Abstract: Although the analysis of thermal water by spark-source mass spectrometry (SSMS) is rather timeconsuming, it allows the detection of about 20 elements of geochemical interest down to the ppb-level. A physical preconcentration is proposed in order to collect elements having quite different chemical properties, e.g. alkalis, transition elements, and elements occurring in anionic form. The relative sensitivity factors appear to be rather independent of the salt content of the graphite electrodes. Contrary to neutron activation analysis, SSMS has a quite uniform elemental sensitivity, and allows to determine elements for which neutron activation is not suitable, e.g. Sn and Pb. The precision of SSMS is however by a factor of about 2 worse than that obtained for neutron activation.

Abstract: Sensitive multi‐element analytical techniques were applied to determine 24 dissolved trace components in 25 different water samples from a 10 km2 zone in Brittany, France. Correspondence factor and multiple regression analyses showed that the elements considered are influenced mainly by the presence of: Fe‐Mn oxide accumulations, a local poly‐metallic sulfide mineralization, and non‐mineralized host rocks, agricultural activity and abundant organic material in local swamps. Via these numerical techniques the location of the poly‐metallic ore body can be derived from the data set.