NC S&F In-situ 14C Facility

宇宙生成的原位14 C是指在表面材料的晶格内通过宇宙射线相互作用形成的碳-14。原位14 C使研究人员能够测量人类文明时代发生的过程，使我们能够前所未有地测量人类影响之前和之后的变化率。了解这些时间尺度的自然过程，以及人类活动对它们的影响，在不同的NERC科学领域有着直接和重要的应用，如：灾害和风险，土壤生产和侵蚀，农业发展，考古学，海岸变化，冰川和河流过程，以及山脉的构造演化。为了响应英国社区的需求，我们建议开发一个新的尖端国家实验室，以促进原位14 C测年。具体而言，我们将提供以下科学能力：用于分离石英进行“原位14 C”分析的样品制备。一条定制的自动化提取线，用于从矿物样品中高通量提取二氧化碳。高精度、低浓度分析用加速器质谱靶的制备。这种新能力将使英国研究人员能够解决以前无法解决的有关地球未来的关键问题。

Cosmogenic in-situ 14C refers to the carbon-14 that is formed by cosmic ray interaction within the crystal lattice of surface materials. In-situ 14C allows researchers to measure processes that have occurred in the era of human civilisations, giving us unprecedented ability to measure rates of change prior to, and since, human impacts. Understanding natural processes at these timescales, and the impacts on them of human activity, has immediate and important applications in diverse NERC science fields such as: hazards and risk, soil production and erosion, agricultural development, archaeology, coastal change, glacial and fluvial processes, and tectonic evolution of mountain ranges. In response to UK community demand we propose to develop a new cutting-edge national laboratory to facilitate in situ 14C dating. Specifically, we will deliver the following scientific capability: Sample preparation for separating quartz for 'in-situ 14C' analyses. A single automated, bespoke extraction line for high-throughput extraction of carbon dioxide from mineral samples. Preparation of accelerator mass spectrometry targets for high-precision, low-concentration analyses. This new capability will allow UK researchers to address critical questions about the future of our planet that previously could not be addressed.