Heidelberg Radiocarbon Lab: establishing a new carbon dioxide extraction line for carbonate samples
To achieve high-precision and reproducible results from radiocarbon (14C) dating of carbonate samples in paleoclimate research, a new CO2 extraction line was designed, constructed, and characterized at the Heidelberg Radiocarbon Lab of the Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg. The setup in...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
30 April 2021
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| In: |
Radiocarbon
Year: 2021, Volume: 63, Issue: 3, Pages: 915-924 |
| ISSN: | 1945-5755 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/RDC.2021.28 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2021.28 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/radiocarbon/article/heidelberg-radiocarbon-lab-establishing-a-new-carbon-dioxide-extraction-line-for-carbonate-samples/76B6A257A2EFC466510D002368CB8672 
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| Author Notes: | S. Therre, L. Proß, R. Friedrich, M. Trüssel, N. Frank |
| Summary: | To achieve high-precision and reproducible results from radiocarbon (14C) dating of carbonate samples in paleoclimate research, a new CO2 extraction line was designed, constructed, and characterized at the Heidelberg Radiocarbon Lab of the Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg. The setup includes a circular glass-tube design, which is operated at vacuum pressure levels of the order of 10-5 mbar. The efficiency of the extraction process was assessed, showing significantly favorable conditions for solid piece samples (99.58 ± 4.69)% over powdered samples (88.28 ± 10.03)%. Process blank values are below 0.2 pMC apparent 14C activity. Repeated measurements of IAEA C2 standards with an average value of (41.09 ± 0.23) pMC attest high accuracy and reproducibility of the instrument. Six consecutive samples of 6 to 12 mg carbonate mass can be processed in one run of roughly 2.5 hours. Thus, the new setup contributes to time-efficient and reproducible radiocarbon dating results for paleoclimate research at the Institute of Environmental Physics. In a first application, Dead Carbon Fraction (DCF) values of a Holocene alpine stalagmite from Schratten Cave are presented, revealing extraordinarily high offsets between atmospheric and stalagmite 14C with DCF values between (49.4 ± 0.4)% and (61.6 ± 0.4)%. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 27.06.2022 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1945-5755 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/RDC.2021.28 |