International audience[1] Thirteen laboratories from the USA and Europe participated in an intercomparison study of Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca measurements in foraminifera. The study included five planktonic species from surface sediments from different geographical regions and water depths. Each of the laboratories followed their own cleaning and analytical procedures and had no specific information about the samples. Analysis of solutions of known Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios showed that the intralaboratory instrumental precision is better than 0.5% for both Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca measurements, regardless whether ICP-OES or ICP-MS is used. The interlaboratory precision on the analysis of standard solutions was about 1.5% and 0.9% for Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca measurements, respectively. These are equivalent to Mg/Ca-based temperature repeatability and reproducibility on the analysis of solutions of +/- 0.2 degreesC and +/- 0.5 degreesC, respectively. The analysis of foraminifera suggests an interlaboratory variance of about +/-8% (%RSD) for Mg/Ca measurements, which translates to reproducibility of about +/- 2 - 3 degreesC. The relatively large range in the reproducibility of foraminiferal analysis is primarily due to relatively poor intralaboratory repeatability (about +/- 1 - 2 degreesC) and a bias (about 1 degreesC) due to the application of different cleaning methods by different laboratories. Improving the consistency of cleaning methods among laboratories will, therefore, likely lead to better reproducibility. Even more importantly, the results of this study highlight the need for standards calibration among laboratories as a first step toward improving interlaboratory compatibility

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SummaryThe fractionation of stable copper (Cu) isotopes during uptake into plant roots and translocation to shoots can provide information on Cu acquisition mechanisms.Isotope fractionation ( 65 Cu/ 63 Cu) and intact tissue speciation techniques (X-ray absorption spectroscopy, XAS) were used to examine the uptake, translocation and speciation of Cu in strategy I (tomato-Solanum lycopersicum) and strategy II (oat-Avena sativa) plant species. Plants were grown in controlled solution cultures, under varied iron (Fe) conditions, to test whether the stimulation of Fe-acquiring mechanisms can affect Cu uptake in plants.Isotopically light Cu was preferentially incorporated into tomatoes (D 65 Cu whole plant-solution = c. À1&), whereas oats showed minimal isotopic fractionation, with no effect of Fe supply in either species. The heavier isotope was preferentially translocated to shoots in tomato, whereas oat plants showed no significant fractionation during translocation. The majority of Cu in the roots and leaves of both species existed as sulfur-coordinated Cu(I) species resembling glutathione/cysteine-rich proteins. The presence of isotopically light Cu in tomatoes is attributed to a reductive uptake mechanism, and the isotopic shifts within various tissues are attributed to redox cycling during translocation. The lack of isotopic discrimination in oat plants suggests that Cu uptake and translocation are not redox selective.