X-ray maps from the WDS and the EDS are used to examine the two-dimensional distribution of elements on a specimen surface. Up to 20 elements can be specified for measurement on each analysis area. Measurement can be made in two modes, stage scanning and beam scanning. A raw-data map of X-ray intensity can be converted into a concentration map using calibration curves. Functions available for two-dimensional data include simple image processing such as various arithmetic operations and smoothing, line profile display, and analytical functions such as distance measurement.
WDS X-ray maps of a feldspar phenocryst displaying propylitic alteration, albitization. Images in false color. The sample is from the Quartz Latite tuff of Skelton Lake in the Mount Morrison quadrangle of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California. The sample (99DL-18) is a Triassic or Jurassic tuff that underwent contact metamorphism and metasomatism following emplacement of the Round Valley Peak granodiorite in the Cretaceous. The map shows sodic plagioclase replacing igneous K-feldspar.
EDS X-ray map of a fossil from the Cambrian shales of England. X-ray map of lines Si KA, Al KA and K KA. Opabinia regalis (USNM 205258), one of many enigmatic fossils from the Burgess Shale in British Columbia. This scan shows 3 of the 5 eyes the animal possessed. Opabinia is one of the earliest representatives of complex animal forms on earth, dating back to 505 million years ago (Cambrian). Over the years these fossils have been studied extensively, today new techniques are revealing more details about these long vanished forms of life. This specimen, along with many other, was collected by Charles Walcott during his field work in British Columbia, 1909 - 1924.