GGR critical review of analytical developments in 2004-2005

In 2005 Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research embarked upon a new initiative for its readers. Key researchers in various fields of geoanalytical technique development and their application were identified and invited to provide reviews pertinent to their expertise. As noted in the first of these publications "...instead of revisiting the historical context or decades of development in each analytical technique, the goal here has been to capture a snapshot of "hot topics" across a range of fields as represented in the... literature" (Hergt et aL 2005). Rather than prepare an annual review, a decision was taken earlier this year to provide a biennial summary of progress and accomplishments, in this case for the years 2004-2005. The principal techniques employed in Earth and environmental sciences are covered here, and include laser ablation and multicollector ICP-MS, ICP-AES, thermal ionisation and secondary ion mass spectrometry, as well as neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence and atomic absorption spectrometry. A comprehensive review of the development of reference materials, often essential to these techniques, is also provided. The contributions assembled serve both to keep readers informed of advances they may be unfamiliar with, but also as a means of showcasing examples of the breadth and depth of work being conducted in these fields.