The Suess Effect: 13Carbon-14Carbon Interrelations
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Forensic Radiocarbon Dating of Human Remains: the Past, the Present, and the Future
AEFS 1.1 (2017) 3–16 Archaeological and Environmental Forensic Science ISSN (print) 2052-3378 https://doi.org.10.1558/aefs.30715 Archaeological and Environmental Forensic Science ISSN (online) 2052-3386 Forensic Radiocarbon Dating of Human Remains: The Past, the Present, and the Future Fiona Brock1 and Gordon T. Cook2 1. Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University 2. Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre [email protected] Radiocarbon dating is a valuable tool for the forensic examination of human remains in answering questions as to whether the remains are of forensic or medico-legal interest or archaeological in date. The technique is also potentially capable of providing the year of birth and/or death of an individual. Atmospheric radiocarbon levels are cur- rently enhanced relative to the natural level due to the release of large quantities of radiocarbon (14C) during the atmospheric nuclear weapons testing of the 1950s and 1960s. This spike, or “bomb-pulse,” can, in some instances, provide precision dates to within 1–2 calendar years. However, atmospheric 14C activity has been declining since the end of atmospheric weapons testing in 1963 and is likely to drop below the natural level by the mid-twenty-first century, with implications for the application of radio- carbon dating to forensic specimens. Introduction Radiocarbon dating is most routinely applied to archaeological and environmental studies, but in some instances can be a very powerful tool for forensic specimens. Radiocarbon (14C) is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere by the interaction of cosmic rays on nitrogen-14 (14N). The 14C produced is rapidly oxidised to carbon dioxide, which then either enters the terrestrial biosphere via photosynthesis and proceeds along the food chain via herbivores and omnivores, and subsequently car- nivores, or exchanges into marine reservoirs where it again enters the food chain by photosynthesis. -
HEAVY WATER and NONPROLIFERATION Topical Report
HEAVY WATER AND NONPROLIFERATION Topical Report by MARVIN M. MILLER MIT Energy Laboratory Report No. MIT-EL 80-009 May 1980 COO-4571-6 MIT-EL 80-009 HEAVY WATER AND NONPROLIFERATION Topical Report Marvin M. Miller Energy Laboratory and Department of Nuclear Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 May 1980 Prepared For THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY UNDER CONTRACT NO. EN-77-S-02-4571.A000 NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. Neither the United States nor the United States Department of Energy, nor any of their employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontractors, or their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or useful- ness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. A B S T R A C T The following report is a study of various aspects of the relationship between heavy water and the development of the civilian and military uses of atomic energy. It begins with a historical sketch which traces the heavy water storyfrom its discovery by Harold Urey in 1932 through its coming of age from scientific curiosity to strategic nuclear material at the eve of World War II and finally into the post-war period, where the military and civilian strands have some- times seemed inextricably entangled. The report next assesses the nonproliferation implications of the use of heavy water- moderated power reactors; several different reactor types are discussed, but the focus in on the natural uranium, on- power fueled, pressure tube reactor developed in Canada, the CANDU. -
Maria Goeppert Mayer Papers
http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf4489p06g No online items Maria Goeppert Mayer Papers Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Copyright 2015 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla 92093-0175 [email protected] URL: http://libraries.ucsd.edu/collections/sca/index.html Maria Goeppert Mayer Papers MSS 0020 1 Descriptive Summary Languages: English Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla 92093-0175 Title: Maria Goeppert Mayer Papers Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0020 Physical Description: 7.5 Linear feet(15 archives boxes, 1 flat box and 1 map case folder) Date (inclusive): 1906-1996 (bulk 1930-1972) Abstract: Papers of Maria Goeppert Mayer, Nobel Prize winning physicist and professor at the University of California, 1960-1964. The collection includes correspondence, biographical information, reprints, manuscript drafts, notebooks, teaching materials, subject files, news clippings and photographs. Scope and Content of Collection Papers of Maria Goeppert Mayer, Nobel Prize winning physicist and professor at the University of California, 1960-1964. The collection includes correspondence, biographical information, reprints, manuscript drafts, notebooks, teaching materials, subject files, news clippings and photographs. Accessions Processed in 1988: Mayer's papers contain a relative abundance of correspondence and her research notebooks. There are scant manuscript materials related to her numerous publications. Arranged in seven series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) REPRINTS, WRITINGS, AND LECTURES, 3) RESEARCH NOTEBOOKS AND CLASS LECTURES, 4) TEACHING MATERIALS, 5) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 6) NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS and 7) SUBJECT MATERIALS. Accession Processed in 1997 Arranged in two series: 8) PHOTOGRAPHS and 9) AWARDS, CERTIFICATES AND DIPLOMAS. Accession Processed in 2015 Arranged in four series: 10) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 11) CORRESPONDENCE, 12) WRITINGS BY MAYER and 13) PHOTOGRAPHS. -
775 Carbon Isotopes in Tree Rings
Carbon Isotopes in Tree Rings: Climate and the Suess Effect Interferences in the Last 400 Years Item Type Proceedings; text Authors Pazdur, Anna; Nakamura, Toshio; Pawełczyk, Sławomira; Pawlyta, Jacek; Piotrowska, Natalia; Rakowski, Andrzej; Sensuła, Barbara; Szczepanek, Małgorzata Citation Pazdur, A., Nakamura, T., Pawełczyk, S., Pawlyta, J., Piotrowska, N., Rakowski, A., ... & Szczepanek, M. (2007). Carbon isotopes in tree rings: Climate and the Suess effect interferences in the last 400 years. Radiocarbon, 49(2), 775-788. DOI 10.1017/S003382220004265X Publisher Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona Journal Radiocarbon Rights Copyright © by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona. All rights reserved. Download date 28/09/2021 01:19:46 Item License http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Version Final published version Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/653831 RADIOCARBON, Vol 49, Nr 2, 2007, p 775–788 © 2007 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona CARBON ISOTOPES IN TREE RINGS: CLIMATE AND THE SUESS EFFECT INTERFERENCES IN THE LAST 400 YEARS Anna Pazdur1,2 • Toshio Nakamura3 • S≥awomira Pawe≥czyk1 • Jacek Pawlyta1 • Natalia Piotrowska1 • Andrzej Rakowski1,3 • Barbara Sensu≥a1 • Ma≥gorzata Szczepanek1 ABSTRACT. New records of δ13C and ∆14C values in annual rings of pine and oak from different sites around the world were obtained with a time resolution of 1 yr. The results obtained for Europe (Poland), east Asia (Japan), and South America (Peru) are presented in this paper. The δ13C and radiocarbon concentration of α-cellulose from annual tree rings of pine and of the latewood of oak were measured by both accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and liquid scintillation spectrometry (LSC). -
Hans Suess Papers
http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf7c6008jd No online items Hans Suess Papers Finding aid prepared by Special Collections & Archives Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California, 92093-0175 858-534-2533 [email protected] Copyright 2005 Hans Suess Papers MSS 0199 1 Descriptive Summary Title: Hans Suess Papers Identifier/Call Number: MSS 0199 Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, California, 92093-0175 Languages: English Physical Description: 29.0 Linear feet (69 archives boxes, 1 card file box and 5 oversize folders) Date (inclusive): 1875 - 1991 (bulk 1955-1991) Abstract: Papers of Hans Suess, an Austrian-born geochemist who pioneered radiocarbon dating techniques and was a founding faculty member of the University of California, San Diego. His papers span the years 1875-1991 and contain grant proposals, conference materials, subject files, photographs, and writings by Suess and others. The collection also contains correspondence with prominent scientists and UC San Diego faculty. Many of the correspondence files and the writings by Suess are in German. Creator: Suess, Hans Eduard, 1909- Acquisition Information Acquired 1991, 1994. Preferred Citation Hans Suess Papers, MSS 0199. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego. Biography Hans Eduard Suess was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1909. He was the son of Franz E. Suess, former professor of geology at the University of Vienna, and Olga Frenzl Suess. His grandfather was Eduard Suess, who wrote The Face of the Earth, an early work in geochemistry. Suess studied chemistry and physics at the University of Vienna where he received a Ph.D. -
History of Radiocarbon Dating
HISTORY OF RADIOCARBON DATING W.F. LIBBY DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND INSTITUTE OF GEOPHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, CALIF. , UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Abstract HISTORY OF RADIOCARBON DATING. The development is traced of radiocarbon dating from its birth in curiosity regarding the.effects of cosmic radiation on Earth. Discussed in historical perspective are: the significance of the initial measurements in determining the course of developments; the advent of the low- level counting technique; attempts to avoid low-level counting by the use of isotopic enrichment; the gradual appearance of the environmental effect due to the combustion of fossil fuel (Suess effect); recognition of the atmosphere ocean barrier for carbon dioxide exchange; detailed understanding of the mixing mechanism from the study of fallout radiocarbon; determination of the new half-life; indexing and the assimilation problem foi the massive accumulation of dates; and the proliferation of measure ment techniques and the impact of archaeological insight on the validity of radiocarbon dates. INTRODUCTION The neutron-induced transmutation of atmospheric nitrogen to radiocarbon, which is the basis of radiocarbon dating, was discovered at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley in the early thirties. Kurie [la] , followed by Bonner and Brubaker [lb] , and Burcham and Goldhaber [lc] , found that the irradiation of air in a cloud chamber with neutrons caused proton recoil tracks which were shown to be due to the nitrogen in the air, and in particular to the abundant isotope of nitrogen of mass 14. The neutrons producing the tracks appeared to be of thermal, or of near thermal energy, and the energy of the proton therefore gave the mass of the 14C produced; from this it was concluded that the beta decay of 14C to reform 14N from l4C should release 170 kV energy (2. -
Simulating Oceanic Radiocarbon with the FAMOUS GCM: Implications for Its Use As a Proxy for Ventilation and Carbon Uptake Jennifer E
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-365 Preprint. Discussion started: 7 October 2019 c Author(s) 2019. CC BY 4.0 License. Simulating oceanic radiocarbon with the FAMOUS GCM: implications for its use as a proxy for ventilation and carbon uptake Jennifer E. Dentith1, Ruza F. Ivanovic1, Lauren J. Gregoire1, Julia C. Tindall1, Laura F. Robinson2, and Paul J. Valdes3 5 1School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK, LS2 9JT 2School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, BS8 1RJ 3School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, BS8 1SS Correspondence to: Jennifer E. Dentith ([email protected]) 1 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-365 Preprint. Discussion started: 7 October 2019 c Author(s) 2019. CC BY 4.0 License. Abstract. Constraining ocean circulation and its temporal variability is crucial for understanding changes in surface climate and the carbon cycle. Radiocarbon (14C) is often used as a geochemical tracer of ocean circulation, but interpreting ∆14C in geological archives is complex. Isotope-enabled models enable us to directly compare simulated ∆14C values to Δ14C measurements and investigate plausible mechanisms for the observed signals. We have added three new tracers (water age, 5 abiotic 14C, and biotic 14C) to the ocean component of the FAMOUS General Circulation Model to study large-scale ocean circulation and the marine carbon cycle. Following a 10,000 year spin-up, we prescribed the Suess effect (the isotopic imprint of anthropogenic fossil fuel burning) and the bomb pulse (the isotopic imprint of thermonuclear weapons testing) in a transient simulation spanning 1765 to 2000 CE. -
Establishment and Formation of Fog‐Dependent Tillandsia Landbeckii
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 116, G03033, doi:10.1029/2010JG001521, 2011 Establishment and formation of fog‐dependent Tillandsia landbeckii dunes in the Atacama Desert: Evidence from radiocarbon and stable isotopes Claudio Latorre,1,2 Angélica L. González,1,2 Jay Quade,3 José M. Fariña,1 Raquel Pinto,4 and Pablo A. Marquet1,2 Received 16 August 2010; revised 23 May 2011; accepted 9 June 2011; published 14 September 2011. [1] Extensive dune fields made up exclusively of the bromeliad Tillandsia landbeckii thrive in the Atacama Desert, one of the most extreme landscapes on earth. These plants survive by adapting exclusively to take in abundant advective fog and dew as moisture sources. Although some information has been gathered regarding their modern distribution and adaptations, very little is known about how these dune systems actually form and accumulate over time. We present evidence based on 20 radiocarbon dates for the establishment age and development of five different such dune systems located along a ∼215 km transect in northern Chile. Using stratigraphy, geochronology and stable C and N isotopes, we (1) develop an establishment chronology of these ecosystems, (2) explain how the unique T. landbeckii dunes form, and (3) link changes in foliar d15N values to moisture availability in buried fossil T. landbeckii layers. We conclude by pointing out the potential that these systems have for reconstructing past climate change along coastal northern Chile during the late Holocene. Citation: Latorre, C., A. L. González, J. Quade, J. M. Fariña, R. Pinto, and P. A. Marquet (2011), Establishment and formation of fog‐dependent Tillandsia landbeckii dunes in the Atacama Desert: Evidence from radiocarbon and stable isotopes, J. -
On the Origin of the Cosmic Elements and the Nuclear History of the Universe
FEATURES ON THE ORIGIN OF THE COSMIC ELEMENTS AND THE NUCLEAR HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE 1 2 3 4 l Jordi Jose´ , Martin Asplund , Corinne Charbonel , Isabelle Cherchneff , Roland Diehl5, Andreas Korn6 and Friedrich-Karl Thielemann4 l 1 Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain – 2 Australian National University, Canberra, Australia – 3 University of Geneva, Switzerland – 4 University of Basel, Switzerland – 5 Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, Germany – 6 Uppsala University, Sweden – DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epn/2016401 The quest for the energy source of stars, capable of maintaining their long-lasting brightness, has puzzled physicists during centuries. Early suggestions, due to Julius R. von Mayer, John James Waterson, Hermann von Helmholtz, and William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), among others, relied on the conversion of gravitational potential energy into heat. However, the age of the Sun inferred in this framework was only a few million years, a value clearly at odds with estimates based on geological records. EPN 47/4 15 FEATURES NUCLEAR History OF THE UNIVERSE b P. 15: SN 1994D, fter the serendipitous discovery of radioac- of abundances shows a complex pattern across ten orders a type Ia (or tivity by Antoine H. Becquerel in 1896, the of magnitude of abundances, with hydrogen and helium thermonuclear) supernova explosion focus shifted toward nuclear energy. Follow- being by far the most abundant species, with a second- spotted at the Aing a series of atomic mass measurements, ary peak towards iron at ~1/10000 of their abundance, outskirts of the spiral Francis W. Aston concluded in 1920 that four individual and again much lower abundances for heavier elements galaxy NGC 4526. -
ORESKES House Committee Oversight Testimony SUBMIT
Naomi Oreskes Professor of the History of Science Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard University Cambridge, MA 02138 Testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Examining the Oil Industry’s Efforts to Suppress the Truth about Climate Change October 23, 2019 I. Introduction Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you today about the issue of man-made global warming, which affects all of our lives. My testimony today is based on 15 years of research, on the history of climate science, and on the history of attempts to undermine, distract attention from, and confuse the American people about that science. I come to this subject not as a politician or activist, but as a scholar and teacher. That said, the issue before us—man-made climate change—is so serious—so imperative—that at this moment in history, we must all become active to fix it, before the opportunity to do so is lost. This requires us to understand the reasons that we have failed to act so far—the forces that are responsible for our inaction—in order to overcome them before it is too late. II. The Science th Scientists have known since the late 19 century that carbon dioxide (CO2) added to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels has the potential to dramatically change the Earth’s climate. Until the 1950s, however, the limits of both theory and measurement made it difficult to say more about the problem that that. In the late 1950s, post-war advances, along with increased funding, made it possible to address the question in a sustained and rigorous way. -
The Amazing Story Behind the Global Warming Scam | San Diego, Califo
KUSI NEWS | The Amazing Story Behind the Global Warming Scam | San Diego, Califo ... Page 1 of 7 KUSI NEWS San Diego, California Print this article The Amazing Story Behind the Global Warming Scam Originally printed at http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/38574742.html By John Coleman January 28, 2009 (Revised and edited February 11, 2009) The key players are now all in place in Washington and in state governments across America to officially label carbon dioxide as a pollutant and enact laws that tax us citizens for our carbon footprints. Only two details stand in the way: the faltering economic times and a dramatic turn toward a colder climate. The last two bitter winters have led to a rise in public awareness that there is no runaway global warming. A majority of American citizens are now becoming skeptical of the claim that our carbon footprints, resulting from our use of fossil fuels, are going to lead to climatic calamities. But governments are not yet listening to the citizens. How did we ever get to this point where bad science is driving big government to punish the citizens for living the good life that fossil fuels provide for us? The story begins with an Oceanographer named Roger Revelle. He served with the Navy in World War II. After the war he became the Director of the Scripps Oceanographic Institute in La Jolla in San Diego, California. Revelle obtained major funding from the Navy to do measurements and research on the ocean around the Pacific Atolls where the US military was conducting post war atomic bomb tests. -
Lamont Radiocarbon Measurements Vi* Wallace S
Voi. 1, 1959, P. 111-1.32] [AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE RADIOCARBON SUPPLEMENT, LAMONT RADIOCARBON MEASUREMENTS VI* WALLACE S. BROECKER and EDWIN A. OLSON York Lamont Geological Observatory (Columbia University), Palisades, New In contrast to previous radiocarbon measurement lists, this list contains ten years. The only known-age samples, most of which formed during the past the dis- measurements were made largely in order to gain an understanding of today and tribution of radiocarbon within the dynamic carbon reservoir both do not at times in the past. Since all materials forming in this reservoir today in order to have the same C14/C12 ratio, such an understanding is necessary the most accurate possible estimate of the age of samples submitted arrive at <100 for dating. This is particularly important when high accuracy (i.e., years error) is required on subaerially grown samples and also when attempt- than the ing to extend the method to samples which formed in reservoirs other atmosphere (for example, the ocean and freshwater systems). The data in this list are not reported with the idea of drawing new con- elsewhere. clusions, for such conclusions as are possible have been reported (1) However, republication in such a list as this has the following advantages: world if all laboratories summarize their measurements in this manner, the in data on C14/C12 ratios in contemporary materials will be brought together by referenc- one place, in the same form, and in the same system of units; (2) a ing the technical articles in which the data are discussed, the lists will act as bibliography for such literature; (3) the summaries will be transferred direct- Inc., allow- ly to the punch cards published by Radiocarbon Dates Association, (4) such ing a more complete and uniform coverage of the available data; and lists encourage the publication of isolated measurements which might otherwise remain in the files of individual radiocarbon laboratories.