Use of AMS in the marine environment

In recent years, the field of AMS has expanded into many areas of science. This paper reviews a variety of applications of AMS in the marine environment, focusing particularly on recent developments and applications. Following a brief summary of the three main isotope techniques used in environmental studies: dating, tracing and source identification, a number of applications are considered. Traditional (14)C-dating is no longer the dominant application of AMS measurements, and together with measurements of (10)Be, (26)Al and (36)Cl, much of the research is now directed towards an understanding of global climate change via studies of oceanic circulation, atmospheric processes and past climates by cosmic ray exposure dating. Profiles of long-lived cosmogenic radionuclides in sediments and ice cores, as a function of depth and, thus, age, provide key information on past solar variability, production rate changes and atmospheric transport and deposition mechanisms. Useful paleoclimatic information may be derived from these archives both because deposition is influenced by climate and because solar activity (which influences production) and solar radiance (which influences climate) are correlated. In recent years, emphasis has been put on the development and application of AMS techniques for the measurement of heavier long-lived isotopes, including (99)Tc, (129)I, (236)U and other actinide isotopes. AMS combines ultra low detection limits and the possibility to analyse isotope ratios that can be difficult with traditional instruments and has been used in a number of applications on the consequences and uses of releases from nuclear energy. Finally, the use AMS in environmental sciences is expected to expand further in the foreseeable future with long-lived cosmogenic radionuclides contributing to a large body of knowledge on processes involving atmosphere, oceans, ice sheets, biosphere, soils and sediments.