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| University of Arizona AMS Laboratory | |
|---|---|
| Name | University of Arizona AMS Laboratory |
| Established | 1980s |
| Type | Research laboratory |
| City | Tucson |
| State | Arizona |
| Country | United States |
| Affiliations | University of Arizona, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Department of Geosciences (University of Arizona), Lunar and Planetary Laboratory |
University of Arizona AMS Laboratory The University of Arizona AMS Laboratory is a specialized research facility focused on accelerator mass spectrometry and radiocarbon dating, serving archaeologists, geoscientists, paleoclimatologists, and planetary scientists. The laboratory supports interdisciplinary projects drawing investigators from National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Smithsonian Institution, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and international institutions. Its outputs inform studies associated with Ice Age, Holocene, Pleistocene, Anthropocene, and planetary chronology for Mars missions and lunar sample analysis.
Founded during the expansion of accelerator-based techniques in the 1980s, the laboratory emerged amid developments at facilities such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Vanderbilt University. Early leadership included scientists collaborating with teams from Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Milestones parallel advances by groups at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, Max Planck Society, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The lab contributed to calibration efforts alongside projects like IntCal and partnerships with laboratories such as Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Plymouth Archaeological Institute, and University of Groningen. Over decades the facility coordinated with agencies including United States Geological Survey, United States Department of Energy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and international counterparts like European Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
The laboratory houses multiple accelerator systems comparable to instruments at Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf, TRIUMF, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research. Its sample preparation suites mirror protocols used at British Geological Survey, Geological Survey of Canada, CSIRO, and University of Copenhagen. Chemical clean labs comply with standards observed at Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, University of Bern, and Peking University. Ion sources, mass analyzers, and detectors follow designs tested at CERN, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Keck Observatory engineering groups. Climate-controlled storage and archive systems align with practices at National Archives and Records Administration, British Library, and Library of Congress conservation units.
Research spans chronologies for Archaeology, Paleontology, Quaternary science, and Planetary science with projects linked to teams from Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, American Museum of Natural History, Natural History Museum, London, and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Applications include radiocarbon dating for Ancestral Puebloans, Clovis culture, Neolithic Revolution, and megafauna extinction studies related to Mammuthus primigenius and Smilodon fatalis. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions collaborate with Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Desert Research Institute, and New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Planetary chronology efforts support missions like Mars Science Laboratory, Mars 2020, Apollo program sample reanalysis, and coordination with Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The lab contributes to studies of atmospheric carbon linked to Keeling Curve research and ice-core chronologies coordinated with Dome C, Greenland Ice Sheet Project, and EPICA teams.
The laboratory supports graduate and undergraduate training in partnership with Department of Geosciences (University of Arizona), Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, School of Geography and Development (University of Arizona), and interdisciplinary programs associated with College of Science (University of Arizona). Trainees participate in courses referencing curricula at University of California, Los Angeles, University of Washington, Princeton University, Yale University, and University of Chicago. Student projects often interface with museums and collections such as Arizona State Museum, Harvard University Herbaria, Field Museum of Natural History, and Royal Ontario Museum. Professional development includes workshops modeled on programs from International Radiocarbon Conference, Geological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, and European Geosciences Union.
The laboratory maintains partnerships with federal, academic, and cultural institutions including National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, University of New Mexico, Smithsonian Institution, American Antiquity Society, and international collaborators like University of Tokyo, University of Helsinki, University of São Paulo, and University of Cape Town. Collaborative projects link with observatories and research centers such as Kitt Peak National Observatory, Lowell Observatory, International Oceanographic Commission, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-related research groups. Funding and project support have come from entities like Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Packard Foundation, European Research Council, and Wellcome Trust.
Notable contributions include high-precision radiocarbon calibration work that informed IntCal20 revisions, chronology refinements for Clovis culture occupation layers used in debates with teams from University of Calgary and Texas A&M University, and isotope provenance studies connected to artifacts in collections at Metropolitan Museum of Art and British Museum. The lab participated in megafaunal extinction chronologies paralleling research at University of Adelaide and Monash University, and megathrust earthquake stratigraphy projects linked to Cascadia subduction zone investigations. Planetary sample dating assisted science teams from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and European Space Agency for returned-sample feasibility studies. The laboratory has contributed datasets used in high-profile assessments by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Quality control adheres to protocols akin to International Organization for Standardization frameworks and accreditation practices used by American Association for Laboratory Accreditation and national metrology institutes like National Institute of Standards and Technology. Safety programs align with guidelines from Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Radiation Protection Bureau, and institutional biosafety committees modeled after those at Johns Hopkins University and University of California system. Intercomparisons and proficiency tests are routinely performed with peer labs such as Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, SUERC, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, and Uppsala University to ensure analytical comparability.
Category:Accelerator mass spectrometry Category:Research laboratories Category:University of Arizona