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BATCH PROCESSING OF TREE-RING SAMPLES FOR RADIOCARBON ANALYSIS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2020

Alexandra Fogtmann-Schulz Open the ORCID record for Alexandra Fogtmann-Schulz [Opens in a new window] ,
Sabrina G K Kudsk Open the ORCID record for Sabrina G K Kudsk [Opens in a new window] ,
Florian Adolphi Open the ORCID record for Florian Adolphi [Opens in a new window] ,
Christoffer Karoff ,
Mads F Knudsen ,
Neil J Loader ,
Raimund Muscheler Open the ORCID record for Raimund Muscheler [Opens in a new window] ,
Pernille L K Trant ,
Stine M Østbø  and
Jesper Olsen Open the ORCID record for Jesper Olsen [Opens in a new window]
Alexandra Fogtmann-Schulz*
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000Aarhus, Denmark
Sabrina G K Kudsk
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000Aarhus, Denmark
Florian Adolphi
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Quaternary Sciences, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62Lund, Sweden Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute & Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3rd floor west, 3012Bern, Switzerland
Christoffer Karoff
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000Aarhus, Denmark Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000Aarhus, Denmark
Mads F Knudsen
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000Aarhus, Denmark
Neil J Loader
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Wallace Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
Raimund Muscheler
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Quaternary Sciences, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62Lund, Sweden
Pernille L K Trant
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000Aarhus, Denmark
Stine M Østbø
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000Aarhus, Denmark
Jesper Olsen
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000Aarhus, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author. Email: alfosc@geo.au.dk.
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Abstract

We here present a comparison of methods for the pretreatment of a batch of tree rings for high-precision measurement of radiocarbon at the Aarhus AMS Centre (AARAMS), Aarhus University, Denmark. The aim was to develop an efficient and high-throughput method able to pretreat ca. 50 samples at a time. We tested two methods for extracting α-cellulose from wood to find the most optimal for our use. One method used acetic acid, the other used HCl acid for the delignification. The testing was conducted on background 14C samples, in order to assess the effect of the different pretreatment methods on low-activity samples. Furthermore, the extracted wood and cellulose fractions were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, which showed a successful extraction of α-cellulose from the samples. Cellulose samples were pretreated at AARAMS, and the graphitization and radiocarbon analysis of these samples were done at both AARAMS and the radiocarbon dating laboratory at Lund University to compare the graphitization and AMS machine performance. No significant offset was found between the two sets of measurements. Based on these tests, the pretreatment of tree rings for high-precision radiocarbon analysis at AARAMS will henceforth use HCI for the delignification.

Keywords

AMS datingcarbonpretreatmentradiocarbonradiocarbon AMS dating
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 77 - 89
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press for the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

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