The Rapid Preparation of Seawater ΣCO2 for Radiocarbon Analysis at the National Ocean Sciences Ams Facility
- 1 January 1994
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Radiocarbon
- Vol. 36 (2) , 237-246
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033822200040522
Abstract
We have established a laboratory for extracting ΣCO2 from seawater samples for AMS analysis of the radiocarbon content. The seawater samples are collected at sea, poisoned and stored until analysis in the laboratory. Each sample is acidified; the inorganic carbon is stripped out as CO2 with an inert carrier gas and then converted to graphite. We present results for Buzzards Bay surface H2O and Na2CO3 standards that demonstrate we strip >98% of inorganic carbon from seawater. Stable isotope analyses are performed to better than 0.2‰, and the reproducibility of 14C measurements on Buzzards Bay seawater is better than 13‰. Finally, we compare data from samples collected in 1991 to those collected in the 1970s and to large volume samples.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- High-precision AMS radiocarbon measurements of central Arctic Ocean sea watersNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 1994
- Procedure for calibration of a coulometric system used for total inorganic carbon measurements of seawaterMarine Chemistry, 1992
- Illumination of a Black Box: Analysis of Gas Composition During Graphite Target PreparationRadiocarbon, 1992
- Penetration of bomb radiocarbon in the tropical Indian Ocean measured by means of accelerator mass spectrometryEarth and Planetary Science Letters, 1988
- AMS 14C measurement of small volume oceanic water samples: Experimental procedure and comparison with low-level counting techniqueNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 1987
- Measurements of bomb radiocarbon in the ocean by means of accelerator mass spectrometry: Technical aspectsNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 1987
- Ventilation rate of the deep Arctic Ocean from carbon 14 dataJournal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 1987
- Measurement of Small Volume Oceanic 14C Samples by Accelerator Mass SpectrometryRadiocarbon, 1987
- Carbon-14 and Carbon-13 in Soil Co2Radiocarbon, 1980
- Discussion Reporting of 14C DataRadiocarbon, 1977