seashell analysis; LIBS; graphite enriched process; Sr/Ca; shell growth;RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPY; CLASSIFICATION; PROFILES; RATIOS; GROWTH; SHELLS

Seashell has been applied as an indicator for ocean research and element analysis of the seashell is used to track biological or environmental evolution. In this work, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was applied for elementary analysis of an ezo scallop-shell, and a graphite enrichment method was used as the assistance. It was found that LIBS signal intensity of Ca fluctuated less than 5%, in spite of the sampling positions, and Sr/Ca was related to the shell growth. A similar variation was also found when using a direct LIBS analysis on the shell surface, and it might be more practicable to track shell growth by investigating Sr/Ca ratio with Sr ionic line at 421.6 nm. The obtained results prove that calcium (Ca) is qualified as an internal reference for shell analysis, and LIBS is a potential analytical method for seashell study.