AMS measurement of 10Be concentrations in marine sediments from Chile Trench at the TANDAR laboratory

Abstract

The 10Be/9Be ratios in marine sediments samples from the Southern Chile Trench have been measured using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The samples were measured at the TANDAR accelerator, where the discrimination of the 10Be radionuclides was achieved by means of a passive absorber in front of an ionization chamber. This setup along with the high voltage available, provided a complete suppression of the 10B isobar interference. The obtained values for the 10Be concentrations, of the order of 109 atoms/g, are the first 10Be measurements from the Southern Chile Trench and offer an excellent tracer to quantitatively study the recycling of sediments in Andean magmas.