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
Becerra-Valdivia L
(2022)
A chronology for the earliest human burials at Cuchipuy, central Chile
in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
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
Cassidy LM
(2020)
A dynastic elite in monumental Neolithic society.
in Nature
Fitzpatrick A
(2020)
A FACE FROM THE BRITISH IRON AGE: A DECORATED IRON AGE WEAVING COMB FROM HARWELL, OXFORDSHIRE
in Oxford Journal of Archaeology
Garnett M
(2021)
A HIGHLY PORTABLE AND INEXPENSIVE FIELD SAMPLING KIT FOR RADIOCARBON ANALYSIS OF CARBON DIOXIDE
in Radiocarbon
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
Higham T
(2020)
A prehistoric copper-production centre in central Thailand: its dating and wider implications
in Antiquity
Gehrels W
(2020)
A Preindustrial Sea-Level Rise Hotspot Along the Atlantic Coast of North America
in Geophysical Research Letters
Newsham KK
(2020)
A Previously Undescribed Helotialean Fungus That Is Superabundant in Soil Under Maritime Antarctic Higher Plants.
in Frontiers in microbiology
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
Lin Y
(2021)
A reconciled solution of Meltwater Pulse 1A sources using sea-level fingerprinting.
in Nature communications
Forbes V
(2020)
A sub-centennial, Little Ice Age climate reconstruction using beetle subfossil data from Nunalleq, southwestern Alaska
in Quaternary International
Duffy J
(2019)
Absence of Age-Related Trends in Stable Oxygen Isotope Ratios From Oak Tree Rings
in Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Scourse J
(2019)
Advance and retreat of the marine-terminating Irish Sea Ice Stream into the Celtic Sea during the Last Glacial: Timing and maximum extent
in Marine Geology
Douka K
(2019)
Age estimates for hominin fossils and the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic at Denisova Cave
in Nature
Kostova R
(2020)
AMS dating and ancient DNA analysis of bone relics associated with St John the Baptist from Sveti Ivan (Sozopol, Bulgaria)
in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Billett M
(2020)
An assessment of chamber 14 C methodologies for sampling aquatic CO 2 evasion
in Ecohydrology
Jensen TZT
(2020)
An integrated analysis of Maglemose bone points reframes the Early Mesolithic of Southern Scandinavia.
in Scientific reports
Reynolds D
(2019)
An integrated carbon and oxygen isotope approach to reconstructing past environmental variability in the northeast Atlantic Ocean
in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
Brace S
(2019)
Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain.
in Nature ecology & evolution
Frantz LAF
(2019)
Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Estop-Aragonés C
(2020)
Assessing the Potential for Mobilization of Old Soil Carbon After Permafrost Thaw: A Synthesis of 14 C Measurements From the Northern Permafrost Region
in Global Biogeochemical Cycles
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
Horan K
(2019)
Carbon dioxide emissions by rock organic carbon oxidation and the net geochemical carbon budget of the Mackenzie River Basin
in American Journal of Science
Becerra-Valdivia L
(2020)
Challenges in sample processing within radiocarbon dating and their impact in 14C-dates-as-data studies
in Journal of Archaeological Science
Ascough P
(2020)
Chemical Characteristics of Macroscopic Pyrogenic Carbon Following Millennial-Scale Environmental Exposure
in Frontiers in Environmental Science
Evans C
(2019)
Comment on: "Peatland carbon stocks and burn history: Blanket bog peat core evidence highlights charcoal impacts on peat physical properties and long-term carbon storage," by A. Heinemeyer, Q. Asena, W. L. Burn and A. L. Jones ( Geo: Geography and Environment 2018; e00063)
in Geo: Geography and Environment
Devièse T
(2019)
Compound-specific radiocarbon dating and mitochondrial DNA analysis of the Pleistocene hominin from Salkhit Mongolia.
in Nature communications
Frederikse T
(2021)
Constraining 20th-Century Sea-Level Rise in the South Atlantic Ocean
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
McLean D
(2020)
Constraints on the Timing of Explosive Volcanism at Aso and Aira Calderas (Japan) Between 50 and 30 ka: New Insights From the Lake Suigetsu Sedimentary Record (SG14 Core)
in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
Schillereff D
(2019)
Convergent human and climate forcing of late-Holocene flooding in Northwest England
in Global and Planetary Change
Campeau A
(2019)
Current forest carbon fixation fuels stream CO2 emissions.
in Nature communications
Reade H
(2020)
Deglacial landscapes and the Late Upper Palaeolithic of Switzerland
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Massilani D
(2020)
Denisovan ancestry and population history of early East Asians.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Richards LA
(2019)
Dual in-aquifer and near surface processes drive arsenic mobilization in Cambodian groundwaters.
in The Science of the total environment
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
Biagi P
(2020)
Early Neolithic Settlement of the Po Plain (Northern Italy) Vhò and Related Sites
in Documenta Praehistorica
Dean JF
(2020)
East Siberian Arctic inland waters emit mostly contemporary carbon.
in Nature communications
Dickens WA
(2019)
Enhanced glacial discharge from the eastern Antarctic Peninsula since the 1700s associated with a positive Southern Annular Mode.
in Scientific reports
Verity R
(2020)
Estimates of the severity of COVID-19 disease
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
Ardelean C
(2020)
Evidence of human occupation in Mexico around the Last Glacial Maximum
in Nature
Cole P
(2019)
Explosive activity of the last 1000 years at La Soufrière, St Vincent, Lesser Antilles
in Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
Tarlati S
(2020)
Final deglaciation of the Malin Sea through meltwater release and calving events
in Scottish Journal of Geology
Montoya E
(2021)
Forests protect aquatic communities from detrimental impact by volcanic deposits in the tropical Andes (Ecuador)
in Regional Environmental Change
Ersmark E
(2019)
Genetic turnovers and northern survival during the last glacial maximum in European brown bears.
in Ecology and evolution
Hocking E
(2021)
Geological evidence of an unreported historical Chilean tsunami reveals more frequent inundation
in Communications Earth & Environment
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 |