title: A Method for Continuous (239)Pu Determinations in Arctic and Antarctic Ice Cores.
abstract: Atmospheric nuclear weapons testing (NWT) resulted in the injection of plutonium (Pu) into the atmosphere and subsequent global deposition. We present a new method for continuous semiquantitative measurement of (239)Pu in ice cores, which was used to develop annual records of fallout from NWT in ten ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica. The (239)Pu was measured directly using an inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometer, thereby reducing analysis time and increasing depth-resolution with respect to previous methods. To validate this method, we compared our one year averaged results to published (239)Pu records and other records of NWT. The (239)Pu profiles from the Arctic ice cores reflected global trends in NWT and were in agreement with discrete Pu profiles from lower latitude ice cores. The (239)Pu measurements in the Antarctic ice cores tracked low latitude NWT, consistent with previously published discrete records from Antarctica. Advantages of the continuous (239)Pu measurement method are (1) reduced sample preparation and analysis time; (2) no requirement for additional ice samples for NWT fallout determinations; (3) measurements are exactly coregistered with all other chemical, elemental, isotopic, and gas measurements from the continuous analytical system; and (4) the long half-life means the (239)Pu record is stable through time.
authors.affiliation: Desert Research Institute , 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, Nevada 89512, United States.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Arienzo
authors.affiliation: Desert Research Institute , 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, Nevada 89512, United States.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: McConnell
authors.affiliation: Desert Research Institute , 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, Nevada 89512, United States.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chellman
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary , 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Criscitiello
authors.affiliation: Australian Antarctic Division, 203 Channel Highway, Kingston Tasmania 7050, Australia.|Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania , Hobart 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Curran
authors.affiliation: Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Potsdam/Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fritzsche
authors.affiliation: Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Potsdam/Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kipfstuhl
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mulvaney
authors.affiliation: University of Alaska Fairbanks , 505 N Chandalar Dr, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, United States.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.affiliation: Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Potsdam/Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Opel
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institute , 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sigl
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Steffensen
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere; D006207:Half-Life; D007053:Ice; D054043:Nuclear Weapons; D011005:Plutonium
chemical_list: D007053:Ice; D011005:Plutonium