Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cosmogenic in Situ Radiocarbon on the Earth

  • Conference paper
Radiocarbon After Four Decades

Abstract

Radiocarbon is continuously produced on the Earth by nuclear interactions of cosmic rays in the Earth’s atmosphere, and because of its dynamic circulation in the carbon reservoirs, it finds applications in diverse branches of science (Libby 1946, 1967). The scope of applications of natural radiocarbon has widened considerably in the last decade with the advent of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). This technique allows a high-precision measurement of 106–107 atoms 14C, thereby allowing its measurement in samples of ~ 0.1 mg carbon from the dynamic reservoirs. This advance makes it possible, for example, to date bones by measuring 14C in proteins (Hedges & Law 1989) and in individual species of planktonic and benthic calcareous shells deposited in the sediments (Andrée et al 1986).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Andrée, M, Beer, J, Loetscher, HP, Moor, E, Oeschger, H, Bonani, G, Hoffman, HJ, Morenzoni, E, Nessi, M, Suter, M and Wölfli, W 1986 Dating polar ice by 14C accelerator mass spectrometry. In Stuiver, M and Kra, RS, eds, Proceedings of the 12th International 10C Conference. Radiocarbon 28(2A): 417–423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beer, J, Siegenthaler, U, Bonani, G, Finkel, RC, Oeschger, H, Suter, M and Wölfli, W 1988 Information on past solar activity and geomagnetism from 10Be in the Camp Century ice core. Nature 331: 675–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castagnoli, G and Lal, D 1980 Solar modulation effects in terrestrial production of carbon-14. In Stuiver, M and Kra, RS, eds, Proceedings of the 10th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 22(2): 133–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damon, PE 1989 Radiocarbon, solar activity and climate. In Avery, SK and Tinsley, BA, eds, Proceedings of Mechanisms for Tropospheric Effects of Solar Variability and the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation. Boulder, Colorado, NCAR: 198–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damon, PE and Sonett, CP, in press, Solar and terrestrial components of the atmospheric 14C variation spectrum. In Sonett, CP, Giampapa, MS and Matthews, MS, eds, The Sun in Time. Tucson, University of Arizona Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, R, Jr and Schaeffer, OA 1955 Chlorine-36 in nature. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 62: 105–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elsasser, W, Ney, EP and Winckler, JR 1956 Cosmic-ray intensity and geomagnetism. Nature 178: 1226–1227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fireman, EL and Norris, TL 1982 Ages and composition of gas trapped in Allan Hills and Byrd Core. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 60: 339–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedges, REM and Law, IA 1989 The Radiocarbon dating of bones. Applied Geochemistry 4: 249–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jull, AJT, Donahue, DJ, Linick, TW and Wilson, GC 1990 Spallogenic 14C in high-altitude rocks and in Antarctic meteorites. In Long, A and Kra, RS, eds, Proceedings of the 13th International 14C Conference. Radiocarbon 31(3): 719–724.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kocharov, GE, 1992 Radiocarbon and astrophysical-geophysical phenomena. In Taylor, RE, Long, A and Kra, RS, eds, Radiocarbon after Four Decades: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. New York, Springer-Verlag, this volume.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korff, SA 1940 On the contribution to the ionization at sea level produced by the neutrons in the cosmic radiation. Journal of Geophysical Research 45: 133–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D 1972 Hard rock cosmic ray archae- ology. Space Science Review 14: 3–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D 1986 Cosmic ray interactions in the ground: temporal variations in cosmic ray intensities and geophysical studies. In Reedy, RC and Englert, P, eds, Proceedings of the Workshop on Cosmogenic Nuclides. LPI Technical Report 86–06: 43–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D 1985 Carbon cycle variations during the past 50,000 years: Atmospheric 14C/12C ratio as an isotopic indicator. In Sundquist, ET and Broecker, WS, eds, The carbon cycle and atmospheric CO2: Natural variations, Archean to Present. American Geophysical Union, Washington DC, Geophysical Monographs 32: 321–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D 1987a Production of 10Be in terrestrial rocks. Chemical Geology (Isotope Geo-science Section) 66: 89–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D 1987b 1°Be in polar ice: Data reflect changes in cosmic ray flux or polar meteorology? Geophysical Research Letters 14: 785–788.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D 1988a In situ-produced cosmogenic isotopes in terrestrial rocks. Annual Review Earth and Planetary Sciences 16: 355–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D 1988b Theoretically expected variations in the terrestrial cosmic ray production rates of isotopes. In Castagnoli, G, ed, Solar-Terrestrial Relationships and the Earth Environment in the Last Millennia. Bologna, Italy, Soc Italiana di Fisica Bologna: 216–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D 1991 Cosmic ray tagging of erosion surfaces: In situ production rates and erosion models. Earth and Planetary Science Letters,in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D and Arnold, JR 1985 Tracing quartz through the environment. Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences (Earth and Planetary Science) 94: 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D, Arnold JR and Nishiizumi, K 1985 Geophysical records of a tree: new application for studying geomagnetic field and solar activity changes during the past 104 years. Meteoritics 20: 403–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lai, D, Chung, Y, Platt, T and Lee, T 1988 Twin cosmogenic radiotracer studies of phosphorus recycling and chemical fluxes in the upper ocean. Limnology and Oceanography 33: 1559–1567.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D and Jull, AJT 1990 On determining ice accumulation rates in the past 40,000 years using in situ cosmogenic 14C. Geophysical Research Letters 17: 1303–1306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D, Jull, AJT, Donahue, DJ, Burtner, D and Nishiizumi, K 1990 Polar ice ablation rates measured using in situ cosmogenic 14C. Nature 346: 350–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D, Nishiizumi, K and Arnold, JR 1987 In situ cosmogenic 3H, 14C and 10Be for determining the net accumulation and ablation rates of ice sheets. Journal of Geophysical Research 92 (B6): 4947–4952.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal, D and Peters, B 1967 Cosmic ray produced radioactivity on the Earth. In Flügge, S, ed, Handbook of Physics. Berlin, Springer-Verlag 46(2): 551–612.

    Google Scholar 

  • Libby, WF 1946 Atmospheric helium-three and radiocarbon from cosmic radiation. Physical Review 69: 671–672.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Libby, WF 1967 Radiocarbon Dating, 2nd edition. Chicago, University of Chicago Press: 175 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lingenfelter, RE 1963 Production of carbon-14 by cosmic-ray neutrons. Reviews of Geophysics 1: 35–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loosli, HH (ms) 1979 Ein Altersbestim-mungsmethode mit Ar-39. Habilitations schrift, Universitat Bern. Thesis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishiizumi, K, Winterer, EL, Kohl, CP, Lal, D, Arnold, JR, Klein, J and Middleton, R 1989 Cosmic ray production rates of 10Be and 26A1 in quartz from glacially polished rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research 94: 17,907–17,916.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, FM, Leavy, BD, Jannik, NO, Elmore, D and Kubik, PW 1986 The accumulation of cosmogenic chlorine-36 in rocks: a method for surface exposure dating. Science 231: 41–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raisbeck, GM, Yiou, F, Bowles, D, Lorius, C, Jonzel, J and Barkov, NI 1987 Evidence for two intervals of enhanced 10Be deposition in Antarctic ice during the last glacial period. Nature 326: 273–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raisbeck, GM, Yiou, F, Jouzel, J and Petit, JR 1990 10Be and 8.211 in polar ice cores as a probe of the solar variability’s influence on climate. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A 330: 463–470.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonnett, CP, Morfill, GE and Jokipii, JR 1987 Interstellar shock waves and 10Be from ice cores. Nature 330: 458–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stauffer, B 1981 Mechanismen des lufteinschlusses in naturlichem eis. Zeitschrift fuer Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie 17: 17–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuiver, M 1961 Variations in radiocarbon concentration and sunspot activity. Journal of Geophysical Research 66: 273–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stuiver, M and Braziunas, TF 1989 Atmospheric 14C and century-scale solar oscillations. Nature 338: 405–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetherill, GW 1953 Spontaneous fission yields from Uranium and Thorium. Physical Review 92: 907–912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zito, R, Donahue, DJ, Davis, SN, Bentley, HW and Fritz, P 1980 Possible subsurface production of carbon 14. Geophysical Research Letters 7: 235–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Libby, WF 1967 History of radiocarbon dating. In Radiocarbon Dating and Methods of Low-Level Counting. Vienna, IAEA: 3–26.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Devendra Lal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Riverside, 92521-0418, Riverside, CA, USA

    R. E. Taylor

  2. Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, 85721, Tuscon, AZ, USA

    Austin Long  & Renee S. Kra  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this paper

Cite this paper

Lal, D. (1992). Cosmogenic in Situ Radiocarbon on the Earth. In: Taylor, R.E., Long, A., Kra, R.S. (eds) Radiocarbon After Four Decades. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4249-7_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4249-7_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-4251-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-4249-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation