SAMOP 2023 – scientific programme
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MS: Fachverband Massenspektrometrie
MS 8: Accelerator Mass Spectrometry III
MS 8.4: Talk
Friday, March 10, 2023, 12:00–12:15, F128
Anthropogenic Actinides as Potential Markers for the Anthropocene — •Janis Wolf1,2, Andreas Maier3, Maria Meszar4, Michael Strasser5, Michael Wagreich4, and Karin Hain2 — 1Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany — 2University of Vienna, Faculty of Physics, Vienna, Austria — 3University of Vienna, Department of Geography and Regional Research, Vienna, Austria — 4University of Vienna, Department of Geology, Vienna, Austria — 5University of Innsbruck, Department of Geology, Innsbruck, Austria
To establish the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch, a reference point for the base of this epoch has to be defined using stratigraphic markers. Long-lived anthropogenic actinides released by atmospheric nuclear weapons testing may be suitable markers.
Thus, anthropogenic actinides U-233,236, Np-237 and Pu-239,240,241 were analyzed in a peat bog core taken from the Pürgschachen mire, using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). The distribution of the actinides in the peat bog is compared to their distribution in other environmental reservoirs including a lake sediment core and urban sediments. This presentation will discuss the measurement results and interpret the isotope ratios in terms of emission source identification and their suitability as geological markers for the Anthropocene.