Tephrochronology can provide precise age determinations of Quaternary sedimentary archives where the application of other dating techniques is limited. Improved methods have allowed low concentrations of tephra, cryptotephra, to be found where there is not a distinct, visible layer. The isolation and analysis of cryptotephra has expanded the potential for using tephrochronology in environments far from volcanic source regions. Lake sediment of the Canadian High Arctic should contain cryptotephra from finely dispersed fallout from Icelandic and Alaskan volcanic eruptions of the late Holocene. The application of tephrochronology to lakes of the Canadian High Arctic will strengthen chronologies because the use of radiocarbon dating is limited by the low organic-matter content in the sediment and possible reservoir effects of datable material. However, techniques to isolate cryptotephra are more easily applied to organic-rich sedimentary environments where ashing or acid digestion procedures easily concentrate tephra. Cryptotephra can be extracted from minerogenic sediment, but requires fine sieving and density separation procedures that are labor intensive. Here we present an experiment that uses an Itrax scanning XRF to improve the methods for locating cryptotephra in minerogenic sediment. The Itrax provides a relatively rapid, nondestructive approach to locating cryptotephra. The Itrax scans the surface of split sediment cores at sub-millimeter resolution and detects elemental compositions. Synthetic sediment cores spiked with tephra were created in the laboratory and scanned on the Itrax. We aim to show that tephra produce a characteristic elemental signature that can be used to locate cryptotephra. Synthetic cores were made in 50 ml centrifuge tubes. Sediment, from Lake Tuborg on Ellesmere Island, was homogenized in deionized water, pipetted into centrifuge tubes, and spun in a horizontal-rotor centrifuge to create distinct, fining upward laminations. Rhyolitic and basaltic tephra were added within and between these laminations with a range of concentrations and grain sizes. Eight synthetic cores were made, each containing 20, ~0.5 cm-thick laminations. We present results from an analysis of the multi-elemental matrix provided by the Itrax with the goal of identifying the chemical signature of tephra and the influence of grain size, dispersal method, and concentration on the strength of the signal. This information should guide us in identifying elements, or element ratios, that will indicate the presence of tephra within Lake Tuborg sediment and similar sedimentary environments of the Canadian High Arctic.