Isotopic imaging of refractory inclusions in meteorites with the NanoSIMS 50L

Oxygen isotopic micro-distributions within and among silicate and oxide minerals in a meteorite were measured with the JSC NanoSIMS 50L by isotopic imaging. High precision isotopic images with micrometer-scale resolution revealed detailed O isotope distributions within CAI minerals. Small-scale heterogeneous distributions of O isotopes constrain the history of isotopic exchange mechanisms in the CAI during and since its formation in the early solar system. We describe the development O isotopic imaging of insulating minerals with high precision of ±6 and 3‰ for δ17O and δ18O, respectively.