New Perspectives on the ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd Palaeoceanographic Tracer on Foraminifera: The State‐of‐the‐Art Frontiers of Analytical Methods

Abstract The 143 Nd/ 144 Nd isotopic composition of foraminifera represents one the most prominent palaeoceanographic proxies enabling tracing particular water masses due to short residence time in seawater and large‐scale provinciality resulting from its lithogenic origin. Despite wide use, applicability foraminiferal systematics as a tracer is largely hampered by amount material needed for precise analyses. Here, we analyzed first samples combined weight only ∼300–500 μg (ca. 300 pg 1 ng loaded). We followed methodology that utilizes separation matrix provides determinations thermal ionization mass spectrometry with sensitive 10 13 Ω amplifiers. Two different techniques analyzing NdO + (single/double filament configurations) were employed tested assess limits both terms in‐run precision accuracy concluding former method yielded an external reproducibility on determined better than ∼90 ppm (2RSD; relative standard deviation) 100 loads. overall veracity was multiple analyses Holocene Miocene Mediterranean region. Pooled data obtained agreement previous studies attesting even very low loads (≤1 ng) can lead sufficient precision. As revealed our newly data, individual species show significant naturally induced variability needs be considered when pursuing analysis.