Accelerator mass spectrometry at the University of Pennsylvania

Abstract

Since 1979 over 1000 measurements have been made on 10Be and about 50 on 26Al. Although the experimental program is diverse, emphasis has been placed on the study of 10Be in the environment, particularly its rate of influx in precipitation, its retention by soil and transport by ground water. The global flux for 1982–1983 is estimated to be 0.33 at. cm −2 s −1. The application of 10Be as a tracer is discussed and the results of 46 measurements on lavas from island-arc volcanoes and 47 Australasian tektites are presented. 26Al has also been measured in 6 tektites and the observed 26Al: 10Be ratio is consistent with a terrestrial origin. Exploratory measurements have been made on a wide range of terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples including several organic materials such as peat, oil, coal, teeth, shells and trees.