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Update on the Performance of the SUERC In Situ Cosmogenic 14C Extraction Line

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

R H Fülöp*
Affiliation:
Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), East Kilbride G75 0QF, Scotland
P Naysmith
Affiliation:
Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), East Kilbride G75 0QF, Scotland
G T Cook
Affiliation:
Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), East Kilbride G75 0QF, Scotland
D Fabel
Affiliation:
Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland
S Xu
Affiliation:
Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), East Kilbride G75 0QF, Scotland
P Bishop
Affiliation:
Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland
*
Corresponding author. Email: r.fulop@suerc.gla.ac.uk
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Abstract

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In this paper, we describe improvements to the in situ cosmogenic radiocarbon extraction system at SUERC made since 2004, highlighting the factors that potentially control the reduction of analytical variability. We also present new results on system blanks and of measurements of in situ14C in shielded quartz and a surface quartz sample used at the University of Arizona as an in situ14C standard (PP-4). The SUERC in situ14C extraction system was built in 2001 and is based on a combustion technique following the design of the extraction system at the University of Arizona. Our preliminary results suggest that the continuous running of the extraction system and the monitoring of gas collecting time and of the temperature of the cryogenic traps used in the gas cleaning steps are key to maintaining low and stable system blanks. Our latest average system blank is 2.02 ± 0.23 x 10514C atoms. This is consistent with those recently published by the University of Arizona and ETH in situ14C labs. Measurements of in situ14C concentrations in sample PP-4 yield an average of 3.82 ± 0.23 x 105 atoms g–1 quartz, again consistent with published values.

Type
Sample Preparation
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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