ANSTO AMS facility sample processing and target preparation: an update

The ANSTO AMS Facility has been operating for the past 17 years, and comprises two accelerators complemented with a suite of chemistry laboratories dedicated to the processing of samples for carbon, beryllium, aluminium, iodine, and actinide analyses. The facility performs and supports a wide range of research in the areas of paleoclimate change, water resource sustainability, archaeology, geomorphology, and nuclear safeguards. As a result, the chemistry laboratories are called upon to process a large variety of sample types and increasing numbers of samples. The radiocarbon laboratories process charcoal, wood, sediments, pollen, carbonates, waters, textiles, and bone though the pretreatment stages, combustion or hydrolysis, and graphitization. Over the years, we have continually worked to improve pretreatment methods, reduce sample size, and reduce background. Construction of a dedicated low-background combustion and graphitization system is underway. The cosmogenic laboratories process quartz-bearing rocks and sediments through cleaning, dissolution, separation, and purification of Be and Al and preparation of targets as oxides. In this poster, we will summarize the current methods and developments in the radiocarbon and cosmogenic chemistry laboratories.

Keywords

ANSTO, Sample holders, Accelerators, Beryllium, Aluminium, Mass spectroscopy

Citation

Jacobsen, G. E., Barry, L., Bertuch, F., Hua, Q., Mifsud, C., Pratap, P., Reilly, N., Varley, S., & Williams, A. (2009). ANSTO AMS facility sample processing and target preparation: an update. Poster presented to the 20th International Radiocarbon Conference, 31st May - 5th June 2009. Big Island, Hawaii: Kailua-Kona.