Canadian cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating facility

加拿大宇宙源核素照射测年设施自2002年以来一直在运作，在加拿大是独一无二的。 该设施的主要目的是从天然样品中分离稀有核素（同位素），并为加速器质谱法做好准备。大多数研究人员使用岩石和土壤中与宇宙辐射相互作用产生的核素来确定地貌（例如熔岩，地震断层崖，冰川冰碛，滑坡，洪泛平原）在地球表面的持续时间。陆地宇宙成因核素方法正在使地球系统科学发生革命性变化，因为（一）该技术的年龄限制跨越几十年至数百万年，这意味着它将这一时期的许多其他定年方法结合起来并连接起来;（二）只要满足某些取样条件，它适用于任何岩石类型;以及（iii）它提供了在空间和时间尺度上测量侵蚀的方法，这是其他方法无法实现的。自2002年以来，已对来自世界各地的800多个样品进行了10 Be，26 Al，36 Cl的处理，以量化重要景观，地球动力学和生物事件和过程的时间和速率，包括地震断层的滑动速率，冰川侵蚀的速率和均匀性，火山爆发频率，海平面变化以及景观的切割和折返（例如大峡谷和安第斯山脉），考古遗址，以及基于DNA的地理学的排水重组的时间。 我们还开发方法并测试新的应用程序。 我们的下一个创新将是从石英和超小质量的特定有机化合物中提取宇宙成因的14 C。加拿大和外国学术机构以及省和联邦地质调查局的学生和研究人员都曾使用过该设施并在那里接受过培训。我们对MRS资金的主要要求是为1.7名全职技术人员的工资提供部分支持。 MRS将使该设施和外国AMS设施更容易为各种加拿大研究人员所利用。

The Canadian Cosmogenic Nuclide Exposure-Dating Facility (CCNEF) has been in operation since 2002 and is unique in Canada. The main purpose of the facility is to separate rare nuclides (isotopes) from natural samples and prepare them for accelerator mass spectrometry. Most of the researchers use nuclides that are produced in rock and soil from interactions with cosmic radiation to determine the duration that a landform (e.g. lava, earthquake fault scarp, glacier moraine, landslide, floodplain) has been on the Earth's surface. The terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide methods are revolutionizing earth system science because (i) the age limit of the technique spans decades to millions of years, which means it bounds and bridges many other dating methods for this time period; (ii) it is applicable on any rock type, provided that certain sampling conditions are met; and (iii) it has provided ways to measure erosion over space and time scales that are not attainable otherwise. Since 2002, over 800 samples from around the world have been processed for 10Be, 26Al, 36Cl to quantify timing and rates of important landscape, geodynamic, and biological events and processes, including slip rates of earthquake faults, rates and uniformity of glacial erosion, volcanic eruption frequency, sea level changes, and incision and exhumation of landscapes (e.g. Grand Canyon and Andes), archeological sites, and timing of drainage reorganisation for DNA-based phylogeography. We also develop the methods and test new applications. Our next proposed innovation will be the extraction of cosmogenic 14C from quartz and ultra-small masses of specific organic compounds. Students and research faculty in Canadian and foreign academic institutions, and at provincial and federal geological surveys, have used and trained at the facility. Our main requirements for MRS funding are partial support for salaries of 1.7 FTE technical staff. MRS will make the facility and foreign AMS facilities significantly more accessible to a diverse range of Canadian researchers.