Over the last three years NRL has continued to perform radiocarbon analyses, mostly in support of internal programs addressing methane hydrates in the ocean, and bioremediation of hydrocarbon spills. These efforts are to differentiate sources of carbon, rather than to date material. Over 1000 cathodes have been measured in these efforts. In addition, trace element measurements for rare earths were performed using a multi cathode sputter ion source and clever sample preparation procedures. Sensitivies below nanogram quantities were obtained. In February 2005, our accelerator was shut down for a major facility upgrade. The system was reconfigured to enable installation of a modified Cameca IMS 6f secondary ion mass spectrometer as an ion source, and to improve the optical performance of the facility for AMS operations. The facility now employs a U-bend configuration to provide an energy insensitive mass spectrometer, and has two injection lenses to accommodate the lower energy ions produced by the Cameca ion source. A description of the new configuration and ion source, and initial measurements with this new system are reported in greater detail in other papers at this meeting.
This work is supported by the United States Office of Naval Research and a grant from NASA.
See more of Poster Session I
See more of The 10th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (September 5-10, 2005)