This study presents the determination of the content of selected metals (Ba, Ca, Fe, Nb, Rb, Sr, Y, Zn, and Zr) in postglacial deposits from two glacial valleys (Ebbadalen and Elsadalen) in the Petunia Bay (southern Spitsbergen). The aim of the research was to experimentally check the usefulness of the handheld energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique in the study of samples from the polar zone, before performing the future field tests. Deposit analyses were performed (in parallel) with two handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometers from different manufacturers, to investigate the accuracy and reliability of the instruments.
In this comparative study, two popular and used in numerous research projects handheld ED-XRF spectrometers were used:
1. Bruker Tracer III ED-XRF (Bruker AXS, USA) - calibration of Bruker Mudrock Trace; parameters: 15 s of signal acquisition, 12 μA, 40 kV, filter 0.3048 mm Al and 0.0254 mm Ti. The measurement uncertainty was estimated to be below 10%
- Olympus Vanta M (Olympus, Japan) - the GeoChem calibration with default conditions: 8–40 kV, automatic filter selection. The estimated uncertainty was at the level of 5%.