Hostname: page-component-5db58dd55d-pjp64 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-06-02T05:43:40.404Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Sabrina G K Kudsk
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Florian Adolphi
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Quaternary Sciences, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, Sweden Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute & Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3rd floor west, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Christoffer Karoff
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Mads F Knudsen
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus, 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 62 Lund, Sweden
Pernille L K Trant
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Stine M Østbø
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Jesper Olsen
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author. Email: alfosc@geo.au.dk.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 77 - 89
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press for 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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Adolphi, F, Güttler, D, Wacker, L, Skog, G, Muscheler, R. 2013. Intercomparison of 14C dating of wood samples at Lund University and ETH-Zurich AMS facilities: extraction, graphitization, and measurement. Radiocarbon 55(2):391–400. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=27968245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anchukaitis, KJ, Evans, MN, Lange, T, Smith, DR, Leavitt, SW, Schrag, DP. 2008. Consequences of a rapid cellulose extraction technique for oxygen isotope and radiocarbon analyses. Analytical Chemistry 80(6):2035–2041. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2004.01.006.Analytical.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brock, F, Higham, T, Ditchfield, P, Ramsey, CB. 2010. Current pretreatment methods for AMS radiocarbon dating at the Oxford radiocarbon accelerator unit (ORAU). Radiocarbon 52(1):103–112. doi: 10.1017/S0033822200045069.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eriksen, OH. 1996. Dendrokronologisk undersøgelse af tømmer fra voldgrav (Schackenborg), NNU j. Nr. A6800. NNU Rapportblad OHE 4.Google Scholar
Fan, M, Dai, D, Huang, B. 2012. Fourier transform - Materials analysis. Fourier Transform - Materials Analysis 45–68. doi: 10.5772/2659.Google Scholar
Fang, JM, Sun, R, Tomkinson, J. 2000. Isolation and characterization of hemicelluloses and cellulose from rye straw by alkaline peroxide treatment. Cellulose 7:87–107. doi: 10.1016/S0141-3910(99)00099-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fogtmann-Schulz, A, Kudsk, SGK, Trant, PLK, Baittinger, C, Karoff, C, Olsen, J, Knudsen, MF. 2019. Variations in solar activity across the Spörer Minimum based on radiocarbon in Danish oak. Geophysical Research Letters 46(15):8617–8623. doi: 10.1029/2019GL083537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fogtmann-Schulz, A, Østbø, SM, Nielsen, SGB, Olsen, J, Karoff, C, Knudsen, MF. 2017. Cosmic ray event in 994 C.E. recorded in radiocarbon from Danish oak. Geophysical Research Letters 44:8621–8628. doi: 10.1002/2017GL074208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaudinski, JB, Dawson, TE, Quideau, S, Schuur, EAG, Roden, JS, Trumbore, SE, Sandquist, SW, Wasylishen, RE. 2005. Comparative analysis of cellulose preparation techniques for use with 13C, 14C, and 18O isotopic measurements. Analytical Chemistry 77(22):7212–7224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Green, JW. 1963. Wood cellulose. In: Whistler, RL, editor. Methods in Carbohydrate Chemistry 3:9–21.Google Scholar
Kagawa, A, Sugimoto, A, Maximov, TC. 2006. 13CO2 pulse-labelling of photoassimilates reveals carbon allocation within and between tree rings. Plant, Cell & Environment 29(8): 1571–1584. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2006.01533.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kudsk, SGK, Olsen, J, Nielsen, LN, Fogtmann-Schulz, A, Knudsen, MF, Karoff, C. 2018. What is the carbon origin of early-wood? Radiocarbon 60(5):1457–1464. doi: 10.1017/RDC.2018.97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laumer, W, Andreu, L, Helle, G, Schleser, GH, Wieloch, T, Wissel, H. 2009. A novel approach for the homogenization of cellulose to use micro-amounts for stable isotope analyses. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 23: 1934–1940. doi: 10.1002/rcm.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leavitt, SW, Danzer, SR. 1993. Method for batch processing small wood samples to holocellulose for stable-carbon isotope analysis. Analytical Chemistry 65(1):87–89. doi: 10.1021/ac00049a017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loader, NJ, Robertson, I, Barker, AC, Switsur, VR, Waterhouse, JS. 1997. An improved technique for the batch processing of small wholewood samples to α-cellulose. Chemical Geology 136:313–317. doi: 10.1016/S0009-2541(96)00133-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loader, NJ, Switsur, VR, Field, EM. 1995. High-resolution stable isotope analysis of tree rings: implications of “microdendroclimatology” for palaeoenvironmental research. The Holocene 5(4):457–460. doi: 10.1177/095968369500500408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCarroll, D, Loader, NJ. 2006. Isotopes in tree rings. In: Leng, MJ, editor. Isotopes in palaeoenvironmental research. Springer. p. 67–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCarroll, D, Whitney, M, Young, GHF, Loader, NJ, Gagen, MH. 2017. A simple stable carbon isotope method for investigating changes in the use of recent versus old carbon in oak. Tree Physiology 37(8):1021–1027. doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpx030.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, L, Chivall, D, Miles, D, Ramsey, CB. 2019. Seasonal variations in the 14C content of tree rings: Influences on radiocarbon calibration and single-year curve construction. Radiocarbon 61(1):185–194. doi: 10.1017/rdc.2018.64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miyake, F, Masuda, K, Nakamura, T. 2013. Another rapid event in the carbon-14 content of tree rings. Nature Communications 4 (January):1748. doi: 10.1038/ncomms2783.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miyake, F, Nagaya, K, Masuda, K, Nakamura, T. 2012. A signature of cosmic-ray increase in AD 774-775 from tree rings in Japan. Nature 486 (7402):240–242. doi: 10.1038/nature11123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mullane, MV, Waterhouse, JS, Switsur, VR. 1988. On the development of a novel method for the determination of stable oxygen isotope ratios in cellulose. Applied Radiat. Isot. 39(10):1029–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nemec, M, Wacker, L, Hajdas, I, Gaggeler, H. 2010. Alternative methods for cellulose preparation for AMS measurement. Radiocarbon 52(2–3):1358–1370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsen, J, Tikhomirov, D, Grosen, C, Heinemeier, J, Klein, M. 2017. Radiocarbon analysis on the new AARAMS 1MV tandetron. Radiocarbon 59(3):905–913. doi: 10.1017/RDC.2016.85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pandey, KK, Pitman, AJ. 2003. FTIR studies of the changes in wood chemistry following decay by brown-rot and white-rot fungi. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation 52(3):151–60. doi: 10.1016/S0964-8305(03)00052-0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reimer, PJ, Bard, E, Bayliss, A, Beck, JW, Blackwell, PG, Ramsey, CB, Buck, CE, et al. 2013. IntCal13 and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 55(4):1869–1887.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reimer, PJ, Brown, TA, Reimer, RW. 2004. Discussion: reporting and calibration of post-bomb 14C data. Radiocarbon 46(3):1299–1304. doi: 10.1017/S0033822200033154.Google Scholar
Rinne, KT, Boettger, T, Loader, NJ, Robertson, I, Switsur, VR, Waterhouse, JS. 2005. On the purification of α-cellulose from resinous wood for stable isotope (H, C and O) analysis. Chemical Geology 222(1–2):75–82. doi: 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2005.06.010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, GM, Bird, MI, Pillans, B, Fifield, LK, Alloway, BV, Chappell, J, Hausladen, PA, Arneth, A. 2001. Radiocarbon dating of wood using different pretreatment procedures: application to the chronology of rotoehu ash, New Zealand. Radiocarbon 43(2A):239–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skog, G, Rundgren, M, Sköld, P. 2010. Status of the single stage AMS Machine at Lund University after 4 years of operation. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 268(7–8):895–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Southon, JR, Magana, AL. 2010. A comparison of cellulose extraction and ABA pretreatment methods for AMS 14C dating of ancient wood. Radiocarbon 52(2–3):1371–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, D, Wilson, HM, Hendra, PJ, Morrison, IM. 1995. Fourier-transform infrared and raman spectroscopic study of biochemical and chemical treatments of oak wood (Quercus rubra) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) straw. J. Agric. Food Chem 43: 2219–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuiver, M, Polach, H. 1977. Reporting of C14 data. Radiocarbon 19(3):355–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, AT, Grinsted, MJ. 1977. 12C/13C in cellulose and lignin as palaeothermometers. Nature 265:133–35. doi: 10.1038/265133a0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar