T04_P06

Performance and inter-comparison tests of the MICADAS at the radiocarbon laboratory of Lanzhou University, China

Cao H¹, Zhou A¹, Wang Z¹

¹College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China

Radiocarbon laboratory of Lanzhou University was primitively organized in 1987, experienced long-term complement and development, and introduced a compact accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS)—a 200-KV mini carbon dating system (MICADAS) from Ionplus AG in 2018, together with an auto graphitization equipment (AGE III). The laboratory has for a long time prepared graphite targets for radiocarbon dating of organic materials including charcoal, bone, plant remains, sediments. Herein, we give an overview of the operating status and performance of the dating facility. Fifteen sets of organic materials collected from archaeological sites in northwest China were selected for an inter-comparison study involving the participation of four specialist laboratories, the pretreatment, graphite preparation, and AMS testing of the samples were performed, respectively. The ¹⁴C dating results showed a high degree of consensus for the homogenized samples. The long-term measurement of the standard and blank samples indicated the that the results for MICADAS in Lanzhou University were accurate and stable and of high sensitivity, the mean background is about 47,000 years. The radiocarbon laboratory of Lanzhou University could provide stable and accurate ¹⁴C dating results, and has provided a large number of ¹⁴C dates for archaeological/environmental samples.