Abstract
Radiocarbon is one of the most widespread radionuclides in nature. Although it is probably best known for dating in archaeology, in the case of the general public, it represents a useful tracer to study our environment, both in the past and nowadays. For instance, carbonaceous particles, which are in many cases the most abundant among aerosols constituents, are believed to play a major role in both health and climatic effects of aerosols. In particular, measurement of radiocarbon concentration in particulate matter samples can give information on the contributions of the fossil fuels combustion and of natural sources
Highlights
It is well known that carbon is one of the fundamental constituents of the organic and the inorganic matter on earth
We present an overview of the environmental radiocarbon applications the INFN-LABEC laboratory in Florence is involved in. 14C is measured by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS), using the dedicated beam line installed at the 3 MV Tandem accelerator
As soon as the measured balance appreciably moves from the zero value, the terminal voltage is corrected in order to keep the beam passing through the magnet
Summary
It is well known that carbon is one of the fundamental constituents of the organic and the inorganic matter on earth. It has been applied especially to archaeological issues; the importance of the 14C chronometer to study the environment is well known as well An example of this kind of environmental applications is represented by the dating of natural archives [2]. The quantification of the contributions of the different aerosol sources to the aerosol burden in atmosphere, for instance by disentangling the contribution of human activity, is very important for the scientific understanding of the role of the aerosol in the environmental issues and for the development of suited pollution abatement strategies Both the aforementioned applications (the dating of marine sediments and the carbon source apportionment studies) are characterized by the fact that the samples to be measured are small, few mg at maximum (see following paragraphs for details). This paper will discuss the application of 14C-AMS to both marine sediments dating and particulate matter measurements, focusing on the activity
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