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The detection of low abundances of Cs-135 in environmental samples is of significant interest in different fields of environmental sciences, especially in combination with its shorter-lived sister isotope Cs-137. The method of Ion-Laser InterAction Mass Spectrometry (ILIAMS) for barium separation at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) was investigated and further improved for low abundance cesiumdetection. The difluorides BaF2 and CsF2 differ in their electron detachment energies and make isobar suppression with ILIAMS by more than 7 orders of magnitude possible. By this method, samples with ratios down to the order of Cs-135,137/Cs-133 ≈ 10^(−11) are measurable and the Cs-135/Cs-137 ratios of first environmental samples were determined by AMS.

The evolution and course of Himalayan rivers when exiting the orogen is controlled by the interplay between tectonics, climate, and associated sediment flux. We investigate these interactions by studying a Late Pleistocene deflection of the Sutlej River at the southern margin of the western Himalayan. This part of the Himalaya is also referred to as Kangra Recess. Late Quaternary faulting and folding along the Main Frontal Thrust and related back thrusts has created anticlinal structures in the south and piggyback basins in the north. Combined field observations and chronological constraints have shown that the anticline evolved as multiple fault segments, which grew through lateral propagation and led to the permanent deflection of the Sutlej River by ~ 50 km to the southeast. In this work, we present new luminescence and cosmogenic nuclide chronologies combined with previously published data to better identify the sedimentation history. Most importantly, we focus on the cause and final timing of the permanent river deflection. We show evidence for widespread aggradation and sediment deposition by the Sutlej River megafan and its tributaries starting before 47 ka and continuing until ~ 26 ka. Our 10Be and 26Al results in combination with available OSL data document the last widespread throughflow of the Sutlej at ~ 30-25 ka. We argue that a combination of climate and tectonic factors, especially the variability of monsoonal strength, led to major changes in sediment supply at short time scales and therefore affected the course of the Sutlej River system.

The performance of 41Ca measurements at the 6MV AMS system at HZDR, DREAMS (DREsden AMS) was improved in terms of overall efficiency and suppression of interfering isobar 41K. Mixing CaF2 samples not only with Ag, but also with PbF2 increases the negative ionization efficiency by a factor 3, from 0.15% to 0.45%. This option is dedicated to low level samples because ion source parameters have to be lowered, which increases the measurement time. In general, 41K–suppression factor of the detector is improved from 2 × 10⁴ to 4 × 10⁴ by advances in the analysis of the spectra. With such improvements, a 95%confidence level (C.L.) sensitivity for the 41Ca/40Ca ratio of 2 × 10–15 can be achieved at DREAMS.

A pilot study to quantify 55Fe in steel from a reactor vessel of a nuclear power plant by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) without any chemical sample preparation was validated by liquid scintillation counting (LSC) and AMS after radiochemical separation. AMS reaches an uncertainty Fe−1 level within less than 10 min measuring time. The background was Fe−1, presently limited by the short measurement time. The new instrumental AMS method for analysing 55Fe from neutron capture production is reasonable and fast compared to other analytical methods.

If people think about robots, they think of human-like machines with equivalent cognitive abilities and sensorimotor skills. The reality looks quite different. Most commonly, robots with six serially arranged joints are installed in industrial production. They are placed behind safety fences, isolated from their environment. The main requirements for those robots are fast speed, high accuracy, and repeatability. Coordinates are used to describe the kinematic structure and to program the robot motion. The workpiece is placed as accurately as possible and external sensors are used to capture the environment. In the last decade, a new sort of robot has evolved. The main purpose of these robots is to assist the human co-worker, e.g., to take over dull and heavy tasks. These robots are often called “collaborative robots.” The most common associated terminology in research is “physical Human-Robot Interaction.” To ensure the safety of the human co-worker, collaborative robots are equipped with safety features, i.e., sensors to detect contact with the environment. Collaborative robots usually possess more degrees of freedom than conventional robots do. Most common are seven joints, which makes them kinematically redundant. This means that the robot can use infinitely many different joint motions to achieve a desired tool motion. Compared to conventional industrial applications, the programming of collaborative robot cells is more complicated since the programmer not only has to focus on the robot process, but also has to provide a safe and stable robot motion that does not pose collision and clamping hazards to the human co-worker. Since the robot is more dexterous and can perform multiple tasks, this is supposed to be easier in theory. In practice, however, the programming procedure did not change compared to conventional robots. In most cases, it is only possible to assign one main task to the robot and the kinematic redundancy is not used to manage additional subordinate tasks simultaneously. Even worse, the kinematic redundancy impedes robot programming since an unique relation between tool motion and joint motion does not exist any more. This thesis focuses on fundamental topics of robotic manipulation in physical Human-Robot-Interaction. Contributions on dexterity, stability, and safety are presented. The thesis proposes a method to analyze the ability of a robot to perform a task. The method is extended to analyze multi-task control. Control approaches are developed that facilitate and speed up the programming of applications in physical Human-Robot Interaction. The key method of this thesis is differential geometry. Hereby, the thesis tries to help understanding the kinematic foundations and demonstrates how to apply the theory to a real robot. For users of the presented methods, the results are comparable since the coordinate dependency is kept at a minimum. Moreover, less experienced robot programmers are enabled since the control approaches auto-tune the control parameters during run-time.

At the DREAMS (DREsden AMS) facility we are implementing a so-called Super-SIMS (SIMS = Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) device, which combines the micron-scale spatial resolution of a commercial SIMS (CAMECA IMS 7f-auto) with the very high selectivity through molecule suppression by AMS. We have demonstrated high transmission for major element ions including silicon, fluorine and iodine, however the lack of well characterized calibration materials makes a true quantification of trace and ultra-trace elements contents difficult. Measurements of P in Si show the linearity of the instrument’s relative sensitivity factor over more than three orders of magnitude, and measurements of the isotopic ratio of bromine in ZnS document the reliability of our approach. The goal of the DREAMS Super-SIMS project is to provide quantitative concentration data of ultra-trace elements in geological samples in the context of resource technology.

Interstellar radionuclides, such as 60Fe, are produced in massive stars, ejected by supernovae and can be recovered in geological archives on Earth. Ferromanganese encrustations on the bottom of Earth’s major oceans represent one important geological archive with a time-record of interstellar radionuclides. The paper of Segl et al. provided the first cosmogenic 10Be dating of the ferromanganese crust VA13/2 in which interstellar 60Fe was discovered. After re-evaluation and comparison with other published and recently acquired data of the same crust, we conclude that the calculated 10Be/9Be data set is wrong by a factor of 9 due to a mathematical lapse. In addition, the ordinate of the corresponding 10Be/9Be graph is in discrepancy with the given data. The updated data set is now in agreement with recently published and acquired data.

In this work we consider the current certification process of applications with physical human–robot interaction (pHRI). Two major hazards are collisions and clamping scenarios. The implementation of safety measures in pHRI applications typically depends strongly on coordinates, e.g., to monitor the robot velocity or to predict external forces. We show that the current certification process does not, in general, guarantee a safe robot behavior. In particular, in unstructured environments it is not possible to predict all risks in advance. We therefore propose to control the energy of the robot, which is a coordinate invariant entity. For an impedance controlled robot, the total energy consists of potential energy and kinetic energy. The energy flow from task description to physical interaction follows a strict causality. We assign a safe energy budget for the robot. With this energy budget, the presented controller auto-tunes its parameters to limit the exchanged kinetic energy during a collision and the potential energy during clamping scenarios. In contact, the robot behaves compliantly and therefore eliminates clamping danger. After contact, the robot automatically continues to follow the desired trajectory. With this approach the number of safety-related parameters to be determined can be reduced to one energy value, which has the potential to significantly speed up the commissioning of pHRI applications. The proposed technique is validated by experiments.

Interest in the long-lived radioisotope 236U (T1/2 = 23.4 million years) has significantly increased recently due to the emergence of environmental and earth science applications. Compared to the previous setup at VERA, which was based on oxygen stripping and a time-of-flight detector, we have improved the sensitivity of VERA by more than an order of magnitude by switching to helium stripping and by installing a second 90° magnet in our analyzer beamline. The new setup has been successfully employed for several research projects. Here, we present the characterization of the upgraded spectrometer. We discuss the design of the new beamline and present benchmark measurements, suggesting an instrumental sensitivity limit well below 236U/238U = 10−14. The yield for the 3+ charge state is 19%, of which 90% are recorded in the detector. In environmental samples, one in 4500 sputtered actinide atoms is detected. While this allows tackling natural 236U, also measurements of anthropogenic 236U or other actinides profit from the higher sensitivity. This allows analysis of smaller samples, but also has made the rare anthropogenic isotope 233U accessible.

The environmental abundance of 129I has been significantly increased in the Nuclear Age starting from the 1950s. Tons of anthropogenic 129I have been discharged into the environment through anthropogenic nuclear activities. This fact allows the relative dating of spring water samples, where low concentrations of 129I indicate waters with no surface contact since the 50s. In this regard, the present study aims to identify the relative age of spring waters in the Kaunertal Valley in Western Austria. More than fifty water samples were derived from precipitation collectors, springs, and directly from the Gepatschferner glacier. Measurement results cover 129I concentrations ranging from 1 × 106 to 5 × 108 atoms per litre. The variability of six springs, which were tested in July and September, was found to be negligible given the associated measurement uncertainties. No altitudinal dependence was found along the topographic gradient. Significant differences between high 129I concentrations of precipitation and low 129I contents of glacier samples were found and are considered beneficial to ascribe spring waters to pre-nuclear (older than 1950) or modern times of formation. Additional tritium analyses of selected water samples partly support the usage of 129I for relative dating.

Selective laser photodetachment of anions is a novel technique for isobar suppression in Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). Ion-laser interaction times on the order of ms required for near-complete isobar suppression are achieved by retarding the ions in a gas-filled radio frequency quadrupole cooler. Inside this RFQ, the cooled anion beam is overlapped collinearly with an intense cw-laser beam. Within the Ion Laser InterAction Mass Spectrometry (ILIAMS) project at the University of Vienna, a dedicated injector beamline has been coupled to the VERA-AMS facility to explore and develop this method. In this work, experimental investigations on ion beam transmission, stability and elemental selectivity of the new setup are presented. A 532 nm laser at 10 W transmitted power provides suppression factors larger than ten orders of magnitude for S− and MgO− under AMS conditions with simultaneous beam transmission for the ions of interest of up to 80%. The excellent ion identification capabilities of the subsequent AMS system also facilitate the study of destruction and formation of molecular anions inside the ion cooler. These kinetic and chemical reactions with the buffer gas provide additional elemental selectivity in certain cases, whereas others constitute a source of background.

The experimental setup at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) was extended with an ion beam cooler and a 18 W laser to perform Ion-Laser InterAction Mass Spectrometry (ILIAMS). Gas collisions of the decelerated negative ion beam with He buffer gas inside a radio-frequency quadrupole slow down the ions, which facilitates element selective photodetachment to remove isobaric interferences. Here we present the first successful implementation of a suppression of the isobar of 36Cl via laser-photodetachment into an AMS measurement. Whereas conventional AMS measurements require separation of the isobar 36S at high beam energy, ILIAMS takes advantage of the higher electron affinities of Cl− (3.6 eV) compared to S− (2.1 eV). Using 532 nm photons (Eph = 2.3 eV) the isobar 36S is suppressed by 10 orders of magnitude. A high transmission of the Cl− beam through the ion cooler (up to 80%) and a quantitative suppression of the isobaric interference allows for competitive measurements at low accelerator voltages and with lower charge states. This results in high yields for 36Cl transport to the detector. The ILIAMS system is stable over several days of beamtime and blank levels below 36Cl/Cl = 10−15 are reached. The accomplishment of a 36Cl AMS measurement at a final beam energy as low as 5.4 MeV with full separation of isobars and m/q interferences shows the potential of the new isobar suppression method to widen the capabilities of smaller and middle-sized AMS facilities.

In the Jakupica Mt. (North Macedonia, Central Balkan Peninsula; ~41.7° N, ~21.4 E; maximum elevation: 2540 m asl) a large plateau glacier was reconstructed. The lowest mapped moraines in the northeastern valleys are at elevations of 1490-1720 m asl and suggest the former existence of glacier tongues of ~3 km length. The maximum ice extent and five deglaciation phases were reconstructed. The equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of the most extended glacial phase is 2073+37/-25 m asl. The 10Be Cosmic Ray Exposure (CRE) age (n=8) of this phase was estimated at 19.3+1.7/-1.3 ka, conformable with the LGM similarly to the nearby Jablanica Mt [1]. CRE ages from the next moraine generation placed the first phase of deglaciation to 18.2+1.0/-3.0 ka (n=8). The samples from the moraine of the penultimate deglaciation phase (n=5) provided CRE ages with large scatter and biased towards old ages, which is probably the result of inherited cosmogenic nuclide concentrations within the rock [2, 3], as it was suggested in the cirques of the Retezat Mt. [4].Glacio-climatological modelling was performed under constrains of geomorphological evidence in order to make paleoclimatological inferences. The degree-day model was used to calculate the amount of accumulation required to sustain the glaciological equilibrium assuming a certain temperature drop at the ELA for the most extended stage.If the LGM mean annual temperature and the increased annual temperature range suggested by pollen-based paleoclimate reconstructions [5] are placed into the glaciological model the estimated annual total melt at the LGM ELA implies much wetter conditions compared to the current climate. This is in contrast with the regional LGM annual precipitation reconstructions of the same dataset, which suggests ~25% decrease in the Jakupica Mt. Alternatively, the model can be constrained with the current annual temperature range and the regional estimates of LGM temperature drop at 6-7 °C. This suggests 1.3 to 1.8 times more simulated precipitation than today.These results support paleoclimate models, which predict increased precipitation in this region and suggest that in the Central Balkan region either the precipitation or the annual temperature amplitude (or both) are inaccurate in the pollen-based paleoclimate reconstruction database. Funding: NKFIH FK124807; GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00009; RADIATE 19001688-ST. [1] Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger et al. 2020. Geomorphology 351: 106985[2] Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger et al. 2021. GRA, EGU21-4573[3] Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger et al. 2021. vDEUQUA2021, Book of Abstracts, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5526214[4] Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger et al. 2021. Geomorphology, 107719.[5] Bartlein, et al. 2011. Clim. Dyn. 37, 775–802.

Since the 19th century, geomorphological studies in the currently mainly unglaciated central Balkan Peninsula described extended glacial landforms and repeated glaciations. With the growing number of numerical ages an ambiguous picture has formed concerning the timing of the most extended glaciation and also on the glacier response to the cooling phases (e.g. Younger Dryas) during the last deglaciation of these mountain ranges.This study provides 10Be cosmic ray exposure ages of a succession of glacial landforms in the Jakupica Mt. (North Macedonia), aiming to improve the understanding of Late Pleistocene glacier development in the area [1].In the Jakupica Mt. (~41.7° N, ~21.4 E; Solunska Glava, 2540 m asl) a large plateau glacier was reconstructed (max. area ~45 km2, max thickness: ~300 m), where three main ice accumulation areas could be delineated [2]. The study area comprises six northeastward facing, formerly glaciated valleys. Two of these valleys emerge from the plateau, one stands separate, and the remaining three are topographically separated by a relatively flat NNW-SSE oriented ridge. During the most extensive glacial stages, these three valleys were fed by ice overflowing above this ridge from the plateau. The lowest mapped moraines are descending down to 1550-1700 m asl suggesting the former existence of glacier tongues of ~3 km length. The large plateau ice and the complicated system of confluences makes glacier reconstructions and equilibrium line altitude (ELA) calculations challenging. Thus, the ELAs were preliminary estimated based on the maximum elevation of the lowermost lateral moraines, leading to ELA values of 1800±50 m a.s.l. for the most extended phase.The maximum ice extent outlined by the lowest mapped moraines descending down to 1550-1500 m asl. occurred around ~24-19 ka (n=5), in agreement with the timing of the Last Glacial Maximum. During the Lateglacial, the exposure ages are getting younger by the glacier recession up to the moraines at ~1820 m asl (~19-14 ka, n=15). However, the highest sampled landforms (~2200 m asl) provided ages with a large scatter between ~25 and ~5 ka (n=6). This large scatter and the observed bias towards old ages are most probably the result of inherited cosmogenic nuclide concentrations within the rock. Consequently, 10Be exposure ages alone are apparently not suitable to determine the age of final deglaciation of this mountain. Similar conditions have been observed in the Retezat Mts (Southern Carpathians, Romania) [3].This research was supported by the NKFIH FK124807 and GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00009 projects and by the Radiate Transnational Access 19001688-ST.[1] Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger et al., 2020. Last deglaciation in the central Balkan Peninsula: Geochronological evidence from Jablanica Mt. (North Macedonia). Geomorphology 351: 106985[2] Temovski et al., 2019. Glacial geomorphology of the northeastern part of the Jakupica Mountain, Macedonia, Central Balkan Peninsula. GRA 21, EGU2019-7822[3] Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger et al., 2018. Glacier reconstruction, deglaciation chronology and paleo-environment reconstruction, Retezat Mountains, Southern Carpathians, Romania. Geologica Balcanica; Abstracts of the XXI. CBGA Congress, Salzburg, 10-13 September; p. 240-241.

The abstract is available here: https://uscholar.univie.ac.at/o:1227620

On September 12, 2019 at 12:49:48 (UT) a bolide was observed by hundreds of eye-witnesses from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark and the UK. One day later a small meteorite stone was found by accident in Flensburg. The presence of short-lived cosmogenic radionuclides with half-lives as short as 16 days proves the recent exposure of the found object to cosmic rays in space linking it clearly to the bolide event. An exceptionally short exposure time of ~5000 years was determined. The 24.5 g stone has a fresh black fusion crust, a low density of -9 m³/kg). The rock consists of relict chondrules and clusters of sulfide and magnetite grains set in a fine-grained matrix. The most abundant phases are phyllosilicates. Carbonates (~3.9 vol.%) occur as calcites, dolomites, and a Na-rich phase. The relict chondrules (often surrounded by sulfide laths) are free of anhydrous silicates and contain abundant serpentine. Lithic clasts are also surrounded by similar sulfide laths partly intergrown with carbonates. ⁵³Mn-⁵³Cr ages of carbonates in Flensburg indicate that brecciation and contemporaneous formation of the pyrrhotite-carbonate intergrowths by hydrothermal activities happened no later than 4564.6±1.0 Ma (using D'Orbigny as Mn-Cr anchor). This corresponds to 2.6±1.0 or 3.4±1.0 Ma after CAIs, depending on the exact age CAI age. This is the oldest dated evidence for brecciation and carbonate formation, which likely occurred during parent body growth and incipient heating due to ²⁶Al. The O isotope composition of Flensburg reveals that it plots at the ¹⁶O-rich end of the CM chondrite field and in the transition field to the CV-CK-CR chondrites. This is unexpected since the O-isotope compositions of strongly aqueously-altered chondrites are generally found to be at the ¹⁶O-poor end of the CM range. The mass-dependent Te isotopic compositionof Flensburg is slightly different from mean CM chondrites and is most similar to those of the ungrouped C2 chondrite Tagish Lake. On the other hand, the 50Ti and 54Cr isotope nomalies indicate that Flensburg is similar to CM chondrites, as do the ~10 wt.% H₂O. Yet, the bulk Zn, Cu, and Pb concentrations are about 30% lower than those of mean CM chondrites. The He, Ne and, Ar isotopes of Flensburg show no solar wind contribution; its trapped noble gas signature is similar to that of CMs with a slightly lower concentration of ²⁰Netr. Based on the bulk H, C and N elemental abundances and isotopic compositions, Flensburg is clearly unique among the analyzed chondrites as it has the lightest bulk H and N isotopic compositions of any type 1 or 2 chondrite. The number of soluble organic compounds in Flensburg is even lower than that of the brecciated CI chondrite Orgueil. The extraordinary significance of Flensburg is given by the observation that it represents the oldest chondrite sample, in which the contemporaneous episodes of aqueous alteration and brecciation are 81 perfectly visible. The characterization of a large variety of carbonaceous chondrites with different alteration histories is important for interpreting returned samples from the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa 2 missions.

International audience; Commercial 9Be solutions used for chemical preparation of samples for accelerator mass spectrometry contain the cosmogenic long-lived radionuclide 10Be at elevated but different 10Be/9Be levels. Within a systematic study of recently produced solutions, comparison to published data and new data on customised solutions from minerals, we recommend - if no customised solution is available - the 9Be solutions from Australian Chemical Reagents (ACR) or from LGC. They contain 10Be/9Be at the 3.4 × 10−15 level, which is still suitable for the majority of Earth science applications, compared to customised solutions at the 10−16 level for lowest-level studies. Commercial solutions from Scharlab having different lot numbers, i.e. an identification number assigned to a particular lot of material from a single manufacturer, vary in 10Be/9Be by up to a factor of nine. Hence, it seems an advisable strategy to buy a bigger quantity of a single production batch (such as 10 × 100 ml bottles of 9Be at 1 g l−1) and have them tested once at any AMS facility before first use. • The best 9Be carrier for low-level 10Be/9Be applications is a customised one from minerals like phenakite. • The best 9Be carriers for medium- and high-level 10Be/9Be applications are currently from Australian Chemical Reagents (ACR) or from LGC. • As 9Be carriers from Scharlab of different batches (LOT) contain 10Be/9Be at different levels, it is advisable to buy a bigger number of bottles of the same LOT of commercial carriers after being identified to have reasonably low isotope ratios.

Modern robots act in dynamic and partially unknown environments where path replanning can be mandatory if changes in the environment are observed. Task-prioritized control strategies are well known and effective solutions to ensure local adaptation of robot behaviour. The highest priority in a stack of tasks is typically given to the management of correct robot operation or safe interaction with the environment such as obstacles or joint limits avoidance, that we can consider as constraints. If a constraint makes impossible achieving a certain task, such as tracking a Cartesian trajectory, a local control algorithm partially sacrifices the latter which is only accomplished to the best of the robot's ability to generate internal motions. In this control framework, problems may occur in some applications, like in the surgical domain, where it is not safe that some tasks are simply sacrificed without prior notice. The contribution of this work is to introduce a coordinate invariant index, that is used to provide a geometrical interpretation of task conflicts in a task-priority control framework and to develop a method for on-line detection of algorithmic singularities, with the goal of increasing safety and performances during robot operations.

Coordinates play an essential role in the description of real world objects and physical processes. In robotics, coordinates are used to describe the kinematic structure and the kinematic and dynamic behavior. The description mostly takes place in charts, assigned by the observer of the robotic system. However, it is crucial that the described physical process does not depend on the coordinate choice of the observer. In this work we show the relation between coordinates and manipulability analysis. Manipulability measures are dependent of joint coordinates of the robot and task coordinates in the workspace of the robot. Both relations can be analyzed with tensor geometry. We remove the dependency on joint coordinates through the use of an appropriate metric. With the help of tensor contraction, the resulting induced metric in the workspace can be transformed into a coordinate invariant matrix. After applying eigenvalue decomposition on this matrix, we can visualize the dynamic manipulability of a robot as a coordinate invariant ellipsoid.

The Hainburg Hills form an elevated range at the south of the Male Karpaty mountains and separate the Vienna Basin from the Danube Basin. They consist of Variscian magmatic and metamorphic rocks covered with anchimetamorphic Mesozoic carbonates. The area west of the Hainburg Hills is well-known for its thermal sulfuric spa since Roman times. About 30 karst caves have been mapped in the area that show signs of hydrothermal or sulphuric acid speleogenesis.Two of these caves vertically separated by 92 m were numerically dated using terrestrial cosmogenic 26Al and 10Be in quartz washed into a cave and 230Th/U of calcite rafts. In addition, aeolian cover sediments were investigated using luminescence age dating.The upper c. 15 m wide and c. 20 m high cave chamber was completely filled with large, well-rounded quartz cobbles in a red matrix. The matrix contains over 30% clay and consists of quartz, K-feldspar, muscovite, chlorite, hematite, kaolinite, illite, and smectite. The occurrence of smectite in combination with the small grain size indicates soil forming processes in the B-horizon. We conclude that fluvial gravels –similar to modern ones of the Danube river - were transported into the cave together with a matrix originating from a soil cover. In-situ produced cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al in five quartz cobbles was used to calculate the time of sediment emplacement into the cave. Results indicate a depositional age of c. 4.5 Ma using the isochron technique.The lower cave was investigated using calcite rafts that form at the surface of cave pools using the 230Th/U dating method. One sample of thin, sharp-edged, and uncoated cave rafts gave the youngest age of c.0.32 Ma. Two other samples were more overgrown and gave older ages between 0.38 and 0.44 Ma. The pristine sample is best suited to reflect the time when the base level was close to the cave.Rates of vertical displacement vary between 30 and 35 m/Ma for the last 4 Ma and between 150 and 160 m/Ma for the last 0.32 Ma and document an increase of uplift/incision for the region. These numbers compare well to published rates from the unglaciated surroundings that also range from a maximum of 140 m/Ma to a minimum of 20-25 m/Ma and are generally much lower compared to formerly glaciated areas in the Alps and GPS measured uplift (c. 1000 m/Ma).The luminescence age of 14.6 ± 0.1 ka recorded in cover sands show that sediments they overly much older gravels. This implies sediments were repeatedly eroded from the top of the karstified bedrock surface. The aeolian sediments are primarily preserved in depressions within the bedrock surface. Therefore, the age may represent the end of a phase of intense aeolian activity when wind velocities decreased sufficiently to cause sand accumulation. This period is the peak in Western and Central Europe periglacial activity and accompanied by formation of aeolian deposits. The ages are comparable to aeolian deposits in the Vienna Basin area and cover sediments from the Transdanubian Range.

Fluvial terraces within the extensional structure of the Vienna Basin have been dissected by faults related to the sinistral movement of the Vienna Basin Transform Fault System (VBTF, Decker et al., 2005). Each fault block within the basin displays a slightly different succession of terraces regarding their number, elevation, and preservation. Generally, altitudes of terrace bases within the Vienna Basin vary between 5 and 130 m above the recent Danube river bed.This study focuses on one clearly confined fault block, the Rauchenwarth Plateau, located south of the Danube. The plateau forms the western part of intra-basinal hills crossing the Vienna Basin and consists mainly of Miocene sediments that are in part covered by quaternary fluvial terrace deposits at different elevations. The entire succession is widely covered by loess or re-deposited aeolian sediments. To depict the formations below the loess cover we use 19 wells to construct three sections crossing the eastern part of the block in E-W and two parallel sections in N-S direction. The sections show that three levels of fluvial terraces at the northern eastern side of the block are preserved. The lowest and highest levels are accessible in gravel pits with well-defined Miocene bases. These two levels with terrace bases ~67 m and ~24 m above the recent Danube contain large quartz cobbles suitable for dating using in-situ produced 26Al and 10Be. Sample sets were taken at 11 m (higher terrace) and 14 m (lower terrace) below todays surface. Sandy sediments from the lower level were in addition dated by luminescence on feldspar using the pIRIR 225 signal. Age calculations using the isochron method (Balco and Rovey, 2008) as well as inverse modelling for the upper level suggest burial durations of ~1.2 Ma. Results of age calculations using cosmogenic nuclides as well as luminescence ages for the lower level will be presented at the conference.Thanks to NKFIH 124807; OMAA 90öu17, the INSU/CNRS, the ANR through the program “EQUIPEX Investissement d’Avenir” and IRDReferences Balco, G., Rovey, C., 2008. Am. J. of Science 308, 1083-1114.Decker, K., et al., 2005. Quat. Sci. Rev. 24, 305-320.

8 pags., 4 figs., 4 tabs., We report on an attempt to reproduce the observation of β-delayed proton emission from Be through detection of the final state nucleus Be with accelerator mass spectrometry. Twelve samples were collected at the ISOLDE facility at CERN at different separator settings, allowing tests of different sources of contamination to be carried out. The observed amounts of Be per collected Be rule out several contamination sources, but do not agree internally. Formation of BeH molecular ions in the ion source may explain our data, in which case an upper limit of the βp branching ratio of 2.2 × 10 can be derived., We would like to acknowledge support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant agreement no. 654002, from the Spanish research projects FPA2015-64969- P, FPA2015-65035-P and FPA2017-87568-P (MINECO/FEDER, UE), and from the Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF-4181- 00218).

Isotopic ratios of radioactive releases into the environment are useful signatures for contamination source assessment. Uranium is known to behave conservatively in sea water so that a ratio of uranium trace isotopes may serve as a superior oceanographic tracer. Here we present data on the atomic \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{233}$$\end{document}233U/\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{236}$$\end{document}236U ratio analyzed in representative environmental samples finding ratios of (0.1–3.7)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\cdot$$\end{document}⋅10\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{-2}$$\end{document}−2. The ratios detected in compartments of the environment affected by releases of nuclear power production or by weapons fallout differ by one order of magnitude. Significant amounts of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{233}$$\end{document}233U were only released in nuclear weapons fallout, either produced by fast neutron reactions or directly by \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{233}$$\end{document}233U-fueled devices. This makes the \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{233}$$\end{document}233U/\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{236}$$\end{document}236U ratio a promising new fingerprint for radioactive emissions. Our findings indicate a higher release of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{233}$$\end{document}233U by nuclear weapons tests before the maximum of global fallout in 1963, setting constraints on the design of the nuclear weapons employed., The dominant emission sources of anthropogenic radionuclides come from either atmospheric nuclear weapons tests or the nuclear industry (i.e., reprocessing plants or reactor accidents). Here, the authors identify a new environmental isotope tracer (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{233}$$\end{document}233U/\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{236}$$\end{document}236U) which can help distinguish emissions from nuclear weapons tests, and can also provide constraints on past weapon designs and fuel sources, for which many details remain classified or lost.

The Ion Laser InterAction Setup (ILIAS) project at the University of Vienna aims at the exploration of negative ion beam filtering by selective laser photodetachment for applications in accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). A gas-filled radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) is used to decelerate and cool negative atomic and molecular ion beams with intensities of up to several hundred nA, and overlap them collinearly with a continuous wave (cw) laser beam. Ion-laser interaction times ranging from 500 μs to several ms allow for highly efficient, selective photodetachment depletion of disturbing ion species within these beams. The elemental selectivity of this technique is based on the differences in electron affinities, and therefore does not depend on relative differences in atomic numbers. It may therefore provide sufficient isobar suppression for new trace isotopes, which are not accessible with existing AMS techniques. The ILIAS RFQ cooler was characterized at a purpose-built test bench with respect to ion beam transmission, ion cooling capabilities and ion residence times as a function of injected ion current to assess its suitability for future AMS use. A 63 Cu − test beam of 600 nA was photodetached with more than 99.999% efficiency with a 532 nm laser at 10.8 W power. At the same time, ions of interest having electron affinities higher than the photon energy passed the cooler unaffected. Total ion losses were thus found to be below 50% of the sputter source output. Finally, first photodetachment experiments in connection with 26 Al detection demonstrated selective isobar suppression of MgO − vs. AlO − by more than 4 orders of magnitude. Currently, the RFQ cooler is moved to a new injector beamline at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) for first applications of this novel technique at a state-of-the-art AMS facility.

The passive absorber technique is one of the most common ways to suppress the 10B interference during 10Be measurements at facilities working with beam energies above 7 MeV. At lower energies, the range straggling complicates the application of absorbers, so that other suppression techniques are normally preferred. Several experiments were conducted at the SARA (hosted at Centro Nacional de Aceleradores, Seville, Spain) and VERA (Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Austria) AMS facilities to demonstrate the potential of the passive absorber technique also at and below 2.4 MeV. Two different absorber setups were installed and tested. For the detection of the rare isotopes both facilities used a gas ionization chamber optimized for light ions detection based on the same design. The absorber installed at the SARA facility was a combination of SiN foils and an isobutane gas volume, whereas VERA was equipped with an absorber constituted of a stack of SiN foils. In both cases, 10Be could be clearly separated from 10B and the use of a passive absorber at the entrance of the detector gave higher transmission compared to the degrader method. Depending on the absorber design, different background contributions could be identified: Rutherford scattering of 10B on the protons contained in the SiN foils and isobutane gas was responsible of a severe background at SARA, and fragments from 9Be1H molecules surviving the stripping process resulted in events partially overlapping the 10Be gate at VERA. The measured transmissions and background levels will be presented for the tested setups, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each absorber design., Tests at SARA were funded by the project FIS2015-69673-P of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

Several hundred thousand year old moraines preserved in the semi-arid environment of High Mountain Asia attest to Middle Pleistocene glaciations, but the regional correlation of glacial stages and the spatial extent of the glacial advances remain poorly constrained. We examined glacial landforms and Quaternary sediments in the Bartang valley, northwestern Pamir, a region with no previous quantitative glacial chronology. Using cosmogenic 10Be exposure ages, we dated glacially polished bedrock, moraines, and mass wasting deposits. Our data show that the northwestern Pamir was heavily glaciated in the Middle Pleistocene (≥220 ky) with large valley glaciers occupying some of the major valleys in the western Pamir. During the penultimate glacial cycle (191–130 ky) these valleys may have been largely ice free. Catastrophic mega debris flows with volumes ≥0.05 km3 occurred after the ice retreat and reflect paraglacial destabilization of glacial sediments. The age of the best-dated mega debris flow (81 ± 4 ky) is similar to moraine ages ∼70–80 ky documented throughout the Pamir, demonstrating that remobilized sediments may provide valuable age constraints on glacial histories. In order to facilitate regional comparison of glacial chronologies, we developed a Gaussian separation algorithm, which determines a moraine age from a distribution of boulder exposure ages based on the assumption that post-depositional processes prevail over inheritance, and that the oldest boulder ages best represent the timing of moraine formation. We compiled moraine boulder exposure ages from the Pamir and adjacent regions and provide a summary of Middle and early Late Pleistocene glacial cycles of western High-Mountain Asia.

The use of helium as stripper gas improved the measurement efficiency of compact AMS systems for many radionuclides significantly because of a higher mean charge state and reduced scattering losses compared with other conventional gases. Recent tests at the ETH 500 kV AMS facility (Tandy) with aluminum have demonstrated that a transmission of more than 50% is achievable in the charge state 2+ at terminal voltages between 300 and 500 kV. On the other hand the m/q interference of 13C1+ entering the detector at very high intensity has to be suppressed. Based on first positive results with a very simple absorber cell a more elaborate absorber detector configuration was designed and built in order to eliminate the carbon interference. The suppression of carbon with the new detector–absorber design has been studied extensively at 300 kV (950 keV) and 500 kV (1550 keV) and the results are compared with simulated data. With the new configuration an overall transmission for 26Al of more than 42% at 500 kV and about 30% at 300 kV terminal voltage is achieved, while 26Al/27Al blank ratios of aluminum targets in the range of 5–14·10−15 are measured.

Compact, low energy accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has evolved over the past years as one of the most sensitive, selective, and robust techniques for the analysis of heavy and long lived radionuclides. In this study, we will first focus on the analytical capabilities of the compact AMS system TANDY, mainly for 236U analyses, and then present a new dual tracer approach, that combines 129I and 236U. The measured 129I/236U ratios of samples collected in the North Sea in 2009 are in reasonable agreement with the expectations from documented or estimated releases from the two major nuclear reprocessing plants located at Sellafield (GB) and La Hague (F), suggesting that the 129I/236U ratio can be used as a water mass tag in the North Atlantic region. However, our results indicate that, in contrast to 129I, additional contributions of bomb produced 236U cannot be neglected in the North Sea region. This complicates the simple and straight forward use of the 129I/236U ratio as a quantitative tool for the calculation of transport times of North Sea water in the Arctic Ocean.

Interest in the long-lived radioisotope 236 U ( t 1/2 = 23.4 million years) has significantly increased recently, due to the emergence of environmental and earth science applications. Presently, only a few (AMS) accelerator mass spectrometry instruments are suited for this measurement. One major limitation is the relatively low total detection efficiency (on the order of 10 −4 ), which is partly caused by a low stripping yield of the positive ion charge state selected after the tandem accelerator. It has been shown that high yield can be achieved using helium as stripper gas for uranium ion energies below 0.35 MeV. Here we investigate the potential of He stripping of U at the 3-MV tandem accelerator VERA. Phenomenological charge state distributions for U and Th are presented for terminal voltages from 1.0 to 1.7 MV. These terminal voltages provide better background rejection than possible below 1 MeV, and are suited to the widely used 1–3 MV workhorses of many accelerator mass spectrometry laboratories. The methods can be applied to other actinides also.

93 Zr ( t 1/2 = 1.6 Ma) is mostly produced by the main s -process in low-to-intermediate mass AGB stars. Large uncertainty exists in the current 92 Zr(n,γ) 93 Zr Maxwellian Average cross section. This could have significant impact on nucleosynthesis calculations. Large amounts of 93 Zr are also produced in nuclear reactors and pose long-term environmental radioactivity. Hence, measurement of 93 Zr by the AMS is important for both fields above. We report here on progress in the development of AMS method to measure 93 Zr. Compared with 98 MeV beam energy, Zr/Nb isobar position separation was improved using 155.2 MeV beam energy and Gas-Filled Magnet. Energy loss measurement with increased beam energy inside the detector indicates that higher beam energy can improve isobar energy loss separation. A chemical procedure to reduce the Nb content in Zr samples has been developed and tested. It reduces the 93 Nb content by a factor of 1000.

93Zr with a half-life of 1.6 Ma is produced with high yield in nuclear fission, and thus should be present as a natural or anthropogenic trace isotope in all compartments of the general environment. Sensitive measurements of this isotope would immediately find numerous applications, however, its detection at sufficiently low levels has not yet been achieved. AMS measurements of 93Zr suffer from the interference of the stable isobar 93Nb. At the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator VERA a new multi-anode ionization chamber was built. It is optimized for isobar separation in the medium mass range and is based on the experience from AMS experiments of 36Cl at our 3-MV tandem accelerator facility. The design provides high flexibility in anode configuration and detector geometry. After validating the excellent energy resolution of the detector with 36S, it was recently used to study iron–nickel and zirconium–niobium–molybdenum isobar separation. To our surprise, the separation of 94Zr (Z = 40) from 94Mo (Z = 42) was found to be much better than that of 58Fe (Z = 26) from 58Ni (Z = 28), despite the significantly larger ΔZ/Z of the latter pair. This clearly contradicts results from SRIM-simulations and suggests that differences in the stopping behavior may unexpectedly favor identification of 93Zr. At 24 MeV particle energy, a 93Nb (Z = 41) suppression factor of 1000 is expected based on a synthetic 93Zr spectrum obtained by interpolation between experimental spectra from the two neighboring stable isotopes 92Zr and 94Zr. Assuming realistic numbers for chemical niobium reduction, a detection level of 93Zr/Zr below 10−9 seems feasible.

Radioisotopes produced in natural or anthropogenic fission are widely used for tracer studies of environmental processes, in nuclear forensics, and are important for nuclear waste disposal. Besides the well-known 137 Cs, the longer-lived sister isotope 135 Cs ( T 1/2 = 2.3 Myr) is also produced, and the combined measurement of the two isotopes would allow for assessment of contaminating sources. The insufficient suppression of the stable isobar 135 Ba presently prevents AMS measurements down to expected natural levels of 135 Cs/ 133 Cs ≈ 10 −11 . Via the difference in electron affinities between Cs and Ba further isobar suppression should be achievable after the installation of the Ion-Laser-Interaction System (ILIAS) at VERA. We present a preparatory study on the performance of the 3 MV VERA AMS facility for 135 Cs concerning ion formation, transmission and detection. Since the usual Cs sputtering would obscure the 135 Cs/ 133 Cs ratio of a sample, Rb sputtering was successfully applied and tested also for various other typical AMS elements. Partial suppression of 135 Ba is possible with the extraction of Cs − and negative Cs-fluorides. Cs − currents of several 10 nA were extracted over hours from mg amounts of Cs 2 SO 4 material. The transmission to various charge states was tested with gas (Ar, He) and foil stripping. Experiments showed that no suppression in the detection system is possible at high beam energies with the VERA facility. For this reason, gas stripping to low charge states (2 + , 3 + ) with transmissions up to 30% is favorable to guarantee optimal beam transport to the detector. In the present setup, utilizing a simple Bragg-type detector, the blank 135 Cs/ 133 Cs ratios from chemically pure samples are determined by the 135 Ba background to a value of (4.0 ± 1.3)·10 −9 .