Articles | Volume 44, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-44-107-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-44-107-2025
Research article
 | 
29 Apr 2025
Research article |  | 29 Apr 2025

Ten recommendations for scanning foraminifera by X-ray computed tomography

Alex Searle-Barnes, Anieke Brombacher, Orestis Katsamenis, Kathryn Rankin, Mark Mavrogordato, and Thomas Ezard

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Cited articles

Briguglio, A., Metscher, B., and Hohenegger, J.: Growth rate biometric quantification by X-ray microtomography on larger benthic foraminifera: three-dimensional measurements push nummulitids into the fourth dimension, Turk. J. Earth Sci., 20, 683–699, https://doi.org/10.3906/yer-0910-44, 2011. 
British Oceanographic Data Centre: Marine data sharing and preservation, managed & operated by the National Oceanography Centre, https://www.bodc.ac.uk/ (last access: 12 April 2025), 2025. 
Brummer, G.-J. A., Hemleben, C., and Spindler, M.: Ontogeny of extant spinose planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinidae): A concept exemplified by Globigerinoides sacculifer (Brady) and G. Ruber (d'Orbigny), Mar. Micropaleontol., 12, 357–381, https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-8398(87)90028-4, 1987. 
Burke, J. E., Renema, W., Schiebel, R., and Hull, P. M.: Three-dimensional analysis of inter-and intraspecific variation in ontogenetic growth trajectories of planktonic foraminifera, Mar. Micropaleontol., 155, 101794, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2019.101794, 2020. 
Caromel, A. G. M., Schmidt, D. N., Fletcher, I., and Rayfield, E. J.: Morphological Change During The Ontogeny Of The Planktic Foraminifera, J. Micropalaeontol., 35, 2–19, https://doi.org/10.1144/jmpaleo2014-017, 2016. 
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We present an operating procedure that is advantageous for the high-throughput analysis of specimens, yielding consistency between scan data, and a method of sample preparation that does not include glue, gel, or solvents, all of which cause artefacts within the radiographs. We demonstrate how to balance beam power, exposure time, and detector settings with obtainable resolution to ensure the analytical protocols deliver optimal data and scan speed.

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