Comparison of Independent delta 14CO2 records at Point Barrow, Alaska

• Published in: Radiocarbon
• Main Authors: Graven, Heather, Xu, Xiaomei, Guilderson, Thomas P, Keeling, Ralph F, Trumbore, Susan E, Tyler, Stanley
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: eScholarship, University of California 2013
• Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics; accelerator mass spectrometry; air sampling; atmospheric chemistry; carbon; environmental quality; isotopic analysis; stable isotope; Alaska; Point Barrow; United States; Scripps; Alaska Point; Barrow
• Online Access: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/9qb2n4tk

Two independent programs have collected and analyzed atmospheric CO2 samples from Point Barrow, Alaska, for radiocarbon content (Δ14C) over the period 2003–2007. In one program, flask collection, stable isotope analysis, and CO2 extraction are performed by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s CO2 Program and CO2 is graphitized and measured by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In the other program, the University of California, Irvine, performs flask collection, sample preparation, and AMS. Over 22 common sample dates spanning 5 yr, differences in measured Δ14C are consistent with the reported uncertainties and there is no significant bias between the programs.