Geochemical fingerprinting: 40 years of analytical development and real world applications

Geochemical fingerprinting is a rapidly expanding discipline in the earth and environmental sciences. It is anchored in the recognition that geological processes leave behind chemical and isotopic patterns in the rock record. Many of these patterns, informally referred to as geochemical fingerprints, differ only in fine detail from each other. For this reason, the approach of fingerprinting requires analytical data of very high precision and accuracy.It is not surprising that the advancement of geochemical fingerprinting occurred alongside progress in geochemical analysis techniques. In this brief treatment, a subjective selection of drivers behind the analytical progress and its implications for geochemical fingerprinting are discussed. These include the impact of the Apollo lunar sample return program on quality of geochemical data and its push towards minimizing required sample volumes. The advancement of in situ analytical techniques is also identified as a major factor that has enabled geochemical fingerprinting to expand into a larger variety of fields.For real world applications of geochemical fingerprinting, in which large sample throughput, reasonable cost, and fast turnaround are key requirements, the improvements to inductively-coupled-plasma quadrupole mass spectrometry were paramount. The past 40 years have witnessed how geochemical fingerprinting has found its way into everyday applications. This development is cause for celebrating the 40 years of existence of the IAGC.