Rapid revelation of radiocarbon records with laser ablation Accelerator Mass Spectrometry.

By focusing high-intensity laser pulses on carbonate samples carbon dioxide is generated and can be directly introduced into the gas ion source (GIS) of an Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS). This new technique allows rapid radiocarbon analyses at high spatial resolution. The design of the deignated laser ablation cell as well as first results on a stalagmite sample are presented.