Sample Types
The KCCAMS facility routinely accepts a wide range of sample types, including charcoal, wood, seed, carbonates, animal remains, CO2, and bulk aerosol. The minimum sample size for a routine 14C measurement is 0.8-1 mg C. Smaller sample sizes (10-100 ug C) can be analyzed at reduced precision upon special request.
Other sample types (including DOC, DIC, OC/EC aerosol fractions, and CH4) may be analyzed upon special request and/or as part of research collaborations with KCCAMS faculty and researchers.
| Sample type | Sample size |
|---|---|
| Carbonates | |
| Not requiring cleaning | |
| Shells, foraminifera, coral | 10 mg dry weight |
| Requiring cleaning | |
| Shells, foraminifera, coral | Contact staff |
| C-rich organics* | |
| Not requiring physical and chemical cleaning | |
| Wood, charcoal, seeds, macrofossils | 2.5 mg dry weight |
| Bulk aerosol on quartz filter | Contact staff |
| Requiring physical and chemical cleaning | |
| Wood, charcoal, seeds, macrofossils | 5 mg dry weight |
| Lake sediments, peat** | 10 mg dry weight |
| Gas | |
| Pure CO2 | 1 cc (@STP) |
| CO2 in ambient air | 1 L |
| CH4 | Contact staff |
| Other | |
| Graphite (incl. standards & blanks) | Contact staff |
| Small samples (0-100 ug C) | Contact staff |
| Swipes to check for contamination | Contact staff |
| Proteins | |
| Bone (well preserved) | 25 mg dry weight |
| Collagen | 2.5 mg dry weight |
| Water | |
| Dissolved inorganic carbon (fresh or salt waters) | Contact staff |
| Dissolved organic carbon | Contact staff |
| Dissolved CH4 | Contact staff |
*For low-carbon organic material, the carbon content can vary widely, and no estimate for the preferred minimum sample size can be given. For more details, contact the KCCAMS staff.
**We discourage the dating of bulk soil, peat, or sediments, because those materials are often a mixture of components with widely differing ages.
