Collaborative Research: GEOTRACES: Intercalibration exercise for Radium Isotopes in Seawater

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Investigators from the University of South Carolina and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution propose to participate in the 2008 Atlantic Ocean GEOTRACES intercalibration cruise to collect samples for 226Ra, 228Ra, 224Ra, and 223Ra. Replicate samples from an estuary, an open ocean station, a Gulf Stream station, and an inner shelf station would be collected and distributed to as many as 22 laboratories around the world to be analyzed for the above mentioned radium isotopes using either radiometric techniques, thermal ionization mass spectrometry, or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Initial measurements of 224Ra and 223Ra would be made at sea on a selected set of samples. Also, the scientists plan to test the effect of flow rate on the recovery of radium, thorium, and actinium from seawater on manganese dioxide coated fibers, as well as compare these results with some novel extraction media (i.e., Mn beads, Mn-coated cartridges).As regards broader impacts, results from this intercalibration activity would provide the science community with the necessary protocols to accurately and precisely measure radium isotopes that can be compared/contrasted regardless of which laboratory generated the data. One undergraduate student from the University of South Carolina would be supported and trained as part of this project.