Canadian cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating facility

加拿大宇宙成因核素暴露测年设施(CCNEF)自2002年开始运作，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)，并为加速器质谱分析做准备。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、冰川冰川、滑坡、泛滥平原)在地球表面的持续时间。陆地宇宙成因核素方法正在给地球系统科学带来革命性的变化，因为(1)该技术的年龄限制跨越数十年到数百万年，这意味着它限制了这一时间段的许多其他测年方法；(2)只要满足某些采样条件，它适用于任何岩石类型；(3)它提供了在空间和时间尺度上测量侵蚀的方法，这是以其他方式无法实现的。自2002年以来，对来自世界各地的800多个样本进行了10Be、26Al、36Cl的处理，以量化重要的景观、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、冰川侵蚀的速率和一致性、火山喷发频率、海平面变化、景观(如大峡谷和安第斯山脉)的切割和挖掘、考古遗址以及基于DNA的系统地理的水系重组时间。我们还开发了这些方法并测试了新的应用程序。我们提出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14C。加拿大和外国学术机构以及省级和联邦地质调查局的学生和研究人员都曾在该设施使用和培训。我们对MRS资金的主要要求是部分支持1.7 FTE技术人员的工资。MRS将使各种加拿大研究人员更容易接触到该设施和国外的AMS设施。

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.