January 18 - 4:00pm Phys 223
(Coffee at 3:30p.m. in room 242)
(Coffee at 3:30p.m. in room 242)
Dr. Marc W. Caffee
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Title: "Cosmic-ray-produced nuclides: field applications, limitations, and new development."
Rocks found throughout the solar system show evidence of exposure to high energy cosmic rays. This exposure to energetic particles results in the production of numerous nuclides, both stable and radioactive, that can be measured using high-sensitivity techniques, including accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The in-situ production of rare radionuclides in rocks exposed to cosmic rays on the Earth's surface provides a chronometer for landscape processes. Cosmogenic radionuclide measurements from field sites in the Karokoram Range in Pakistan, the Ladakh Range in India, and the Grand Canyon will be presented. The results from these sites clearly show both the utility and the present limitations of this technique of analysis.