The elemental profile of river sediments provides valuable insight into the health of a river, as well as the wider environment. Some elements that are essential for the ecology of the river at trace levels e.g. manganese, copper and zinc, can be toxic at high concentrations. Traditionally, the concentration of elements in river sedi ments is determined via Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (FAAS). This technique has the drawback of requiring expensive and hazardous gases such as acetylene and nitrous oxide and also requires element - specific sample preparation that adds time and cost to the analysis. The novel Agilent 4200 Microwave Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometer (MP - AES) is the ideal alternative for laboratories looking to transition away from FAAS to a higher performance, lower cost and safer technique. MP - AES is a fast sequential, multielement analytical technique that uses a microwave - induced nitrogen - based plasma for sample excitation. The use of nitrogen eliminates the need for acetylene and nitrous oxide, which can Agilent 4200 微波等離子體原子發(fā)射光譜儀