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Measurement background and the sediment age-dating reach of 32Si

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Abstract

Detector sensitivity and purification challenges have limited published 32Si sediment dating studies. The cosmogenic isotope 32Si can fill the sediment geochronology gap between 210Pb (<150 years) and 14C (>1000 years). Targeting this age range can provide geochronological reconstructions of paleoindicators that identify recent human and climate-induced shifts in coastal areas. We are preparing detectors and kilogram-scale sample preparation techniques for such a study of Puget Sound sediments. This work considers the impact of background on counting time and 32Si age-dating reach. Design and performance of new low-background, gas-proportional beta counters to measure 32Si (via 32P) are discussed.

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Notes

  1. A wide variation exists in literature-reported values of the 32Si half-life. An offset from the true value of the half-life introduces a constant relative error in the sediment age determination at all layers analyzed in a core.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the DOE for sponsorship of this work through the Ultra-Sensitive Nuclear Measurements Initiative at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. US Department of Energy Contract No. DE-AC05-76RLO1830.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    Martin E. Keillor, Craig E. Aalseth, Leah M. Arrigo, Janet M. Cloutier, Gregory C. Eiden, James E. Fast, Zachary S. Finch, Todd W. Hossbach, Cory T. Overman & Brienne N. Seiner

  2. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 1529 West Sequim Bay Road, Sequim, WA, 98382, USA

    Jill M. Brandenberger, Gary A. Gill & Jonathan E. Strivens

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  1. Martin E. Keillor
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  2. Craig E. Aalseth
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  3. Leah M. Arrigo
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  4. Jill M. Brandenberger
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  6. Gregory C. Eiden
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Correspondence to Martin E. Keillor.

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Keillor, M.E., Aalseth, C.E., Arrigo, L.M. et al. Measurement background and the sediment age-dating reach of 32Si. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 307, 2313–2319 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-4592-5

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