National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF)
Lead Research Organisation:
Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
Department Name: SUERC
Abstract
Radiocarbon is an immensely powerful tool to probe Earth's human and environmental history over the past 50,000 years Radiocarbon science requires infrastructure in order to be at the leading edge, both physical infrastructure such as equipment and laboratories, but as important are the people who provide the expertise, drive method development and new areas of application, and develop systems to ensure data are accessible, interoperable and reusable. The requirements for radiocarbon in environmental sciences necessitate delivery of fundamental capabilities at a national level for the following reasons: (1) breadth of community need for fundamental radiocarbon analyses; (2) the substantial continued investment, both instruments and people, required to be at the leading edge; and (3) the capacity of delivery demanded by the UK research portfolio. Where these requirements exist, national facilities are a demonstrably cost-effective mechanism to deliver and underpin environmental science research and innovation, now and in the future.
The Facility will operate to underpin the UKs environmental research community in areas where radiocarbon analyses are required, facilitating, supporting and encouraging the best research, technology and new ideas. The capabilities and expertise delivered by the Facility are either technically unique within the UK and/or are delivered at a high-standard and capacity and cannot be effectively delivered without national support, and crucially represent long-term value.
The benefits of a national facility are that it will be greater than the sum of its parts. In addition to the direct support of projects and provision of training, sustained support best fit the needs of the project leaders and provide facility staff with a longer-term perspective and understanding of where the major challenges and opportunities are in order to best service the environmental science community. The Facility represents a major forward-looking evolution in the provision of radiocarbon capabilities and expertise for the UK research community in the 21st century, providing increased community innovation and flexibility, whilst retaining the core purpose of underpinning UK science with internationally competitive, state-of-the-art capabilities and expertise.
The Facility will operate to underpin the UKs environmental research community in areas where radiocarbon analyses are required, facilitating, supporting and encouraging the best research, technology and new ideas. The capabilities and expertise delivered by the Facility are either technically unique within the UK and/or are delivered at a high-standard and capacity and cannot be effectively delivered without national support, and crucially represent long-term value.
The benefits of a national facility are that it will be greater than the sum of its parts. In addition to the direct support of projects and provision of training, sustained support best fit the needs of the project leaders and provide facility staff with a longer-term perspective and understanding of where the major challenges and opportunities are in order to best service the environmental science community. The Facility represents a major forward-looking evolution in the provision of radiocarbon capabilities and expertise for the UK research community in the 21st century, providing increased community innovation and flexibility, whilst retaining the core purpose of underpinning UK science with internationally competitive, state-of-the-art capabilities and expertise.
Publications
Verity R
(2020)
Estimates of the severity of COVID-19 disease
Rush Graham Phillip
(2021)
Rapid sea-level rise and climate change : lessons from the early Holocene
Bell B
(2021)
Palynological evidence from a sub-alpine marsh of enhanced Little Ice Age snowpack in the Marrakech High Atlas, North Africa
in Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
Fielding JJ
(2020)
Tracing lake pollution, eutrophication and partial recovery from the sediments of Windermere, UK, using geochemistry and sediment microfabrics.
in The Science of the total environment
Richards LA
(2019)
Dual in-aquifer and near surface processes drive arsenic mobilization in Cambodian groundwaters.
in The Science of the total environment
Tipping E
(2022)
Relationships between riverine and terrestrial dissolved organic carbon: Concentration, radiocarbon signature, specific UV absorbance.
in The Science of the total environment
Rushby G
(2019)
Testing the mid-Holocene relative sea-level highstand hypothesis in North Wales, UK
in The Holocene
Silva A
(2021)
A closer look at the forgotten bones of the Dolmen of Pedras Grandes (Odivelas, Portugal). (Examining old human remains 7). UN RECORRIDO POR LOS HUESOS OLVIDADOS DEL DOLMEN DE PEDRAS GRANDES (ODIVELAS, PORTUGAL)
in SPAL. Revista de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Sevilla
Horrocks C
(2020)
Predicting climate change impacts on maritime Antarctic soils: a space-for-time substitution study
in Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Tarlati S
(2020)
Final deglaciation of the Malin Sea through meltwater release and calving events
in Scottish Journal of Geology
Dickens WA
(2019)
Enhanced glacial discharge from the eastern Antarctic Peninsula since the 1700s associated with a positive Southern Annular Mode.
in Scientific reports
Reade H
(2020)
Radiocarbon chronology and environmental context of Last Glacial Maximum human occupation in Switzerland.
in Scientific reports
Sayer EJ
(2019)
Tropical forest soil carbon stocks do not increase despite 15 years of doubled litter inputs.
in Scientific reports
Waldron S
(2019)
C mobilisation in disturbed tropical peat swamps: old DOC can fuel the fluvial efflux of old carbon dioxide, but site recovery can occur.
in Scientific reports
Jensen TZT
(2020)
An integrated analysis of Maglemose bone points reframes the Early Mesolithic of Southern Scandinavia.
in Scientific reports
Wang J
(2020)
Long-term patterns of hillslope erosion by earthquake-induced landslides shape mountain landscapes.
in Science advances
Massilani D
(2020)
Denisovan ancestry and population history of early East Asians.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Ferretti L
(2020)
Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 transmission suggests epidemic control with digital contact tracing.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Corrick EC
(2020)
Synchronous timing of abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Davis LG
(2019)
Late Upper Paleolithic occupation at Cooper's Ferry, Idaho, USA, ~16,000 years ago.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Davis LG
(2020)
Response to Comment on "Late Upper Paleolithic occupation at Cooper's Ferry, Idaho, USA, ~16,000 years ago".
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Montoya E
(2021)
Forests protect aquatic communities from detrimental impact by volcanic deposits in the tropical Andes (Ecuador)
in Regional Environmental Change
Haig J
(2020)
A rapid throughput technique to isolate pyrogenic carbon by hydrogen pyrolysis for stable isotope and radiocarbon analysis.
in Rapid communications in mass spectrometry : RCM
Garnett M
(2021)
A HIGHLY PORTABLE AND INEXPENSIVE FIELD SAMPLING KIT FOR RADIOCARBON ANALYSIS OF CARBON DIOXIDE
in Radiocarbon
Bronk Ramsey C
(2020)
Reanalysis of the Atmospheric Radiocarbon Calibration Record from Lake Suigetsu, Japan
in Radiocarbon
Reimer P
(2020)
The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0-55 cal kBP)
in Radiocarbon
Bronk Ramsey C
(2019)
The Importance of Open Access to Chronological Information: The IntChron Initiative
in Radiocarbon
Garfinkel Y
(2019)
Lachish Fortifications and State Formation in the Biblical Kingdom of Judah in Light of Radiometric Datings
in Radiocarbon
Heaton T
(2020)
Marine20-The Marine Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0-55,000 cal BP)
in Radiocarbon
Garnett M
(2019)
Radiocarbon Analysis of Methane at the NERC Radiocarbon Facility (East Kilbride)
in Radiocarbon
Hogg A
(2020)
SHCal20 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0-55,000 Years cal BP
in Radiocarbon
Schulting R
(2021)
Six centuries of adaptation to a challenging island environment: AMS 14C dating and stable isotopic analysis of pre-Columbian human remains from the Bahamian archipelago reveal dietary trends
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Wedage O
(2020)
Late Pleistocene to early-Holocene rainforest foraging in Sri Lanka: Multidisciplinary analysis at Kitulgala Beli-lena
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Simms A
(2021)
Evidence for a "Little Ice Age" glacial advance within the Antarctic Peninsula - Examples from glacially-overrun raised beaches
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Mackay H
(2021)
Spatial variation of hydroclimate in north-eastern North America during the last millennium
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Newnham R
(2019)
Peat humification records from Restionaceae bogs in northern New Zealand as potential indicators of Holocene precipitation, seasonality, and ENSO
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Ó Cofaigh C
(2019)
Early deglaciation of the British-Irish Ice Sheet on the Atlantic shelf northwest of Ireland driven by glacioisostatic depression and high relative sea level
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Reade H
(2020)
Deglacial landscapes and the Late Upper Palaeolithic of Switzerland
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Avery R
(2019)
A new varve sequence from Windermere, UK, records rapid ice retreat prior to the Lateglacial Interstadial (GI-1)
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Hamilton C
(2019)
Sediment supply and barrier dynamics as driving mechanisms of Holocene coastal change for the southern North Sea basin
in Quaternary International
Forbes V
(2020)
A sub-centennial, Little Ice Age climate reconstruction using beetle subfossil data from Nunalleq, southwestern Alaska
in Quaternary International
Orr T
(2021)
Improved pretreatment method for the isolation and decontamination of pyrogenic carbon for radiocarbon dating using hydrogen pyrolysis
in Quaternary Geochronology
Sear DA
(2020)
Human settlement of East Polynesia earlier, incremental, and coincident with prolonged South Pacific drought.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Description | Radiocarbon dating is the most versatile technique for scientists seeking to precisely date the timing of events and rates of processes in the history of humans and earth systems over the last 50,000 years. Natural abundance and 'bomb' radiocarbon also have wide applications in quantifying the movement of carbon in the environment. The NERC Radiocarbon Laboratory (a component of NEIF- National Environmental Isotope Facility) is internationally recognised and supports, participates in and initiates globally competitive science. This provides a comprehensive service for the NERC research community, including Universities and NERC Centres (e.g. BGS, CEH, BAS, NOC) across a wide range of science areas, including Earth, Marine, Terrestrial and Freshwater, Atmospheric and Polar Science and Science-based Archaeology: • Expertise across a wide spectrum of radiocarbon techniques & applications • Specialist advice at all stages of projects from project inception, applications and grant proposals, field sampling, sample storage and preparation, to data interpretation and publication • Technical developments, often developed collaboratively, to provide leading edge and unique research opportunities to UK researchers • Access to state-of-the art equipment, including cutting-edge AMS analytical equipment (the newly-installed MICADAS and PIMS technology) • Training of students and visiting researchers, including project-customised practical laboratory experience and residential radiocarbon courses |
Exploitation Route | The Facility exists to provide analytical support and scientific expertise for NERC approved projects throughout the UK. Therefore all the findings relate to these projects (c 50-60 per year). The Facility also continuously develops new methods in order to provide UK scientists with cutting-edge techniques for the radiocarbon applications in their projects. Examples include compound-specific amino-acid dating for archaeological bones, novel sampling methods to enable NERC science in otherwise inaccessible, remote and challenging environments, and speciation of organic carbon in complex environmental matrices via techniques available in only a very few (or no) other locations worldwide. |
Sectors | Environment,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |