T54 Bridging the Laboratory–Database Divide in Geochemistry

Tuesday, 27 October 2020
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Meeting Rooms

AGECALCML: AN OPEN-SOURCE MATLAB-BASED DATA REDUCTION PLATFORM FOR LA-ICP-MS GEOCHRONOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY DATA FROM THE ARIZONA LASERCHRON CENTER

Paper number: T54-7
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 11:30 AM – 11:45 AM

Authors

Abstract

Data reduction software is critical cyberinfrastructure for laboratories producing geochronology and geochemistry data generated by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). However, options for open-source software that follows FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles are limited. The Arizona LaserChron Center (ALC) is a National Science Foundation multi-user facility and producer of AgeCalc, an Excel-based macro for reducing geochronology and geochemistry data collected by LA-ICP-MS. AgeCalc is the product of nearly 20 years of close consultation with LA-ICP-MS geoscience researchers and members of the PlasmAge Working Group, and upholds community established standards and data handling protocols. AgeCalc has been adapted to numerous LA-ICP-MS laboratories; however, with evolving laboratory methods, increasing sample throughput, and larger-scale compilations of data, spreadsheet-based methods increasingly impede efficient reduction and visualization. To address these issues, we developed a new MATLAB-based graphical user interface (GUI), AgeCalcML, for reducing, visualizing, and reporting single mineral U-Th-Pb, Lu-Hf, and trace element data generated by single-collector and multi-collector LA-ICP-MS. The open-source code and standalone GUI incorporates the same community established protocols developed for the original Excel-based AgeCalc and can be adapted to other LA-ICP-MS laboratories with laboratory-specific protocols. AgeCalcML is capable of real-time data reduction and visualization during analytical sessions and serves as an interactive teaching tool for students and researchers. Exported data can be seamlessly uploaded to Geochron.org, the Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance (IEDA) global geochronology database. An interface is currently being developed between AgeCalcML and Sparrow, a lightweight laboratory-management system that will organize and contextualize the ALC data archive as a whole. AgeCalcML is an ongoing project incorporating community engagement and support; interested parties are encouraged to participate in its FAIR use and development at https://github.com/kurtsundell/AgeCalcML.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 52, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2020AM-358944

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