Articles | Volume 5, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-21-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-21-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Short communication/technical note
| 
13 Jan 2023
Short communication/technical note |
| 13 Jan 2023
| 13 Jan 2023
Technical note: A software framework for calculating compositionally dependent in situ 14C production rates
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue
University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Nathaniel A. Lifton
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue
University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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We describe a new, fully automated extraction system for in situ 14C at PRIME Lab that incorporates more reliable components and designs than our original systems. We use a LiBO2 flux to dissolve a quartz sample in oxygen after removing contaminant 14C with a lower-temperature combustion step. Experiments with new Pt/Rh sample boats demonstrated reduced procedural blanks, and analyses of well-characterized intercomparison materials tested the effects of process variables on 14C yields.
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Did Scandinavian glaciers survive the warmer conditions of the early Holocene? Ice thickness measurements, proglacial lake sediment, and cosmogenic nuclides in bedrock alongside Riukojietna, a small low-elevation ice cap in northern Sweden, all combine to constrain a glacier advance and retreat history since 9.8 thousand years ago. Riukojietna was small but persisted through the early Holocene, illustrating that other but higher-elevation valley glaciers in the region may also have done so.
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Carbon-14 produced in quartz (half-life of 5700 ± 30 years) provides a new tool to date exposure of bedrock surfaces. Samples from 10 exposed bedrock surfaces in east-central Sweden give dates consistent with the timing of both landscape emergence above sea level through postglacial rebound and retreat of the last ice sheet shown in previous reconstructions. Carbon-14 in quartz can therefore be used for dating in landscapes where isotopes with longer half-lives give complex exposure results.
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We describe a new, fully automated extraction system for in situ 14C at PRIME Lab that incorporates more reliable components and designs than our original systems. We use a LiBO2 flux to dissolve a quartz sample in oxygen after removing contaminant 14C with a lower-temperature combustion step. Experiments with new Pt/Rh sample boats demonstrated reduced procedural blanks, and analyses of well-characterized intercomparison materials tested the effects of process variables on 14C yields.
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Mountains higher than the ice surface are sampled to know when the ice reached the sampled elevation, which can be used to guide numerical models. This is important to understand how much ice will be lost by ice sheets in the future. We use a simple model to understand how ice flow around mountains affects the ice surface topography and show how much this influences results from field samples. We also show that models need a finer resolution over mountainous areas to better match field samples.
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Short summary
In situ 14C’s short half-life (5.7 kyr) is unique among cosmogenic nuclides, making it sensitive to complex exposure and burial histories since 25 ka. Current extraction methods focus on quartz, but the ability to extract it from other minerals would expand applications. We developed MATLAB® scripts to calculate in situ 14C production rates from a broad range of mineral compositions. Results confirm O, Si, Al, and Mg as key targets but also find significant production from Na for the first time.
In situ 14C’s short half-life (5.7 kyr) is unique among cosmogenic nuclides, making it...
