Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T18:21:28.011Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

High-Precision Atmospheric 14CO2 Measurement at the Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 February 2016

Jocelyn C Turnbull ,
Albert Zondervan ,
Johannes Kaiser ,
Margaret Norris ,
Jenny Dahl ,
Troy Baisden  and
Scott Lehman
Jocelyn C Turnbull*
Affiliation:
Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Albert Zondervan
Affiliation:
Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Johannes Kaiser
Affiliation:
Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Margaret Norris
Affiliation:
Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Jenny Dahl
Affiliation:
Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Troy Baisden
Affiliation:
Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
*
2.Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article describes a new capability for high-precision 14C measurement of CO2 from air at the Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, GNS Science, New Zealand. We evaluate the short-term within-wheel repeatability and long-term between-wheel repeatability from measurements of multiple aliquots of control materials sourced from whole air. Samples are typically measured to 650,000 14C counts, providing a nominal accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) statistical uncertainty of 1.3‰. No additional uncertainty is required to explain the within-wheel variability. An additional uncertainty factor is needed to explain the long-term repeatability spanning multiple measurement wheels, bringing the overall repeatability to 1.8‰, comparable to other laboratories measuring air materials to high precision. This additional uncertainty factor appears to be due to variability in the measured 14C content of OxI primary standard targets, likely from the combustion process. We observe an offset of 1.4‰ in our samples relative to those measured by the University of Colorado INSTAAR, comparable to interlaboratory offsets observed in recent intercomparison exercises.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 57 , Issue 3 , 2015 , pp. 377 - 388
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baisden, WT, Prior, CA, Chambers, D, Canessa, S, Phillips, A, Bertrand, C, Zondervan, A, Turnbull, JC. 2013. Radiocarbon sample preparation and data flow at Rafter: accommodating enhanced throughput and precision. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 294:194–8.Google Scholar
Conway, TJ, Lang, PM, Masarie, KA. 2011. Atmospheric carbon dioxide dry air mole fractions from the NOAA/ESRL Carbon Cycle Global Cooperative Network, 1968–2010, version 2011-06-21. Path: ftp://ftp.cmdl.noaa.gov/ccg/co2/flask/event/.Google Scholar
Currie, KI, Brailsford, G, Nichol, S, Gomez, A, Sparks, R, Lassey, KR, Riedel, K. 2009. Tropospheric 14CO2 at Wellington, New Zealand: the world's longest record. Biogeochemistry 104(1–3):5–22.Google Scholar
Donahue, DJ, Linick, T, Jull, AJT. 1990. Isotope-ratio and background corrections for accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon measurements. Radiocarbon 32(2):135–42.Google Scholar
Graven, HD, Guilderson, TP, Keeling, RF. 2007. Methods for high-precision 14C AMS measurements of atmospheric CO2 at LLNL. Radiocarbon 49(2):349–56.Google Scholar
Graven, HD, Gruber, N, Key, R, Khatiwala, S, Giraud, X. 2012. Changing controls on oceanic radiocarbon: new insights on shallow-to-deep ocean exchange and anthropogenic CO2 uptake. Journal of Geophysical Research 117(C10):C10005.Google Scholar
Lehman, SJ, Miller, JB, Turnbull, JC, Southon, JR, Tans, PP, Sweeney, C. 2011. 14CO2 measurements in the NOAA/ESRL Global Co-operative Sampling Network: an update on measurements and data quality. In: Brand, WA, editor. Expert Group Recommendations from the 15th WMO/IAEA Meeting of Experts on Carbon Dioxide, Other Greenhouse Gases and Related Tracer Measurement Techniques. Jena: World Meterological Organisation. p 315–7.Google Scholar
Lehman, SJ, Miller, JB, Wolak, C, Southon, JR, Tans, PP, Montzka, SA, Sweeney, C, Andrews, AE, LaFranchi, BW, Guilderson, TP. 2013. Allocation of terrestrial carbon sources using 14CO2: methods, measurement, and modelling. Radiocarbon 55(2–3):1484–95.Google Scholar
Levin, I, Kromer, B. 1997. Twenty years of atmospheric 14CO2 observations at Schauinsland station, Germany. Radiocarbon 39(2):205–18.Google Scholar
Levin, I, Kromer, B, Schmidt, M, Sartorius, H. 2003. A novel approach for independent budgeting of fossil fuel CO2 over Europe by 14CO2 observations. Geophysical Research Letters 30(23):2194.Google Scholar
Lowe, DC, Judd, W. 1987. Graphite target preparation for radiocarbon dating by accelerator mass spectrometry. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 28(1):113–6.Google Scholar
Manning, MR, Lowe, DC, Melhuish, WH, Sparks, RJ, Wallace, G, Brenninkmeijer, CAM, McGill, RC. 1990. The use of radiocarbon measurements in atmospheric sciences. Radiocarbon 32(1):37–58.Google Scholar
Miller, JB, Lehman, S, Wolak, C, Turnbull, J, Dunn, G, Graven, H, Keeling, R, Meijer, HAJ, Aerts-Bijma, AT, Palstra, SWL, Smith, AM, Allison, C, Southon, J, Xu, X, Nakazawa, T, Aoki, S, Nakamura, T, Guilderson, T, LaFranchi, B, Mukai, H, Terao, Y, Uchida, M, Kondo, M. 2013. Initial results of an intercomparison of AMS-based atmospheric 14CO2 measurements. Radiocarbon 55(2–3):1475–83.Google Scholar
Rafter, TA, Fergusson, G. 1959. Atmospheric radiocarbon as a tracer in geophysical circulation problems. In: United Nations Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy. London: Pergamon Press. p 526–32.Google Scholar
Reimer, PJ, Brown, TA, Reimer, RW. 2004. Discussion: reporting and calibration of post-bomb 14C data. Radiocarbon 46(3):1299–304.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M, Polach, HA. 1977. Discussion: reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon 19(3):355–63.Google Scholar
Tans, PP, Zellweger, C. 2014. 17th WMO/IAEA Meeting on Carbon Dioxide, Other Greenhouse Gases and Related Tracers Measurement Techniques (GGMT-2013). World Meteorological Organization Global Atmosphere Watch.Google Scholar
Turnbull, JC, Lehman, SJ, Miller, JB, Sparks, RJ, Southon, JR, Tans, PP. 2007. A new high precision 14CO2 time series for North American continental air. Journal of Geophysical Research 112:D11310.Google Scholar
Turnbull, JC, Guenther, D, Karion, A, Sweeney, C, Anderson, E, Andrews, AE, Kofler, J, Miles, NL, Newberger, T, Richardson, SJ. 2012. An integrated flask sample collection system for greenhouse gas measurements. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 5:2321–7.Google Scholar
Turnbull, JC, Graven, HD, Miller, JB, Lehman, SJ. 2013. Atmospheric radiocarbon workshop report. Radiocarbon 55(2–3):1470–4.Google Scholar
Turnbull, JC, Lehman, SJ, Morgan, S, Wolak, C. 2010. A new automated extraction system for 14C measurement in atmospheric CO2 . Radiocarbon 52(3):12619.Google Scholar
Van Der Laan, S, Karstens, U, Neubert, REM, Van Der Laan-Luijkx, IT, Meijer, HAJ. 2010. Observation-based estimates of fossil fuel-derived CO2 emissions in the Netherlands using Δ14C, CO and 222Radon. Tellus B 62(5):389–402.Google Scholar
Zondervan, A, Hauser, T, Kaiser, J, Kitchen, R, Turnbull, JC, West, JG. 2015. XCAMS: the compact 14C accelerator mass spectrometer extended for 10Be and 26Al at GNS Science, New Zealand. Nuclear Instruments and Methods. doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2015.03.013.Google Scholar