The NOSAMS sample preparation laboratory in the next millenium: Progress after the WOCE program

Since 1991, the primary charge of the National Ocean Sciences AMS (NOSAMS) facility at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has been to supply hig h throughput, high precision AMS C-14 analyses for seawater samples collect ed as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). Approximately 13,000 samples taken as part of WOCE should be fully analyzed by the end of Y2K. Additional sample sources and techniques must be identified and incor porated if NOSAMS is to continue in its present operation mode. A trend in AMS today is the ability to routinely process and analyze radioc arbon samples that contain tiny amounts (<100 <mu>g) of carbon. The capabil ity to mass-produce small samples for C-14 analysis has been recognized as a major facility goal. The installation of a new 134-position MC-SNICS ion source, which utilizes a smaller graphite target cartridge than presently u sed, is one step towards realizing this goal. New preparation systems const ructed in the sample preparation laboratory (SPL) include an automated bank of 10 small-volume graphite reactors, an automated system to process organ ic carbon samples, and a multi-dimensional preparative capillary gas chroma tograph (PCGC). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.