Although they are small, melt inclusions can provide an abundance of useful information. Using microscopic observations and a range of chemical microanalysis techniques geochemists and igneous petrologists can obtain a range of unique information from melt inclusions.  There are various techniques used in analyzing melt inclusion HO and CO contents, major, minor and trace elements including double-sided FTIR micro transmittance, single-sided FTIR micro reflectance, Raman spectroscopy, microthermometry, Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS), Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA). If there is a vapor bubble present within the melt inclusion, analysis of the vapor bubble must be taken into consideration when reconstructing the total volatile budget of the melt inclusion.