Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T12:49:06.927Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSDISCIPLINARY RADIOCARBON RESEARCH: USE OF NATURAL-LEVEL AND ELEVATED-LEVEL 14C IN ANTARCTIC FIELD RESEARCH

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2021

Ryan A Venturelli Open the ORCID record for Ryan A Venturelli [Opens in a new window] ,
Trista J Vick-Majors Open the ORCID record for Trista J Vick-Majors [Opens in a new window] ,
Billy Collins ,
Alan Gagnon ,
Kathy Kasic ,
Mark D Kurz ,
Wei Li ,
John Priscu ,
Mark Roberts  and
Brad E Rosenheim
...Show all authors
Ryan A Venturelli*
Affiliation:
University of South Florida – College of Marine Science, 140 7th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL33701, USA
Trista J Vick-Majors
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Great Lakes Research Center, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, USA
Billy Collins
Affiliation:
Montana State University Bozeman, Bozeman, MT, USA
Alan Gagnon
Affiliation:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – NOSAMS, Geology & Geophysics, Woods Hole, MA02543-1050, USA
Kathy Kasic
Affiliation:
California State University Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, USA
Mark D Kurz
Affiliation:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – NOSAMS, Geology & Geophysics, Woods Hole, MA02543-1050, USA
Wei Li
Affiliation:
Montana State University Bozeman, Bozeman, MT, USA
John Priscu
Affiliation:
Montana State University Bozeman, Bozeman, MT, USA
Mark Roberts
Affiliation:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – NOSAMS, Geology & Geophysics, Woods Hole, MA02543-1050, USA
Brad E Rosenheim
Affiliation:
University of South Florida – College of Marine Science, 140 7th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL33701, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: rventurelli@tulane.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Radiocarbon (14C) is an isotopic tracer used to address a wide range of scientific research questions. However, contamination by elevated levels of 14C is deleterious to natural-level laboratory workspaces and accelerator mass spectrometer facilities designed to precisely measure small amounts of 14C. The risk of contaminating materials and facilities intended for natural-level 14C with elevated-level 14C-labeled materials has dictated near complete separation of research groups practicing profoundly different measurements. Such separation can hinder transdisciplinary research initiatives, especially in remote and isolated field locations where both natural-level and elevated-level radiocarbon applications may be useful. This paper outlines the successful collaboration between researchers making natural-level 14C measurements and researchers using 14C-labeled materials during a subglacial drilling project in West Antarctica (SALSA 2018–2019). Our strict operating protocol allowed us to successfully carry out 14C labeling experiments within close quarters at our remote field camp without contaminating samples of sediment and water intended for natural level 14C measurements. Here we present our collaborative protocol for maintaining natural level 14C cleanliness as a framework for future transdisciplinary radiocarbon collaborations.

Keywords

AMScontaminationradiocarbon
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 63 , Issue 5 , October 2021 , pp. 1555 - 1568
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press for the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

†

Full SALSA personnel list is available at https://salsa-antarctica.org/.

References

REFERENCES

Arnold, JR, Libby, WF. 1949. Age determinations by radiocarbon content: checks with samples of known age. Science 110(2869):678–680.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltar, F, Herndl, GJ. 2019. Ideas and perspectives: is dark carbon fixation relevant for oceanic primary production estimates? Biogeosciences 16(19):3793–3799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beaupré, SR, Druffel, ERM, Griffin, S. 2007. A low-blank photochemical extraction system for concentration and isotopic analyses of marine dissolved organic carbon. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 5(6):174–184. doi: 10.4319/lom.2007.5.174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett, CL, Beukens, RP, Clover, MR, Gove, HE, Liebert, RB, Litherland, AE, Purser, KH, Sondheim, WE. 1977. Radiocarbon dating using electrostatic accelerators: negative ions provide the key. Science 198(4316):508–510. doi: 10.1126/science.198.4316.508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broecker, WS, Peng, TH. 1982. Tracers in the sea. Palisades (NY): Columbia University.Google Scholar
Buchholz, BA, Freeman, SP, Haack, KW, Vogel, JS. 2000 . Tips and traps in the 14C bio-AMS preparation laboratory. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 172(1–4):404–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chanton, J, Zhao, T, Rosenheim, BE, Joye, S, Bosman, S, Brunner, C, Yeager, KM, Diercks, AR, Hollander, D. 2015. Using natural abundance radiocarbon to trace the flux of petrocarbon to the seafloor following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Environmental Science & Technology 49(2):847–854.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christner, BC, Priscu, JC, Achberger, AM, Barbante, C, et al. 2014. A microbial ecosystem beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet. Nature 512(7514):310–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, PU, Dyke, AS, Shakun, JD, Carlson, AE, Clark, J, et al. 2009. The last glacial maximum. Science 325(5941):710–714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elder, K, Roberts, M, Walther, T, Xu, L. 2019. Single step production of graphite from organic samples for radiocarbon measurements. Radiocarbon 61(6):1843–1854.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goehring, BM, Schaefer, JM, Schluechter, C, Lifton, NA, et al. 2011. The Rhone Glacier was smaller than today for most of the Holocene. Geology 39(7):679–682.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, S, Beaupré, SR, Druffel, ERM. 2010. An alternate method of diluting dissolved organic carbon seawater samples for 14C analysis. Radiocarbon 52(3):1224–1229. doi: 10.1017/S0033822200046300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, PG, Warwick, PE, Zubkov, MV. 2013. Low microbial respiration of leucine at ambient oceanic concentration in the mixed layer of the central Atlantic Ocean. Limnology and Oceanography 58(5):1597–1604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirchman, D, K’nees, E, Hodson, R. 1985. Leucine incorporation and its potential as a measure of protein synthesis by bacteria in natural aquatic systems. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 49(3):599–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNichol, AP, Jones, GA, Hutton, DL, Gagnon, AR, Key, RM. 1994. The rapid preparation of seawater SCO2 for radiocarbon analysis at the National Ocean Sciences AMS Facility. Radiocarbon 36(2):273–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muller, RA, Alvarez, LW, Holley, WR, Stephenson, EJ. 1977. Quarks with unit charge: a search for anomalous hydrogen. Science 196(4289):521–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muller, RA, Stephenson, EJ, Mast, TS. 1978. Radioisotope dating with an accelerator: a blind measurement. Science 201(4353):347–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, DE, Korteling, RG, Stott, WR. 1977. Carbon-14: direct detection at natural concentrations. Science 198(4316):507–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, BJ. 1980. Aquatic primary productivity and the 14C-CO2 method: a history of the productivity problem. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11(1):359–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Priscu, JC, Kalin, J, Winans, J, Campbell, T, Siegfried, MR, Skidmore, M, Dore, JE, Leventer, A, Harwood, DM, Duling, D, et al. 2021. Scientific access into Mercer subglacial lake: scientific objectives and drilling operations. Annals of Glaciology 2021:1–13. doi: 10.1017/aog.2021.10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rack, FR. 2016. Enabling clean access into Subglacial Lake Whillans: development and use of the WISSARD hot water drill system. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 374(2059):20140305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steier, P, Dellinger, F, Kutschera, W, Priller, A, Rom, W, Wild, EM. 2004. Pushing the precision limit of 14C AMS. Radiocarbon 46(1):5–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strickland, JDH, Parsons, TR. 1968. A practical handbook of seawater analysis fisheries. Research Board of Canada Ottawa. Bulletin 167:185–206.Google Scholar
Tulaczyk, S, Mikucki, JA, Siegfried, MR, Priscu, JC, et al. 2014. WISSARD at subglacial Lake Whillans, west Antarctica: scientific operations and initial observations. Annals of Glaciology 55(65):51–58 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Venturelli, RA, Siegfried, MR, Roush, KA, Li, W, et al. 2020. Mid-Holocene grounding line retreat and readvance at Whillans Ice Stream, West Antarctica. Geophysical Research Letters 47(15): e2020GL088476.Google Scholar
Vick-Majors, TJ, Mitchell, AC, Achberger, AM, Christner, BC, et al. 2016. Physiological ecology of microorganisms in subglacial Lake Whillans. Frontiers in Microbiology 7:1705.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vick-Majors, T, Achberger, A, Michaud, A, Priscu, J. 2020. Metabolic and taxonomic diversity in antarctic subglacial environments. In: Di Prisco, G, Edwards, H, Elster, J, Huiskes, A, editors. Life in extreme environments: insights in biological capability. Ecological Reviews. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 279–296. doi: 10.1017/9781108683319.016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zermeño, P, Kurdyla, DK, Buchholz, BA, Heller, SJ, Kashgarian, M, Frantz, BR. 2004. Prevention and removal of elevated radiocarbon contamination in the LLNL/CAMS natural radiocarbon sample preparation laboratory. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 223:293–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, XL, Crann, CA, Murseli, S, St-Jean, G, Kieser, WE, Wilk, M, Cornett, RJ, Clark, ID. 2019. A preliminary ion source background study at Lalonde AMS. Radiocarbon 61(4):1091–1106. doi: 10.1017/RDC.2019.58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, W, Wu, S, Lange, TE, Lu, X, Cheng, P, Xiong, X, Cruz, RJ, Liu, Q, Fu, Y, Zhao, W. 2012. High-level 14C contamination and recovery at Xi’an AMS Center. Radiocarbon 54(2):187–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Venturelli et al. supplementary material

Venturelli et al. supplementary material 1

Download Venturelli et al. supplementary material(File)
File 360.9 KB
Supplementary material: File

Venturelli et al. supplementary material

Venturelli et al. supplementary material 2

Download Venturelli et al. supplementary material(File)
File 12.4 KB
Supplementary material: File

Venturelli et al. supplementary material

Venturelli et al. supplementary material 3

Download Venturelli et al. supplementary material(File)
File 385 KB