offline steps to correct and assess the data. This requires the availability of simple and user-friendly tools{,} easily manageable by non-specialists too. With this in mind{,} we developed SrDR{,} an Excel-based interactive data reduction spreadsheet (‘SrDR’{,} Sr-Data-Reduction) for the processing of Sr isotopes measured by LA-MC-ICP-MS. The SrDR spreadsheet is easily customizable (a) to meet user-specific analytical protocols{,} (b) for different instruments (i.e. Nu plasma vs. Neptune){,} and (c) for diverse target materials (e.g. rare earth element enriched or depleted samples). We also include several examples relevant to low and high temperature geochemistry fields – a fossil tooth{,} a modern seashell{, a speleothem sample and plagioclase crystals – to show how different sample materials are corrected for different interfering masses