This award will fund upgrades to the existing in situ 14C extraction and CO2 purification systems at the University of Arizona with automated electromechanical valve actuators and associated control systems, and will install automated liquid N2 delivery systems. In addition, thermal control equipment for the in situ 14C graphitization systems will be upgraded to provide more reliable temperature control and to facilitate future improvements to our graphitization procedures. Because we are retrofitting our existing vacuum systems, implementing these technologies will require only minimal re-characterization of the systems' behavior. In all, we project that the proposed upgrades will enable an increase of our annual laboratory sample throughput by up to a factor of four - without additional extraction systems and with half of the current personnel. The new automation systems will significantly broaden the impact of in situ 14C on process-oriented geomorphic and Quaternary geologic research. It will also simplify and shorten the process of training additional personnel, which will allow greater interaction with and involvement of graduate students and outside researchers, and will expand opportunities for collaboration both within and outside the University of Arizona.
