Status report of the Heidelberg Radiocarbon Laboratory

Highly precise and reproducible radiocarbon ( 14 C) measurements are regularly performed at the Heidelberg Institute for Environmental Physics, Heidelberg, Germany, in collaboration with the radiocarbon laboratory of the Curt-Engelhorn-Center Archaeometry in Mannheim, Germany. Here, we report an update of the technical details, focusing on the analysis of cold-water corals (CWC), and present an improved long-term blank value with a mean of (0.190 ± 0.064) pMC (n = 138) and excellent reproducibility of the IAEA-C2 standard with a mean of (41.15 ± 0.16) pMC (n = 75), consistent with its certified consensus value. Furthermore, 33 duplicates of the CWC 14 C measurements agree within 2σ, 85% even within the 1σ range. This provides excellent conditions for accurate 14 C measurements. As an application example, we present combined 230 Th/U and 14 C ages of a coral-bearing sediment core from the upper Mauritanian slope. The resulting ventilation age record confirms decreasing ventilation between 30 and 25 kyr BP, most likely reflecting a northward propagation of a water mass originating from the south. During the LGM, we confirm a previously hypothesized southward displacement of the Cap Verde Frontal Zone. With the onset of the deglaciation, our record documents again an advance of a southern-sourced water mass into the subtropical North Atlantic. During the Bølling-Allerød warm period, strong ventilation fluctuations possibly indicate temporal influence of southern-sourced water

Accelerator mass spectrometry · Coral · Deglaciation · Geography · Holocene · Last Glacial Maximum · Physical geography · Radiocarbon dating · Water mass · Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies · Geological formations and processes · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Geology · Oceanography · Paleontology

• Mams – A new AMS facility at the Curt-Engelhorn-Centre for Achaeometry, Mannheim, Germany

  Open Access•Bernd Kromer, Susanne Lindauer et al.•Nuclear Instruments and Methods…•2013

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• Sea level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene

  Open Access•Kurt Lambeck, Hélène Rouby et al.•Proceedings of the National…•2014

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• Micadas

  Open Access•Hans‐arno Synal, Hans-Arno Synal et al.•Nuclear Instruments and Methods…•2007

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• Heidelberg Radiocarbon Lab – Establishing a New Carbon Dioxide Extraction Line for Carbonate Samples

  Open Access•Steffen Therre, L Proß et al.•Radiocarbon•2021

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• The IAEA 14 C Intercomparison Exercise 1990

  Open Access•Kazimierz Rozanski, Willibald Stichler et al.•Radiocarbon•1992

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• Radiocarbon Dating of Deep-Sea Corals

  Open Access•Jess F Adkins, Shelia Griffin et al.•Radiocarbon•2002

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• Development of a Semi-Automated System for Routine Preparation of Carbonate Samples

  Open Access•N Tisnérat-Laborde, J J Poupeau et al.•Radiocarbon•2001

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• International Agreements and the Use of the New Oxalic Acid Standard

  Open Access•Minze Stuiver•Radiocarbon•1983

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• Status Report on Sample Preparation Protocols Developed at the LMC14 Laboratory, Saclay, France

  Open Access•J-P Dumoulin, C Comby-Zerbino et al.•Radiocarbon•2017

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• Sample Preparation at the Jena 14 C Laboratory

  Open Access•A Steinhof, M Altenburg et al.•Radiocarbon•2017

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• The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 cal kBP)

  Open Access•Paula J Reimer, William E N Austin et al.•Radiocarbon•2020

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