Colin Maden

Cosmogenic 10Be chronology of the last deglaciation of western Ireland, and implications for sensitivity of the Irish Ice Sheet to climate change

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AIMS) C-14 slates of fossiliferous marine mud identify a readvance of the Irish Ice Sheet from the north and central lowlands of Ireland into the northern Irish Sea Basin during the Killard Point Stadial at ca. 16.5 cal k.y. B.P, with subsequent deglaciation occurring by ca. 15.0-15.5 cal k.y. B.P. Killard Point Stadial moraines have been mapped elsewhere in Ireland but have previously remained undated. Here, we report sixteen Be-10 surface exposure dates that constrain the age of retreat of the Killard Point Stadial ice margin from western Ireland. Eight Be-10 dates from the Ox Mountains (13.9-18.1 ka) indicate that final deposition of the moraine occurred at 15.6 +/- 0.5 ka (mean age, standard error). Eight Be-10 dates from Furnace Lough (14.1-17.3 ka, mean age of 15.6 +/- 0.4 ka) are statistically-indistinguishable from the Ox Mountain samples, suggesting that. the moraines were deposited during the same glacial event. Given the agreement between the two age groups, and their common association with a regionally significant moraine system, we combine them sir derive a mean age of 15.6 +/- 0.3 ka (15.6 +/- 1.0 ka with external uncertainty). This age is in excellent agreement with the timing-of deglaciation from the Irish Sea Basin (at or older than 15.3 +/- 0.2 cal k.y. B.P.) and suggests the onset of near-contemporaneous retreat of the Irish Ice Sheet from its maximum Killard Point Stadial limit. A reconstruction of the ice surface indicates that the Irish Ice Sheet reached a maximum surface elevation of similar to 500 m over the central Irish Lowlands during the Killard Point Stadial, suggesting a high sensitivity of the ice sheet to small changes in climate.

14C AMS AT SUERC: IMPROVING QA DATA WITH THE 5MV TANDEM AND 250kV SSAMS

In 2003, a National Electrostatics Corporation (NEC) 5MV tandem accelerator mass spectrometer was installed at SUERC, providing the radiocarbon laboratory with 14C measurements to 4-5‰ repeatability. In 2007, a 250kV single-stage accelerator mass spectrometer (SSAMS) was added to provide additional 14C capability and is now the preferred system for 14C analysis. Changes to the technology and to our operations are evident in our copious quality assurance data: typically, we now use the 134-position MC-SNICS source, which is filled to capacity. Measurement of standards shows that spectrometer running without the complication of on-line δ13C evaluation is a good operational compromise. Currently, 3‰ 14C/13C measurements are routinely achieved for samples up to nearly 3 half-lives old by consistent sample preparation and an automated data acquisition algorithm with sample random access for measurement repeats. Background and known-age standard data are presented for the period 2003-2008 for the 5MV system and 2007-2008 for the SSAMS, to demonstrate the improvements in data quality.

Cosmic-ray exposure ages of fossil micrometeorites from mid-Ordovician sediments at Lynna River, Russia

We measured the He and Ne concentrations of 50 individual extraterrestrial chromite grains recovered from mid-Ordovician (lower Darriwilian) sediments from the Lynna River section near St. Petersburg, Russia. High concentrations of solar wind-like He and Ne found in most grains indicate that they were delivered to Earth as micrometeoritic dust, while their abundance, stratigraphic position and major element composition indicate an origin related to the L chondrite parent body (LCPB) break-up event, 470 Ma ago. Compared to sediment-dispersed extraterrestrial chromite (SEC) grains extracted from coeval sediments at other localities, the grains from Lynna River are both highly concentrated and well preserved. As in previous work, in most grains from Lynna River, high concentrations of solar wind-derived He and Ne impede a clear quantification of cosmic-ray produced He and Ne. However, we have found several SEC grains poor in solar wind Ne, showing a resolvable contribution of cosmogenic Ne-21. This makes it possible, for the first time, to determine robust cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) ages in these fossil micrometeorites, on the order of a few hundred-thousand years. These ages are similar to the CRE ages measured in chromite grains from cm-sized fossil meteorites recovered from coeval sediments in Sweden. As the CRE ages are shorter than the orbital decay time of grains of this size by Poynting-Robertson drag, this suggests that the grains were delivered to Earth through direct injection into an orbital resonance. We demonstrate how CRE ages of fossil micrometeorites can be used, in principle, to determine sedimentation rates, and to correlate the sediments at Lynna River with the fossil meteorite-bearing sediment layers in Sweden. In some grains with high concentrations of solar wind Ne, we nevertheless find a well-resolved cosmogenic Ne-21 signal. These grains must have been exposed for up to several 10 Ma in the regolith layer of the pre-break-up L chondrite parent body. This confirms an earlier suggestion that such regolith grains should be abundant in sediments deposited shortly after the break-up of the LCPB asteroid

PROGRESS IN AMS TARGET PRODUCTION OF SUB-MILLIGRAM SAMPLES AT THE NERC RADIOCARBON LABORATORY

Recent progress in graphite target production for sub-milligram environmental samples in our facility is presented. We describe an optimized hydrolysis procedure now routinely used for the preparation of CO2 from inorganic samples, a new high-vacuum line dedicated to small sample processing (combining sample distillation and graphitization units), as well as a modified graphitization procedure. Although measurements of graphite targets as small as 35 g C have been achieved, system background and measurement uncertainties increase significantly below 150 g C. As target lifetime can become critically short for targets <150 g C, the facility currently only processes inorganic samples down to 150 g C. All radiocarbon measurements are made at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) facility. Sample processing and analysis are labor-intensive, taking approximately 3 times longer than samples =500 g C. The technical details of the new system, graphitization yield, fractionation introduced during the process, and the system blank are discussed in detail.

Phanerozoic surface history of southern Peninsular India from apatite (U‐Th‐Sm)/He data

Quantifying bedrock cooling history is crucial for understanding the long-term landform evolution across passive margins and its control onto the sediment routing system. To constrain the low-temperature cooling history and its relationships to the Phanerozoic tectonic events of southern Peninsular India, we present new apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He (AHe) analyses of 39 Precambrian basement samples. The new AHe ages range from 38.1 ± 6.8 to 364.2 ± 44.6 Ma: they are younger than 50 Ma in the Palghat Gap region and older than 200 Ma in the interior of the Deccan Plateau. Thermal modeling based on AHe data indicates enhanced cooling and exhumation in the interior of the Deccan Plateau by Permian-Triassic times followed by gradual cooling up to the Present. This discrete episode of Permian-Triassic cooling is associated with continental extension that preceded the Early Jurassic breakup of Gondwana. Bedrock cooling and exhumation on the southeastern and southern limits of the Deccan Plateau was likely accomplished by Late Cretaceous drainage reorganization. The distribution of old (>200 Ma) AHe ages over the >2600 m high Nilgiri Plateau reflects very low erosion/exhumation rates and adds to examples of long-lived postorogenic topography. The relatively younger AHe ages from the ∼30 km wide low mountain pass (Palghat Gap) within the Western Ghat Mountains attest for intense Cenozoic erosion likely facilitated by the erodible lithological backbone of the Neoproterozoic shear zone. AHe ages across the western coastal plain challenge the widely hold notion of ∼3 km of post-breakup isostatic rebound in response to erosion of the margin. Instead, the new AHe data are more compatible with less than 1–1.5 km of crustal denudation along the coastal strip.

Annama H chondrite—Mineralogy, physical properties, cosmic ray exposure, and parent body history

The fall of the Annama meteorite occurred early morning (local time) on April 19, 2014 on the Kola Peninsula (Russia). Based on mineralogy and physical properties, Annama is a typical H chondrite. It has a high Ar-Ar age of 4.4 Ga. Its cosmic ray exposure history is atypical as it is not part of the large group of H chondrites with a prominent 7 - 8 Ma peak in the exposure age histograms. Instead, its exposure age is within uncertainty of a smaller peak at 30 \pm 4 Ma. The results from short-lived radionuclides are compatible with an atmosperic pre-entry radius of 30 - 40 cm. However, based on noble gas and cosmogenic radionuclide data, Annama must have been part of a larger body (radius >65 cm) for a large part of its cosmic ray exposure history. The 10Be concentration indicates a recent (3 - 5 Ma) breakup which may be responsible for the Annama parent body size reduction to 30 - 35 cm pre-entry radius.

Cosmic history and a candidate parent asteroid for the quasicrystal-bearing meteorite Khatyrka

Abstract The unique CV-type meteorite Khatyrka is the only natural sample in which “quasicrystals” and associated crystalline Cu, Al-alloys, including khatyrkite and cupalite, have been found. They are suspected to have formed in the early Solar System. To better understand the origin of these exotic phases, and the relationship of Khatyrka to other CV chondrites, we have measured He and Ne in six individual, ∼40–μm-sized olivine grains from Khatyrka. We find a cosmic-ray exposure age of about 2–4 Ma (if the meteoroid was

Investigation into Background Levels of Small Organic Samples at the NERC Radiocarbon Laboratory

Recent progress in preparation/combustion of submilligram organic samples at our laboratories is presented. Routine methods had to be modified/refined to achieve acceptable and consistent procedural blanks for organic samples smaller than 1000 g C. A description of the process leading to a modified combustion method for smaller organic samples is given in detail. In addition to analyzing different background materials, the influence of different chemical reagents on the overall radiocarbon background level was investigated, such as carbon contamination arising from copper oxide of different purities and from different suppliers. Using the modified combustion method, small amounts of background materials and known-age standard IAEA-C5 were individually combusted to CO2. Below 1000 g C, organic background levels follow an inverse mass dependency when combusted with the modified method, increasing from 0.13 0.05 pMC up to 1.20 0.04 pMC for 80 g C. Results for a given carbon mass were lower for combustion of etched Iceland spar calcite mineral, indicating that part of the observed background of bituminous coal was probably introduced by handling the material in atmosphere prior to combustion. Using the modified combustion method, the background-corrected activity of IAEA-C5 agreed to within 2 s of the consensus value of 23.05 pMC down to a sample mass of 55 g C.

Neon isotopes in individual presolar low-density graphite grains from the Orgueil meteorite

We present He and Ne isotopes of individual presolar graphite grains from a low-density separate from Orgueil. Two grain mounts were analyzed with the same techniques but in a different sequence: The first one was measured with NanoSIMS followed by noble gas mass spectrometry, and the second one in reverse order. No grain contained 4He and only one grain on the second mount contained 3He. On the first mount, the grains had been extensively sputtered with NanoSIMS ion beams prior to noble gas analysis; we found only one grain out of 15 with presolar 22Ne above detection limit. In contrast, we found presolar 22Ne in six out of seven grains on the second mount that was not exposed to an ion beam prior to noble gas analysis. All 22 grains on the two mounts were imaged with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and/or Auger microscopy. We present evidence that this contrasting observation is most likely due to e-beam-induced heating of the generally smaller grains on the first mount during SEM and Auger imaging, and not primarily due to the NanoSIMS analysis. If thermal contact of the grains to the substrate is absent, such that heat can only be dissipated via radiation, then the smaller, sputter-eroded grains are heated to higher temperatures such that noble gases can diffuse out. We discuss possible gas loss mechanisms and suggest solutions to reduce heating during e-beam analyses by minimizing voltages, beam currents, and dwell times. We also found small amounts of 21Ne in five grains. Using isotope data we determined that the dominant sources of most grains are core-collapse supernovae, congruent with earlier studies of low-density presolar graphite from Murchison. Only two of the grains are most likely from AGB stars, and two others have an ambiguous origin.

Fluvial dynamics and 14C-10Be disequilibrium on the Bolivian Altiplano: Isotopic disequilibrium in fluvial landscapes

Determining sediment transfer times is key to understanding source‐to‐sink dynamics and the transmission of environmental signals through the fluvial system. Previous work on the Bolivian Altiplano applied the in situ cosmogenic 14C‐10Be‐chronometer to river sands and proposed sediment storage times of ~10–20 kyr in four catchments southeast of Lake Titicaca. However, the fidelity of those results hinges upon isotopic steady‐state within sediment supplied from the source area. With the aim of independently quantifying sediment storage times and testing the 14C‐10Be steady‐state assumption, we dated sediment storage units within one of the previously investigated catchments using radiocarbon dating, cosmogenic 10Be‐26Al isochron burial dating, and 10Be‐26Al depth‐profile dating. Palaeosurfaces appear to preserve remnants of a former fluvial system, which has undergone drainage reversal, reduction in catchment area, and local isostatic uplift since ~2.8 Ma. From alluvium mantling the palaeosurfaces we gained a deposition age of ~580 ka, while lower down fluvial terraces yielded ≤34 ka, and floodplains ~3–1 ka. Owing to restricted channel connectivity with the terraces and palaeosurfaces, the main source of channel sediment is via reworking of the late Holocene floodplain. Yet modelling a set of feasible scenarios reveals that floodplain storage and burial depth are incompatible with the 14C‐10Be disequilibrium measured in the channel. Instead we propose that the 14C‐10Be offset results from: (i) non‐uniform erosion whereby deep gullies supply hillslope‐derived debris; and/or (ii) holocene landscape transience associated with climate or human impact. The reliability of the 14C‐10Be chronometer vitally depends upon careful evaluation of sources of isotopic disequilibrium in a wide range of depositional and erosional landforms in the landscape.