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Comparison of Manual and Automated Pretreatment Methods for AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Plant Fossils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Lee-Ann Bradley  and
Thomas W. Stafford Jr.
Lee-Ann Bradley
Affiliation:
U. S. Geological Survey, Branch of Earthquake and Landslide Hazards, MS 966, Denver, Colorado 80225 USA
Thomas W. Stafford Jr.
Affiliation:
INSTAAR, The University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80303 USA, and U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Isotope Geology, MS 963, Denver, Colorado 80225 USA
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Abstract

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A new automated pretreatment system for the preparation of materials submitted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) analysis is less time-consuming and results in a higher sample yield. The new procedure was tested using two groups of plant fossils: one group was pretreated using the traditional method, and the second, using the automated pretreatment apparatus. We compared the time it took to complete the procedure and the amount of sample material remaining. The automated pretreatment apparatus proved to be more than three times faster and, in most cases, produced a higher yield. We also observed a darker discoloration of the KOH solutions, indicating that the automated system is more thorough in removing humates from the specimen compared to the manual method.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , 1994 , pp. 399 - 405
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

Gagnon, A. R. and Jones, C. A. 1993 AMS-graphite target production methods at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution during 1989-1991. Radiocarbon 35 (2): 301–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar