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SYMS: Symposium New methods of mass spectroscopy and their application in the environmental science

SYMS 2: Session II

SYMS 2.1: Hauptvortrag

Donnerstag, 11. März 2010, 14:00–14:30, A 001

Cosmogenic and anthropogenic radionuclides in the Earth Surface Sciences — •Tibor Dunai — School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, UK

Cosmogenic nuclides have become a widely used tool to address scientific questions in Earth surface sciences. Major advances in AMS-technology in the late 1980s have brought analytical sensitivity, accuracy and precision that made application to problems in Earth sciences feasible. In particular, widespread use of in-situ produced cosmogenic nuclides, such as 10Be, 26Al and 36Cl, has revolutionised Earth surface sciences in the last 15 years. The capabilities to quantify the geomorphic stability of surfaces exposed to cosmic rays and to determine long-term erosion rates were quickly adopted to address, and resolve for the first time, a wide range of first-order problems in the fields of geomorphology, glaciology, palaeoclimatology, palaeoseismology, soil science, volcanology and geohazard research. The ongoing innovation in analytical techniques and interpretative tools has further extended the time-range of where AMS-methodology can be usefully applied to Earth Surface sciences. With the emergence of in-situ 14C and 53Mn methodology, and utilization of fallout 139Pu, the entire time-range of Earth Surface processes, present-day to ancient (>10 Ma), can now be addressed using AMS-related methodology. The presentation will provide an overview of applications of these nuclides to Earth Surface sciences, highlighting novel methodological developments.